Anyone who has ever struggled with their weight can tell you that there is no magic solution that melts away unwanted pounds. They have probably also tried a large selection of traditional dieting techniques, fad diets, calorie counting, and whatever else they could find published in print or online that claimed to be the key to weight loss success.

For as much that has been written about how to lose weight permanently, there is still just as much we do not understand about the complexities of weight loss. Why does one strategy work for your friend, but it does nothing for you? How come something that has always worked for you when you needed to lose a bit of weight is no longer effective?

Today we are going to talk about some traditional strategies that often work to help individuals permanently lose weight. We will also go over some of the reasons why these traditional strategies do not work for some people and offer some available options for help.

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Conventional Methods Help You Lose Weight Slowly And Permanently

The time-honored equation for weight loss involves burning more calories during the day than are ingested. This can usually be done in one of two ways:

• Reduce the number of calories you take in during the day;
• Burn up more calories than you ingest through physical activity.

This sounds simple, and in theory it is; however, when put into practice in real life, it becomes more complicated. Because everyone is different and our bodies are very complex, there can be a host of outside factors that influence what happens to the calories we ingest or how our bodies respond to a reduction in caloric intake.

Experts agree that losing weight slowly can help you keep it off permanently, so losing between four and eight pounds in a month is considered a healthy goal to aim for. Eating a balance of healthy foods, practicing portion control, getting enough exercise, staying hydrated, getting a sufficient amount of sleep, and avoiding processed and junky-type foods are all well-known strategies that help promote a healthy weight and good health.

Let’s Clear Up Some Misunderstandings About Losing Weight Permanently

There is a wide range of information and differing opinions on the best ways to lose weight and keep it off forever. In our line of work, we realize that many people do not really understand certain aspects of weight loss that can have a large impact on their ability to succeed. Here are a few that we see often.

Consuming Fat

Many assume that to lose weight, they need to cut out all fat from their diet, but this is not true in most cases. Unfortunately, they often opt for alternate choices they think will be beneficial to their health and help them lose weight, and they have no idea how wrong they are. When you are shopping for groceries, you may notice a plethora of food labels that say “low fat” or “reduced fat,” but what does that mean exactly? Are these foods better for you than the full-fat versions? The answer is no; most of the time, they are not better, and they can even be worse if you are aiming for weight loss.

What most people do not understand is that these items are normally higher in carbohydrates or sugar to make up for the fat that has been eliminated. These added sugars and carbs do not promote weight loss, and are not helpful to triglyceride levels, and can even cause increased hunger. The important things to pay attention to are the calorie content, carbohydrates, and protein, and to choose foods that include carbs that are high in fiber and lower in sugar. While every individual has their own set of circumstances and requirements, by choosing these low-fat versions, they may be sacrificing valuable fiber, protein, and amino acids.

Sources of fat that are beneficial to your health and can help you with weight control, mood enhancement, and an increased energy level include nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, and fatty fish. These sources of “good” fat can help provide your body with essential nutrients and help you feel full for a longer time, in addition to making your meals more tasty.

When you are looking for ways to make your meals healthier and satisfy your hunger, make sure you make smart trade-offs. Eating yogurt that says it is “low-fat” but contains a bunch of extra sugar to offset the lack of fat does not promote weight loss or positively contribute to good health.

If you need additional proof about these supposed “low-fat” options, next time you are shopping, look around and pay attention to how many products say “low fat,” and then think about the fact that the rate of obesity in the U.S. is at an all-time high.

Restrictive Diets

Any diet that leaves out an entire food group is not going to be healthy in the long term. Nutritionists agree that to have a healthy body, there are certain nutrients, vitamins, and elements it needs. Many of the diets that are popular today contain restrictive elements that are either impossible to sustain or eliminate foods that are beneficial to your health. Arriving at a healthy weight and maintaining it permanently will be a lifelong endeavor, and not just a temporary diet plan.

Exercise

You may have heard that you can lose weight permanently without exercise, but the truth is that because you are alive and live in a complex body, this is not always true, and here are some of the reasons why.

Often, the main reason individuals are overweight or obese is because of their lifestyle. They eat portions that are too large, and they eat foods that are unhealthy. These individuals are not entirely to blame for their weight issues, as our westernized society has made it more and more challenging to eat good food and stay in shape.

Here in the U.S., most of us drive everywhere; we do not walk; we take elevators instead of climbing stairs; and many of the jobs that used to require manual exertion have been automated.

In a book written by F.M. Lappe called EcoMind, the author reports that as of 2013, only 6% of the children in the United States play unsupervised outside. When you figure that this statistic is over a decade old and that today, more than ever, it takes two working parents to sustain a household it makes sense that this number has declined even further since then. When we are not exposed to outdoor play or active lifestyles as children, this often translates into a sedentary lifestyle as adults.

Exercise is almost always necessary to lose weight and keep it off forever. One key reason for this is that our bodies are designed to make adjustments to our metabolism. If you compare the way your body works to that of your car engine, it will begin to make sense. If your car is designed to run on gasoline and you fill the tank with Kool-aid, how far do you think you will get? Our bodies need certain things to function properly, and unlike our car engines, our bodies have a built-in mechanism that kicks in when it thinks it is not getting them.

When we lower our calorie intake, our bodies will often slow down our metabolism to preserve energy and even begin to store fat. Exercise and strength training can help overcome this cycle because they help elevate the speed of your metabolism and build muscle, which burns fat more efficiently. The benefits of physical activity extend beyond those of weight loss and can help with improving emotional wellbeing, your quality of sleep, and your energy levels.

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Why Is It So Hard To Lose Weight And Keep It Off Forever?

Many individuals are successful in losing weight, but they end up gradually gaining it back. This often happens because they change their behavior temporarily by reducing their calorie intake or starting an exercise routine, but then life happens and they revert back to their old habits.

Food That Make You Hungrier

Many of the products that we ingest and call “food” are full of ingredients that our bodies were never meant to process. In fact, did you know that when you eat some foods, they can make you even hungrier?

• Foods that contain white flour, sugar, and fat are full of calories and do not satisfy hunger but can make you crave more unhealthy foods;
• Artificial sweeteners can mess with your blood sugar and cause you to eat more while not satisfying your hunger;
• An article published in Forbes provided some surprising insight on the reasons people crave Oreo cookies. Sweets such as these cookies have an impact on the same part of the brain (the pleasure center) as the drug cocaine.

Factors To Consider When Approaching Weight Loss

When you set out on a weight loss journey, it is important to know what you are up against. There are many things that can influence your own personal weight loss ability, and there are times that you may require some help.

• Did you know that if you don’t get enough sleep, it can make you crave junk food?
• Did you know that your brain can influence how much you eat?

Getting help from a doctor who specializes in obesity medicine, like Dr. Steven Batash, can make all the difference. Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss Center can help identify underlying conditions or behavioral issues that are keeping you from reaching your weight loss goals. They will teach you effective strategies and work with you to create a program tailored for your circumstances that will help you lose weight effectively and permanently.

Is There A Surgery Or Procedure That Can Help Me Lose Weight Permanently?

Sometimes it takes medical intervention to help us lose weight. There are a number of surgeries and endoscopic procedures that are designed to make the stomach smaller to help individuals control their portions and take the edge off perpetual hunger pangs. These interventions include:

Bariatric Surgery

• Gastric Sleeve (also called sleeve gastrectomy, VSG, and LSG);
• Gastric Bypass;
• Duodenal Switch.

Endoscopic Procedures That Are Performed Without Surgery

• Suture Sculpt Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG);
• Intragastric Balloon: Orbera and Spatz3.

While these medical interventions can help with weight loss, a large portion of successfully maintaining that loss is dependent on the individual’s ongoing lifestyle behaviors.

To lose weight and keep it off permanently requires a lifetime of consistency in making healthy dietary choices, getting physical exercise, sleeping enough, staying well hydrated, and managing your stress levels.

Where Can I Go To Get Help To Lose Weight Permanently?

There is no universal formula for weight loss that works for everyone, so seeking help from specially trained experts like those at Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss Centers is a wise choice.

Not only can they eliminate the “guesswork” of what combination of strategies will work for you, they will also support you as you apply these strategies and celebrate with you as you reach milestones in your program.

At Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss Center, we use safe and proven weight loss tools to help our patients achieve their weight loss goals and teach them how to modify their lives and behaviors so they can lose weight and keep it off permanently.

You may not have known that your sleep patterns can affect your weight loss success or that eating off of a smaller plate can trick your brain into telling your stomach that you have eaten a large meal, but like the old saying goes, “knowledge is power,” and taking charge of your weight is possible, and the team at Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss Center can help you do it.

We would love for you to join our patient family so you can celebrate your own weight loss success story. Call or make your consultation appointment online to take that first step toward better health.

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