Mindfulness for Managing Your Weight

Mindfulness for Managing Weight

Slowing down and being present may benefit your health and your weight.

What it is: Mindfulness is bringing your attention to the present moment and
experiencing it with non-judgemental awareness. This awareness can bring
appreciation, understanding and meaning to everything you do. Two key concepts in
mindfulness are…:
• slowing down your mind and actions so you are present to the moment and what
you are doing and experiencing while letting go of other thoughts and worries.
• observing and describing people, events, emotions, your body, food, etc. without
making judgements (good/bad, right/wrong, should/shouldn’t).
Benefits:
• Enables you to pay closer attention to what you are eating and what you enjoy
• Helps you to appreciate the value of nutritious food for your body
• Can make you more aware of the emotional reasons for eating
• Can help you learn to identify when you have had enough/feel full
• Can improve digestion and absorption of food and nutrients

Taking the time to experience food can help you become more in tune with your body’s
signals of satisfaction and make you less likely to overeat. It takes 20 minutes for your
brain and stomach to communicate the messages: “I’m full” or “I’m no longer hungry”
With practice, mindful eating will become a habit, even with limited time to spend eating
you will have greater awareness and …Your body will thank you for this
“Mindful eating replaces self-criticism with self-nurturing. It replaces shame with respect
for your own inner wisdom” by Jan Chozen Bays.

Full Mindful Eating Practice Experience
Use this practice when you have time as it can take at least 10 minutes.
With this practice you may discover that foods you have an attachment to do not taste
as good as you once thought. This may help you let go of foods that no longer serve
you and your health goals.
As you begin:
• Make sure you are feeling comfortable, feet on the floor, back supported, etc
• Take a few deep breaths in thru your nose and out thru your mouth
As you relax and breathe, notice without judgement:
• Where are you feeling tension in your body?
• What thoughts are running through your head?
• What emotions are you feeling?
Next turn to your environment, notice without judgement:
• What do you see nearby?
• Describe your room – dark/dim/bright? Organized, messy, etc
• What sounds do you notice? Loud/soft hum/clicking/birds/traffic, etc
• What smells do you notice?
Next turn to your food and observe:
• Look: Notice the color, size, shape of the food
• Feel: Notice the food’s texture
• Smell: Notice the aromas. Does the food have a smell?
• Think: What memories are related to this food? Do you like this food?
• Taste: Take your first bite, let it linger in your mouth as it breaks down. How
does it taste at first? What is the texture? How does your mouth respond to the
flavor? Does the taste change as you eat? How would you describe the taste?
Savor the taste.
• Swallow: Become aware of when you have the urge to swallow, so that even
swallowing is experienced consciously.
• Listen: Become aware of the sound of utensils on plates, cutting, chewing, etc.
• Focus: Slow movement, conscious movement, letting go of judgements and
other thoughts surrounding eating.

Follow up Thoughts
– Food is to be enjoyed. Every bite is valuable and not to be shoveled. Savor and
enjoy. Eating is a pleasurable experience and brings us joy!
– Think about how the food you have eaten nourishes your body with nutrients it
needs to provide energy and maintain internal functions that support your health.
– Reflect on the subtle nuances of taste, temperature, smell and textures of foods.
What did you notice while you experienced your food? What did you enjoy?

SHORTER Mindfulness Eating Practice:
NOTE: The most important part is to slow down, breathe, minimize distractions and
multitasking and bring your awareness to your meal and the eating process.
As you begin to prepare to eat, slow down and become present to your
environment, your food. etc. even while prepping, cooking and or plating.
As you sit down to begin your meal, pause:
• Take a few deep breaths in thru your nose and out thru your mouth
• Observe where you are feeling tension in your body. Let go and relax. (fight
or flight diverts blood away from digestion and absorption).
• Check in with any highly excited response to your food and drive to eat
quickly and “a lot” – what is driving that? Smell, anticipation of taste?

BEFORE you begin eating, briefly glance at and observe your food, colors,
textures, arrangement on the plate, quantity, thoughts about your food and take
notice of the food you are choosing to eat. Essentially take a “snap-shot”.
SLOWLY begin with your first bite, being mindful of how much you put in your
mouth, chew slowly, observe your chewing and how the food breaks down in your
mouth. Let the flavors linger on your tongue and notice the taste, texture, etc
Swallow and pause and take a few breaths. Briefly reflect on your experience,
especially with the first bite.
Repeat for the next one or two bites before you increase your pace of eating
Remember: slowing down, your body has time to sense “no longer hungry” and “full”.
Short on time or in a hurry?
• Continue to eat at a slower pace than normal focusing on staying present,
relaxed and breath as you chew. Only consume what you can eat in the
designated time. (put left over food away for later or throw away).
• Check-in with fullness. NOTE: You may be hungry later for a snack, however,
rather than eating quickly and over-consuming calories and/or being overfull, you
can eat later (leftovers from this meal, may provide a nutrient rich snack versus
something else you might normally choose).

Created by Kimberly Whelan, RD 9/22/2021

Resolved to lose weight for the new year?

A familiar refrain at this time of year, a great time to undertake what it takes to make the changes required to achieve a healthy weight. My gym was packed today, a sure sign it is January.

Early-in-the-year resolutions are backed by lots of enthusiasm but the question is where will you be in a couple of weeks when the enthusiasm wanes?

What are your motivations? 

As a physician, I know it should be about your health, since so many of the conditions we treat are diseases of excess weight. Think diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides, fatty liver, sleep apnea and many more, all of which are improved with weight loss.

What about beauty? We look better when we weigh less, when we can wear better looking clothes. When we weigh less, we feel more beautiful inside, we have more self-confidence and self-esteem.

What about respect from others? We are recognizing more and more that weight bias is common in our society amongst friends, co-workers and even health care professionals. It is known that thinner people make more money, get more promotions, and get into better programs than people with weight.

Check out Reasons I Want to Lose Weight and be honest with yourself.

But wait, are you really ready to change?

If you weigh 200 pounds, you are acting and eating like a 200 pound person.

To weigh 160, you must act and eat like a 160 pound person, which means a modification of your lifestyle and which means consuming less calories and exercising most days.

On a scale of 1 to 10, where is your motivation with regards to change? Experts say you need to be at least a 6 or 7. It helps if your confidence level is also at least a 6 or 7.

Have you decided how your diet will change? Are you able to stick with it? Research shows that all diets work equally well after 6 months, it is all about whether you are able to continue on your lower-calorie program. Find a diet that make sense and tastes good and that you will be able to maintain for the long haul.

Find a program

Most people need support when they make a big change in their lives. Lots of commercial programs are out there that offer a plan and encouragement. Weight Watchers works 100% of the time as long you stay with it, it will take a while to lose those 40 pounds, but you will lose it.

MNP offers structured programs for weight loss, especially for those with more weight to lose. Our programs are led by licensed, experienced providers.

I am Dr. Isaacson and I provide close medical supervision and keep an eye on your health every week while you are on the First Step program. As a board-certified internist, I work alongside your primary care physician as we are able to reduce and modify medications as appropriate.

Our licensed counsellors will meet with you weekly, supporting you and helping you deal with your thoughts and emotions as you change your life.

Our registered dietitian and certified fitness instructor helps you with a diet that fits you. You learn how to make wise choices at the grocery store and the restaurant and how to keep moving, based on your capabilities.

Resolved, I am confident and motivated to make the changes required to be thinner and I know MNP can help

 

Suggestions For a Successful Relationship with Food

1.    Remember that all diets work by substituting low calorie foods for high calorie foods.
2.    Continue to consume meal replacements, at least 3 per day in Better Weighs and at least 2 per day in Maintenance.In Better Weighs, consume an additional 450 calorie meal per day.   In Maintenance,  consume the calories required to maintain your healthy weight, under the guidance of our dietitian.
3.    Read labels so you know what you are consuming. Read labels so you know what one portion is.
4.    Go to the Dollar store and get several sets of measuring cups; put a separate serving-size measuring cup into each container, ie cereal boxes, rice, pasta, beans, etc.  This way, it will be convenient for you to measure out one serving.
5.    Many people find it helpful to purchase a food scale to weigh and measure their food, until they get a sense of what a portion size looks like.
6.    Drink lots of water, at least 64 ounces per day.
7.    Maintain a food log…….even if you do not record calories.  Research shows that people eat less and lose weight just by estimating portions and recording what they eat.
8.    Make sure you are getting up to 5 servings of vegetables and fruit every day. Volume is a signal to stop eating, so consuming low calorie foods that are high in water and fiber content help you eat less overall.
9.    Engage in high levels of physical activity……. strive for 6-9 hours of exercise per week / 10,000 steps per day.
10.    Weigh yourself regularly
11.    Consume a balanced diet and strive toward a plant-based diet with protein. Limit carbs and fats. Consume whole grains and non-fat dairy. Do not get all your calories from one food group.
12.    Eat breakfast
13.    Try to maintain a positive attitude while you are learning and putting into practice new skills around food.  Learning anything new feels like a lot of hard work at the start, but with practice things always get easier.  Try to stay mindful rather than reverting back to the old ways that you used and abused food.
14.    You have worked hard to lose the weight, you have made your weight loss program a priority in your life, and you have been successful.
It is important to remember that you, and the way you relate to food, needs to remain a priority in your daily life.
15.    Attend a support group. Research shows that having support is a significant component for maintaining weight loss. MNP offers ongoing support groups.

How Do I Choose the Best Diet Clinic in San Jose?

If you are looking for the best diet clinic in San Jose, you need to consider the following factors in making  your decision.  Choosing a diet program that does not suit your individual needs will only result in frustration and wasted time and money.  These factors are important to finding the program for you.

1.  Physician supervised programs:  You want a diet program that is supervised by board-certified physician because your health is what matters most. When you are losing weight, your medication requirements often change. Often regular laboratory blood tests are required to monitor your progress carefully. Only trust a physician experienced in helping patients lose weight.

2. Meeting with Professional Licensed Counselors: Most people recognize it is not true hunger that causes them to overeat, it is just not as simple as that. We eat when we are happy or sad, busy or bored, mad or glad. We eat because something is eating at us. We eat because we think it makes us feel better, whereas it often makes us feel worse. Understanding why we eat is key to overcoming our harmful behaviors. Many programs use people who have graduated from the program. They may be helpful but not trained in understanding emotional issues. Professional licensed counselors have the tools to help you make meaningful changes in your relationship with food.

3. Registered dietitians: We are not talking about ‘nutritionists’ who often do not have specialized training. You want a registered dietitian, who has a university degree and a license in diet and nutrition. Learning what to eat from an experienced professional is what a diet clinic is about.

4. Certified fitness instructors: Physical activity is important to lose weight and to keep it off. Individualized exercise programs by trained instructors will motivate you and keep you injury free.

Metabolic Nutrition Program is proud to have all of these elements and is the best diet clinic in San Jose and the south bay area.

Please call us for more information at (408) 370-1100.

Move It to Lose It – The Value of Exercise

“I am overweight because I don’t get enough exercise.” 

Have you ever uttered these words? Many of us think that getting off the sofa alone will trim unwanted pounds.

Consider that if you walk a mile, you will burn approximately 80-110 calories, depending on how much you weigh.  A piece of bread has about 80-110 calories. What is easier, walking a mile or not eating that piece of bread? Unfortunately, exercise alone is of limited value as a weight loss method.

The good news is that exercise prevents initial weight gain and prevents regain of weight that has been lost.

How Much Exercise is Required to Prevent Weight Gain?

It has been said that every woman gains weight at age 50 unless she walks an hour per day. If she is overweight at age 50, she needs to walk 90 minutes per day. Part of the reason is that we lose muscle mass as a normal part of aging, about 1% per year starting around the age of 50.

The International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO) recommends 45-60 minutes of moderate intensity activity each day to prevent the development of overweight or obesity.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that adults participate in both aerobic and muscle building activities each week. Chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart attack, stroke, breast and colon cancer, memory loss, depression, anxiety, osteoporosis are conditions which may be prevented with this level of recommended level of activity:

· Aerobic activity

150 minutes (30 minutes 5 days per week) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week.  Moderate-intensity means working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat, like brisk walking, riding a bike on level ground, or doing water aerobics.

OR

75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity every week.  Vigorous-intensity means you are breathing hard and fast, and your heart rate has gone up quite a bit. If you’re working at this level, you won’t be able to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath.  Activities like jogging, swimming laps, riding a bike fast, on hills or in a spin class at the gym, playing basketball are vigorous-intensity activities.

OR

A combination of moderate and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity.

Note that one minute of vigorous activity equals two minutes of moderate-intensity activity; by exercising vigorously, you get the health benefits in half the time. 

· Muscle Building

At least 2 days a week, you need to strengthen muscles that work the major muscle groups of your body.

Strengthening your legs, hips, back, chest, shoulders your arms to a point where it is hard to do another repetition without help is what is required for health effects. Examples include lifting weights, working with resistance bands, using your body weight for resistance (push-ups and sit-ups), and heavy gardening.

How Much Exercise is Required to Lose Weight?  Even more exercise is required to lose weight. Remember that the biggest muscles in our body are our thighs and buttocks, and that walking or biking or jogging uses those muscles.

Buy a Pedometer and Walk 10,000 Steps per Day

Although 10,000 steps isn’t a magic number, this level of activity matches the above recommendations.

An inactive person, someone moving about the house or who works in an office, takes about 3,000 steps or less daily.

Walking 10,000 steps is roughly the equivalent of walking 5 miles. As noted above, walking a mile burns approximately 80-110 calories, depending on how much you weigh; this means you can burn around 500 calories with 10,000 steps. Since one pound is made up of 3,500 calories, walking the walk could mean losing a pound a week.

Maintaining Weight Loss-Exercise is the Best Predictor of Success

Regular exercise is one of the best predictors of weight-loss maintenance. To maintain weight loss, one should burn about 2,000 calories per week, which amounts to walking 15-20 miles per week. People in the National Weight Control Registry, a database of people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept if off for at least one year, report 42 minutes per day (about 290 minutes per week) of moderate intensity physical activity.

At the Metabolic Nutrition Program, we understand what you need. Our experienced staff includes a certified fitness instructor, who will individualize an exercise program for you. Our physician-supervised very low calorie diet helps you lose weight fast. Our counselors help you understand your current unhealthy relationship to food and help you create a better future for yourself.

Give us a call.

Weight Loss Clinic In Los Gatos | Diet Program Los Gatos

Our weight loss clinic in Los Gatos helps clients lose weight permanently and regain control of their lifes in Los Gatos, San Jose and the entire south bay area. With our unique diet program, clients increase their self-esteem, increase their energy, stamina, and motivation, fit into nicer looking clothes, improve their career life, and more!  Clients who enter the Metabolic Nutrition Program weight loss clinic in Los Gatos team up with board certified physicians who put them on a successful medically supervised weight loss program.

Choosing Your Weight Loss Clinic in Los Gatos

The key to losing weight fast and keeping it off is to choose the best possible Los Gatos weight loss clinic. This is often the difference between losing weight permanently versus temporarily. Our Los Gatos diet program has helped clients attain their weight loss goals for over 28 years, helping thousands of clients accomplish their goals and maintaining great results.

Your Los Gatos Diet Program

The Los Gatos diet program at Metabolic Nutrition Program is a multi-disciplinary comprehensive approach to address individual weight loss and maintenance needs.  We provide four essential components to ensure success. These four components include:

  • Direct supervision by Board Certified Internal Medicine Physicians
  • Support groups facilitated by licensed clinical behavior therapists experienced with weight loss and food issues to help you understand and achieve your goal at our weight loss clinic in Los Gatos (more…)

Weight Loss Clinic In San Jose | Diet Program San Jose

Our weight loss clinic in San Jose helps clients lose weight permanently and regain control of their lives in San Jose and the San Jose area. With our unique diet program, clients can increase their self-esteem, increase their energy, stamina, and motivation, fit into nicer looking clothes, improve their career life, and more!

Choosing Your Weight Loss Clinic in San Jose

The key to losing weight fast and keeping it off is to choose the best possible San Jose weight loss clinic. This is often the difference between losing weight permanently or only temporarily losing weight. Our San Jose diet program has helped clients attain their weight loss goals for over 28 years, helping thousands of clients accomplish their goals and maintain their results.

Your San Jose Diet Program

The San Jose diet program at Metabolic Nutrition Program is the most comprehensive  multi-disciplinary program in the entire south bay because we approach your individual weight loss and maintenance needs.  We provide four essential components to ensure success. These four components include:

  • Direct supervision of Board Certified Internal Medicine Physicians
  • Support groups facilitated by licensed clinical behavior therapists experienced with weight loss and food issues to help you understand your goal at our weight loss clinic in San Jose (more…)

Start Your Los Gatos Weight Loss Program For The New Year

A new year is upon us, and now is the time, more than ever to make that new years resolution to lose weight and keep it off.  Many of us in Los Gatos promise ourselves that we will lose weight, and even though are intentions may be good, studies prove that many of us who make that new years resolution never keep it.  In fact, instead of losing weight, individuals start to gain back even more.

Our Los Gatos weight loss program is here to help you lose weight and keep those pounds off.  We are a medical weight loss clinic that consists of licensed counselors and certified dietitians and doctors who have proven success by the many overweight individuals we have helped lose weight, shed those pounds, and keep the weight off.

How Our Los Gatos Weight Loss Program Identifies Eating Triggers

Why are we overweight? Most people, approximately 75% of us who are heavy, are eating for reasons other than hunger, typically for emotional reasons

Emotional eaters consume large quantities of food, often “comfort” or junk foods, in response to thoughts and feelings instead of hunger. Throughout our lives, many of us learn that food can bring us comfort and we then turn to food to soothe ourselves when we are upset.

Emotions such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, anger, boredom, stress, frustration, guilt, shame and jealously commonly lead to eating for the wrong reasons. Only by identifying these triggers to eating can we successfully break the destructive habit of eating when we are not hungry. Our Los Gatos weight loss program will not only help you identify the triggers that are causing you to eat excessively but also help you break the habit and lose weight fast and successfully. (more…)

San Jose Diet Clinic Discusses New Year’s Resolutions For Weight Loss

It’s the time of year when most of us in San Jose make New Year’s resolutions, promising ourselves to lose weight.  Our intentions are good but studies show we are not very successful in shedding our pounds.  At our San Jose diet clinic, we help individuals keep their new years resolutions by successfully helping them lose weight and break the habit of destructive eating.

Many of times when individuals try to lose weight, they go about it incorrectly.  Using huge amounts of will power, many San Jose residents restrict their intake, instead of looking at the causes for being heavy. Their will power, which is in abundance on January 1, starts to fade quickly and they quickly revert to our old patterns until the next New Year.

Causes Of Being Overweight

Why are we overweight? Most people, approximately 75% of us who are heavy, are eating for reasons other than hunger, typically for emotional reasons

Emotional eaters consume large quantities of food, often “comfort” or junk foods, in response to thoughts and feelings instead of hunger. Throughout our lives, many of us learn that food can bring us comfort and we then turn to food to soothe ourselves when we are upset.

Emotions such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, anger, boredom, stress, frustration, guilt, shame and jealously commonly lead to eating for the wrong reasons. Only by identifying these triggers to eating can we successfully break the destructive habit of eating when we are not hungry. Our San Jose diet clinic will not only help you identify the triggers that are causing you to eat excessively but also help you break the habit and lose weight fast and successfully.

Tips On How To Lose Weight

Keeping a journal and recording why and what you eat will help identify the triggers that lead to excessive eating. A food diary that records thoughts and feelings when eating will help you identify the triggers that lead to the destructive behavior of overeating. (more…)

What is the cause of obesity?

While there are many causes of obesity, including improper eating and not enough exercise, it still boils down to taking in more energy that one burns.

A calorie is a unit of energy. All foods have calorie content:

  • Carbohydrates (starches, bread, pasta, sugar/glucose) have 4 calories / gram.
  • Protein (meat, poultry, fish, egg white) has 4 calories/gram.
  • Fat (egg yolk, butter, oil) has 9 calories/gram (fat is fattening)
  • Alcohol has 6 calories/gram

If we take in more calories/energy than we burn, we have to store it, and we store it as fat.

What is the Metabolic Syndrome?

Fat that accumulates inside our abdominal cavity and coats our internal organs as we gain weight is known as visceral fat. This visceral fat takes on dangerous characteristics of its own, causing detrimental effects in our bodies, known as the Metabolic Syndrome.  This syndrome is associated with one or more of the following conditions:

  • Type 2 Diabetes, along with the potential complications of kidney disease, nerve disease and eye damage.  
  • Hypertension (high blood pressure), which may lead to stroke.
  • High cholesterol, along with high LDL (the bad cholesterol) and low HDL (the good cholesterol).
  • High triglycerides (the other fat in the blood)
  • Premature heart disease and early death due to heart attack

Rather than take medications in an attempt to control these conditions, it makes sense to eliminate the cause.  Lose weight, eliminate the visceral fat, and get healthy.

How do I know if I am overweight or obese?

Body Mass Index (BMI) – Doctors and weight management specialists use a measure known as the BMI, which takes into account your weight and height

  • Normal: BMI is less than 25
  • Overweight: BMI between 25 and 30
  • Obese: BMI greater than 30

The higher your BMI, the greater your risk for developing obesity-related conditions.

Although BMI can be used for most men and women, it does have some limitations: It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build, and it may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle.

Waist Circumference – One of the simplest ways to measure obesity is by measuring your waist line circumference. To correctly measure your waist, stand and place a tape measure around your middle, just above your hipbones. Measure your waist just after you breathe out. You are overweight and your health risk increases if you are a

  • Man with a 40 inch waist or more
  • Woman with a  35 inch waist or more

Everyone in my family is overweight, is my weight problem genetic?

The tendency toward obesity may run in the family.  For example, we know that twins who were adopted by different families at birth more closely resemble each other as adults than their adoptive families.  Although we may inherit the propensity toward obesity, it is how we behave toward food that determines our weight. 

Researchers have determined that approximately 50% of our obesity is related to our genetic background. The other 50% has to do with our behavior toward food, and getting control of our behavior toward food is critical to achieving normal weight.

We are a physician supervised weight loss program and medical diet program serving clients serious about losing weight and keeping it off in Northern California and the south San Francisco Bay Area, including San Jose, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Campbell, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Hollister, Mountain View, Los Altos, Palo Alto, Milpitas, Fremont, and Santa Cruz.