Weight Loss: Personalization is a Must

The number of people who are overweight in the U.S. continues to increase despite the overwhelming amount of diets available.

You may already know that weight loss programs are not a one-size-fits-all solution. Effective, long-term weight loss can’t be achieved with fad diets, quick weight loss promising scams, or supplements that claim to burn fat practically overnight.

Truthfully, there is no magic wand when it comes to weight loss and addressing it with a cookie cutter approach, only ends in frustration and often leads to greater weight gain.

Why Weight Loss Diets Don’t Work?

Most do-it-yourself diets consist of one or a combination of the following methods:

• eating less
• changing what you eat
• counting calories

Simply eating less results in the cycle of being hungry all the time and then cheating on your diet.

Trying to eat healthy often requires a tremendous shift in the way you buy food and prepare it. It’s great but most people just don’t know how.

Another old school approach, counting calories, is an old-fashioned method that takes a significant amount of time out of each day, often resulting in cheating or simply losing motivation and not following through with the diet.

Other diet twists of reducing sugar and avoiding carbohydrates also fall short of success.

In one way or another, all methods are difficult to follow. Furthermore, they can lead to imbalances in glucose levels, mood changes and overeating.

Many fad and detox diets also set up imbalances in the body that hinder long term weight loss and leaves the body lacking in essential nutrients or simply don’t take into consideration your personal overall health.

Food is the Cure

The truth is you need a personalized diet that works with your personal metabolism for your body to work properly to begin to shed weight.

One-size-fits-all diets don’t take into account medical conditions you may suffer from that contribute to weight gain nor prescription medications that can also result in weight gain.

Fad diets can also upset the delicate balance of the body and lower your body’s ability to fight viruses and infections and actually cause you to gain more weight.

Medical Weight Loss Approach

Personalized, custom approaches to weight loss are the only way to accomplish sustainable, healthy weight loss.

Studies have shown that a medical weight loss program, results in better overall health including:

• Greater weight loss
• Reduction in overall body fat
• Increased overall health
• Lasting weight loss results

Medical weight loss programs consider your individual activity level, motivation, current fitness, your personal health and every aspect of your life so you’ll be successful. It’s a program that focuses on natural methods and doesn’t rely on dangerous diet pills, invasive surgical methods and won’t leave you feeling hungry, deprived or frustrated.

Personalized weight loss is a holistic approach that includes a customized meal plan and behavior modification techniques to help you keep the weight off. One-on-one consultations help you meet your goals and discuss any concerns, difficulties or special challenges. Weight tracking and monitoring your progress helps ensure your success.

Psychological Impact of Diets

One of the most important components of a medical weight loss program is that it meets the psychological needs of the individual attempting to lose weight.

Results, in the form of weight loss, fat reduction or increased energy levels are key milestones that must be recognized when achieved, to motivate you to continue a weight loss program long enough to reach the desired goal or develop the habit of eating healthy.

If the psychological triggers that lead you to over-eating in the first place are not identified, you will cave into:

• not feeling in control of your eating
• feeling the urge to eat more frequently
• stress eating
• cheating on your diet
• over-eating
• eating when bored or not hungry

Since replacing meals you like with tasteless alternative is surely a recipe for failure, learning to prepare or cook appetizing meals is also an important factor in successful weight loss.

A medical weight loss program can also address personal issues involving over-eating as a response to the need for emotional support.

Medical weight loss programs can teach you to replace your reliance on food for gratification with healthy self-care and good habits.

Individualized Program Based on Your Metabolism

Each person metabolizes food eaten at a different rate, which is yet another reason why most traditional diet plans don’t work. A medical weight loss program is tailored to work with your metabolic and individual needs.

A medical weight loss program is based on scientific evidence. Your metabolism dictates the calories you burn during physical activities and genetics play a large role in that process.

Muscle mass is closely associated with metabolism and the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate will be.

Your metabolism begins to slow in your 30’s. It’s one of the reasons that you begin to gain weight at this time in your life and find it more difficult to keep it off. The same foods can have very different effects on people.

Everyone processes food differently affecting glucose levels. Insulin is a hormone the body manufactures for regulating how your body utilizes the food you consume. There are three primary factors in the way your body governs your metabolism:

• Gut bacteria
• What you eat
• Physical activity levels

Foods that cause spikes in glucose levels and create inflammatory responses within the body play an enormous role in the way your body breaks down food for use and is directly related to weight loss.

Medical Weight Loss Strategy

Weight loss takes place in different phases and to jump start your medical weight loss program you’ll typically have a comprehensive plan that’s low in calories and high in nutrients.

To make the program easy to follow in the beginning, you may choose from a variety of pre-made meals to help in your weight loss effort while you become accustomed to the types of foods you need to eat for optimal results.

The next phase of weight loss is the transitional period in which modifications can be made that still allows you to lose weight while eating more of the foods you enjoy.

In the third or maintenance phase, you reach your goals and you’ve learned how to maintain:

• your desired weight
• which foods to eat specific to your metabolism
• the activity level needed to stimulate your metabolism, build lean muscle and remain at a healthy weight

Finally Lose Weight Your Way

Losing weight should make you feel good. Medical weight loss is effective and proven to work. It enables you to lose weight while enjoying tasty and satisfying dishes.

Medical weight loss is based on the science of the specific functions of your own body, without the frustration of an ineffective one-size-fits-all approach.

A medical weight loss program provides you with the science-based foods, behavioral tools and information you need to lose the weight, keep it off, improve your health, and in many cases, get off some of the medications you might be on.

For more information on how SKINovative can help you on your journey to a healthy new you, visit our medical weight loss page.