Finding Time For Self-Care
Lifestyle, Weight Loss Tips • June 4, 2019
“If you do not make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness.”
This quote was shared by a member of the Facebook Optifast support group. I joined the Optifast support group about 6 months ago after training in Obesity Medicine and becoming an Optifast doctor. The questions and comments made by the people in the group give me incredible insight into the struggles and victories of the weight loss journey.
Losing weight is NOT easy, but the benefits of living life at a healthy weight make weight loss worth every bit of the effort. In the past 18 years of being a family doctor, I have seen too many medical conditions that could have been prevented or made much less severe had weight been addressed earlier. Heart attacks too young; diabetes leading to poor vision, kidney disease, constant skin infections, and even foot and leg amputations; arthritis of the knees and hips causing chronic pain and joint replacements; high blood pressure leading to stroke and heart disease…..the list is endless.
I tried and failed repeatedly to get my patients to just “lose the weight”. I told my patients how much better they would feel, how much healthier they would be, how much LESS medication they would need if they WOULD JUST FOCUS ON WEIGHT LOSS; this approach rarely worked.
I blame myself. I didn’t give my patients enough information on HOW to lose weight. I didn’t give them the right tools. Just telling someone to lose weight is pointless if you don’t tell them HOW.
Obesity and being overweight is most often not an issue of poor will-power, IT IS AN ISSUE OF ALTERED PHYSIOLOGY OF ENERGY REGULATION. Helping patients lose weight takes more than just teaching them the fundamentals of nutrition and fitness; it involves a more detailed medical, family, and diet history and a full evaluation of the WHOLE PATIENT, THEIR BLOODWORK, THEIR PHYSICAL EXAM AND AN EKG. No two patients have an identical medical picture, and weight must be treated specifically for the individual.
My eyes have been open to a new approach for helping patient both lose weight and sustain weight loss. I am amazed at how successful my patients are with losing weight and improving their health now that I give them the right tools to make success easy.
That being said, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US MUST CARVE OUT SOME TIME FOR SELF-CARE!! We are all busy with work, family, and just the general business of living a full life. But to truly live life to the fullest and to feel our best, we must take time to figure out how to fit a little exercise and good nutrition into each day. You don’t have to change your whole life overnight, but even making one positive change for your health each week will add up to a healthier, better-feeling YOU.
How you treat your body today affects how you will feel for the rest of your life. What can you change today to feel better tomorrow?
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