Hard to Be Thankful?
Thanksgiving is a holiday that provokes overweight people. Because so much of our celebration revolved around the food, it offers an opportunity for many Americans to confront unhealthy attitudes about eating. It is a day that exposes the overweight American’s love / hate relationship with food. We have all heard otherwise polite people say ungracious things to their hosts or other guests about the food during a holiday meal. The cycle of gluttony and self-loathing is unhealthy and all too familiar to many Americans.
Regret and recrimination are no help to someone who needs to lose weight. Similarly, fad dieting and yo-yo weight loss and gain might be even more harmful than the condition you are attempting to remedy. Only a long-term commitment to a lifestyle that includes more exercise and fewer calories will help you achieve the weight loss success you seek.
Food is not the enemy, but it can be. You cannot survive without it, but too much becomes counterproductive. Benjamin Franklin described food as medicine or poison, depending on what you choose to eat and how much you consume. So this Thanksgiving, instead of talking trash about the food you should be enjoying, why not make a simple commitment to the lifestyle change that will actually help.
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. It is much more than an issue of appearance; it leads to an array of health problems including hypertension, sleep apnea, diabetes and more. If you are ready to make a lasting change, bariatric surgery can help you get off to a good start, but surgery alone will not be enough. Forget any weight loss plan that claims to offer an alternative to increased exercise and reduced calorie consumption.
On the Space Coast, Dr. Diego Velarde at the Advanced Surgical and Weight Loss Institute in Merritt Island has over ten years of clinical practice and specializes in bariatric surgery. There are several types of bariatric surgery, including lap band, gastric sleeve and gastric bypass surgery. Dr. Velarde performs minimally invasive robotic surgery using the da Vinci Surgical Robot which allows an increased range of motion and more precise movements.