For the last twenty-five years obesity has been identified as one of the leading diseases of the affluent nations of the world. Obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 30, and if one has a BMI over 25 they are considered overweight. Today, over half of the population of the United States is either overweight or obese.

Obesity is associated with a number of chronic diseases such as Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer and Osteoarthritis. Although prevention of obesity is a primary concern of public health, more and more people each year fall into the category of overweight or obese. Why is this happening?

Calories In, Calories Out – Myth or Reality

Success in losing weight is more than putting down the fork and eating the right foods. In order for individuals to learn to control their weight, there must be major changes in their behavior. Most doctors and programs do not emphasize this part, nor do they address their patients’ emotional and spiritual roadblocks. Behavioral Associates: A Medial Group’s “Weight Loss for Life” program is different from other medical plans because it not only concentrates on getting weight off, it also focuses on what made individuals fail in their prior weight loss efforts and why they are resistant to adapt new behaviors.

Simply, weight gain occurs when a person takes in more calories than they use during the course of the day. In order to gain one pound, they must consume 3500 calories more than they burn up doing physical activity. Conversely, if they want to loose a pound, they must burn 3500 calories more than they consume. However, in addition to reducing calories, exercise, or sustained increase in physical activity, is definitely part of the equation. But, again, even exercise, is more essential when trying to maintain a weight loss than during the weight reduction phase.

Overcoming obesity is an extremely complex issue. Just eating less and exercising more has proven to be of little lasting effect. Also, to suggest that eating too much, over a long period of time, will make a person overweight is too simplistic. Besides the consumption of too many calories and a lack of exercise, our genetic or hereditary make-up, psychological, social and other cultural issues contribute to being overweight. In fact, simply cutting back on what you eat may lead to an initial weight loss, but if you’re too restrictive of the calories you consume, your body will save up whatever you’ve accumulated and go into a starvation mode where it becomes very efficient in utilizing calories for energy. This will make it only more difficult for you to lose the weight.

In fact, each attempt at weight loss does not always lead to permanent results. With each relapse, our metabolism changes and, again, this only makes it more difficult to lose desired weight. And when the numbers on the scale don’t get lower as quickly as we would like, this lowers motivation as well.

At Behavioral Associates: A Medical Group, not only do we consider all these important factors, we counsel our patients and address feelings as well as food and food behaviors. What we do is give them tools and support to put weighty issues behind them. We offer hope and a proven solution to weight loss for life.

Lifestyle and its Impact on Weight

Our society and lifestyle today all work against our desires and needs to lose weight. During the last three decades, Americans have changed their lifestyles. They are more sedentary and thus their activity levels have decreased. Add to that the tempting advertisements for rich, calorie-laden treats, fast foods and unhealthy processed foods -- all with a high Glycemic Index or contain a lot of fat.

Eating at home, where people have more control of what they eat, is less frequent than decades ago. With two income families, the demands of stressful jobs and child-centered activities take up so much space in the day, it is easier, and often more economical, to eat on the run or run to a fast-food vendor. Also, much socializing revolves around eating. How many get-togethers are centered around restaurant eating where portions are twice as big as they should be and laden with salt, fat and an abundance of carbohydrates? Family gatherings and celebrations are generally filled with an abundance of food. This leads to bigger portions and a higher intake of calories.

All this points to the conclusion that a person needs to have a strong desire to loose weight in order to overcome all the obstacles that are present in today’s modern world. All dieters know it requires an enormous amount of willpower in order to cut back in the consumption of calories, but willpower is ephemeral; it cannot be sustained for long periods of time. The truth is that people with sizeable amounts of weight to lose start out with great intentions, but this enthusiasm fades quickly after reality sets in.

Beware of people, programs or pills that claim they work in a hurry; there is no quick and easy solution to controlling your weight. In fact it is a very difficult task because the discipline of sticking to any program usually requires a long period of time. I know, because I have struggled with being overweight for most of my life.

Making the Commitment

Everyone has different reasons to loose weight. Many times I was interested in loosing weight so that I would look better. But when I began to have debilitating back pain, I was motivated to loose weight so that I would feel better. Improving the prospect of living a fuller, longer and more productive life was a powerful motivator for me. What is your motivation to lose weight? Perhaps you can think of other reasons you want to loose weight. Keep this always in your mind as you may from time to time feel your resolve diminishing.

Though no one wants to hear this, but in order to be successful in achieving control of one’s weight will require a major change in lifestyle and patterns of behavior learned over a lifetime. However, the good news is that all anyone has to do is take one step at a time.

This first step is making a commitment to yourself that you want to begin to change. Make a list of all the reasons. Keep this list with you at all times and look at it frequently. One of the first steps is to remind yourself, over and over, why you are making these changes in your life. This keeps you accountable and starts changing your negative mindset.

All failed dieters know that it has been unrealistic to expect that they can remain on a restricted caloric intake for any length of time. So it is important to understand how your body uses the food you consume for energy. With that knowledge, you can understand what you need to eat to maximize your weight loss.

Most important for you is to be honest with yourself. Since it most likely took you a long time to get to the size you are today, there is no quick and easy solution to reverse the cycle. It is self-defeating to think this way. Losing weight will take you time and you should not make unreasonable goals for yourself. Some people have big losses the first few weeks on my medically supervised plan, but this tapers off after awhile. You can steadily anticipate losing one or two pounds per week. Expecting a more rapid loss of weight is unrealistic and will only lead to feeling that you have failed once again.

The important thing is to show a consistent loss of weight whether it is a fraction of a pound or more. You should set reasonable short term goals like loosing 10 pounds in a month or two. When you achieve that goal, reward yourself in some way. Be proud of your achievement. Lifetime dieters all can attest it is not easy to loose weight. Who would choose to carry extra weight if they had an easy choice or method to get rid of it?

The "Weight Loss for Life" program provides tools, support and encouragement to help patients succeed in permanently losing their unwanted and unhealthy pounds.

I urge you to never give up on yourself. Even if you slip up and eat something you should not have eaten, do not punish yourself. This does not have to ultimately prevent you from reaching your desirable goal. Remember, you are only human and we all make mistakes. Just get back on track and continue with your weight loss program. In time you will see noticeable results.

I am a living example that this program works. I know I can help you get what you want.