By Linda G. Everett, MD, MHA
If you are like many Americans, you may have rung in 2012 with one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions – to lose those pesky extra pounds. The first few weeks may have started with a bang but as times goes by your well-intentioned resolution seems to fizzle. Making healthy resolutions is easy but keeping them long-term can be the tricky part. With a few tips and tricks to maintain your focus, you can be sure to stay on track throughout the year.
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With the holiday season upon us, it’s important to keep focused on healthy eating habits despite the multitude of temptations. Adhering to a healthy diet can be especially tricky at this time of year. Holiday festivities traditionally revolve around food and the pressure to overindulge can be a real issue for those watching the scale.

One hundred and four million adults in the United States are obese; nearly double the obese population just 25 years ago. Nine million are classified as morbidly obese, making obesity one of the most prevalent disorders of the 21st century, affecting almost twice the number of those affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

Although we tend to be more active during the summer, the changes in our usual routine due to vacations, more frequent cook outs, and the break from school for the kids make choosing the right foods a lot more challenging. Here are the answers to the most common predicaments that arise during the summer:

It goes with everything, never goes out of style, and is appropriate for all occasions. Not only am I describing the staple color in everyone’s closet, but I also happen to be describing a staple dietary lifestyle always in fashion: low glycemic eating.

New research is emerging on the essential role vitamin D plays in optimum health. A recent analysis of 18 studies including over 57,000 people found a 7% reduction in mortality in those who took and average of 528 IU daily of vitamin D supplementation. In addition to healthy bone development and maintenance of bone mass, the active form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, controls more than 200 genes related to vital cellular functions.

By: Linda G. Everett, MD, MHA

It is not uncommon that people affected by morbid obesity, defined as a body mass index of 40 or greater, also deal with obesity-related illnesses. Once a patient is considered morbidly obese, these conditions become serious health risks. These diseases also negatively impact the quality of life for obese patients and their families. In this article, I have listed common conditions affecting the obese and morbidly obese.

If you are confused about fats, you are not alone. We hear a lot of talk about “healthy fats” or avoiding “trans fats,” but most of us do not fully understand these terms. Here are the basics. Your diet contains three macronutrients that make up the building blocks of the foods we eat: protein, carbohydrate and fat. Fats play many important roles in human health.

Too often we get discouraged with our weight loss efforts because although the scale says we lost weight, stubborn belly fat, muffin top, love handles, and saddle bags still remain. Now you can jump start your diet and see the results of your hard work in the form of inches lost from specific areas.

If you are dieting, exercising, and not losing the weight, it’s quite possible that you are consuming more calories than
you think.