Lenox Hill Hospital / Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital's In Good Health
Summer 2004 Vol. 11, No.3

Dieting: A Realistic Approach

With so many people jumping on the low-carb bandwagon, it's a good time to step back and ask if popular diet regimens are the right approach to losing weight. According to Dennis Gage, M.D., F.A.C.P., an attending physician at Lenox Hill Hospital who specialized in endocrinology, metabolism, and clinical nutrition, they are not.

"Most mass-market diets help you take the weight off, but they don't help you keep it off; and long-term weight maintenance is the most important goal," says Dr. Gage, whose book, The Thinderella Syndrome: A Practical Guide to Individualized Permanent Weight Loss, will soon be published, "The Thinderella syndrome refers to the Cinderella-like attitude that many people have toward dieting," he says. "They think that a fad diet will work its magic and they will be thin forever. But they need to take a more realistic approach."

According to Dr. Gage, realistic dieting means developing healthy eating patterns, not only in the types of foods people eat but also in when, where and how they eat. Some examples:

• Eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, but don't ban favorites, such as bagels, altogether. A more realistic change in lifestyle would be to avoid bagels except, say, on Sunday.
• Plan your meals. Bring your lunch to work or stock up on healthy foods at the office. Avoid ordering in or eating out on a whim.
• Avoid walking past stores that tempt you with ready-made, high-caloric food.
• Learn eating techniques that help limit intake. At home, if you eat in different rooms or when standing, switch to sitting at a table at designated times of day. Also, go slower by placing your fork down after every bite and waiting until you swallow before picking it up again.

Dr. Gage stresses that different techniques work for different people. Strict avoidance-out of sight, out of mouth- works for some dieters. Others do very well by limiting the size of portions. The goal is to reach a healthy weight, but that varies with each person. In addition, everyone needs to be as physically active as possible on a daily basis, both to lose and keep off extra pounds.

A Doctor's Guidance

"You are safest when dieting under a doctor's care, especially if you are considerably overweight," says Dr. Gage. "Obesity causes heart problems, diabetes and other conditions. It's best to get a baseline physical that measures blood pressure, cardiac output, glucose levels and more. Then the doctor works with you to develop the diet that is safest and most manageable for you."

 

 

 

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