6355 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Suite 529, 5th Floor. Woodland Hills, CA
818-888-1105

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22
Jul

Shedding the Pandemic Poundage

I’d like to think the COVID19 Pandemic left us many lessons in its annoying wake. I did love how it brought many nuclear families closer.  I know many families appreciated the opportunity to use the stay-at-home orders to figure out ways to be able to waste less time with work travel and more time doing the things they enjoy. And now that the more severe restrictions are lifted, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so grateful to be able to get out and be around people simple things like going to the gym and more exciting things like travel.

There have been some other lessons this pandemic left us regarding our health. I believe it’s important to reflect on these things so we can just MOVE ON!  Regarding our health, we have, on the whole, been left with excess poundage. Yep, the “quarantine 15” very often became even more than that. Many of my patients quickly took inventory of this unwanted gift of Covid and were able to reign it in and get rid of it. However, many are still struggling. A few reasons for this weight gain can start the discussion of how to reduce this gain.

  1. Overuse of FAST FOOD: We supported our local restaurant industry as well as the fast-food industry with DoorDash and UberEats.  And missed out on the (most important!) social part of restaurant dining. Fast food and restaurant food can be full of preservatives but even if your restaurant is pretty healthy because you didn’t prepare the food, you probably don’t know what is in it. This is why we usually gain weight when we eat out.  Fortunately, a lot of us (that includes me) learned a lot of new recipes as well so to get lean we need to lean back on our healthy home meal preps.
  2. Overuse of ALCOHOL: The cocktail is America’s favorite legal drug and without the risk of a DUI, evening cocktails went from a “weekend 1-2 /night” thing to an “every night who knows how many” thing. Alcohol always wreaks havoc on weight-loss regimens.  Besides providing nutritionally empty calories, increasing appetite, or lowering snack inhibitions, it also reduces your body’s ability to burn fat.
  3. Overuse of SCREENTIME for Work, Entertainment, and Media: No one can argue that spending so much time at home, on your computer screen, or in front of the TV created an environment of slothfulness.  Netflix is so good though!!
  4. Under Availability of ACTIVITIES: Gyms were closed, marathons were canceled, kids sports were put on hold and we were left to figure out how to spin in our living rooms and walk laps around our neighborhoods. Now that I’m (kind of) back at the gym taking classes it is obvious my version of the at-home exercise was not enough. ugh. Anyway, it’s obviously helpful to have people and instructors to motivate us. Hug your pilates/yoga/weight training/kickboxing instructor when you get back!
  5. OverANXIOUS: It was really scary last year and the fear of the unknown creates an internal environment that often adds inches to waists.  The fight or flight hormone called cortisol is usually secreted in a diurnal pattern.  When you are intensely anxious for many weeks and months the body ends up secreting high levels of cortisol all day long.  This hormone, meant to be elevated for times of crisis and conservation unfortunately helps the body also conserve its fat stores.  And anxiety also contributed to anxious eating and drinking.
  6. “Doomsday Attitude”: There were months there where we did not have much to look forward to and it was difficult to make any plans for social gatherings and travel.  I got some really cute party heels pre-pandemic that I literally did not touch for months.  Many of my patients come to me to help them get event-ready, be it a wedding, bar mitzvah,  travel, or dating,


Now that we seemed to have turned the corner and are enjoying some freedoms we need some help to drop these pounds. The Med Spot weight loss program has helped a lot of patients reach and maintain their weight loss goals.  Our program includes the following:

  1. CONSULTATION: In the initial consultation you meet with me and we get to the bottom of your specific situation.  But first and foremost I want to figure out one thing.  WHY DO YOU WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT? Intention and Focus are the first steps to a successful outcome. “I want to get off of these weight gain related blood pressure medications or diabetes medications” “I want to wear something other than these pajama bottoms” “I can date now and want to look fantastic” “I want to get my body bikini ready for my upcoming vacation” (one of my motivations!)
  2. ACCOUNTABILITY: I always say that most families love and care for each other very much and want the best for each other. However, most significant others and kids really don’t want to go through the super healthy meals and hangry moods that are associated with mom/dad being on a diet.  In fact, most kids probably prefer to not give up the pandemic cookie baking and fast food deliveries.  But WE care that you lose those pounds because I know that even though it could only seem like a few “vanity pounds”, it’s all about your health. And a couple of vanity pounds leads to a couple more and then… it can snowball from overweight to obese.  The closer you are to your ideal weight, the happier you are, the healthier you are and the longer you live.
  3. MEDICAL ASSESSMENT and SUPPORT: If there is a possibility that your weight issues are related to a hormonal imbalance, I will recommend and draw a blood panel to rule out conditions such as insulin resistance, a sluggish thyroid, and sex hormone imbalances.  Also, many common her the counter and prescription medications can boldly cause weight gain or just be sneaky little weight-loss saboteurs. Either way, it is important to have a personal history and evaluation performed to assure the greatest chance of success.
  4. MEDICAL and NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS: I will recommend supplements depending upon your specific needs. We have been having some amazing success with some new designer-type “weight loss cocktails”.  Appetite suppression with stimulants can be useful for select patients, however, it’s not the long-term answer that often has negative side effects and eventually loses its efficacy.  These new supplements are safer than the old school amphetamine-type weight loss pills and have been very successful in many of our patients.

 

If you have any interest in working on shedding your pandemic poundage at The Med Spot, please feel free to call or email @ 818-888-1105 (Woodland Hills CA), info@themedspotla.  We are also available on Instagram Messenger @themedspotla and Yelp.  An initial consultation is available via telecommunication (one of the skills we’ve honed this past year!). We look forward to helping you reach your goals!

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