Weight_weight_please_help

Weight, Weight, Please Help Me…

by Neal Pire

It’s Easter Sunday, and you just capped-off a five-course meal with a delicious piece of blueberry pie. You waddle into your living room, settle onto the couch, and undo your pants for some breathing room. As you sit digesting, you realize that spring is finally here and your 25-year class reunion is coming up in a month. Oh no! You need to lose 10 pounds to get into the size-4 black dress you’re planning on wearing, but how?

We’ve all heard the axiom “Slow and steady wins the race,” and every professional downplays crash diets in favor of more gradual weight-loss regimens. The CDC and the American Dietetics Association have both published recommendations to keep weight loss in the area of 1 to 2 pounds per week, and that maintaining weight loss over the long term is more important than actually losing weight. But what do you do when you don’t have the luxury of time, when keeping the weight off is not as important as losing it for your wedding, beach vacation, or another special event? There are programs available that will help you do just that.

Medifast is among several low-calorie “meal-replacement” diet plans that provide a vehicle for quick weight-loss. It is often medically supervised, touted as “The Physician’s Answer to Weight Loss” and promising that you can “lose 20 pounds in 30 days.”

A quick glance at the Medifast Website tells you all you need to know about the program. A diet plan claiming more than 1 million customers over 25 years, and recommended by 15,000 physicians, Medifast has been demonstrated effective in multiple clinical studies. It’s a diet that makes quick weight loss simple. There is no calorie counting, no points system, no diet pills, and no confusion. The diet consists of meal replacements designed to help dieters lose 2-5 pounds per week. As in any other diet plan, it is recommended that participants check with their physician before starting on the plan. To find a physician in Manhattan who uses the Medifast plan in their medical practice, simply go to www.medifast1.com/about/search.asp and type in “New York” into the “city” field.

But keep in mind that quick weight-loss plans are largely out of favor these days. Mitchell Kahn, MD, an internist and director of the Miller Institute for Performing Artists on 52nd St., stopped using quick weight-loss diet plans in his practice a years ago. “Dieting causes obesity,” claims Dr. Kahn. “All diets work, but so many people lose 50 pounds, and then regain 60. Very few patients keep the weight they lose off. I’ve had patients who have probably lost and regained 1,000 pounds over a period of 30 years. It’s what you learn during the diet that is important, and using those good eating and exercise habits going forward, that will help you maintain your weight loss for a lifetime.”

For those who have a lot to lose and want a more sensible, medically supervised approach, the New York Obesity Research Center at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital offers a comprehensive outpatient weight-loss program. It’s a weekly group treatment program led by the world-renowned research center’s behavior therapists, registered dietitians, and exercise physiologists. You start by seeing a doctor — either your own or one of their physicians — for a full physical. Then you have a one-hour appointment with a registered dietitian to design a food plan that best fits your lifestyle, and begin participating in group sessions that meet once a week for one year and are led by their experienced professionals, ready with the latest strategies to help participants lose weight — and keep it off. To learn more about this program or be placed on the waiting list for an orientation, contact them at rweil@chpnet.org or 212-523-8440.

If staying ahead of the research curve is of interest to you, St. Luke’s isn’t the only medical institution in Manhattan studying weight-loss strategies. Rockefeller University Hospital on the Upper East Side has volunteer opportunities for those who are willing to serve as research subjects in one of their cutting-edge research studies. Keep in mind that some of these opportunities require an in-patient commitment, but may also offer financial compensation for your participation. Current ongoing studies include: High Carbohydrate vs. High Fat Diets in the Treatment of Obesity (JBR 0512); Low Carbohydrate/High Fat Diet in the Treatment of Obesity (JBR 0583); Research on the Nature, Diagnosis and Treatment of Obesity and Diabetes (MST 0513);

the Effect of Leptin Treatment on Weight Loss (JFN 0357); and Weight Maintenance Study (MST 0557). For details on volunteer opportunities, visit www.rucares.org.

Neal Pire developed the largest athletic kids' program in northern New Jersey, where he trained thousands of athletes, from pee-wee soccer players to NFL players and Olympic medalists. Turning varsity athletes into all-county and all-state scholarship athletes is his specialty. Neal is an exercise physiologist with 26 years of professional experience training both de-conditioned adults and competitive athletes, as well as educating other trainers to hone their personal training and athletic conditioning skills. You can reach Neal at SportsTrainingAcademy.com