Mindfulness and Medical Weight Loss
Mindfulness is a technique that involves being aware of the present moment without judgment. Mindfulness is an awareness of your thoughts, emotions, body sensations, and environment without judging them. It’s about being fully engaged in the present moment and accepting what’s happening.
Mindfulness can be a helpful tool in medical weight loss programs because it can help people become more aware of their bodies and emotions and can help them change unhealthy eating habits. Mindfulness can also help people learn to cope with stress, which can be a factor in overeating.
Ways Mindfulness Can Help With Weight Loss
- Mindful eating: A technique that involves paying attention to the flavors, smells, colors, and textures of food, chewing slowly, and avoiding distractions while eating. Examples of mindful eating practices include:
- Eating one meal a day or week more slowly and attentively
- Eating with your non-dominant hand
- Eating silently for five minutes
- Taking small bites and chewing well
- Improved eating behaviors: Mindfulness can help people be more aware of their hunger cues and learn to savor their food. Mindfulness can also help people enjoy their food more and feel less stressed about controlling their eating.
- Reduced emotional eating: Mindfulness can help with emotional eating and binge eating.
- Increased motivation to exercise: Depending on the program, mindfulness can help people be more motivated to exercise.
- Reduced weight fluctuations: Mindfulness can help people experience fewer weight fluctuations over time.
Mindfulness is a concept that originated in Buddhism and involves being fully aware of what’s happening in the present moment. It’s used in several therapeutic interventions, including cognitive behavior therapy and stress reduction.
One study found that mindfulness meditation combined with a behavioral weight loss program was more effective than a weight loss program alone.
Health and Wellness
Although used interchangeably, health and wellness have different definitions. In medical weight loss programs and research, health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, while wellness is the active pursuit of that health through lifestyle choices, such as exercise, nutrition, and avoiding risky behaviors like emotional eating, binging, and a sedentary lifestyle.
Reflection: What is your impression of your overall health? Do you feel that your physical, mental, and social sense of well-being is balanced and positive? What are you actively doing in terms of wellness to achieve the level of health you desire?
Being obese or overweight increases your risk of developing serious health problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, diabetes, or heart disease. Therefore, not maintaining a healthy weight can have a negative impact on your health and wellness.
The American Medical Association first recognized obesity as a disease in 2013. Since then, there’s been major progress in the field of obesity medicine. Now more than 5,200 certified physicians are on the American Board of Obesity Medicine. In addition, new weight loss medications with far fewer risks than those of earlier generations have recently been FDA-approved, including GLP-1 receptor agonists.
Research has shown that a medical weight loss program is not only effective but instrumental in one’s weight loss journey. A study shared at the 2021 American Society for Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery annual meeting found that patients lost an average of just under one pound per week in medical weight loss programs where GLP-1 agonists like semaglutide are prescribed and dietary and behavioral counseling sessions every 4 weeks were offered.
The Four Pillars of Metabolic Health
Weight loss is most effective when intensive lifestyle interventions are incorporated. Weight is determined by the interaction of your biology, genetics, and environment. It’s the result of how your unique metabolic system responds to things like the food you eat, the amount you sleep and exercise, and even the emotional stress you’re under.
The four pillars of metabolic health are:
- Food
- Sleep
- Exercise
- Emotional health
Addressing these lifestyle factors is an essential step in targeting the root cause of weight gain and helping you reset your metabolic system so you can achieve sustained weight loss.
Without addressing the four pillars of metabolic health, you will not have successful and sustained weight loss.
What makes our medical weight loss program unique and effective is that all aspects of the four pillars of metabolic health are addressed. This makes our program very comprehensive, individualized, and effective. You will have sustained weight loss because you will be provided the tools to lose and maintain weight and improve your health.
The physician reviews your medical history, determines your obesity phenotype, and prescribes medications like GLP-1 medications that are safe, well-tolerated, and effective in losing weight. GLP-1 can help patients lose up to 12–20% of their weight in the first three months. These medications act directly on the hunger and satiety centers in the brain and are effective at lowering your default weight (or set point).
The medical team also screens you for risk factors for obesity-related medical problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. They also screen for metabolic causes of weight gain like thyroid disorders and severe anxiety or depression and treat those conditions to help achieve sustained weight loss.
Comprehensive Support
In addition to metabolic and medical screening, our program includes behavioral and nutritional counseling in either one-on-one or group settings to achieve sustained weight loss:
- Behavioral Counseling: Work with a therapist or psychologist to understand your thoughts and feelings about food and learn strategies to change them for effective weight loss.
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Nutritional Counseling: Work with a registered nutritionist to improve your understanding of nutrition and metabolism. Learn how to:
- Read nutrition labels
- Prepare foods in healthier ways
- Incorporate water and macronutrients into your diet
- Avoid unhealthy fats and processed foods
- Personal Trainers and Exercise Physiologists: Get guidance to improve your health. Exercise physiologists specialize in managing chronic conditions and injuries, while personal trainers focus on general fitness.
Motivators for Weight Loss
What are your motivators to lose weight? Although it varies from person to person, most people want to lose weight to improve their overall health. Here are some common motivators:
- Health: Managing chronic conditions, reducing medication dependence, and improving overall health
- Body Image: Looking better, fitting into clothes better, or being thinner
- Social Support: Family encouragement, emotional support, and peer relations
- Self-Determination: Inner motivation and goal planning
- Personal Satisfaction: Enjoying the process and results of weight loss
- Improved mobility and function, mindful eating, and positive attitudes
Staying Motivated
To stay motivated, consider these strategies:
- Set realistic weight loss goals and break them into smaller, attainable milestones
- Monitor your progress using fitness apps
- Reward yourself with non-food rewards when achieving milestones
- Find an accountability partner
- Plan for setbacks, such as meal prepping and scheduling exercise
- Join a supportive community, like our program’s Facebook group for tips, expert Q&As, and encouragement
Barriers to Weight Loss
Weight loss can be challenging due to several barriers, including:
- Physical Barriers: Pain, dietary restrictions, and conditions like hypothyroidism
- Psychological Barriers: Lack of willpower, self-sabotage, negative body image, and emotional eating
- Environmental Barriers: Time constraints, family issues, and lack of support
- Lifestyle Barriers: Sedentary jobs and poor sleep
- Financial Barriers: Inability to afford healthy food or gym equipment
- Goal-Related Barriers: Undefined or unrealistic goals
- Health Conditions: Menopause, premenstrual syndrome
- Other Barriers: Past failed attempts, peer pressure, and lack of nutrition knowledge
Overcoming Barriers
To overcome barriers, try these strategies:
- Develop self-regulation skills
- Control portion sizes and read food labels
- Choose lower-fat, lower-calorie options
- Exercise regularly
- Drink more water
- Eat more nutrient-dense foods
