Integrative Health Blog

Weight Loss and Mindfulness

Posted by on Wed, Dec 09, 2020


Mindfulness Practice has been studied and found to be a useful and therapeutic adjunct in weight loss.[1] 

As a functional medicine physician, one thing that mindfulness can do that I have found to be clinically very helpful is to direct it at eating itself.  A lot of people eat by the “chomp and swallow” technique which causes indigestion and gut dysbiosis. 

Mindfulness helps us recognize our eating behavior. Are you gulping food down? Standing at the counter eating dinner and talking while eating?

Eating Mindfully

Mindfulness can help you slow down and eat more consciously. Mindfulness can break each step of eating into its components, from looking at food, enjoying its aroma, to picking up the utensil, to scooping up the food, to lifting it to the mouth, to opening the mouth, to the first contact with the tongues, to tasting the food, to noticing the intention to chew it, to actually chewing it, to noticing the intention to swallow to actually swallowing it.  Done properly, mindful eating can take a while, but for those of us trained to chomp and swallow, its well worth the time.  Also, it can aid weight loss, because food is much more exciting experience when we bring mindfulness into the picture, so satisfying in fact, that we can get by with less.

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Tags: weight loss, functional medicine, Dr. Gant

Why Is it So Hard to Lose Weight?

Posted by on Tue, Apr 23, 2019

The short answer is…..because we assume it is due to excess calories and not enough exercise.

And although these are factors, they are often not THE answer.

It is also not about the total calories but rather, where the calories are coming from.  In other words, what types of foods you are eating.  We can all agree that 200 calories worth of Oreo cookies does not provide the same health benefit as 200 calories worth of broccoli.  In fact, most of today’s current diets have more in common than not.  They are all filled with non-processed, real foods and a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables.  

But what if you are one of those people already on this healthy diet, eating clean and getting in daily activity but still can’t lose weight.  You then have what we call, “resistant weight loss” which is much more complex and best treated through a functional medicine approach as this article will discuss.

Resistant Weight Loss and a Functional Medicine Approach

There are several potential causes of resistant weight loss.

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Tags: weight loss, functional medicine, Dr. Tapscott

Intermittent Fasting...It's Not a Diet, It's a Lifestyle

Posted by on Sat, Jan 26, 2019

Many dietary fads come and go but intermittent fasting is here to stay.   Humans have been using this eating technique for ages in virtually every major religion in the world for cleansing and purification purposes.  The ancient Greek writer and historian, Plutarch, wrote, “Instead of using medicine, better fast today.” Unlike starvation, fasting is the voluntary withholding of food for health, spiritual or other reasons.

Today we know of the benefits of fasting beyond a cleanse.  Fasting can improve insulin resistance and diabetes, lipid profiles, weight loss, brain function and cognition, as well as slow down the aging process.

Who should NOT fast?

Pregnant women, newborns and young children, those with prior eating disorders, type I diabetics (unless medially supervised), and severely underweight and malnourished individuals should not fast.

Types of fasting:

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Tags: weight loss, fasting, Dr. Tapscott

Appetite Control Without Medications

Posted by on Wed, Oct 03, 2018

What causes increased appetite?

Appetite is controlled by a complex neuroregulatory system.  There are many factors affecting this mechanism to include the composition of your diet, side effect of medications, chronic stress, hormonal imbalances, and even the types of bacteria that live in your gut. 

Cravings result from a combination of social, cultural, psychological, physiological and genetic factors and can be a major obstacle to weight loss and optimizing one's health. As a functional medicine physician, it is important to examine all underlying factors which may contribute to overweight or obesity.

What can I do to improve this?

If you feel that cravings and increased appetite are interfering with your health goals, try addressing the following list of possible factors.

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Tags: weight loss, functional medicine, Dr. Tapscott

How Does HCG Work for Weight Loss?

Posted by on Tue, Feb 06, 2018

The HCG Weight loss program is a natural, sustainable and most importantly, an effective option istock_weightloss.jpgthat has revolutionized the way to lose weight.

How Does HCG for Weight Loss Work?
HCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, a hormone that occurs naturally in the body. HCG is often referred to as the "pregnancy" hormone, as it is secreted in very large quantities during pregnancy to help support the growth of a fetus. It has been approved and safely used for many years in high dose amounts when treating fertility issues.

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Tags: weight loss

Medically Supervised HCG Weight Loss Program

Posted by on Mon, Jun 26, 2017

GOOD NEWS!

We are now offering the choice of HCG rapid dissolve tablets (RDT) for those who do not want to use the injectable form of HCG for weight loss.

The HCG Weight loss program is a natural, sustainable and most importantly, an effective option that has revolutionized the way to lose weight.

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Tags: weight loss

5 Quick Ways to Slim and Detoxify Your Body Now

Posted by on Wed, May 13, 2015

With bathing suit season quickly approaching, many people are searching for painless ways to shed a few pounds quickly. Adding any or a combination of the ideas listed below may help to get your body ready for the beach in less than a month.

1. Drink Bojenmi Tea.

Bojenmi tea is used mainly for assisting weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight. This traditional Chinese medicinal tea is known as Baojianmei Jianfei Cha in Chinese and means "slim and beautiful". It is one of the most popular products of China for slimming and promotion of beauty and health.

The formulation is provided as loose tea or tea bags. Several ingredients are used for this herb formulation, but the main ingredient is the tea leaf from Fujian Province. Reports have revealed that 50 percent of this product contains tea leaf which has been shown to help lower blood lipids. An extract of other herbs, however, are sprayed onto the tea leaf to make the finished beverage product, which is then prepared by steeping in boiled water for 3 to 4 minutes. Up to 6 cups of the tea per day can be consumed to help increase metabolism.

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Tags: belly fat, natural options, pH level, weight loss, detoxification, i-lipo

Cut the Carbs and Lose the Weight

Posted by on Tue, Dec 30, 2014

Have you been enjoying the hustle and bustle, the parties and leisure time spent eating and drinking with family and friends this holiday season?

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Tags: carbohydrates, weight loss, pre-diabetes, blood sugar

Can Acupuncture Help Me Lose Weight?

Posted by on Tue, Dec 16, 2014

The short answer is “YES!”  but the true answer is much more involved and requires several more questions in order to decide how to best achieve long lasting weight loss.

Chinese medicine and Acupuncture can be an effective “assistant” to weight loss and weight maintenance but how do we go about finding out why there is a weight issue to begin with?

Many Factors Affect Weight Loss

There are several factors when considering a weight loss plan that need to be discussed.  For example,

  • Is the weight gain due to poor dietary and exercise habits? 
  • Is there a metabolic function issue that needs to be addressed?
  • Are there psychological factors contributing to the inability to lose weight?
  • Is there a hormonal or thyroid issue
  • How is your digestion?

As you can see, there are many reasons why a person gains weight and, as such, there are many techniques to help lose that weight. 

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Tags: weight loss, acupuncture

Diabetes Awareness: The Truth About Carbohydrates

Posted by on Tue, Nov 11, 2014

I have long been talking about pre-diabetes and Type II diabetes as conditions that we DO have control over. The foods that we choose to eat and our lifestyle choices are of paramount importance.

November has been designated as National Diabetes Awareness month.

Personal awareness has to be the starting point to turn the tide of this chronic disease. So what can you do to prevent or slow the progression of diabetes?

It’s all about the carbs!

Carbohydrates raise blood sugar and insulin levels. When a large part of the diet is made up of carbohydrates, insulin levels remain high throughout the day. Eventually, even though there is plenty of insulin in the bloodstream,  the body stops responding to it- creating insulin resistance- and body fat increases and insulin can no longer do it’s job of escorting sugar out of the blood and in to the cells for energy. Blood tests then reveal high blood sugar and a diagnosis of pre -diabetes or Type II diabetes is made.

All carbs get broken down in to sugar. Period. What’s important is whether or not that carbohydrate has fiber. Fiber slows down the absorption of sugar and that’s a good thing because it lessens the amount of insulin needed to remove the sugar from the blood. The goal is always to reduce the amount of insulin needed to get the job done and that happens when we eat foods that are low in carbohydrates.

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Tags: carbohydrates, weight loss, diabetes, pre-diabetes