The Secret to Weight Loss

The secret to weight loss is no secret. Ignore the hype and any promise of an easy shortcut. Diet fads and gimmicky weight loss systems are a waste of your time and money. The key to sustainable weight loss is not some new scientific breakthrough, but rather the same as ever. You need to consume fewer calories or burn more calories through exercise, or preferably both.

Short-term solutions are tempting because they seem to work, but only for a moment. Soon the weight is back on, and the discouraging cycle of yo-yo dieting continues. In order to get the weight off and keep it off you will need to commit to a long-term change in lifestyle and ultimately a change in the way you view food. The generation of Americans who lived through the Great Depression instilled in their children a loathing of waste. Because they could remember what it was like to be needy, they insisted that their children clean their plates before leaving the dinner table.

It has taken most of a century for modern Americans to realize that, even though wasting food can be expensive, heart disease is even more so. An all-you-can-eat buffet might seem like a good value until you factor in the negative health effects of overeating. Rather than eating way too much of standard (or substandard) fare, why not upgrade better quality food but learn to be satisfied with smaller portions?

It is not necessary to give up the foods you love the most, but it is necessary to give up the heaping helpings that you are used to consuming. In order to lose weight and keep it off, you will need to convince yourself that you can be satisfied with smaller portions. Instead of abstaining from certain categories of food, it is more sustainable to identify categories of food that need to be severely limited. Regular exercise is the other secret to weight loss that is also not a secret.

If you have tried and failed to lose weight, perhaps it is time to seek help from a professional clinic. In Brevard County, Florida, Dr. Diego Velarde at the Advanced Surgical and Weight Loss Institute in Merritt Island has over ten years of clinical practice and specializes in bariatric surgery. There are several types of bariatric surgery, including lap band, gastric sleeve, and gastric bypass surgery. Dr. Velarde performs minimally invasive robotic surgery using the da Vinci Surgical Robot which allows an increased range of motion and more precise movements.