Excess is the Enemy For Weight Loss


Nowadays people have a tendency to demonize certain categories of food based upon their preferences or dietary restrictions. Vegetarians avoid meat. Others see carbohydrates or gluten as the enemy. Those who prefer organic food see pesticides as an enemy (and they could be right about that one). Certainly some people have allergies or health conditions that force them to restrict certain food, but for most of us the enemy is excess.

Ancient biblical wisdom applies here, many passages throughout the Bible warn against gluttony, and modern American health statistics offer an object lesson in the consequences of ignoring that wisdom. According to the State of Obesity website, 68.6% of Americans are overweight or obese. Our culture sows gluttony and reaps obesity and all of its related health problems.

Rather than swearing off carbohydrates or fats, a more effective strategy would be to allow yourself those pleasures but push them to the periphery of your diet rather than making them the centerpiece of your meals. Choose the healthiest categories of the food guide pyramid and seek to become full on the good stuff like raw vegetables and fruits and whole grains.

For anyone who is trying to lose weight, a burger and French fries is the perfect example of a meal that is all wrong. This meal mostly ignores the important parts of the food guide pyramid and feeds you the worst things first. It is a cynical joke to consider ketchup a serving of vegetables. It is more like a serving of sugar. A more effective meal would start with soup and/or salad. If it is a hearty soup, it might end there also.

Are you ready for a real and lasting change? Maybe it is time for you to contact a weight loss clinic to see if you are a candidate for bariatric surgery.

On the Space Coast, 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. Dr. Velarde performs minimally invasive robotic surgery using the da Vinci Surgical Robot, which allows an increased range of motion and more precise movements.