Feeling tired, hungry, and cranky most of the time is no laughing matter. Many of us do not eat properly which could cause us to have many of these symptoms and more. Have you ever wondered where the saying “It isn’t over until the fat lady sings” came from. What does this mean? Does this mean that obese people sing better than people with a normal body mass index or fat percentage. It is thought to be a reference to opera, so many performances of which seem to end with a set-piece aria by a well-built soprano, but its recent links are mainly with sport, so much so that some people think that is the origin. None the less recent studies have shown that having a BMI greater than 25 is not healthy and the quality of life goes down as your BMI goes up.
Coming from a person who once weighed 260 pounds, the grass is definitely greener on the other side. I once wore a size 24 and now slip into a slender size 2. Although my singing voice was not better 130 pounds heavier, there are many more enjoyable things I can now do. Instead of not being able to walk to the park with my 4 kids and falling asleep at 3 in the afternoon we all now run to the park and play on the slides together. I even challenge them on the swing from time to time. We have a new improved relationship.
Treating people with weight problems has always been a daunting challenge for physicians. The solution is not as simple as telling patients to consume less food and I am personally familiar with this scenario from both sides of the weight loss fence. To date, I have lost over 120 pounds participating in the weight loss program offered by the Center for Medical Weight Loss (CMWL). I believe so strongly in their philosophy and products that I incorporated my professional career into my weight loss endeavor. I serve as the Weight Loss Specialist at the Center for Medical Weight Loss on University Drive, in Pembroke Pines, Florida. In my opinion, obesity is a disease plaguing the majority of Americans and as such the symptoms need to be treated under the direction of physicians through an individually customized weight loss program.
As Americans we are constantly bombarded through the media to be thin and the rising costs of healthcare are through the roof as a result of our nation being overweight. There are numerous rewards and benefits afforded to people who maintain a healthy lifestyle including emotional stability, becoming medication free and statistically less prone to life shortening diseases. Each day, I am approached by our patients asking me, “What should my normal weight be?” I tell them that normal weight needs to be gauged on an individual basis. On average, a person’s weight routinely fluctuates between 10 and 15 pounds. This does not mean the patient can not be considered healthy; on the contrary, I advise patients to avoid being consumed with these numbers and understand that this weight variation should be considered a safe zone allowing leeway for other things to develop such as self-esteem, empowerment and positive thinking. There is a fine line between normal weight and being categorized as overweight and once a patient’s weight loss maintenance has begun, I do not like to see them gain more than five pounds from their goal weight. According to Webster’s Dictionary, the definition of overweight is, “the property of excessive fatness”. The term obese is classified as, “excessively fat”, or a “weighty man”. In the world of medicine we categorize a patient’s weight by determining their body mass index (BMI). The BMI provides the physician a definitive number which is used to calculate the percentage of body fat a person possesses. For example, a person between 20-25 is considered within the normal weight range. An individual scoring within 25-30 is categorized as overweight and those scoring between 30-40 are considered obese. Individuals scoring greater than 40 are categorized as morbidly obese and potentially 100 pounds overweight. Who is to say that a person within the normal range does not have 10-15 pounds more than the individual who’s BMI is closer to 20?
From a health standpoint the physicians at CMWL feel that it makes more sense to define obesity in terms of fat percentage and not solely by measuring weight or BMI. A normal fat percentage can range anywhere from 20-30% for women and 18-25% for men. Our practice also has proprietary equipment that provides us with a full body composition analysis which can be used to determine a patient’s fat percentage, resting metabolic rate and daily caloric count. This means that all of us are afforded some room to grow. According to Dr. Cohn-Gelwasser, “there may not be many benefits associated with carrying a little extra weight; however, being too thin can be extremely dangerous.” For example, a BMI less than 20 is categorized too thin. Gelwasser analyzes every patient with a battery of tests to insure that there are no signs of anorexia, bulimia or malnutrition. At CMWL, we always perform a comprehensive blood screening to determine whether or not there are any underlying medical conditions contributing to low body weight. . These results are needed to drop body fat to its lowest possible percentage while maintaining muscle mass and water percentage. Throughout history, society has embraced full figured women and it was considered fashionable to have love handles. However, in today’s America I prefer to slip on my skinny jeans.
Gabriela Rosenthal, the writer, is a weight reduction professional with The Center for Medical weight reduction at University Drive. She has personally lost more than a hundred thirty pounds and realized the battle a lot of people fight with weight reduction. For more information, visit www.cmwl.org