The Lipodissolve Clinic Blog

Many patients that walk into my Chicago area clinic want to go on a cleanse. While it can be very beneficial to go on a cleanse, what you do after you've finished, is more predictive of the longterm gains you'll have made from doing it in the first place.

We all know someone who is a "yo-yo" dieter. There are "yo-yo" health eaters as well.

"Diets" in general do not work, no matter what the reason. It is imperative to learn to eat in a way that is the most beneficial to you. So if you need to shrink your shadow, this requires a change in your habits. Likewise, if you want to improve your health status and reduce toxins, this also requires lifestyle changes and not just a month of raw fooding or cleansing.

I highly recommend adding a low glycemic protein drink with great prebiotics such as inulin while starting to make lifestyle and dietary changes. The reason is that these drinks help you feel satisfied and if they contain inulin and low sugars, they can actually alter your bowel flora (the beneficial gut bacteria).

Recent research in obesity has revealed that many obese individuals harbor different bowel flora than thin individuals. The flora of obese individuals actually breakdown what is otherwise undigestible cellulose and obtain sugars and calories from it. And, rats fed a high sugar and fried food diet, actually change their bowel flora to those of obese individuals. This means, if you a eat high sugar, high bad fat diet, you are slammed with a double whammy as the bowel bacteria will be altered to grab even more calories from your food than if you didn't eat this way.

We all know that once we get on a carbohydrate binge, it is very difficult to stop the inertia. The best way I have found to stop the inertia is with a high quality low glycemic index protein drink. Occasionally, I'll add some herbs to help quell intense cravings.

Once a patient is off the carbohydrate merry-go-round, I find it is easier for them to make permanent changes in their eating habits.

Many patients come to my Evanston office expecting me to perform repeated sessions of lipodissolve for their weight problem. I won't and I don't. Lipodissolve is a localized fat loss procedure, not a weight loss procedure and is inappropriate as a treatment for obesity.

The exceptions are that I will treat a buffalo hump, double chin, or droopy jowls on an obese person, I just won't treat the body.

In these instances, I have the patient return for a one to two hour medical and nutritional evaluation. I examine closely the patients behaviors around food and choices. For patients with eating addiction, I recommend attending overeaters anonymous (OA). for patients making bad choices, I teach them how to reduce insulin levels.

Historically, we were all told that in order to lose weight, calories in had to be less than calories expended. and vice versa. now we know that not all calories are created equal.

When we eat something that turns to glucose quickly, we produce insulin. and if we don't utilize the glucose, we create storage fat via the insulin. the more carbs we eat, the more insulin we need. over time we become resistant to insulin and keep requiring more to deal with our glucose. This process creates more and more storage fat, or triglycerides.

If we eat half an avocado vs half of a bagel, we have no insulin stimulation although we've eaten the same amount of calories that the bagel might have. Over time, when we make smart choices, we become less insulin resistant, or more insulin sensitive. This enables us to feel more stable, less starved prior to meals and our triglyceride production is greatly reduced.

So remember, it's not the calories that ruin us, but our hormonal response to the calories.