No Walk in the Park – A Doctor’s Perspective
If you live in Petaluma, Santa Rosa, or other parts of Sonoma county – be sure to research your options prior to jumping into a liquid diet or “fast”.
Liquid diets are often times recommended to those wanting to lose weight rapidly. As you decide which weight loss program is right for you, there are a number of key points that are important to understand, prior to signing up for any liquid diet or “fast”:
1) Liquid diets almost invariably lead to rebound weight gain.
- Liquid diets only treat the symptom of weight gain! Yes, that’s right – weight gain is merely a symptom of a much deeper health issue that is causing you to gain weight. Dr. Hoffman has had many, many patients from the area that have previously gone through liquid diets, that end up gaining their weight back over time, because their underlying health issue was not treated. This is a frustrating experience and something that can be avoided. The key to successful weight loss is treating underlying metabolic and hormonal changes that caused the weight gain. Calorie restriction does not address these physiological problems, in fact it can make them worse and lead to weight gain.
2) Many modified fasts involve boxed food, prepared food, or medical food items that you are required to purchase.
- Dr. Hoffman believes that proper nutrition comes in the form of whole food sources, NOT in the form of supplements. As a Naturopathic Medical Doctor, Dr. Hoffman has extensive training in conventional medicine as well as medical nutrition and integrative approaches to help you lose weight and keep it off long term. Dr. Hoffman’s medical interventions to treat weight gain involve whole food strategies, not highly processed boxed foods that are devoid of vital nutrients.
3) If a program has the same phases for everyone, odds are it isn’t right for you.
- Remember, no two people are the same! Therefore, each weight loss program should be custom tailored for each and every individual with different treatment guidelines as well as a specifically designed system to meet your unique needs. As an integrative medicine specialist, Dr. Hoffman can develop a program that meets your unique needs – one that fits your schedule and works for you!
- As you research your options, ask this question: “are supplements required?” – if the answer is “yes”, hang up and keep looking.