In today’s world it’s more difficult than ever to keep your weight under control, as evidenced by the fact that over 2/3 of all American adults (68.8 percent) are now overweight and more than 1/3 (35.7 percent) of adults are considered to be obese, as are one in three children.
Health Risk of Overweight and Obesity:
- heart disease
- high blood pressure
- type 2 diabetes
- osteoarthritis (a health problem causing pain, swelling, and stiffness in one or more joints)
- nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (excess fat and inflammation in the liver of people who drink little or no alcohol)
- some types of cancer: breast, colon, and endometrial (related to the uterine lining)
- stroke
For many who struggle with losing and maintaining their optimal weight it is not a simple equation as “calories in, calories out”. Clearly the trend of diet restriction and excessive exercise are not the answer. There are many causes for weight gain beyond eating too much and lack of exercise. A successful, long-term weight management needs to focus on more than the food you eat, the calories you intake and the pounds you lose. It needs to focus on your overall health and wellness.
Dr. ChinQuee and her team use a Functional Medicine approach to weight loss and weight loss resistance. Functional medicine is about the restoration of normal physiological function. The human body functions as a network of interconnected systems that affect each other, so Functional Medicine treats the whole body rather than just looking at symptoms or just looking at a single organ system. Weight gain is seen as a symptom of an underlying metabolic disturbance or imbalance and altered biochemistry that needs to be addressed.
For weight loss to be effective, it is important to address many factors such as hormonal imbalance, gastrointestinal dysfunction, a malfunction in your body’s detoxification process, poor diet, poor sleep, your exercise selection, and emotional stress. Functional medicine doesn’t take the place of nutrition and exercise — it enhances it, making it easier for you to implement the changes needed without as much emotional stress. The key lies in reversing the distortion in your appetite center and reestablishing your normal fat burning metabolism.
Dr. ChinQuee and her team conduct a weight loss program for patients who wish to lose weight quickly. Unlike the typical (and not very effective) weight loss programs, Dr. ChinQuee and her team do not base your weight loss assessments on scales or tape measures. Weight alone is not a clear indicator of good health because it does not distinguish between pounds that come from body fat and those that come from lean body mass or muscle. Rather, they do a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)/ Body Composition Analysis (BCA).
It is considered one of the most reliable and accessible methods of screening body fat. This device measures Body Fat, Fat %, Total Body Water, and Fat Free/Lean Muscle Mass. Measuring Body Fat is important for determining fitness. Another evaluation that is performed is one that measures the oxygen that the body consumes. This measurement calculates the number of calories that an individual burns at rest in a day. This technique is called Indirect Calorimetry. This information assists in nutritional assessment and medical nutrition Therapy.
Dr. ChinQuee will then design a medical weight loss program that helps the patient lose weight quickly in a healthy way.
She may prescribe a Low Calorie Diet Program or a Modified Low Calorie Diet Program, depending on the patient’s desires and needs. Unlike most advertised programs, Dr. ChinQuee’s program assures the loss of body fat while retaining lean muscle mass and total body water which is essential to good health.
In each case, Dr. ChinQuee’s goal is to transition from a low calorie diet program to a natural foods program and to help the patient keep the weight down after the weight has been lost.
Of course, after the desired fat loss is achieved, it is essential that the patient adopt a healthy diet and lifestyle in order to keep the fat off. Dr. ChinQuee and her team will work with you to help you adopt a healthy eating and living program.