Overcoming Weight Loss Issues

Interviewer:  So many people have good intentions to start a weight loss plan of their own.  They're going to get this done.  And they end up failing shortly down the line.  What are some of the biggest mistakes people make in that process?

Dr. Tania Tyles Dempsey:  Yeah, I think one of the biggest mistakes is that people usually go gung-ho initially, okay?  So they're practically starving themselves or they're thinking they have to watch their calories or they're thinking, you know, do something dramatic.  It's very hard to maintain that for the rest of your life.

Interviewer:  Um-hmm.

Dr. Tania Tyles Dempsey:  So the key is really trying to figure out how, what is going to make this person keep on this plan, you know, the rest of their life.

Interviewer:  Um-hmm.

Dr. Tania Tyles Dempsey:  Okay, thinking about what are the things that set them off with eating.  You know?  So people will admit, you know, when I'm stressed or when I get home late at night I want to eat.  You have to figure out how to reduce those exposures or those incidents so that they can  be successful long term.  So again, a lot of people will go just right into it the wrong way.  And they do it misguided.  There's a lot of weight loss programs out there. 

Interviewer:  Um-hmm.

Dr. Tania Tyles Dempsey:  Weight Watchers and what-not.  And you know, I think maybe they do help a lot of people but I think they're sending the wrong message.  So I think that people can really be successful if they work hand in hand with a physician or a medical practitioner that really understands what it takes to lose weight.

Interviewer:  Um-hmm.

Dr. Tania Tyles Dempsey:  And fixing not just the calories in the food, because that's important, but also working on the stress and other factors that lead to unhealthy habits.

Interviewer:  Um-hmm.  How under, misunderstood is nutrition for most people?  Just the basics of what good food and good food can do for you?

Dr. Tania Tyles Dempsey:  Well, I think there's a lot of misunderstanding and I think what happens is the media in particular, you know they send different messages every week there's something else.  You know, high fat is good, high fat is bad, low carb is good, low carb is bad.  So people are confused.

Interviewer:  Um-hmm.

Dr. Tania Tyles Dempsey:  They really don't know.  And you know, there are, you know, a lot of good companies are advertising food as, you know eat this because you'll lose weight or, and I see the commercials all the time, eat this.  And people just don't know what to believe anymore.

Interviewer:  Sure. 

Dr. Tania Tyles Dempsey:  So I think that there are certain organizations like AFORAM, like Institute of Functional Medicine, Integrative and Holistic Medicine, these are organizations that are really trying to promote the right message.  To release the right message to the public.

Interviewer:  Um-hmm.