Refuse To Regain

Time for Best of the Year!

by Barbara Berkeley, MD It's about to be December and the foolish hope that Cleveland might continue to enjoy spring-like weather throughout the winter has been thoroughly dashed. Yes, we escaped the October and November snows, but just as December peeked around the corner, we woke to today's dark, wintry skies. As every Clevelander knows, a day like today signals the beginning of "the tunnel": the dark, unrelieved cloudiness that covers us from now until sometime in March. Our little... Read more →

Scientific Obesity "Cures": Wrong Thinking?

by Barbara Berkeley, MD The internet provides a wonderful opportunity for doctors to rack up CME (continuing medical education) credits in the comfort of their own homes. Last night, I sat in a cozy chair while listening to a high level lecture on HDL cholesterol. The presenters were two of the biggest names in the lipid research world. After reviewing the lecture and answering a couple of computer generated questions, I was able to add an hour of educational time... Read more →

When Dieting, Add While Subtracting

So many people see a diet as an opportunity for change, but it's possible to miss the boat if that change is purely a physical "shrinking". We (and those around us) soon get used to our new size. But real, personal change can be enduring and transformative. Read more →

My Video Career Takes An Early Hit

Despite best intentions, it's hard to make a video when you have an Amazon parrot who's a big ham. Read more →

Getting Past the R Word

by Barbara Berkeley, MD While I don't take as much of a beating on the internet as some diet writers do (thank you for that, readers!), most of the negative comments I get are directed at the fact that my diet recommendations are too restrictive. Restrictive is the R word. I think that we often confuse structure with lack of freedom. As our society increases its amount of available choice, we tend to bridle at the idea that any of... Read more →

Hi Everyone. I've been trying to learn how to make videos and post to YouTube. Think I'm finally getting it. Here's my first working attempt. Hope this link works.... Read more →

The Last Twenty Pounds: A Common Dieter's Dilemma

by Barbara Berkeley, MD Here's something I can tell you. Pretty much no one is happy at the end of weight loss. And that makes me sad. Of course there is the occasional person who loses 100 pounds easily, never has a bad week, and ends up wearing size 4 jeans. That same person looks as if she had never been overweight, has no hanging skin and no extra pouches of flesh. She's happy alright, but she's also vanishingly rare.... Read more →

VIDEOS! Hi everyone. I decided it's time to go to the videotape. I'm going to try taping a number of videos that duplicate advice and counsel I use in my office practice. The first one is on Facebook at Refuse to Regain: Barbara's World right now. I'm not sure that the video is working. If there is a problem, I'll be trying to fix it. Thanks for reading RTR and, hopefully, for watching too!! Read more →

A MESSAGE TO NEW READERS: Welcome to new readers from the Medifast chat boards. I hope you will keep following us here. Let me tell you why. I have worked with meal replacements (like Medifast) for the past twenty years. They are an excellent way to lose weight, but their use presents problems for maintenance. Using meal replacements often prevents people from acclimating to the changes in diet they will need later. Stringent use of replacements can sometimes lead to... Read more →

I thought this might be worth a quick post. Here's an answer I wrote on another website to someone who was desperately trying to lose 20 more pounds after a very large weight loss. This topic comes up frequently at the end of a diet. When are you done? I'll probably post a longer entry about the final twenty pounds in the future. But for now, here's my answer to the person who can't get the last weight off: Hi!... Read more →