Refuse To Regain

Simplify Your Life: A philosophy that should be applied to weight loss

by Barbara Berkeley, MD (Originally posted on RTR as "Simple Life, Simple Body", 2015) I was intrigued by David Brooks’ column in the New York Times recently. It speaks to a renewed interest in an old idea: simplifying life. Living in a less complicated way is not a new concept (think Walden Pond), but it has gained a greater magnetism in the setting of the hugely complex and acquisitive world in which we now find ourselves. I personally have enjoyed... Read more →

Are You An Easy Keeper? Weight After Menopause (and Before)

by Barbara Berkeley, Do you feel like you can gain weight from eating air? Overweight individuals often feel that they gain weight just by looking at food, yet our culture disbelieves this. " No", it says, "the reason you are overfat is because you are weak and have no willpower. Look at that thin person over there, now there is a role model." This is utter nonsense as far as I'm concerned. While we debate about whether different people store... Read more →

Controlling Weight After Menopause and Other Tips for the Over 50 Life

by Barbara Berkeley MD The most frequently accessed posts on this blog are the ones that I've written about weight control after menopause. Clearly, there is enormous frustration and confusion surrounding this topic in my sisters over 50. And why not? The American mainstream becomes disinterested in us women as we get older. We feel invisible. We internalize this cultural meme and fear it. Menopause, while just a biologic event, becomes a huge, nefarious bookmark in our lives. For many... Read more →

Real Bodies: Dealing With the Changes of Aging and Weight Loss

by Barbara Berkeley, MD Weight maintainers and the over 50 crowd (not mutually exclusive!) have something in common: a body that is not what it once was. One of the earliest posts to this blog described the "Green House" philosophy, a term coined by Lynn Haraldson to describe her relationship with a body that had suffered battle scars in the war of weight. Like the quirky house she lived in, Lynn's body had flaws. Despite efforts to change both, the... Read more →

Are You a Nifty Over-Fifty? Weight Loss and Health on the "Second Side"

by Barbara Berkeley, MD Over the hill? That just means you suddenly got a brand new view. According to AARP, the next 15 years will find 8,000 people turning 65 every single day. Since I am about to hit that magic number imminently, it is a subject that's been on my mind. Actually, I find it both a source of curiosity and a chance for great creativity. Turning 65 is also an odd combination of sobering and a laugh. One... Read more →

Practical Weight Guidance for the Menopausally Challenged

by Barbara Berkeley, MD Whenever I see a new patient, I take a history of his or her weight gain. With rare exceptions, the story is almost always the same. At a certain point, the patient started to become susceptible to weight gain. Once this turning point occurred, weight escalated over time--reversing occassionally during periods of dieting---but quickly reaccumulating. Yet, when I ask patients to tell me when their weight gain began, they usually will refer to a bookmark in... Read more →

The Menopause Myth: Why It Can Be EASIER to Lose Weight Later

by Barbara Berkeley, MD It's always healthy to be skeptical, particularly where dietary pronouncements are concerned. In the past year, I've been asked dozens of times about HCG. Everyone is talking. It's all over the media. Does it work? The answer should be obvious to anyone. If HCG was any kind of obesity cure, 3 out of 4 people you know would be taking it already. The first pill or treatment that comes along and can really zap obesity will... Read more →

Losing Weight After Fifty: Menopause and Other Issues

by Barbara Berkeley, MD Let's get the off-putting facts out of the way first. Your metabolism slows down with age, meaning that your body burns fewer calories than it used to. Prior to menopause, estrogen directs fat storage into the hips and thighs. Once estrogen is gone, storage starts occuring in the belly creating the famed "mena-pot". While these things are true, they don't have to mean anything. Is it possible to lose weight and keep it off later in... Read more →