Refuse To Regain

Dr. B's Diet Tips for the New Year

by Barbara Berkeley As you know, I generally prefer to write about issues of weight maintenance. But it would be foolish to ignore the fact that on January 1st, most Americans thoughts turn to dieting. It's well known that our country's top New Year's resolution is weight loss. Diet programs, gyms, personal trainers, and fitness equipment companies all bank on it. But they also know that the boom is short lived. The vast majority of those who toast the New... Read more →

How To Go to a Holiday Party...and Wake Up the Same Weight Tomorrow

by Barbara Berkeley, MD Holiday parties getting you down by boosting your weight? Here are some tips for negotiating those difficult moments. 1.Make it a Game! Serious weight maintainers are planners, so figure out the challenges of each party beforehand. Then set definite strategies and endpoints for yourself and give yourself a score afterwards. Make it fun! Got a low score last night? There's always tomorrow. Here are some things you can try working on: Specific amounts and types of... Read more →

Holiday Maintenance Tips

by Barbara Berkeley, MD You're up against it now. The period that begins just before Thanksgiving and ends on January 1st is without doubt the most challenging part of a maintainer's year. Here are some thoughts and guidelines I've found to be successful. First, and most importantly, make it your priority to "maintain, not gain". Hopefully, you are already staying at stable weight by following successful and consistently applied maintenance rules. If so, these most likely include eating a diet... Read more →

Your Resolution to Lose Weight This Year - YouTube

Your Resolution to Lose Weight This Year - YouTube In the best of all possible worlds we would all be maintaining successful weight losses. In the real world though a great many of us are making the traditional New Year's resolution: to finally lose weight this year. If you are one of these people, or you know one, learn to start with the basics. Click the link above for some starter suggestions. Read more →

End of the Year Thoughts, 2015

by Barbara Berkeley, MD At the end of the year I like to look back at what has changed in my field and how I have changed in my practice and beliefs. Has new information about weight and weight loss come to the fore? Am I using different techniques than I used to? And most importantly, what have I learned from my patients this year? My interactions with patients are always the most powerful teachers. This fact reflects what is... Read more →

Food Holds the Power, Particularly Over the Holidays

Imagine sitting at a table. Someone places a pencil in front of you. OK. Someone puts a piece of paper in front of you. Alright. Someone puts a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie in front of you with the steam still rising off. Now that's a different story. Why? Because a pencil, a piece of paper, a stapler, a box of thumbtacks are all objects that are incapable of creating a hormonal response in your body. The cookie, on the... Read more →

Holiday Food Blizzard: How to Avoid Getting Buried

by Barbara Berkeley, MD Take a deep breath. We got through Thanksgiving. But just as we are recovering from too many mashed potatoes and the extra pie we didn't even want, it's time for the real storm to begin. Yup. The forecast calls for fattening food. A blizzard of it. Even worse, this food is all wrapped up in a bow and gilded with a lacquer of emotion and memory. No doubt about it, this is the hardest time of... Read more →

It Begins in Earnest: Holiday Eating Season 2015

by Barbara Berkeley, MD Happy Thanksgiving to all! Today is the day that the holiday eating season begins for real so I hope you've got your plan together and are ready to go! For those of you who want to continue an active weight loss or for those who seek to maintain-not-gain between now and the new year, here are are few basics to review: At this time of year, we are often asked what we give thanks for. We... Read more →

Continued Video Thoughts On Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain

Alcohol and Holiday Weight Gain

by Barbara Berkeley, MD It's a problem. All those parties. All that wine and beer. Like the carbs we eat, alcohol can co-opt our brain and starting talking for us. Who hasn't had that experience?? A few suggestions: Read more →