I created this blog as a platform for our patients. A place to have a voice. It has been proven that a key component of successful weight loss is group support. Exchanging ideas, recipes, exercise suggestions, tools to handle stressful situations, are all welcomed at this blog. What I hear day in and day out is pretty much the same thing. We all have the same concerns and the same struggles. So let’s share our knowledge with one another. We are all on this weight loss ride together. It is truly gratifying to see less and less of all of you each week.
Success to all!
Chef Deb

Something’s Fishy! (But in a good way)

I am a real advocate of knowing where your food comes from. I support sustainable farming and local merchants. Personally, I don’t always choose Organic over Natural. It’s all about the mileage. Twenty years ago I would have chosen Organic first, disregarding how far it had to travel to show up on my plate. Today if I don’t have a local, organic choice, a local natural choice always wins.
Maine is making me proud. Its citizens are showing up in abundance at local farmers markets. You can find local cheese, yogurt, beef, pork and fish.

Exercise has never been a priority in my life, hence the shape I’m in. Now that I have dropped some weight I’m actually starting to think about it. It is also recommended on our program. We suggest some helpful exercises in our program manual. Many of our patients share their exercise routine with us. Walking, Running, Weight Lifting, Boot Camp and Zumba Classes have all been mentioned. What has been very rewarding is when a patient has dropped a certain amount of their weight and now expresses a desire to participant in a Marathon or 10 K.

Well not exactly. Although it does present itself in the shape of pasta. You can get angel hair, fettuccini, or spaghetti. What I am talking about is the Tofu Shirataki noodle. It comes from the root plant, Amorphophallus Konjac, or a few other closely-related species. Grown in various parts of Asia, and given many names in different places, including Konnyaku potato (or just Konnyaku), Konjac, Konjaku, elephant yam (although as far as I can tell, they are not related to any other plant commonly called “yam”), and others. The fiber is also known as glucomannan.

Of course I’m an expert on weight loss. Not only have I read all the ‘diet books’ out there but I have also been on most of the diet programs. My last costly experience was when Oprah went on the all liquid Optifast diet and lost an incredible amount of weight in 3 months. Well, if she could do it so could I. What’s 3 months, right? My 82 pounds came off quickly and lasted 82 minutes. I had done the physical work but not the mental (Now that will be a whole other topic for another time).

Welcome to our new blog! The Center for Weight Management & Wellness is pleased to present the addition of a blog to our web site. This forum will give the staff of the center the opportunity to offer updates and information that we know will be of interest to our patients and visitors to our site alike. We'll provide helpful tips, nutritional information, the latest from the medical community as it relates to weight-loss and, perhaps most importantly, encouragement and feedback.