Weight Loss Program

The Neuroscience of Successful Dieting, Weight-Loss, and Maintenance

Which diets work best? Low Fat? Low Carb? Low Calorie? Glycemic Index? Atkins? Weight-Watcher's? Jenny Craig? Myths abound, health risks are difficult to evaluate, but the truth is that 50-70% of people put the weight back on because they have not changed the way they relate to food. Neuroscientist Mark Waldman and Andrew Newberg, MD, at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Spirituality and the Mind, recently conducted a thorough review of the current research. Here are some of the key findings they have used to develop an effective 9-week weight-loss program for adults and children:

The Nonscientific and Spiritual Way to Lose Weight…and keep it off for life!

In this revolutionary 9 week class, you'll learn how to retrain your brain to stay committed to a healthy diet and eating program, losing weight safely, mindfully, and permanently. Using three university-tested programs and cutting-edge research on the neuroscience of weight-loss, you will interrupt destructive eating behaviors, learn how to cope with cravings, eliminate guilt, feel satisfied eating less, reduce anxiety and stress, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and lower your risk to diabetes and other health problems. The class is taught by my husband Mark Waldman, a therapist and Associate Fellow at the Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania, and assisted by a team of "graduate" diet coaches. Class is open to adults and teens, and may be covered by insurance. Fees include "mindful affirmation" CDs and booklets.

For further details about this class, call our office at 805.987.7222.

Mark Waldman's research and new book, How God Changes Your Brain, was recently featured in Time, Oprah and on PBS television. Visit www.markrobertwaldman.com

An eight-to-ten week class is the most effective means for losing weight. Unfortunately, 70-90% of all people regain most of the weight they lose. This "yo-yo" effect is more dangerous than staying overweight. To counteract this, a new relationship with food must be established, along with developing new behavioral patterns. The two most effective strategies involve: a) techniques drawn from cognitive therapy, and b) newly developed mindfulness-based eating exercises and meditations that eliminate binge eating, cravings, bulimia, and other eating disorders. Few programs in the United States integrate these strategies into their weight-loss classes. An after-class support group may also be needed to keep the weight off.
Why is weight loss so difficult and slow? The human brain is designed to resist any attempt that is made to reduce fat, sugar, and carbohydrate consumption. Also, overweight people have different brain functions than thin people. Their brains receive more pleasure from food and drink.
Being overweight interferes with the brain's ability to accurately monitor insulin levels in blood.
Eating disorders and obesity are connected to emotional and psychological issues and must be addressed in any successful weight-loss program. Stress, anxiety, and depression cause many people to overeat, and the most effective way to interrupt these neuropsychological patterns is through a mindfulness-based stress-reduction and eating program. Only a few such programs are currently available in the United States. Waldman and New berg have created the first university tested program to integrate weight-loss, cognitive/behavioral training, and mindfulness to lose weight, reduce stress, and eliminate eating disorders.
Education and class "homework" are essential aspects for successful weight loss. For example, people who keep a diary of what they eat lose twice as much weight as those who don't. Daily stress reduction exercises and commitment charts are important keys, and are integral to Waldman and Newburg's class plan.
Liquid diets and calorie-measured meal plains fail to achieve long-term success for weight loss because new eating behaviors have not been learned. People who design their own programs are more successful than those who follow more rigid plans offered in most books.
Drink water when you feel hungry because your brain is probably experiencing dehydration.
Low-carb/high-fat diets like Atkins leave you feeling less hungry, but have greater cardiovascular risks.
The World Health Organization recommends a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and low in sugars and fats. this alone can reduce world cancers by twenty-five percent.
No matter what program you choose, you have to eat less calories than the daily caloric energy you expend in order to lose weight. This differs from person to person, and may need to be monitored by a doctor.
Exercise may not directly help you lose weight, but it does help to suppress hunger and change those parts of your emotional brain that entice you to overeat. Exercise, meditation, and mindful eating exercises strengthen the cognitive centers in your brain that entice you to overeat. Exercise, meditation, and mindful eating exercises strengthen the cognitive centers in your brain, giving you control over your eating choices and behaviors.
Weight-loss drugs only reduce weight by 5-10%, the same weight-loss average from other dietary programs. They have specific adverse effects, including some cardiovascular risk. When people stop taking these drugs, the weight returns because the underlying behaviors have not been identified and interrupted.
Finally, the most important element to successful weight-loss and maintenance is commitment, with as much support as you can get from family, friends, and diet-buddies.