First off, losing weight is easy, in theory at least. At LiveWell, we’ve always taken pains to stress this simple formula: eat less, work out more. So don’t be fooled by anyone who promises the following:
- permanent weight loss
- weight loss through blockage of absorption of fat
- weight loss without reduction of calorie intake and increase in exercise
- substantial weight loss despite eating anything you like
- loss of weight through applying a product to your skin
- weight loss for desired parts of the body
- weight loss for any user just from trying the product
These are easy sells, but as any doctor can tell you, while promises are easy, delivering on them can be downright impossible.
Also, be wary of slimming products that don’t come coupled with a doctor. The Health Promotion Board cautions that many of them contain bioactive substances that may lead to relatively fast weight loss initially, but aren’t safe to use over the long term and without medical supervision.
And now for everything else.
There are basically three types of weight loss programs that actually work: do-it-yourself, non-clinical programs, and clinical programs. Remember, no one type is better than the other.
In the do-it-yourself program, you have to rely on your own judgement in devising meal plans and exercise programs. While you could consult a few good diet books for advice, there are a number of local support groups you can join like Livin’ La Vida Low Carb, WeighIns and My Diet Buddy.
Non-clinical programs like Weight Watchers and The Cambridge Diet tend to feature counselling, use resources like books and pamphlets prepared by health-care providers and sometimes require participants to consume the program’s food or supplement. The dieticians offering advice are usually not licensed health professionals.
Lastly, there are the clinical programs. These, on the other hand, are directly supervised by licensed healthcare professionals and generally take place in a healthcare setting. They offer nutrition advice, and may even prescribe weight loss medication, low calorie diets and surgery options, such as an intra-gastric balloon (see Vol 15 page 54 “It’s Ballooning”) or lap band surgery.
Some, like the iDecide program, feature an informative website teeming with useful tips, and boasts of a large community of fellow weight watchers who motivate new members with their own success stories.
Make the right choice
The iDecide Weight Loss Program is one such program that offers qualified counsellors, nutritionists and exercise experts to aid you along your weight-loss journey. Crucially, all of them are guided by a supervising doctor, usually your General Practitioner or family doctor.
Ms Goh has been on the iDecide Weight Loss Program for about a year. She first started on the program after after giving birth to her daughter.
“Initially, I thought that it would be an expensive program. But when I asked my doctor about it, he revealed that it only costs about $100 per month for the medication, Reductil,” she told LiveWell. This medication is used in the iDecide program to help her lose weight by reducing appetite and increasing metabolic rate, according to Dr Mark Yap from Cashew Clinic. “The medication helps me feel fuller sooner and helped me stop over-eating,” said Ms Goh.
But Reductil isn’t the only thing that is needed. If you decide to make the life-changing decision to lose weight, there are other changes that must accompany it.
Change your behaviour—change your life.
“Losing weight is every bit about personal motivation as it is proper exercise and food discipline,” says David Shum, Centre Manager, Sports & Recreation Centres Division at Jurong Sports and Recreation Centre.
He believes the success of any program depends not only on the instructor or administrator but on the trainee.
With this in mind, you might just lose weight and better still, keep it off for life. LW |
