A'Vie Health» Health

HCG Diet Plan

Dr. Martin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:38:28 +0000

We’ve had positive feedback from patients who have used the HCG Diet plan. People do lose weight. One issue is loss of weight while minimizing loss of lean body mass. Another issue is maintaining the weight loss. As in this and other weight management programs, having and effective maintenence strategy is key to keeping the weight off in addition to managing calories.

I am encouraging my HCG patients to blog their feedback as well as anyone who is or has used HCG for weight loss.

Doc

To Vitamin or Not to Vitamin? Who’s right?

Dr. Martin — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:14:42 +0000

Recently a family member went to the Doctor’s Office for a routine check up. During the visit the mention of taking vitamins and supplements was brought up. The physician who is well respected in their medical institution responded to the inquiry that unless one has significant disease you do not need vitamins or supplements. In fact, this physician left the impression vitamins are ” poison ” . Do you take vitamins and supplements? I think there is more reason to take them than not.

Doc

Holiday Temptations

Laurie — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:33:17 +0000

I love the holidays. Not for the gifts and surprises but for the people. the joy, the laughter, and the togetherness that it brings. The one thing I do not look forward to though, is the challenges and temptations that this season rolls in with. The holidays not only bring out the best in people but their cooking and baking skills seem to excel this time of year. For whatever reason when you are on the full OPTIFAST meal replacement, the smells are more enticing and even just the sight of any holiday delectable, except maybe fruitcake, brings a temptation that only those of us who are watching our weight know. From now until New Years Day there will be so many opportunities to slip back into old habits. Parties, food gifts, candy, pot lucks and family gatherings are just some of the seasonal events that produce baked goods, pies, cakes and candy. Even if one tries to avoid those tasty morsels and tries to stick to healthier foods we need to remember that for some reason even the healthiest foods tend to be heaped with sauces, creams and frosting this time of year. During this season try not to fall into the tomorrow trap…I wil eat what I want today and start my diet again tomorrow…we all know that tomorrow will soon turn into next week then next month and then the promise of starting the first of the year. Now we are starting all over again!

We each need to remember how hard it has been to get us to the point where we are today. It takes a lot of dedication and determination to lose weight. Look at the weight you have lost. Think about how much better you feel. Don’t your clothes feel and look better on you? Ask yourself do I really want to eat this feast and set myself back? Is it really worth it? For those who are eating food now or are on partial OPTIAST meal repleacement and are maintaining your weight, please remember how hard it was to get you to this point. Put into practice all you have learned about eating healthy during your trek to getting to your optimal weight. Make good food choices and do not over indulge. Losing weight is much easier than keeping it off. sometimes maintaining a healthy weight is the true test of our dedication and determination.

Enjoy the holidays and remember that in this season of togetherness that you are not alone. give yourself the best gift of all… a healthy happy holiday.

Maple Delight: Pour 12 ounces of chilled diet Dr. Pepper and 1 drop of maple extract into a blender. Add contents of one OPTIFAST 800 Vanilla Powder packet and a pinch of cinnamon. Blend at the lowest speed for 5 seconds until dissolved. Serve over ice.

Happy Holidays!

Laurie, Optifast Program Director

Sleep Disturbance and Disease

Dr. Martin — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:16:27 +0000

2008 Sleep in America Poll

The National Sleep Foundation

• Average American’s workday is 9 hours and 28 minutes.

• Average time spent in bed is 6 hours and 55 minutes—with 6 hours and 40 minutes spent actually sleeping. NSF recommends getting at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.

• 34% of employers let workers take a nap during breaks—16% provide a place for the nap.

• 26% of workers would take naps if permitted.

• 58% of Americans take work home to complete at night.

• 20% spend over 10 hours a week doing job-related work at home.

• Working over 50 hours per week resulted in greater performance problems, such as productivity, impatience and concentration, compared to working 39-40 hours.

A new study published in the September 15, 2008 Biological Psychiatry accumulated evidence that “sleep disturbance is associated with inflammation and related disorders including cardiovascular disease, arthritis and diabetes mellitus.”

Losing only a few hours of sleep can instigate tissue-damaging inflammation, putting patients at risk for heart disease as well as autoimmune disorders (i.e. rheumatoid arthritis).

Staying healthy means taking care of yourself.

Martin Louie, M.D.

Welcome to our Website!

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:20:43 +0000

We hope that you find it useful and informative. Our goal is to make you healthy and keep you healthy. We can’t stop you from getting older, but we can help you feel younger. We want you to enjoy your life to its fullest.

We will post useful health topics each month, encourage responses and our own editorials from both traditional and integrative medicine.

Look for new recipes for maintaining health and advise from our Optifast program Director. Optifast patients are encouraged to post tips and experiences from the proven medically supervised weight loss program.