Slim Medical - Weight Loss Clinic
Weight loss – food as a drug:
Weight loss and weight gain are obviously related to the total amount of food that is ingested and the energy expenditure, or calorie intake and calorie output. These are not the only factors that play a role in weight loss and weight gain, but they nevertheless play fundamental roles.
For some people, control of food intake is extremely difficult and becomes the obstacle to any sustained weight loss diet. The reason for this difficulty in appetite control and weight loss is becoming apparent.
Various chemicals and drugs have been known to have significant effects in the brain. Certain chemicals cause the release of endorphins and serotonin in the brain, making the person feel pleasure. With time, these patterns cause a physical and psychological addiction to the chemical, and the person has an unrelenting drive to obtain and ingest the drug. This is obviously the case with illicit street drugs such as cocaine and heroin. However, most would be shocked to learn that certain foods have a similar effect upon a person.
Shocking as it may seem, the ingestion of many foods, especially sweets, lead to similar biochemical changes in the brain. This is part of the reason that one feels good when eating chocolate. What does that mean for a person committed to losing weight? Weight loss is impeded by actual food addictions that drive that person to seek out and ingest such unhealthy foods, almost as strongly as a drug addict seeks out his drug. Breaking the food habit is key to any recovery effort and attempt at weight loss.
Though difficult at first, it is imperative that the weight loss candidate recognizes this addiction and attempts to avoid it by consciously deciding to do away with such foods. This can only be done by adopting a strict and regimented diet program that completely removes such food triggers from one’s diet. By avoiding these foods for 1-2 months, the brain slowly breaks its addictive habit and begins to accept food as what it was always meant to be – food; not happiness.
The HCG diet is a perfect example of the kind of diet that can reshape the brain of the weight loss candidate in a way that food addictions are broken. By maintaining the HCG diet for 1-2 months, the brain is retrained and further long-term progress can be made for weight loss and maintenance of a healthy weight and healthy eating.
Doctor Nasseri is the director of the weight loss clinic Slim Medical, and specializes in physician supervised weight loss diet programs, helping overweight patients achieve their desired weight loss. He is located in Santa Ana, but serves patients from all of Southern California, including Orange County, San Bernardino, San Diego, Riverside, Temecula, and Los Angeles, and from the following cities: