Year after year, 70% of all Houstonians who struggle with excess weight pledge to eat less, exercise more and lose weight. Hunger control is, however, crucial to successful weight loss. Gastric sleeve surgery patients report increased satiety with very small meals. Patients on low calorie diet, on the other hand, feel hungry most of the time. The constant feeling of hunger is hard to fight and as a result most Houstonians fail to achieve durable weight loss. Within a month from the start of the new year, all dieting efforts are dropped, and the weight loss cycle repeats itself every year.

The best approach to increasing satiety and decreasing hunger for durable weight loss hinges on understanding obesity and its underlying pathophysiology. Obesity is a state of starvation. The neuro-hormonal imbalance associated with obesity channels most ingested calories to fat cells leaving the rest of the body including the brain calorie deficient. A calorie deficient brain leaves us hungry and craving for calorie rich food items. A low-calorie diet, in such a situation, exacerbates the starvation state and increase hunger level. One of the key signals in the neuro-hormonal imbalance leading to fat cell calorie accumulation is insulin. Without insulin fat cells cannot hoard calories and accumulate fat. Carbohydrates and in particular processed carbohydrates like white bread, white rice, and sugary drinks increase insulin secretion and lead to increased hunger levels and fat accumulation. Accordingly, the first step to weight loss and hunger control relies on decreasing insulin blood levels. This implies stopping carbohydrate intake including fruits, grains, starch rich tubers and all forms of processed food rich in high fructose corn syrup.

There are many books, publications and seminars supporting decreased carbohydrate intake to lose weight. Keto diet is the extreme form of a low carbohydrate diet approach to weight loss. Keto diet relies on fat as the primary source of energy.  It forces the body to go into ketosis to help mobilize fat deposits and promote weight loss. Most importantly, patients on keto diet have increased satiety levels allowing them to reduce their overall calorie intake hence resulting in durable weight loss.

For 2019, Houston Weight Loss Surgery Center invites you to better understand obesity and weight loss methods. We are here to help you overcome any weight loss hurdle you may encounter so that you can start enjoying your life again. If you have any questions give us a call today.