Last month I attended a “Diet Debate,” where speakers argued for various approaches, including Mediterranean, ketogenic, and intermittent fasting. The speaker defending the ketogenic diet described several patients in his clinic who had lost a great deal of weight and experienced improvements in measures of heart failure. Compelling stories for…
Last week I talked about weight loss and heart health , and how a focus on healthy habits like eating a more Mediterranean-style diet is likely to be more beneficial to your long-term health than a focus on weight loss. This week I’d like to add a few thoughts about weight gain. When people come to me with concerns about…
Although I make no secret of the fact that I practice a health-first, not weight-focused approach, weight loss comes up day after day, especially this year with the pandemic. I get it. If you don’t fit into the “normal” weight category, you’ve likely heard from health professionals, your family, and…
The updated Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines were published August 4, replacing the 2006 version. They’ve been praised for being the first guidelines to acknowledge the problems of weight stigma and bias, and for shifting the emphasis from weight to health. Since I’ve been practicing that way for years now, I was curious to see the…
Last week on vacation a family member reached over and poked an accusatory finger into my belly, raised her eyebrows, and gave me a look that said, “What is happening here?” Yes really. Can you imagine? I bet some of you can, actually, because many people still think it’s okay…
Well, not literally a grain of salt. You know, sodium and all. (#joke #cornyIknow) Today is World Diabetes Day, so I was planning to share a few simple words about prediabetes, which comes up often in my practice. An estimated 22% of Canadians have it . Yikes! Then I saw one too many diabetes articles…
We’ve had a few weeks of recipes and other fun, light content. Now I want to share something more serious. When I went back to university to study nutrition in 2003, weight loss was accepted without question as both achievable and a central part of the dietitian’s role. I went…