I’ve promised to tell you what I tell my own patients in Santa Barbara.

What I really do for my own patients is listen. A lot.

What I am listening for is something that she is really good at.

Is she a great communicator or does she talk to herself? Is she analytical in any way? Is she adaptable or does having more than one thing to do throw her for a loop? Is she a follower or a leader? Is she thrilled with aesthetics or does auto mechanics make her heart sing? How does she organize her day?
Whatever your primary set of skills, it can be channeled into permanent weight loss. Learning to use your friendship, your chart-making, your creativity to lose weight and keep it off is how people succeed long-term.

Of the thousands of people in the National Weight Control Registry who have lost an average of 66 pounds and kept it off over five years

o 78% eat breakfast every day.
o 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week (even my ChefMD show!).
o 90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day.

Every dieter knows that it’s not a ratio of carbs to fat to protein that matters most.

It’s feeling full and fully satisfied. It’s making plant foods sexy. It’s having enough choice. It’s keeping and celebrating times to indulge. Try my Apricot Breakfast Polenta…and taste the magic!

John La Puma, MD