When patients come to Medical Weight Loss Clinic for the first time, they often bring along some preconceived notions of what their healthy journey might be like. They’ve been told to avoid carbohydrates or skip cardio. They don’t know what they can eat anymore. Often, patients have tried to lose weight on their own or tried a fad diet – and none of it has worked.
Luckily Tabitha Panetta, training director for Medical Weight Loss Clinic, can help us all separate fact from fiction. She says she often sees patients come into the clinic focused on what they believe they need to cut out of their diets, when they should really be focused on all the foods they can and should add into their diets instead.
Crunches or no crunches? Every healthy program is individualized and we’ll help you debunk falsities you’ve heard about weight loss.
Patients today are bombarded with social media posts about weight loss, diet or nutrition. It’s hard to tell what’s valid and what’s just clickbait. And trust us, Tabitha has seen it all.
“Chocolate is good. Chocolate is bad. Coffee is good. Coffee is bad. Do cardio to lose weight. Don’t do cardio to lose weight. It could go on forever with articles and studies to back up either side of any diet argument,” she says. “This of course can be so frustrating to patients and as a weight loss counselor I am very aware of this.”
She’s seen the evidence on her own social media channels, too. But it doesn’t have to be so confusing. At Medical Weight Loss Clinic, help is always nearby.
“I resort back to the structure of the diet,” Tabitha says, “with the flexibility to know every patient’s body is different. My goal is to create an environment with the patient where they feel free to discuss these topics with their counselor. While we may not have every answer on the spot - we will find it.”
Have you heard that dieting means you just omit junk food?
The truth is good eating habits will always include replacing calorie rich foods with healthy foods that not only help your weight loss journey but help you feel better, Tabitha says.
Or maybe you’ve been led to believe that all carbs are bad for you. The truth is there are so many great carb choices available on the Medical Weight Loss Clinic programs.
“Do not fear carbs,” adds Tabitha. “Learn to eat them in their correct portion size. Carbs can be trigger foods and you have to un-learn any un-healthy relationship with them. But if you plan to maintain a healthy weight with carbs then you have to include them in your diet.”
Tabitha believes that accountability, portion control and structure are the cornerstones of any healthy diet. At Medical Weight Loss Clinic, patients learn a foundational way of eating, she says. It allows you to focus on areas you want to improve and fight back against stress eating, binging or a lack of discipline.
Adopting new coping techniques on the program help our patients shift from a foundation to a maintenance program that allows them to lose weight and keep it off. Once they reach their goal, patients gradually increase foods back into their daily diet, making sure to account for the body’s own calorie balance, says Tabitha. This process fosters a healthier relationship to food and sets those healthy new habits in place.
Find out what this personalized experience is like, and have all your questions answered. Medical Weight Loss Clinic is just a call or clinic visit away. Learn more about our customized programs. Schedule your free consultation online or by calling 1-800-GET-SLIM.
