1bestof: new-year-resolutions

Karen Buzby, RD, LDN, is a member of Penn's Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program. In this blog post, she discusses four ways you can start the new year off right.

Each day presents a new opportunity to make a change: to improve our diet, to lose weight, to be more active, or to embrace a healthier lifestyle. But there is something special about the first day of a new year that makes it very tempting to decide to make a change.

Did you resolve to improve your diet this year? Here are several simple suggestions on where to start.

Regulate Your Eating Behaviors

Simply put, this means make time to eat at least three (3) meals a day. If you skip meals, analyze why and start to adjust your schedule to eating three meals a day. Missing or skipping meals may contribute to poor food choices when hunger catches up with you and extreme hunger may lead to piling your plate with food and eating larger portions.

Dine In

Limit dining out. Make an effort to eat more meals at home or bring your lunch to work. This will give you more control over the nutrition quality and calorie content of your diet.

Make it special; try a new food or recipe. Invite friends to join you and help. Support is essential for success.

Avoid Calorie-Containing Beverages

Look at the nutrition facts label of the beverages are you drinking. Choose products that are calorie free or contain less than 25 calories per 8 ounce serving. Limit your juice consumption to 8 ounces a day. While fruit juices are good sources of antioxidants, the natural or added sugars can be a significant source of liquid calories.

Be Active

Set reachable goals. If 30 or 60 minutes of activity at a stretch is impossible to fit into your schedule, or if you are unable to exercise for long periods of time, divide your total exercise time into smaller time blocks. Ten to 15 minutes of dedicated exercise time two to three times a day is better than none at all!

Let Penn Medicine Help You Lose Weight For Good

Penn Medicine can help you lose weight.

Learn about medical weight loss in Philadelphia, and the Penn Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Program at a free information session about weight-loss surgery in Philadelphia.

There, you will hear about your weight-loss surgery options, and how Penn can help you lose weight and get healthy for good.

Register for a free information session today.

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It’s the time of year again when we all think about a new year, and the changes we can make in our lives to better ourselves. It’s a fresh start for so many of us, but for some of us, a healthier lifestyle in 2013 isn’t just a resolution, it’s a priority.

Penn Medicine wants to help you achieve your weight-loss goals in 2013, so you can enjoy a healthier life for many New Years to come.

If your body mass index (link BMI to calculator) is 40 or above OR if your BMI is between 35 and 39 and you also have an obesity related disease like diabetes, hypertension or sleep apnea, join us for an information session about weight-loss surgery at Penn Medicine. Each session lasts 2 hours long, and is an opportunity to meet with Penn surgeons who perform weight loss surgery.

This free weight-loss information session features faculty from the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program. The session is designed so you can discover the benefits of pursuing a healthy diet and lifestyle through weight-loss surgery at Penn.

Give yourself the best chance for long-term weight loss success, and register for a free weight-loss information session to learn if weight-loss surgery at Penn is right for you.

Read Stories From Patients Who’ve Had Weight-Loss Surgery at Penn