Weight Management - It Takes Time

In this day and age, time is a valuable commodity.  There never seems to be enough time in a day to do all the things that we want or need to do.  Very often time for ourselves is the first thing to go.  Making time to look after our health often takes that back seat to the various other demands of the day.

When it comes to managing our weight, time management is very important for success.  Making those necessary healthy lifestyle changes requires time and attention but often competes with work, family, activities, volunteering and socializing commitments.   Being aware of the need to set time aside for these changes will enable you to move forward in your weight loss efforts.

• It takes time to eat healthy.  Planning meals, grocery shopping and food preparation takes an average 60 minutes each day.
• Sitting down and eating 3 meals per day takes time.
• It takes time to fit in regular physical activity each day.  The Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines suggest at least 30 minutes of activity 5 days per week.
• We should also strive for 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.
• Food journaling what you eat and drink in a day provides valuable insight into your eating habits and is a necessary activity for making healthy changes, but also requires time.

While it seems like this might be a lot of things to consider, the time you invest in yourself and in your health will be well worth it.

Remember, there are 1440 minutes a day. Take time to look after yourself!

Christina Vesty is a registered nurse and is the Chronic Disease Management Coordinator at the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network.  

Obesity management - root causes, factors and treatment

An Obesity Expert’s Message

Obesity affects 61% of Canadian adults and 26% of Canadian children and has recently been categorized as a chronic disease by the American Medical Association.

The public, and even healthcare professionals, often think that eating less and moving more is the simple answer to addressing obesity. We now understand that obesity is a complex, chronic disease that requires the same specialized, medical care treatment that other chronic diseases have. This includes identifying and addressing root causes and barriers to weight management.

Dr. Sharma, Professor of Medicine and Chair in Obesity Research and Management at the University of Alberta, is touring throughout Canada and recently spoke to a group of approximately  80 people in Leduc. He brings a humorous twist to discussing obesity while addressing key points to understanding the complexities of the disease. Many factors affect weight gain including:

• Nutrition
• Activity level
• Sleep issues  (lack of REM sleep, shift work, sleep apnea)
• Untreated mental health conditions (depression, ADHD, anxiety, stress, eating disorders)
• Medications
• Income, access to resources
• Other health conditions (chronic pain, PCOS, chronic disease, etc.)

In his presentation, Dr. Sharma asked the audience to start thinking differently about obesity and weight management. The success of obesity management should be measured by improvements to overall health and well being rather than the amount of weight loss. Success should not only be defined by numbers on a scale.  It was stressed that successful obesity management involves addressing all of the factors mentioned above.    The first step to success is stopping the weight gain itself.

Leduc Obesity Clinic

The Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network is proud to offer the area’s first weight management clinic. The Leduc Obesity Clinic (LOC) is a locally offered, medically supervised weight management clinic that offers patients, who are willing to make healthy lifestyle changes, a new treatment pathway for obesity management. Dr. Sharma’s thoughts and opinions form the foundation of the LOC. The clinic identifies underlying factors to obesity management and offers evidence-based treatment plans through our interdisciplinary team. The LOC provides patients with regular group medical appointments and classes and regular appointments with team members. The team consists of a medial physician, two registered nurses, two registered dietitians, a registered psychologist and registered pharmacist, an exercise specialist and administrative assistant.

For more information on the Leduc Obesity Clinic and to find out how to access it, please visit our website at www.lbdpcn.com

References:

Alberta Health Services 

Alberta Health Services - Obesity Initiative

Alberta Health Services - CDM Resource Centre

Canadian Obesity Network 

Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines 

Dr. Sharma

LBD PCN Registered Dietitian Andrea Shackel

LBD PCN Chronic Disease Management Coordinator Christina Vesty

August 2013 Newsletter now available!

Find out when our next Craving Change workshops will be held, learn about the Leduc and Beaumont After-Hours Clinic online booking system and discover a new, local, medically supervised weight management clinic offered in Leduc.

August 2013 Newsletter

If you would like to be placed on our email list for future newsletter, please send an email to:
candra.tinis@lbdpcn.com

Dr. Sharma is coming to Leduc!

Stop being a yo-yo!

Dr. Sharma is a sought-after expert and speaker and is regularly featured on national and international print, radio, and television media.

In his show, Dr. Sharma uses his own unique brand of candid humor to broach the many social, psychological and biomedical dimensions of obesity. He will debunk obesity myths and talk about what works and what doesn't.

The Leduc event will be MC'ed by LBD PCN member physician and Leduc Obesity Clinic team member/physician lead, Dr. Kanchana Sivalingam.

July 31st, 2013

7:00pm

Leduc Civic Centre

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at www.drsharma.ca or at the door. 

All proceeds go to the Canadian Obesity Network.

New specialty clinics now accepting patients!

The Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network is proud to announce the launch of two, locally offered and medically supervised specialty clinics to our PCN patients.

Leduc Obesity Clinic

The Leduc Obesity Clinic offers patients who are willing to or already making healthy lifestyle changes a new treatment pathway for obesity management.

Screening assessments will be done to determine if this clinic is right for you.

Patients must be able to commit to 1 year of involvement with the interdisciplinary team.  This will involve participating every two weeks in group medical appointments/ classes as well as regular meetings with team members and regular weights and measurements.

Evidence based treatment plans for obesity have been developed by the interdisciplinary team.  This may include but not limited to addressing exercise, depression, diet, medication adjustments, sleep or referral to specialists as needed, etc. 

The Leduc Obesity Clinic – Weight Support Team includes a LBD PCN member Physician, Registered Nurse, Mental Health Professional, Registered Pharmacist, Registered Dietitian, Exercise Specialist and an Administrative Assistant.

Leduc Cardiac Rehabilitation Program

In response to the growing need to support cardiac patients in a local setting and in partnership with the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network (LBD PCN) is also proud to announce the introduction of the Leduc Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. 

This program will operate out of the LBD PCN office and the Leduc Recreation Centre (LRC). The program includes support from a LBD PCN member physician and the LBD PCN Exercise Specialist. Patients will also have access to the LBD PCN's Registered Dietitian. This program will help reduce fears about physical activity and may improve quality of life.

If you have experienced a recent cardiac event or procedure and think you would benefit from supervised exercise and heart health education, ask your LBD PCN family physician for a referral to the Leduc Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. 

To access the Leduc Obesity Clinic or the Leduc Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, please ask your LBD PCN family physician for a referral.