Americans have a love, hate relationship with dieting. An estimated 45 million Americans go on a diet each year. They spend an average of $33 billion on weight-loss products in their pursuit of a trimmer, fitter body. What if you could never go on another diet and still lose weight and achieve optimal health?? The answer may be in your genes.
"Your requirement for food is as unique as your fingerprints. What works for one person may have little effect on another and often can make a third person worse," Dr. Ellen Fisher, M.D. of Stuart says.
Dr. Fisher, an anesthesiologist with advanced training in nutrition, has more than 23 years of experience using food as medicine.
"We are all biochemically unique, metabolically individual and have differing nutritional needs," she says.
She developed a customized nutrition plan based, "On the theory that every single person has a genetic requirement for food to be healthy. What we do is we test them and we call the result their genetic metabolic identity."
No blood is drawn. This "test" is a lengthy questionnaire about food, eating habits, emotional and physical health. She says you will fall into one of 3 categories. "What we say is you either prefer more carbs, prefer more proteins and fats or are mixed. You want to eat optimal foods and eliminate as many that are not good for you as you can."
Processed food and refined sugar are the first things to go. Dr. Fisher says the focus is on eating real food even some foods that you may think are forbidden. "People are like butter, I can eat butter, that's the beauty yes, it's a healthy, healthy fat. Margarine is processed, spreads are altered and processed."
Of course, those with a predisposition to heart disease or diabetes may want to trade that butter for something heart healthy like avocado.
"Once you know your genetic metabolic identity, we can direct you in the ratios of food, the proteins to carbs to fats, in other words, your fuel mix. And how do you know that you're eating the right fuel? It's how you feel after you eat. Are you full, craving, stuffed, energetic, sleepy, hyper, or are you balanced in your emotions?"
Dr. Fisher, says eating like this will lead to realistic weight loss. "You can lose 1/2-to-1 pound a week, that's 52 pounds in a year!!"
She says keep the focus on health, not the number on a scale. "What is success? People stop thinking about losing pounds, counting calories. They feel good, sleep better, come off medicines, who wouldn't want that."
Prices for Dr. Fisher's customized nutrition plans range from $375 to $1,100.
For more information: (772) 247-2477 or www.findingyourweigh.org
