I had not been to the Fairfield County Surgical Center for about a year. When I walked in this morning, I was greeted by a nurse who said, “Good morning, Dr Lyons! Welcome back.”  I knew her eyes well, but her body was shockingly different.  She had lost 100 pounds. Wow. How did she accomplish such an amazing change? Diet and exercise. No gastric band. This is a great example of the power of commitment. Throughout the day, I noticed that she acted differently, moved with a new sense of confidence and looked energetic and happy. I am certain that she will stay thin and healthy since she has modified her behavioral approach to to food and fitness. I have found that when patients get thin passively (surgery) the chances of eating “beyond the surgery” are significant.  Making the change from the inside out, changing your patterns and habits, and patiently committing to a new lifestyle may seem tedious at first. Many people are attracted to the immediate results of surgery. But cultivating the discipline to change your life — rather than seeking a quick fix — is what will keep the weight off for good.

I remember Thanksgiving, 15 years  ago as a pivotal holiday in the usual conflict of how to handle food when you are trying to lose weight.   I was eating very cleanly to lose fat and gain muscle:  small portions, multiple well-spaced  meals  which were  high in protein and low in carbs, no sugar, no desserts, and no alcohol.  I had been on this regimen for about 3 months.   On that Thanksgiving Day, I thought, “Make it your ‘cheat day.” Turkey, stuffing, white potatoes smothered in gravy, sweet potatoes, turnips, cranberry sauce, string beans, apple pie, pumpkin pie, and mince pie filled my plate as it had on every Thanksgiving.  About 2 hours after my meal, I had abdominal cramps, felt dizzy, cold sweats… like I had been poisoned.  Actually, I had poisoned myself by the volume of fatty food and sugar . I did not realize that  my body was in a delicate nutritional balance after  only  3 months of eating healthfully.  The large volume of carbs and sugar cause a monumental insulin spike which precipitated a rebound hypoglycemia which occasioned my symptoms. That said, Thanksgiving is defined by food, tradition and family. This is not the day to deprive yourself.  My advice for all of you who are on the Brown Fat Diet or eating well:  enjoy the holiday.  But take care to go slowly and eat small portions.

I love this article from a recent DailyOM, entitled “Think Globally, Eat Locally Have Fun and Save the Planet.”

They write:

Now it is more important than ever to eat locally and shop your local farmer’s market and small grocery store. We all know that our planet needs our help right now, but we often feel unsure about what to do, where to make an effort, and what will really help. The good news is that we can heal the planet on a daily basis simply by buying and eating food that is grown locally. Food that has been transported long distances doesn’t contain much life force by the time it gets to your kitchen.

Making a commitment to shop, buy, and eat locally is not only a very important part of creating positive change, it can also be delicious fun. One of the best places to begin the adventure of eating locally is a farmer’s market. Stalls brim with fresh fruits and vegetables grown on nearby farms. Not only is this good for the environment, it’s good for the farmers since they benefit from selling directly to the consumer. The consumer benefits, too, from the intimate experience of buying food from the hand of the person who grew it. In addition, the food is fresher and more diverse. In supermarkets, particular varieties of fruits and vegetables are favored due to their ability to survive transport to a far destination. Alternately, at a farmer’s market, you will find versions of the fruits and vegetables you know that will surprise and delight your senses—green striped heirloom tomatoes, purple cauliflower, white carrots, and edible flowers, just to name a few.

Make an effort to buy as much of your food as possible directly from local farmers. You will become one of a growing number of people eating delicious food to save the planet and having fun doing it.
Do you know when and where your local farmers’ market takes place? Definitely something to look into.

I have spent 30 years studying the habits that allow people to over eat, become fat, stay fat, and falter at repeated diets.  The present issue of the government controlling the McDonald’s happy meals is ridiculous at several levels.  First,  why should the government get involved in this?  We have a free enterprise system and last I noticed Americans were still allowed to make their own decisions as to what they want to eat.   So, politically, I see legal control of human behavior  as a very dangerous step…. a slippery slope that  feels “socialistic.”   The responsibility of teaching children about nutrition is NOT that of McDonald”s nor the government but of the parent(s).  Children cannot drive to McDonald’s.  They do not have the money to pay for a meal.  The parents do!   The subliminal messages they absorb from watching their parents’ behavior is much stronger than that of an occasional commercial on TV.

I agree that these meals and most fast food is unhealthy (from a “fat” perspective) and may be a major contributor to the obesity problem in America.  However, if parents took the time to have healthy choices available,  to teach good nutrition habits by their own behavior, this would be a non-issue.  The operative word here is time.   Time to plan, shop and prepare food.  Since the key to a healthy body is good nutrition, it is definitely worth it to invest this time. BTW an occasional treat of a Happy Meal in a child who knows good nutrition with a toy is perfectly OK!    In my books, THE BROWN FAT REVOLUTION and LOSE THE FAT LOSE THE YEARS, I recommend an occasional “cheat” meal so that a sense of deprivation is avoided.

The government cannot dictate what our choices are.  It is the parental responsibility to teach “body respect”  and the importance of nutrition.   Ironically, like alcohol and drugs, creating a forbidden McDonald’s Happy Meal might make it more inviting…. what a paradox!  Michelle Obama has declared “Childhood Obesity”as the centerpiece of her First Lady platform.  I wonder how /if this dictum to control McD’s little meal is connected.   It appears to me that the PR buzz of laws to control the little box is more enticing to a publicist than a McDonald’s Happy Meal is to a child!

I have been in practice for 28 years and have seen a 180 degree change in the specialty of Plastic Surgery.    In 2010,  the term “Plastic Surgery” clearly misrepresents the specialty.   A better umbrella to cover all of the techniques now available to rejuvenate the face and body would be “cosmetic medicine.”    Not “cosmetic surgery”  but  ”cosmetic medicine”  I  prefer the use of the term medicine. It underscores the multilayered approach that a good plastic surgeon takes to a patients chief complaint.  My first consideration after good general health is the nutritional investment each patient has in themselves.  Proactive involvement in the process of looking better/younger is mandatory! Are they overweight?  Have they made a commitment to their body by  eating what is natural and healthy.   Do they exercise regularly?  Are they psychologically stable?  Are the expectations appropriate for the selected procedure?  Can they  really afford the procedure without undue financial stress?   Only after considering all of these issues, should the “cosmetic medical” plan be “prescribed.”  It might be Botox in one patient, laser lipo in another  and a facelift in another, but at the end of the day, each case is customized.

You might find this hard to believe but after 28 years of morphing my patients bodies with plastic surgical procedures and 20 years of an avid interest in body building, I continue to be perplexed on how people perceive their physical appearance, their body image.  I continue to study neurobiology since it is clear to me that the answer to most issues that seem so illogical is found in the uncontrollable and unpredictable chemical reactions in the brain.    The study of Neurobiology has  clearly improved my understanding of body image more than all of my experience in dealing with patients and friends who are devoted to “controlling” their images/bodies.  Basically, our brains are  hard-wired to see  shapes and contours.  These are stored in our brains.   Once registered , it is difficult to change  neural “impressions” or brain memory  despite a change in appearance that is clearly seen with the eyes.  Basically, the objective reality of the body is only processed by the eyes, and delivered to the brain for perception.  This is a pivotal mechanism in understanding the lack of positive feedback in some people who have lost significant weight,  or had extensive plastic surgery, or  dramatically changed their bodies with exercise/diet regimens.  I  now understand the genesis of the problem.  Modifying the brain is another issue!

It may seem evident to most that losing weight and looking younger are complimentary.  This is not usually the case in folks who lose weight with non-nutritional restrictive diets.  In The Brown Fat Revolution and Lose the Fat/Lose the Years, I make the case for eating well AND losing weight so that all tissues are rejuvenated.   Once  nutritional discipline sets in, why not seize the opportunity to not only achieve optimal weight but to restore your skin, muscles, bones and fat to look, feel and act younger?  All it takes is  attention to the  ”natural” quality of what you eat.  So simple, yet so rewarding!  Your body needs fat  ”on it” to look young.  It is the fat that creates the “volumes” of youth that we see in a young woman’s body and face.  But it must be high quality, well nourished fat that hugs the underlying bones and supports the overlying skin creating the three dimensional contours of youth.  Just as you can change your skin to look younger with stress control, diet, exercise and topical care….you can modify the quality of your fat with nutrition and exercise and look younger!

I am continually fascinated by the obsession with wrinkle eradication as the only way to make the face look younger.   I  strongly propose that most faces look old due to  a distinct change in shape with time.

The brain of the viewer sees shape and contour before it appreciates wrinkles.    Think about a 20 year old face without wrinkles and a 60 year old face without wrinkles.   Your brain intuitively knows the “older” face by its shape.  Artists know this very well as do sculptures and plastic surgeons.

This point lays the groundwork for a pivotal change in the way that we should look at facial rejuvenation.   Most faces need volume not wrinkle effacement to look younger.  Volume is naturally supplied by fat.    Though there are now a number of excellent “fillers” that can make a face look young in a matter of minutes with little to no down time, including  Restylane, Juvederm, Sculptra, Radiesse.  These are but a few of the more commonly used fillers to restore faces to the wonderful, flowing, three dimensional contours that are so taken for granted in youth.

My advice after 28 years of rejuvenating faces both nonsurgically and surgically:  start with  contour improvements if you want to look younger.  Then, assess the skin, and treat the wrinkles secondarily.  Once volume is added to create the contours of youth, the  wrinkles  may be gone or certainly look a lot better and require less or no treatment.

Remember, as you diet and exercise, you need some fat for volume.  Your face will look wrinkled, dry and haggard without fat.  Do not sacrifice the face for the body!  In the Brown Fat Revolution Diet you learn how to eat to lose fat, maintain optimal weight and look younger in your face and body by making fat your friend.  Good, healthy fat hugs muscles, supports the overlying skin and defines the shapes that make a woman look young and beautiful.

Images Speak Louder than Words

As the author of The Brown Fat Revolution, a Diet and Exercise program to lose weight and  the sloppy yellow fat, I must say that I take great pride in what I have personally accomplished by living according to my own principles for the last 20years.  The results of  consistent training and healthy eating can be so gradual that the individual who lost the weight and gained lean muscle does not see a dramatic difference in the mirror.   As a plastic surgeon , I am well aware of the disconnect between what is real and what people see in their mirrors!

I have found that the way that I look makes people react to me in a very interesting way.   There is a clear subliminal message that one projects when they look fit.   I know that obese individuals  tell unfortunate stories on how their physical appearance defines the way the world treats them.

In my case,  strangers come up to me and ask me what I eat or how I train.   Commonly, both women and men (none of whom know that I wrote and diet and exercise book) approach me in the gym to ask training questions.   More subtle and interesting  is the way I am treated in restaurants.  When I  order a meal that comes with fries, the waiter will always say, “you do not want the fries, right”  I recently had occasion to order a bagel at a coffee shop and the server said, “you want the “whole wheat” right?”….or…. “Of course, you do not want to see the dessert menu.”

We live an intensely visual world and  appearance definitely affects the way people react to us.   This is a fact!  Beyond the self-gratification and healthiness of being in control of the way you look,  the opportunity to say that you are in control without words is extremely empowering….one of the many benefits of respecting yourself by paying attention to the condition of your body.   It’s all good!