Frequently Asked Questions

What can I expect from the Beverly Hills Weight Loss & Wellness® program?

This program is not a diet. It is a healthy lifestyle change. The program is broken down into a three-phase process created by weight loss and nutrition experts that emphasizes safe weight loss coupled with life-long weight maintenance. The first phase is based on your lifestyle, personal schedule, and eating habits. You will eat real foods and even fast foods while losing weight. You can eat in restaurants or at home with your family, enjoying all aspects of a fun-filled social lifestyle. The second phase is called stabilization. Working one-on-one with a counselor through the entire process, you will learn to stabilize at the proper weight without a strict diet. Finally, you will begin to live what you learned about maintaining your ideal weight for a lifetime during our third phase, maintenance.

How do I qualify for the Beverly Hills Weight Loss & Wellness® program?

You must be at least 10 pounds above the minimum weight for your height and age according to our standardized height and weight charts. If you are under 18 years of age, please be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

How long will it take me to lose weight?

As people vary, so does their weight loss. It is hard to predict how long it will take you to lose your weight, but we can give you some idea. The program is designed to promote weight loss in a healthy and consistent manner. With our program, you will see weight loss your very first week! You certainly will determine your own rate of weight loss by how carefully you follow our program and guidelines.

Do I have to exercise in order to lose weight on the program?

No. But, we do recommend it for best results.

Do you have group meetings I must attend?
No. You will meet one-on-one with a counselor who will be able to offer solutions to your weight loss issues, food plans and more. We respect your privacy at all times. One-on-one counseling is what differentiates us from other weight loss programs and it is essential to your success on this program.

What can I expect from the staff?
Our counselors struggled with their own weight issues before finding success with the Beverly Hills program. Before becoming counselors, they must complete a training program to ensure their understanding of the Beverly Hills Weight Loss & Wellness program and to learn their responsibilities to you, the client. Counselors are also required to attend on-going training programs throughout their careers.

Is there a limit as to how many times I can meet with a counselor?
Not at all. Generally, our clients meet with a counselor two or three times a week. Because the centers have extensive hours, you may drop in at any time with no appointment.

Is this program for adult women only?
No, Beverly Hills Weight Loss & Wellness is a concept oriented to provide real solutions to the entire family. We have plans tailored to children, teenagers, adult men and women.

Do I have to buy prepackaged foods?
No. One of our goals while you are participating in our weight loss program is to allow you to enjoy a "normal" life. You will not need to buy prepackaged foods, but instead can eat grocery store foods, dine in popular restaurants, and enjoy almost any food you wish.

Can I lose 5-10 pounds a week on the Beverly Hills Weight Loss & Wellness program?
This goal is unrealistic and unhealthy. If you set a goal like this, you will set yourself up for failure. A far more realistic goal is losing 2 pounds per week. At this rate, body fat is being lost, while muscle is spared. Losing more than 2 pounds per week signals the loss of more than body fat, and points to the loss of both muscle and water weight.

Can I have caffeinated beverages on the Beverly Hills Weight Loss & Wellness program?
Yes. If you are a heavy coffee, soda or tea drinker, you may want to consider cutting back - especially if it interferes with your water intake. If you choose to decrease your caffeine intake, do so gradually - cutting your intake in half each week, to avoid caffeine-withdrawal related symptoms.

What kind of carbohydrates does the program include?
The Beverly Hills program includes all foods in moderation. Nothing is entirely eliminated. Our meal plans emphasize fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, low-fat dairy and lean protein choices - all of which can be eaten daily on your BH weight loss plan.

Can I eat pasta on the program?
Yes. Beverly Hills Weight Loss teaches you to balance your food choices and use moderation. You can customize your menus to include pasta, potatos and other carbs, In other words, you can continue to enjoy your own personal eating style while staying within our guidelines for weight loss.

Can I participate in the Beverly Hills Weight Loss program if I recently had surgery, or have high blood pressure or any other medical condition?

We help many people with many different diagnoses lose weight. Some of the more common medical histories we encounter are heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and hypothyroidism. You should consult your Doctor before using our program (or any other!) or trying to do any adjustments to your diet or exercise. In fact, if you have any medical questions, you should direct them to your Doctor. We encourage you to show them our web site.

Should I avoid carbohydrates?
No. While advertising and the media have focused a lot of attention on low-carb diets, when it comes to successful, long-term weight loss, calories are the key, not carbs. By focusing on calories, you need not give up many of the foods you love by avoiding entire food groups.

How do I know if I'm overweight or obese?
One easy way to assess obesity is using Body Mass Index (BMI), a measure of body fat based on height and weight. Individuals with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 are considered overweight, while individuals with a BMI of 30 or more are considered obese. You can find out your BMI using the calculator at www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi.

I am concerned about my children's eating and exercise habits. How can I keep my children healthy?
Many children today have a poor diet with little physical activity. They eat foods high in calories and saturated fat and don't eat enough fruits and vegetables. They watch TV, play video games, or use the computer instead of being active. So kids are becoming overweight or obese and have a higher chance of becoming obese adults. Overweight children face health risks, like diabetes, gallstones, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure.

We know children do what they see - not always what they are told. Set a good example for your children. Your kids will learn to eat right and be active by watching you. Setting a good example can mean a lifetime of good habits for you and your kids.

Help your child become more active.
Set limits on the amount of time the family watches TV, plays video games, and uses the computer.
Encourage your children to get one hour of physical activity every day.
Find out about activity programs in your community such as little league baseball or a swim team.
Create family activities that involve physical activity, like hiking, walking, or playing ball.
Make healthy snacks available such as fruits, cheese and calorie-free beverages. Avoid buying junk food.
Have your children plan and cook healthy meals with you.
Limit trips to fast-food restaurants.
Involve the whole family in healthy eating. Don't single out children by their weight.

Do genetics affect weight?
To a degree, YES, but this does not mean you have no control over the outcome. You still have to manage your weight. Work with the genes you have; for example, being big-boned is no excuse for being 50 or 100 pounds overweight. You may have some extra challenges, and you may never be model-thin, but don't let that be your excuse.

What about "magic" diets that promise quick results?
Make no mistake -- the billion-dollar diet industry tells you what you want to hear. But losing weight is hard work, every minute of every day. How hard are you willing to work? Do it right once, and you'll reach your goals much quicker than "seven pounds in seven days."

My friend lost weight; why didn't her strategy work for me?
Everyone has different challenges, different resources and different gifts. Consequently, people must develop different strategies to accommodate their schedules. Find out what gives you results -- and don't quit if it doesn't seem apparent right away.

What if I just really like food?
Just about everybody likes the taste of food, but you have to develop the maturity to balance your intake. Control the quality and the amount of what you eat.

I can't seem to get my appetite in check. What's wrong?
If you're overweight, then you're out of control. That's not a natural place to be. You're out of control with your impulses, your life or your schedule. Evaluate your behaviors, anticipate your personal challenges and restore balance.

Why do I keep slipping into my old habits?
You can't break habits without forming new ones. If you take something out of your life, there's a void. And when there's a void, it's easy to drift back to what you used to do. You need to replace the bad habit with new, incompatible behavior that will crowd the bad behavior out.

I noticed that our many weight loss programs encourage the use of proteins such as eggs, cheese and beef. Won't eating these high-cholesterol foods make my cholesterol level go up?
A: Approximately 85% of the cholesterol in our body is produced by our liver. Dietary cholesterol (the kind that comes from food) contributes very little to high cholesterol levels in the blood. The liver produces cholesterol in response to certain hormones. One hormone in particular is insulin. This hormone gives the liver the signal to ramp up cholesterol production. Bottom line: eating cholesterol-rich foods usually doesn't affect cholesterol levels significantly.

What causes high insulin levels?
High insulin levels are caused by eating too many carbohydrates, particularly starchy carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, potato and rice. Excess insulin signals the liver to make more cholesterol. As a result, people following a high-carbohydrate diet will have difficulty decreasing their cholesterol levels, despite cutting back cholesterol.

Does cholesterol in the food we eat increase our blood LDL?
It used to be thought that eating foods that are rich in cholesterol (eggs, liver, cheese) would increase the levels of blood cholesterol in most people. This has been found to be incorrect. If a large quantity of cholesterol is eaten, the body usually compensates by reducing production of cholesterol in the liver. It is now believed that eating four or five eggs a week is unlikely to be harmful to heart health for the vast majority of people. For the small portion of the population with inherited conditions that cause high LDL levels should always take their doctor's or dietitian's advice on appropriate diet.

How do I lose weight off my face, butt, thighs, or stomach?
The process of losing weight anywhere (face, butt, thighs, stomach) is the same. First, let us dispel a myth. There is no such thing as spot training. There isn't an exercise in the world that will take excess body fat off an area of your body you consider a problem spot such as the belly area.

When you lose weight it comes off all over the body in equal amounts. Think of your extra body fat in layers. For example, let's say you have five layers around your hips, three around your arms and two in your cheeks. As your body uses stored body fat as energy it draws equally from all these areas. When you burn off a layer of fat you will now have four around your hips, two around your arms and one in your cheeks. What really happens is the cellulite cells begin to shrink (as the adipose tissue inside is used for energy) and it becomes smaller, but the layer example is good for visualizing.

How long does it take to lose one pound of body fat?
The answer is a simple math equation. You must burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound of body fat. If you burn 500 more calories than you eat for seven days, you will lose one pound of body fat. If you burn 1,000 calories more than you eat for seven days, you will lose two pounds of body fat. The key is to know how many calories are going in and out each day so you can accurately track your progress.

How many calories make a pound of weight?
3,500 calories are in a pound of weight.

I usually skip breakfast? Is this bad?
If your question is referring to weight loss, yes. One of the best natural calorie burning tools you have is your digestive system. It takes 6-8 hours to absorb and fully digest a meal. This requires a ton of energy (calories burned). If you eat dinner at 7:00 p.m., your digestive tract will be functioning until around 3:00 a.m. Now if you get up and eat again a few hours later the whole process starts over. But, if you don't, two things will occur. First, your digestive system will lie dormant until you eat again. This causes you to lose a large part of you basal metabolic rate (the amount of calories your body burns on its own). Second, your body thinks it's starving and will slow the rest of your metabolism down as a survival instinct. The end result is that you burn fewer calories naturally, making it harder for you to lose weight.

But I never seem to have time for breakfast. Can't I just skip it?
Not to sound too cliché, but breakfast is "the most important meal of the day," especially when it comes to weight loss and overall health. Rates of obesity and insulin resistance are 50 percent lower among people who eat breakfast compared with those who frequently skip it. Breakfast eaters burn more calories during the day, and are less apt to overeat at lunch and dinner leaving them trimmer than non-breakfast eaters.

Why does Beverly Hills Weight Loss recommend that I keep a food journal?
It's like asking "why keep a checkbook"? When you eat a dozen jelly donuts or eat a bag of potato chips, it's similar to writing a ton of calorie checks. Instead of your body sending you a "you ate too much message," it just stores the excess as fat.

After the years go by, the body will "collect" those calorie checks with heart disease or diabetes!

Frankly, you need to see the numbers yourself to truly appreciate why your gaining weight. Once you see that, you will be able to adjust your "spending."

My problem is social situations with friends and family. How do I socialize while trying to lose weight?
Getting together at social gatherings that involve food and drinks can be particularly challenging to the dieter. Some tips to help you get through these get-togethers.

Avoid arriving hungry. Eat a light, healthy snack before you go to the party.
Limit or avoid alcohol. Drink a calorie-free beverage instead. Seltzer water with a lemon or lime wedge allows you to join your friends in a social drink.
Avoid the chips, dip and other high fat fare available. Opt for the veggies, fruit and cheese.
Stand away from the snack table if you are having challenges with will power that evening.

My job is sedentary. I sit at my desk for 8 hours a day, five days a week. How can I get exercise in with a schedule like this?
Working at a job that offers very little opportunity for activity is difficult but not impossible. Some tips to increase calorie burning throughout the day:

Avoid intercom systems or email. If you need to speak with someone in your company, take a walk to his or her office.
Take the long way to the lunch room, the restroom or the meeting room. Those extra steps taken on a regular basis can really help.
Use the stairs, not the elevators.
During long phone calls, use the speaker phone function and pace or walk in place as you conference in on the call.
If you have an hour lunch, use 30 minutes to walk either outside or around the building hallways and stairways if the weather is bad.
Park as far away from the front door as possible.

I chew gum to curb my appetite. Is this a good strategy?
Chewing stimulates salivary glands to produce ptyalin, a digestive enzyme that activates hunger. Although a piece of regular gum contains only half teaspoon of sugar, it is not uncommon for people to chew several sticks a day. Sugarless gums might be the answer to this, although the problem mentioned above still applies.

I've lost 20 pounds and I feel great. My problem is family and friends, some of whom are not very encouraging or supportive of me. How do I deal with unsupportive people in my life?
Don't be overly concerned with hurting the feelings of anybody who is trying to sabotage your weight loss progress. Speak up for yourself and let individuals know how much their encouragement means to you and how hurtful it is to not have their full support during this challenging time.

Are there any short cut tips to losing weight?
The biggest distraction or de-motivator for most dieters is the idea that there's a "short-cut" to losing weight. People who nurture this belief will always have difficulty losing weight. Patience and perseverance are vital for success.

I've just starting exercising to lose weight. Which exercise is best to burn extra calories?
The best type of activity for "instant" calorie-burning is aerobic training such as walking, swimming or running. The best type of activity to raise metabolic rate and increase "longer-term calorie expenditure" is anaerobic training, like weight-lifting. The ideal calorie-burning training program involves a combination of both these types of exercises.

I've tried losing weight many times over the past 15 years. I'm 45 and heavier than ever. I heard about bariatric surgery for severe obesity, but my husband is concerned about the risks involved. What can you tell me about the procedure?
For some seriously obese patients, bariatric surgery is a last-chance option to improve their health and weight. There are two main types of obesity surgery: stomach banding and stomach bypass, both of which can be performed using traditional "open" techniques or laparoscopy. (During laparoscopic operations, the surgeon makes small incisions and views the interior of the abdomen on a video screen which is connected to the operating instruments.)

What are the Risks of Surgery vs. Risks of Obesity?
Both gastric banding and gastric bypass are serious operations, and (like all major surgery) carry serious health risks. However, the possible risks and health complications of this type of invasive abdominal surgery must be balanced against the known health dangers of morbid/malignant obesity.

What are the Health Risks of Bariatric Surgery?
The risks vary according to the type of gastric surgery performed and the technique used. In general, mortality and morbidity rates of follow-up operations are higher than those of initial surgeries.

What is the "Lap-Band" surgery for obese people?
Lap-Band is a type of gastric surgery designed to reduce the size of the stomach. Unlike gastric bypass surgery which involves major alterations of the intestinal tract, lap-band surgeries are less drastic and therefore more popular than bypass operations. However, patients can "cheat" more easily, thus weight reduction tends to be smaller.

Are there risks associated with Lap-Band surgery?
Yes, risks and complications do exist. They include:

Band slippage/leakage
Risk of internal infection
Stomach pains after meals (over-eating)
Nutritional deficiencies during liquid diet phase
Reduced weight loss due to non-compliance with post-op diet and exercise recommendations

Why is water beneficial for weight loss?
Water contains zero calories. Drinking water instead of milk, fruit juices or regular sodas helps to lower the calorie content of your diet and thus helps weight reduction. Water can fill you up. Some dieters find it helpful to drink a glass of water when they feel hungry between meals, or just before a meal. Keeping hydrated will help reduce cravings. Slight dehydration can be interpreted by your brain as hunger. In other words, you may be thirsty, but you think you're hungry.

My daughter is a nurse. She recently told me that my excess weight (I'm 75 pounds overweight), increases my risk of breast cancer. Is there any truth to this?
Unfortunately, your daughter is correct. There is a growing connection between obesity and breast cancer. Almost half of all breast cancer cases in postmenopausal women occur in those suffering from obesity. Scientists have yet to determine what causal factors may be contributing to this risk. Because of this link between obesity and breast cancer, it is important for all women to maintain control over their weight, especially as they enter menopause.

Why can some people eat lots without gaining weight?
Because they have a higher, or faster metabolism. In other words, they burn calories at a faster rate than normal.

What causes a person to have a faster metabolism?
It's uncertain but researchers believe hormones and genetics play a role in metabolism.

How can I raise my own metabolism?
The only effective way to raise your metabolism is with exercise. The more you exercise, the faster your metabolic rate. Weight lifting and other weight-resistant exercise increases metabolism much faster and much longer than aerobic exercise.

Will exercise make me hungry?
Yes and No. Yes, exercise may increase your appetite to begin with but this is perfectly natural - after all, you are burning a lot more calories. However, as your body adjusts you should experience a decrease in appetite. Research shows that exercise actually lowers appetite for up to several hours afterwards.

I've been a healthy weight all my life. I'm now 53 and have gained 15 pounds in the past two years. I haven't changed my eating or exercise habits. My friends all report the same problem. Why is it so easy to gain weight as we age?
We need fewer calories as we get older. Calorie needs decrease by 2-4 percent for every 10 years after our 20s. So if you need about 2100 calories a day at 20 years of age, then by 50 years of age you need only about 1850 calories.

The most common reason why we need to eat fewer calories as we age is because our muscle mass tends to decrease as we age; approximately 30 percent loss by the time we reach our 70s. The reason for this is simple lack of exercise. Because muscle burns more calories, the less muscle we have, the fewer calories we need. Hormonal changes (e.g. thyroid function, adrenal function) may also slow down our metabolic rate and cause a drop in calorie needs.

My 12 year old daughter is very overweight but she hardly eats a bite. Why is this?
Nine times out of ten, it's because she's eating too many high calorie foods, like chips, pretzels, nachos, soda, candy and chocolate, but not enough proper food.

Suggestions:

Make sure she eats a sensible breakfast and dinner. For lunch give her healthy sandwiches with milk or 100 percent fruit juice.
Encourage exercise or any activity outside.
Turn off the television.
Lead by example.

What's the biggest dieting mistake?
The biggest mistake dieters make, is not eating enough. It's common to see food as the enemy. But food isn't the enemy: hunger is. Don't starve yourself! Remember: it's not how much you eat, that counts - it's what you eat.

I walk every day for 30 minutes and have been doing great with my weight loss program. My problem is that after 4 months I've stopped losing weight. I haven't changed my diet. What am I doing wrong?
It sounds as if you have hit a plateau. Plateaus happen to everyone. When you do the same exercise over and over, your body adapts to it and your workout becomes less effective.

If you've reached a plateau try these ideas:

Increase your exercise intensity. Speed up your usual workout or add sprints or hills to boost your calorie-burning.
Try something new. Confuse your body by doing something you've never done--ride a bike or go for a swim to keep your muscles from becoming too accustomed to one exercise.
Lift weights. Weight training is one of the best methods for increasing metabolism and calorie burning.
Add another day of exercise. Even an extra 15-20 minutes a week can help you burn more calories.

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