Read or Listen to Dr. Azar Korbey's on WZID
Listen to Dr. Korbey’s WZID Weight Loss Interview
With millions of Americans falling into the obese category, why is it important to lose weight?
It’s really not just the fact that someone is overweight, but it’s where the weight is being stored in the body. We talk about visceral fat, which is the fat that naturally surrounds the organs to give them insulation. But when we put on weight, the fat surrounding the organs increases which makes it much more difficult for the organs to function properly. This is what can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. When a patient loses weight, we watch not only for the visible fat (the fat that is visible to the eye cosmetically) but also for significant reductions in the visceral fat.
As a doctor what do you see from patients in terms of changes to their health when they lose weight?
Well, the physical changes are obvious. Weight loss is easy to see physically. As physicians and medical weight loss specialists, we also look for improvements in blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol. Something that people often overlook are the tremendous psychological improvements people experience when they start feeling better about themselves. Improving self-image is a very important part of a weight loss journey.
What is the problem with crash/fad diets?
Any type of calorie restriction diet will only work in the short term. Most of the crash or fad diets are either very high fat, very low (or no) carbs, or they are starvation type diets. This type of weight loss is never sustainable and what leads most people to yo-yo, putting it back on and taking it off again in a vicious cycle. The best way is to learn how to balance your nutrients along with portion control and eating moderately throughout the day.
I try to teach my patients using everyday analogies so that they can more easily understand. So let’s consider your metabolism like a fireplace when you want to keep the fire roaring. The roaring fire is what burns your fat. Now, don’t put enough wood on the fire, meaning food, and the fire goes out and your metabolism slows down. Put too much wood on the fire, again meaning overeating, and your smother the fire and your fat burning goes down. Now, put small amounts of wood on the fire all day long, and the fire keeps roaring. In weight loss, as you yourself have experienced, Neal, moderate amounts of food throughout the day will keep your internal fat burning fire going strong.
Tell us about the long-term health effects of being overweight.
I’m not sure that there is enough time in the day to discuss this but probably the major effects that will affect your life are excess fatigue, joint pains, particularly the hips, knees, back and feet, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, poor sleeping habits, and in many people, decreased sex drive.
COVID-19 something we all are dealing with right now, if someone is overweight is it a concern?
Recent reports are showing that people who are overweight, and not just the severely overweight, have a higher percentage of severe COVID symptoms that those who are at or near normal weight.
Lots of people gained weight during the pandemic because of stress or comfort eating…how can they turn that around?
There are any number of weight loss programs someone can join but of course I’m a bit biased with this answer. A good program like we have at Transition Medical Weight Loss, where you will learn how to change your eating habits with professional counselors and where your medical problems are taken into consideration, is key to turning around the COVID weight gain. But the real key is the desire to lose weight for a healthier future. Let’s face it, weight loss is not easy. Being overweight doesn’t happen overnight and so losing it the right way doesn’t either. But with the right support and teaching at the beginning and in the future, anyone really can succeed with sustainable weight loss.
Why is drinking water so important for weight loss?
As you lose weight, the fat inside the fat cells liquefies and needs to be flushed out of the body. Without enough water, and we usually say about 8-10 eight ounce glasses a day, that can’t effectively happen.
Do you want to share your own story about losing weight and staying healthy?
I grew up in a middle eastern family where food was always an important part of the culture. While it was always very, very good, it was not always good for the waistline. So I grew up heavy and by the time I was in high school I weighed 250 pounds. For a variety of reasons I realized that I had to lose weight. I struggled over the next few years without any type of real nutritional knowledge but by the time I went to college I had lost almost a hundred pounds. I’ve always known the value of good nutrition so about 12 years ago I brought a registered dietitian into my practice. We decided about 4 years ago to look for a program that could help our patients to lose weight the right way and make it an easier journey than what I had to go through. So, we developed Transition Medical Weight Loss, put a top notch team together with Joe, Cheryl, Rhonda, Caroline, the 2 Michelles and Donna. So far we have helped over 425 patients lose almost 10,000 pounds of weight. It’s been just remarkable and very gratifying. We have had a countless number of people write to us telling us how grateful they are and how we have helped to change their lives.
