The Dr. Francavilla Show

What, exactly, is appetite?

Our appetite is so much more complex than most people realize. There are actually seven components of appetite, and understanding each of them can give a much clearer idea of what causes us to eat, overeat, or eat the "wrong" foods.

Hunger and cravings are two of the seven—likely the two we think of the most.

Hunger is that physiological desire to eat; you might notice it by a growling stomach, for example.

Craving is a desire to eat something specific; it might be something you often think about (chocolate for me!) or something that comes up sparingly (anyone else just really want a juicy cheeseburger every so often?!).

I go over these and the other five in detail in my newest Dr. Francavilla Show podcast episode, What Exactly Is Appetite? Listen in to get a better understanding and jot down the things that might help you improve your health.

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Exercising can be so intimidating, whether it's at a studio where everyone else seems to be a pro yogi or it's at a gym where just figuring out how to turn on the machine seems tricky.

But what if we could set any intimidation aside in the name of a longer, healthier life?!

What if we separate weight loss and from exercise? And make it about moving in a way that feels right to YOU?

And what if we learn the incredible benefits of intentional movement? Lower anxiety, improved sleep, better heart health, increased bone health, lower risk of dementia ... sounds pretty great, right?

That's why my newest Dr. Francavilla Show podcast episode is all about exercise and how to get moving for optimal health. Check out What You Need to Know About Exercise for my exercise insight including the top two questions I get asked about exercise.

And remember: No one is paying as much attention to you and your exercising as you are ... so let go of the myth that everyone's watching and judging you at the gym!

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Different bodies respond differently to the various weight-loss treatments, so it should not be considered a failure if a person's unique body is simply resistant to certain treatments. This is also why bariatric surgery shouldn't be considered a last-resort weight-loss solution. 

In this newest podcast episode, I have an incredible and inspirational conversation with Karli Burridge, a PA and specialist in obesity management.

She reminds us we have many tools for managing obesity because people are unique and have different needs, including in weight management. Sometimes those needs involve lifestyle changes, sometimes it's medication, sometimes it's bariatric surgery—and sometimes it's a combination. Each of these tools can be considered based on individual patient situations and the best way to support their wellness. 

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Weight is just one part of the whole health picture of a person.

While weight can affect overall health and losing weight can improve that, there are other factors to consider when you are looking to become healthier.

I have identified 5 factors to address BEFORE trying to lose weight so you set yourself up for success and make sure important conditions aren't overlooked when working to improve your health.

Get the 5 factors and details in today's episode!

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Unless you live a life that always goes as planned, listen up!

Backup plans are a must when it comes to your health because no matter how well-prepped your lunches are for the week, you're bound to forget the lunch bag at home one day or find that your lettuce has wilted (already?!).

So do these things get you off track and change the trajectory of your successful health plan?

Not if you have a backup plan!

Backup plans don't have to mean twice the planning—you won't have to use them much, so don't worry about spending too much time putting them in place. But when you do need to use them, you'll be so glad you thought about them in advance so you don't derail the progress you've made on your health goals!

In today's episode of The Dr. Francavilla Show Podcast, I discuss simple ways to create backup plans in case things go awry for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even exercise plans.

Tune in to get my simple tips!

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In today's Dr. Francavilla Show podcast episode, I walk you through the pros and cons of each of the 6 most common diets that are brought up by patients at my clinic. 

Data tells us the biggest predictor of success when picking a nutrition plan is if it's something you can stick with.

As an obesity physician, I typically recommend my patients start with something like this, which I call the Healthy Eating Plan.
 Simply take a plate and fill ...
 - 1/2 of it with veggies 
- 1/4 of it with protein 
- 1/8 of it with fats 
- 1/8 of it with carbs

The veggies provide lots of nutrition and the protein is really good at making people feel full and satisfied, and that is really important for your patients trying to lose weight.

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It might surprise you to know that many people who come to me for weight loss don't actually need to lose weight!

So how do you know if you (or your patients) do?

In my newest podcast episode, I run through a few things to consider, because it is possible that stressing about weight is actually causing more harm than good for your health.

I always invite my patients to share with me whether their physical activity is limited due to their weight. I also ask if there is a current health problem or future concern due to family history that losing weight would solve.

Losing a moderate amount of weight can do amazing things for their health, so that's part of why I got into the field I got into. Without adding medicines or treatments, a plan to cut 5-10% of a person's weight can dramatically improve many health issues.

But the key there is "health issues." Sometimes the actual issue is more of a societal pressure or body image concern than an actual health problem or physical limitation.

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In this episode, we are going to talk all about emotional eating. We will address ways you can recognize and handle it with the "Am I hungry" method. We will also talk about what emotional eating is and what it is not. When I have researched this topic before, studies estimate that about 70 to 80% of people emotionally eat. That means the vast majority of us emotionally eat at least from time to time. You may be eating the way you want the majority of the day and this emotional trigger happens then all of a sudden you find yourself off your eating pattern, eating way more than you planned, and eating foods you hadn't planned to eat. So what do we do about this? I hope to give you some tools today that will help so make sure you check out the show!

Points of interest...

• What is emotional eating? [1:18]
• Recognizing the triggers [2:56]
• Am I hungry? [6:48]
• What is the problem and how do I solve it? [10:33]
• Building a toolbox to help deal with emotional eating [14:48]
• Is giving in to emotional eating on occasion ok? [17:06]
• Actionable take-a-ways [20:30]

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Today's episode is all about setting goals. If you are like most of my patients, you have set lots of goals in your life around health and weight. Maybe you haven't always been successful with them, maybe you haven't always accomplished them, maybe you haven't even started them. Some of that may be that you are choosing the wrong goal. It is the beginning of 2023 and many people like to start their year by setting a goal, but you can set goals any time of the year so don't let a date on a calendar limit you. Today I'm gonna teach you how to set goals that you can actually achieve and how to set yourself up for success!

Points of interest...

• Is your goal specific [2:18]
• Is your goal measurable? [4:14]
• Is your goal attainable? [6:43]
• Is your goal realistic? [9:16]
• Does your goal have a deadline? [11:43]
• Once you have a goal how do you make it happen? [15:55]
• Getting help with your goal [21:43]

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Today is a very exciting day on the podcast because we have our first guest, Dr. Angela Fitch. She is an internal medicine and pediatric obesity medicine physician and president of the Obesity Medicine Association. She's the former co-director of the Mass General Weight Center in Boston and now she is the Chief Medical Officer for Known Well a new in-person and virtual primary care and obesity clinic that will launch soon in Boston and across the country. In this episode, we will be talking about something that both Dr. Fitch and I are really passionate about, anti-obesity medications that help with weight loss. We will discuss why we think they are important, what kinds are out there and what they do, and why diet and exercise aren't always enough. I hope this information helps you.

Points of interest...

• Why do we need medications? [2:08]
• Sympathomimetic amines, a class of medications like Phentermine [6:51]
• Phentermine Topiramate combination [14:32]
• Naltrexone Bupropion combo [17:39]
• GLP-1 agonists injections [20:34]
• Keeping an eye on nutrition when using medications [28:20]
• Plenity [32:29]
• Orlistat [35:11]
• Medications that are not technically anti-obesity medications [37:25]
• Accepting long-term use [39:18]

Resources & People Mentioned
Dr. Angela Fitch

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