Send a Text Message. Please include your name and email so we can answer you! Please note, this does not subscribe you to our email list, it's just to answer if you have a questions for us.

Today’s episode takes a slightly different format to usual as I will be diving into some of the most common questions I get asked from you, my community.

My rule of thumb is that if one person is asking it, there are likely many more of you thinking it or struggling with a similar issue. As always, I am not providing any medical advice in my responses, this is purely informational and educational. While I cannot give specific recommendations, there are some general points and takeaways that I want to share with you.

I’m covering a wide range of topics, including:

• Concerns about slow progress on anti-obesity medications
• Bariatric surgery vs. anti-obesity medications
• Issues around medical tourism
• Suggestions for hair loss on GLP-1 medications.

Don’t forget, if you have a topic you’d like to hear covered in a future episode, you can sign up to my weekly email that lets you know what's coming out on the podcast. Simply hit reply to those emails with your suggestion and we'll look at incorporating it into a future episode!

Resources

To get my latest content via email, join The Obesity Guide Podcast Email List (right hand side).

To find out more about how to calculate the percentage of body weight that you've lost, head over to my recent podcast episode: Anti-Obesity Medications Part 2

To learn more about how weight loss can impact hair loss, listen to my interview with dermatologist Cris Berlingeri MD.

Audio Stamps

02:12 - Dr. Rentea responds to a patient who has been on Ozempic for 3 weeks and is concerned about slow progress.

05:30 - Dr. Rentea gives her opinion on VSG (vertical sleeve gastrectomy) versus medications.

08:45 -  We hear about a patient who lost 30 lbs on Mounjaro before switching to Ozempic, and is frustrated about the results.

10:48 - Dr. Rentea discusses the issues around medical tourism.

14:58 - We find out Dr. Rentea’s suggestions for hair loss on GLP-1 medications.

Quotes

04:42 - “The percentage of body weight that you've lost is a much more revealing number compared to just pounds in general.”

05:07 - “We do not want this rapid weight loss. One to two [pounds per week] w

All of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast.

If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com

✨ Season 2 of Behind the Curtain is officially live! ✨ You can join the season on its own or take it a step further by opting into the live 21-Day Challenge with Dr. Rentea, running December 1–21—the perfect way to finish the year strong and head into the holidays with momentum.👉 JOIN HERE — spots are limited for the live challenge!

Support the show

Send a Text Message. Please include your name and email so we can answer you! Please note, this does not subscribe you to our email list, it's just to answer if you have a questions for us.

Today I have something a bit different in store for you because the script has been completely flipped for this episode! Kicked out of my usual hosting spot, I have landed in the guest seat, where my good friend Amanda Sabicer will be quizzing me about what’s going on behind the scenes at the Rentea Metabolic Clinic.

I have known Amanda for several years from when I worked as a primary care physician. Amanda is a nonprofit executive and life and business coach for women who want to do big things and, in my case, revolutionize obesity medical care. 

In this episode, we talk about my goals to scale a more patient-centric treatment to serve the obese community in a holistic way, rather than contributing to a system that continues to enable more bias and provide patchwork solutions. 

You can find out more about Amanda’s coaching here.

Quotes

03:11 - “I got into primary care and I loved the patients. I loved doing all of that. But again and again, what I see is we never actually have time to get to what the metabolic problems are.”

14:30 - “Everything is blamed on weight. A lot of the time life-saving diagnoses are missed.”

29:02 - [about direct care] “People see it as not conventional, but at the same time, once they experience it, they're like, ‘I'm not going back’.”

33:26 - “ With the diagnosis of obesity, there's a big mental load that comes with it because for so long we've been oppressed with this. And so I work on that aspect so that long term you feel like a different person. The weight going down never changes how you feel about yourself.”

45:23 - “When I say a holistic approach, it's not ever just about the food..If you hear nothing else today, please realize it's much more than that and usually self-care is about are you having enough fun, are you relaxing? What other things do we need to get to happen for you to feel okay?”

Audio Stamps

00:29 - We are introduced to guest host Amanda Sabicer and why the script is being flipped in this episode.

02:22 - We find out about Dr. Rentea’s journey to becoming a physician.

05:27 - We find out how Dr. Rentea came to the decision to start her own clinic.

10:08 - Dr. Rentea discusses the role of social media in her journey and how she emotionally handles difficult interactions on social platforms.

14:24 - Dr. Rentea shares some of the experiences she’s had around obesity bias and what the challenges are in our medical system when it comes to obesity as a disease state.

All of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast.

If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com

✨ Season 2 of Behind the Curtain is officially live! ✨ You can join the season on its own or take it a step further by opting into the live 21-Day Challenge with Dr. Rentea, running December 1–21—the perfect way to finish the year strong and head into the holidays with momentum.👉 JOIN HERE — spots are limited for the live challenge!

Support the show

Send a Text Message. Please include your name and email so we can answer you! Please note, this does not subscribe you to our email list, it's just to answer if you have a questions for us.

You could be forgiven for not getting overly excited about food planning, but when I tell you just how much this can transform a person’s life and weight loss journey, you’ll be rushing to the nearest notepad and pen.

There are lots of things that people want to change, from body image to body weight, but often they keep finding themselves in the same place. Whether you’re at the beginning of your journey, or you've plateaued somewhere and are going through the next sprint, you will need to figure out what you need to change. Ultimately, we have to keep changing what we're doing otherwise our body gets used to it (the joys of metabolic adaptation…).

But change can feel exhausting. Everything becomes a conscious decision you need to make and you’re no longer working on autopilot. So today, I’m going to share how just a little bit of food planning can be a powerful tool to help you get a different outcome. Tune in to find out how you can break some of those patterns and start to program something new into your brain.

Quotes

01:49 - “About 90 to 95% of the things we do are run by the habit brain.”

05:00 - “If we're not living an intentional life, if we're not planning things, if we're not putting a little bit of thought into what we're doing, the past just keeps repeating.”

07:21 - “If we can do planning, we can break some of these habit loops and some of this automatic thinking and program away new things.”

10:16 - “If we let go of perfection, which is not required for you to plan and to take care of yourself and be more intentional in this area, life gets a lot easier.”

16:53 - “I'm Obesity Medicine board certified. I help patients with clarity all day long on this, and everyone's getting results. And for myself, I can't see it clearly. That is the nature of this. We often cannot see our own brain. We often cannot see things in our own life clearly.”

Audio Stamps

01:49 - Dr. Rentea introduces us to the idea of having a “habit brain”.

04:27 - We learn how breaking habit loops and being more intentional can help us to program new things.

07:29 - We find out why perfection is not the goal.

10:26 - We discover how planning gives us data we need to be the scientist for our own body.

12:15 - Dr. Rentea emphasizes the importance of keeping planning simple.

14:50 - Dr. Rentea runs through some questions to ask yourself if planning is something that you are currently doing or want to start doing.

All of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast.

If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com

✨ Season 2 of Behind the Curtain is officially live! ✨ You can join the season on its own or take it a step further by opting into the live 21-Day Challenge with Dr. Rentea, running December 1–21—the perfect way to finish the year strong and head into the holidays with momentum.👉 JOIN HERE — spots are limited for the live challenge!

Support the show

Send a Text Message. Please include your name and email so we can answer you! Please note, this does not subscribe you to our email list, it's just to answer if you have a questions for us.

When it comes to weight loss, our mentality is often driven by diet culture telling us we have to hit a certain number on a scale or a target BMI. Getting caught up in this societal construct of fitting a certain size or looking a certain way can end up completely consuming our life. 

Especially problematic for women, obsessive thoughts about a “goal weight” can occupy every part of your mind, influence your mood, and mean you’re not showing up the way you want to. You become so ingrained in diet mentality and losing that last ten pounds, that if your goal weight isn’t reached, you feel like a failure.

That’s why I invited internist and obesity medicine physician Dr Sasha High, to discuss why not setting a goal weight might just be the most loving thing you ever do.

Connect with Dr. Sasha High: You can find her on Youtube, Instagram, Tik Tok, visit her website, or listen to her on the High on Life Podcast.

Resources

Follow Alex Light on Instagram (Body Confidence)

Follow Lyndi Cohen aka The Nude Nutritionist on Instagram 

Quotes

"When we’re treating obesity as a chronic medical condition, we’re looking at how we can improve this person’s health, function, mental health, and really support them in living their best life. It may not be at all realistic for them ever to reach a ‘normal’ or healthy’ BMI and so we really have to drop these artificial targets. We mistakenly believe that we have the ability to manipulate our bodies down to a number.” -Sasha High MD 

“If you have body dysmorphia or body dissatisfaction, that is a separate thing from weight loss and weight loss doesn't fix it.” -Sasha High MD

Audio stamps

02:51 - Dr. High tells us more about who she is and who she helps.

04:54 - We hear Dr. High’s thoughts on having a strategy with patients to find a “goal weight”. 

08:42 - Dr. Rentea and Dr. High discuss the impact of the ‘last ten pounds’ conversation.

11:38 - Dr. Rentea asks Dr. High to talk about the issue of people on anti-obesity medications facing negative thoughts about their body again. 

15:22 - Dr. High and Dr. Rentea

All of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast.

If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com

✨ Season 2 of Behind the Curtain is officially live! ✨ You can join the season on its own or take it a step further by opting into the live 21-Day Challenge with Dr. Rentea, running December 1–21—the perfect way to finish the year strong and head into the holidays with momentum.👉 JOIN HERE — spots are limited for the live challenge!

Support the show

Send a Text Message. Please include your name and email so we can answer you! Please note, this does not subscribe you to our email list, it's just to answer if you have a questions for us.

When people hear the phrase ‘emotional eating’, there’s a tendency to associate it with crying over a tub of Ben & Jerries, or stress-munching your way through a pack of cookies. While it's common for people to turn to food for comfort as a way to cope with big, difficult feelings, there are many other situations where we might find ourselves eating emotionally. 

Have you ever attended a dinner where you end up having dessert just because everyone else is? Have you celebrated someone’s birthday and eaten a slice of cake despite being full? Have you snacked on something when you’ve been bored at work? These are some prime examples of how normalized emotional eating is in our society, but the impact it has on our mental and physical health can be detrimental.

So how can we begin to tackle the problem of eating when we’re not physically hungry? In this episode, I’m walking you through the four phases of healing emotional eating and giving you five practical steps, from nutrition to mindset, that will help to get your emotional eating more under control.

References

Find out more about binge eating coach Jane Pilger’s principles here.

Listen to Kathryn Hansen’s ‘Brain over Binge’ podcast here.

Learn more about Jessie Inchauspé’s book ‘Glucose Revolution: The Life-Changing Power of Balancing Your Blood Sugar’.

Pull Quotes

 “In the beginning, expecting that you're only going to eat when you're hungry and that everything's going to go perfectly and you're going to have no emotional eating, you're really setting yourself up for failure. The goal isn't zero.”

 “If you want to bring down emotional eating, the biggest impact is going to be balancing your meals.”

“Often by the time you're in that emotional eating zone, you're not thinking about how to support yourself. The work needs to be done before this time.”

“What it usually comes down to is that you're really tired, really exhausted, and you don't know any other ways to take care of yourself besides making a snack at night. It gives you a little bit of that dopamine hit.”

Audio Stamps

03:20 - Dr. Rentea talks us through the four phases to healing emotional eating.

08:20 - We learn why, when it comes to decreasing emotional hunger, the goal is not zero.

10:16 - We find out how balancing meals

All of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast.

If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com

✨ Season 2 of Behind the Curtain is officially live! ✨ You can join the season on its own or take it a step further by opting into the live 21-Day Challenge with Dr. Rentea, running December 1–21—the perfect way to finish the year strong and head into the holidays with momentum.👉 JOIN HERE — spots are limited for the live challenge!

Support the show

Send a Text Message. Please include your name and email so we can answer you! Please note, this does not subscribe you to our email list, it's just to answer if you have a questions for us.

Whether it’s disguised as points or eating windows, the ‘calories in vs calories out’ model forms the basis of most modern weight loss programs and diets.

Most people these days are familiar with calorie tracking apps, calorie calculators and energy tracking devices. Some people even obsess over them in an arguably unhealthy fashion.

Should we really be focusing all of our efforts on weighing foods, checking calorie content and restricting ourselves to certain calorie intakes? 

In this podcast episode, Dr Rentea presents us with an alternative view to the diet industry’s ongoing obsession with calorie counting. She encourages us to look for the answers internally, instead of fixating our attention on external factors. 

In this episode, you will learn:

• The history of calorie counting
• The key flaws of the ‘calories in vs calories out’ model
• Why we should be listening to our bodies more

Quotes

05:55 - “We see people perfectly following the calorie numbers and they’re not losing the expected amount of weight.”

08:41 - “It's a constant stress response because they're used to using something outside of themselves instead of listening to themselves.”

13:27 - “It creates a lot of obsession and disordered eating, and it's just not a way to live long term.”

14:00 - “If we're not able to consistently keep doing things or coming back to them, it is not the way forward long term.”

Audio Stamps

2:28 - Dr Rentea talks us through the history of where the calorie model come from

4:20 - How to know if someone is subscribing to a calories in/calories out model and some of the flaws of this model

14:00 - Dr Rentea discusses how we can start to learn a new way of doing things and take a more long-term approach concerned with quality of food and listening to your body.

15:41 - We learn about the importance of listening to yourself

All of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast.

If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com

✨ Season 2 of Behind the Curtain is officially live! ✨ You can join the season on its own or take it a step further by opting into the live 21-Day Challenge with Dr. Rentea, running December 1–21—the perfect way to finish the year strong and head into the holidays with momentum.👉 JOIN HERE — spots are limited for the live challenge!

Support the show

Send a Text Message. Please include your name and email so we can answer you! Please note, this does not subscribe you to our email list, it's just to answer if you have a questions for us.

When you’re not getting enough sleep, the negative impact goes beyond making you feel ‘just a bit tired’. It can affect your mood, your relationships, and your overall quality of life.

Obesity is linked to a higher risk of sleep disorders, including insomnia. It's not clear whether that's because sleep loss leads to weight gain or because the physical and metabolic effects of obesity keep you from sleeping soundly. What we do know is that insomnia is not just a night time problem, it’s a 24 hour issue.

That’s why I’ve invited sleep and stress management coach Janet Whalen to share her expertise when it comes to sleeping better. A former insomniac turned great sleeper, Janet is passionate about helping women give themselves permission to sleep, rest and care for themselves after years of giving everything to work, family and others.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How sleep changes over our lifetime
• Whether sleep trackers are beneficial
• Why having an evening routine is so important
• If you should use supplements like melatonin
• How caffeine and alcohol intake affects sleep
• Why it’s NOT helpful to sleep more at the weekend.
• Practical tips on how to get better sleep.

To read the full show notes, click here.

Connect with Janet:

Visit Janet’s website at janetwhalen.com

Go to janetwhalen.com/sleep to download the Calm Your Racing Mind At Night freebie

Follow her on Facebook and Instagram: @janetwhalencoaching 

Join Janet’s free Facebook group: Facebook.com/groups/Permissiontosleep

Audio Stamps

02:18 - Janet tells us more about who she is and who she helps.

04:30 - We find out how your weight can be affected by your sleep quality.

06:40 - Janet shares an easy place to start if you have challenges with sleep.

13:44 - Janet gives us her thoughts on whether people should be using watches to track their sleep.

17:00 - Dr. Rentea asks Janet how she reconnects people with the symptoms in their body of drowsiness and wakefulness.

23:23 - Janet explains how rewarding yourself with sleep at the weekend could be h

All of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast.

If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com

✨ Season 2 of Behind the Curtain is officially live! ✨ You can join the season on its own or take it a step further by opting into the live 21-Day Challenge with Dr. Rentea, running December 1–21—the perfect way to finish the year strong and head into the holidays with momentum.👉 JOIN HERE — spots are limited for the live challenge!

Support the show

Send a Text Message. Please include your name and email so we can answer you! Please note, this does not subscribe you to our email list, it's just to answer if you have a questions for us.

Last week, we opened up the topic of anti-obesity medications and looked at some of the pros and cons of specific medicines available. Today, we are continuing the conversation but looking into some of the most commonly asked questions I get when it comes to weight loss medications.

This Part 2 episode covers the concerns and queries I most often hear from patients and folks on social media, so tune in to find out:

• If the weight comes back on if you stop the medications
• What to do if you think the medication has stopped working
• Why anti-obesity medicines are commonly written off-label
• The importance of having a comprehensive plan in place with your doctor
• If you can take these medications with a history of bariatric surgery
• How to find a physician that you can work with

To read the full show notes, click here.

References

You can check out the first episode on anti-obesity medications, where I run through the pros and cons of 9 different weight loss medications

To find out more about my own clinic, visit renteaclinic.com

You can also subscribe to The Obesity Guide podcast email list to keep you informed about new episodes and resources.

The following websites can help you find physicians in your local area:

Obesitycareproviders.com

abom.org

Audio Stamps

01:00 - Dr. Rentea discusses whether the weight comes back on if you stop taking these medications.

02:48 - We find out if these medications can stop working after a certain amount of weight loss.

05:40 - Dr. Rentea tells us about the next steps if you believe the medication has stopped working.

10:07 -  Dr.Rentea talks about why anti-obesity medicines are commonly written off-label.

11:30 - We learn about the importance of having a solid birth control plan if you are a woman of childbearing age and on these medications.

12:44 - We hear about why having a comprehensive plan in place with your doctor is vital for success. 

15:52 - We find out if someone who has had a history of bariatric surgery can take anti-obesity medications.17:30 - Dr. Rentea tells us about where to find a physician that you can work with.

All of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast.

If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com

✨ Season 2 of Behind the Curtain is officially live! ✨ You can join the season on its own or take it a step further by opting into the live 21-Day Challenge with Dr. Rentea, running December 1–21—the perfect way to finish the year strong and head into the holidays with momentum.👉 JOIN HERE — spots are limited for the live challenge!

Support the show

Send a Text Message. Please include your name and email so we can answer you! Please note, this does not subscribe you to our email list, it's just to answer if you have a questions for us.

Today we’re kicking off the topic of anti-obesity medications available conventionally, often referred to as weight loss medications. As there is so much to delve into, this is going to be the first of two episodes on this topic.

Long-term weight loss is extremely challenging, even with the correct lifestyle changes.  Only around 5% of people are able to lose 20% of their body weight with lifestyle changes alone. So while you may benefit from short-term weight loss, your hormones often end up working against you, increasing your appetite and lowering your metabolism. Willpower alone isn’t usually strong enough to fight these metabolic adaptations.

In this episode, I’m running you through the pros and cons of 9 different anti-obesity medications, as well as discussing who qualifies for this medication.

Please remember that while I am a physician, there's no medical advice being given here. This is a very informational, brief overview of the risks and benefits of these medications. There are many aspects that I am not able to cover within this one episode, so please ensure that any big changes to your health or medications is discussed with your own medical team.

Audio Stamps

02:30 - We find out who qualifies for weight loss medications

07:00 - Dr. Rentea discusses the metabolic adaptations our body can experience

09:56 - We learn why we need to consider the longer term picture when it comes to weight loss medication

11:10 - Dr. Rentea discusses the pros and cons of Phentermine

14:45 - Dr. Rentea discusses the pros and cons of Qsymia

16:47 - Dr. Rentea discusses the pros and cons of Contrave

19:13 - Dr. Rentea discusses GLP-1 Agonists

22:52 - Dr. Rentea discusses Tirzepatide (brand name is Mounjaro)

23:47 - Dr. Rentea discusses the drug Plenity

24:50 - Dr. Rentea discusses Orlistat

25:25 - Dr. Rentea discusses Lisdexamfetamine (goes by the name Vyvanse)

26:06 - Dr. Rentea discusses Metformin

26:35 - Dr. Rentea talks about combining weight loss medications

Quotes:

07:25 - “Only about 5% of people are going to be able to lose 20% of their body weight with lifestyle changes alone. “

09:10 - “It’s one tool to help either stabilize or bring down weight long term that allows you to fight these metabolic adaptations. Our body actually really doesn't like to release weight. It always wants to go back to where it was.”

10:06 - “I no lo

All of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast.

If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com

✨ Season 2 of Behind the Curtain is officially live! ✨ You can join the season on its own or take it a step further by opting into the live 21-Day Challenge with Dr. Rentea, running December 1–21—the perfect way to finish the year strong and head into the holidays with momentum.👉 JOIN HERE — spots are limited for the live challenge!

Support the show

Send a Text Message. Please include your name and email so we can answer you! Please note, this does not subscribe you to our email list, it's just to answer if you have a questions for us.

We’re all familiar with obesity being linked to issues such as heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure but the skin consequences of obesity remain inadequately discussed.

In this episode, I’m delighted to be chatting with dermatologist Dr. Cris Berlingeri, who helps us understand how weight intersects with certain skin conditions, as well as problems with hair and nails.

If you are someone that has wondered about how hair loss is linked to weight loss, how the skin changes when you lose weight, and how you can best take care of yourself during weight loss from a dermatologic standpoint, this conversation will answer it all.

More about Cris
Cris was born and raised in Puerto Rico, but has been living for the last 14 years in Texas. Cris is a physician by trade and works as a dermatologist and dermatopathologist, but also has many other passions and ventures, including life coaching and owning a bakery selling Hispanic goods to the local community. What unifies all of her work is her passion to empower Hispanic women living in the United States. 

Cris has experienced her own weight loss journey where she lost 50 pounds and has managed to maintain that for the past 4 years.

Connect with Cris:

Follow her on Facebook

Visit her website: https://www.crisberlingerimd.com/

Listen to her podcast: The Joyful Weight Loss

Listen to the Spanish version: Una Cita Contigo

Find out more about her bakery here.

Follow the bakery Instagram: @lemonyellowlatinbites

References

Listen to the Cris chat more about how she maintained her 50 pound weight loss in this podcast episode: Breaking the Binge-Restrict Cycle with Cris Berlingeri MD

Audio Stamps

03:57 - Cris tells us about herself and what she does

06:05 - Cris explains how studying for the obesity medicine board was invaluable for her practice and her own personal journey

08:17 - We learn the science behind why Cris was able to maintain her weight loss, when so many others can’t

10:41 - Cris discusses the things

All of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast.

If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com

✨ Season 2 of Behind the Curtain is officially live! ✨ You can join the season on its own or take it a step further by opting into the live 21-Day Challenge with Dr. Rentea, running December 1–21—the perfect way to finish the year strong and head into the holidays with momentum.👉 JOIN HERE — spots are limited for the live challenge!

Support the show