“We know that Obesity is as much a disease as Depression, or Asthma or Parkinsons. Telling someone who carries extra weight to just eat less and move more is like telling someone with Depression to just cheer up. The science has caught up to the complexity of this - sadly society has not…. yet.”

– Ali Zentner, MD, FRCPC

This WILL be different

The Get to Surgery program takes a true medical approach to Obesity Management. This means we will recommend medications for obesity when suitable. We may also discuss with you the option of bariatric surgery. A full list of the medical and surgical approaches used in Obesity Medicine is available in the RESOURCES section of this website. We’ve also included information about the different medications available for use - the benefits and side effects and have a library of information for you to review in order to make an informed decision.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

WHAT DIET SHOULD I USE? We are often asked WHAT DIET SHOULD I FOLLOW? Let’s be frank- you’ve been on many diets. You don’t need us to hand you another one and tell you “this is the one”. Diets don’t usually work. Diets by their very nature are limited. They have a beginning, a middle and an end. A diet implies that there will be restriction and deprivation and that indeed you won’t be able to follow it forever because it will be uncomfortable and challenging. We don’t hand you a meal plan and ask you to get comfortable. Yes, we are happy to talk about nutritional changes but the key here to ask is what changes are comfortable and sustainable for you long term. You know what to eat. If you do want some nutritional guidance we can teach you about MACRONUTRIENTS- this means we will help you understand about the types of food you are eating (carbohydrates and protein specifically) and how to make sure you are adjusting the types of food you eat to suit your life. In short - we want you to better understand nutrition (only if you want to) and make some comfortable and sustainable changes that you feel good about. In short: IF YOU CAN’T DO IT FOREVER… DON’T START.

2. WHAT ABOUT EXERCISE: You need a joint replacement. It’s likely that movement is a challenge. First thing- exercise does not help with weight loss. We’ve highlighted this in our resource section about the common myths around obesity. Don’t exercise to lose weight. Exercise to maintain health and muscle mass. We lose muscle mass as we age and as we lose weight. Exercise helps cut back on the loss of muscle mass. It is also an amazing tool for overall health improvement and disease prevention. So- in preparation for surgery we are happy to suggest some simple exercises and movement ideas to help you stay fit while preparing for surgery. Obviously these are going to be things YOU CAN DO even with your arthritis. For more information on exercise go to the section of this website labelled LINKS

3. HOW LONG WILL I BE ON TREATMENT FOR OBESITY? Whatever we do to lose weight, we do to keep it off. The body does not LEARN from medication. Remember that medication of any kind for a chronic disease is a compensation for what the body is not doing, not an education for the body on how to do something. You may be on blood pressure pills for example. You don’t take the pills, lower your blood pressure and then stop the pills. Obesity is a complex hormonal imbalance that requires long term treatments. It is not a behaviour where your body can learn from medications on how to “do better”. Make no mistake- it is your body- you get to decide on treatment. You can stop treatment at any time- but whatever we do to lose weight we must continue to keep it off. So, should you decide to stop the treatment there is a risk that you will regain the weight.