7 Responses

1. tabbetha12

   2009 Jun 01 1

   yes you can

   doctor will usually measure weight BP and height and refer you to thee dietician.
   References :

2. concerned neighbor

   2009 Jun 01 2

   Doctors prefer to practice preventative rather than curative medicine, and would welcome patients to go to them to address issues such as obesity before they get any of the large number of associated diseases.

   Your doctor may also have a dietician on staff that you could talk with, too.
   References :

3. bayougirl

   2009 Jun 01 3

   You can, and should, make an appt. to see your Dr. about your weight. He/She will probably order fasting blood tests to check your blood sugar, cholesterol, and other levels of thyroid, etc. Then you'll be able to work on a plan for you to get heathier, which will probably include exercise. I urge you to call for an appt. today, don't take this lightly. BTW, I've been in your position, and now have lost over 100 lbs. Good luck!
   References :
   personal experience

4. Naomi B

   2009 Jun 01 4

   Doctors don't get paid much for obesity-related issues and so are likely just to hand you a diet sheet and tell you to get on with it. Some surgeries have a practice nurse who may give dietary advice. There are many diet opportunities out there – try google – and look for a programme which gives support and advice and particularly, on-going support and advice to help you keep the weight off when you have reached your goal. Without changing your eating habits, you are likely to go straight back to the weight you are now and maybe more. Good luck – it takes hard work and perseverence!
   References :

5. Dr Frank

   2009 Jun 01 5

   He will be happy to have a general discussion with regards to weight loss, in summary though he is going to tell you eat less and take more exercise as GOOD doctors know that pills are notoriously unsuccessful.
   References :
   GP for more years than I care to remember

6. GARY O

   2009 Jun 01 6

   Your GP will see you regarding your weight. However, what he/she will actually do to help you unfortunately varies from one to the next. Best case scenario, they will refer you to a dietician. If there is little or nothing wrong with your diet then they should test for thyroid problems and diabetes.

   If the problem is dietary, and if you can afford it, it is usually a lot quicker to see a nutritionist privately. There are also a lot of good books on the market on the subject of nutrition – I always recommend The New Optimum Nutrition Bible by Patrick Holford to my weight loss clients but there are lots of others on the market too. Knowledge of nutrition is far more valuable in the long run than the short-term "fix" of diet plans that just make you obsess about food even more in the long run.
   References :
   Treating hundreds, probably thousands of weight loss clients through hypnotherapy and life coaching.

7. mike h

   2009 Jun 01 7

   Okay, first of all yes you can. Your GP can advise you on health matters and refer you to dieticians or even the gym if they think it appropriate.

   Second of all, dont worry so much about the BMI, it is a fallacy. Worry more about your body fat percentage.

   Finally, heres some advice on a healthy diet and exercise to get you started.

   For a healthy diet, you need to be eating small to medium meals regularly. 4 or even 5 times a day. Each meal (apart from breakfast which should preferably be fibre rich), should contain a balanced ammount of carbohydrates for energy, (from potatoes, rice and pasta, etc) protien (from fish, chicken, occassional red meat is fine, soya is good too) and plenty of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants (simple fresh fruit and veg). Eat like this and make sure you are well hydrated (fruit juice is as good as water, any fluid counts, but some fluids have negative effects too, such as alcohol or caffiene rich drinks.)

   Now for the science bit: Protien is essential for repairing muscle and keeping the muscle you do have healthy (this includes your heart, lungs, brain etc). You naturally lose the ammount of protien you have throughout the day (through urine etc) so this needs to be replenished regularly on a daily basis.

   Carbohydrates are essential for energy. You won't be able to function without it. It also regulates body fat and glucose etc.

   Vitamins and minerals are obviously essential for a variety of reasons. For normal growth and development, for the healthy maintenance of the cells, tissues, and organs that make up our bodies, and also to let us efficiently use chemical energy provided by food.

   You can have a wide range of healthy meals with this, from Thai, Chinese, Italian, British, Indian, etc. Just make sure each meal contains balanced ammounts of these three. On the bright side too, fresh veg and rice and pasta is a lot cheaper than crappy junk food!

   This doesn't mean you cant have chocolate or pizza/takeaway/etc, just save them as very occassional treats.

   The big secret to keeping a healthy weight and staying healthy is EXCERCISE, particularly cardio excercise.

   Cardio exercise includes any form of excercise such as running/jogging/swimming/cycling etc that gets your heart rate pumping and you sweating and out of breath. It will not only burn calories and reduce your body fat levels, therefore making you 'slimmer' by having less fat on you, but will also improve your resting heart rate and lung function, making you healthier.

   I cannot understate the importance of cardio excercise. It is this which will basically burn the body fat off you.

   But you have to remember that once you have shed a bit of fat you have to have a nice toned body underneath the fat to show off.

   Strength training will help you strengthen and tone your muscles. This is done with the use of weights or by free training.

   There are essentially (without getting overly complicated) two types of strength excercises based on different types of muscle fibres depending on wether you want to build size, bulk and power, or just 'tone' up the lean muscles an get more muscle endurance.

   Heavy weights with short reps/sets will build your fast twitch muscle fibres and build size, power and strength. Imagine big guys at the gym lifting heavy weights.

   But if you use light to medium weights with lots of reps/sets you will excercise your slow twitch muscle fibres, you wont build size, but you will tone up your body and train muscle endurance. This will obviously make you 'look' healthier and more toned, but will also increase your metabolism (as your muscles demand more energy) so you will burn calories faster. These muscles are also excercised a lot with cardio workouts (i.e your leg muscles when running).

   Your arms for example, will need bicep curls and tricep dips using weights and reps of your choice (heavy – low reps, light – lots of reps) and also shoulder excercises such as holding the weights at your waist and lifting them perpendicular to your side or in front of you, etc etc.

   Your stomach will need excercises that cover the entire torso. Leg raises for your lower ab wall, crunches, sit ups and planks for your upper and all over ab wall, oblique twists for your sides and superman stretches for your lower back for example.

   These are just basic examples, there are literally hundreds of excercises, but it is impossible to show you on a site like this, get a trainer at your gym to show you some but remember the basic rules of muscles and weights.

   As far as excercise goes, you should aim to strike a balance between cardio training and strength training, this way you will build good strong and toned muscle, but also keep your body fat levels down and increase your heart and lung performance, making you much fitter and healthier.
   References :
   Nurse