So I said that’s enough, and went to see Bruce (Dr. Katsura to many). Since achieving the weight loss with his program, I feel much better. It gives me more confidence and more motivation such that I almost wish I never retired. I feel young and fit enough to go back to the operating room.
A lot of patients try diets and fail. This is because most people are impatient and eager to see immediate results. It could take four to six weeks before they can see the first clothing size change. I am a physician, and my specialty is artificial hip and knee replacement. In this country, the leading cause of surgery is obesity. Most of my patients were overweight.
I counsel all of them to a take a weight management program so they can even avoid surgery, but very few did that. But, again, the reason why I did that was because I didn’t see the results I needed. And I need them to lose forty to fifty pounds to not have surgery. But it will take six months or a year. And they didn’t want to wait. And so once I got into this program, I had already retired from my clinical practice, but if I had been in practice I would have recommended this program to my patients. So may be they would have avoided surgery.
The beginning of the program actually wasn’t at all difficult. The medication that Bruce placed me on was a very excellent appetite suppressant. I had used a similar diet in the past. I’d always exercised, and putting all the three together and understanding what’s going in your body chemically, for me, you could see the results starting almost immediately. I lost seven pounds in the first ten days.
Dr. Katsura was very unique in the sense that he took the time to individualize the program just for each patient, not just the same for every patient. As far as the diet is concerned, only for 600 calories a day, I kinda put my eyes up. Again, once he explained to me the chemistry and what we wanted to do then I could participate in the establishment of that diet. Also with the exercise, being an orthopedic surgeon, there are some exercise I could do, some I couldn’t on account of my age, and I knew if I kept it up it might do something worse on myself. So I was helpful with my exercise.
What a lot of people probably don’t know about Dr. Katsura is that he is also a PMNR doctor for physical medicine and rehabilitation. So he ‘s very familiar with my practice as I am with his. Because my undergrad degree is physical therapy, Bruce and I had a lot in common and we understand what the goal was, how we’re gonna do this and we kinda did it together.
The best thing has been once I have the weight off, I have been able to keep it off. And unlike for those patients who go back for maintenance, since I understood what he was trying to do, I can do it on my own, and it has been easy to maintain the weight loss. And the thing is, I know that I lose the most of (because I keep an analysis of it) is I lose mostly fat, hardly any muscle tissue, and that exactly what I wanted to do.
My triglycerides level has gone to the best level in my entire life.
Bruce, you did a great job. I’m glad we’re friends. I hope I never get fat again, but if I do you can help me get it off again.”
–John F., M.D
