Dr. Kushner blog

3 Tips to Make Healthy Eating Easier at Home

Though your home is the one environment you have most control over, my patients often struggle to take charge of the foods that are available at home. I tell them that successful weight management occurs when you can better control all the ‘eat now’ and ‘eat more’ temptations in your home. If you’re interested in

Read More

Make Progress, Not Perfection

A common misperception my patients struggle with is thinking they have to strive for perfection in order to be successful managing weight and boosting health. But this perfectionistic mindset only sets you up for failure because eating and exercise rarely go perfectly each and every day. Since managing weight tends to be a lifelong endeavor,

Read More

Strive to Try New Things as You Progress in Your Weight Management Journey

Living a healthier lifestyle and better managing weight have many benefits you may be unaware of. I’ve found that as individuals get healthier, many also start feeling motivated to try new things. I especially enjoy seeing my patients having new confidence as they set and attain new goals previously thought unachievable: One patient ran a

Read More

Can You Spare 5 Minutes Toward Improving Your Health? 

Can improved health really be that simple? It’s all about making small changes in your daily activities and deciding what healthier steps you are motivated to start taking today. Helping patients live healthier lives has been a passion of mine throughout my 40+ years of weight management practice. That’s why I take a detailed history

Read More
A dark haired with the word "FOCUS" stamped on the back of her hand

The Weight-Focused Visit

Whether you’re a patient or a provider, you know how quickly time can pass during a health care encounter. Your provider’s priorities may be to discuss your chief complaint, medications, lab results and other chronic medical problems. This doesn’t leave a lot of time to counsel you on managing weight. That’s why I recommend that

Read More

Time to Update Your Heart Health

The American Heart Association has a new checklist for lifelong good health. It’s called Life’s Essential 8, which was recently updated by a panel of experts who reviewed 2500 scientific papers since 2010. Better cardiovascular health helps lower the risk for heart disease, stroke and other major health problems. The 8 factors correlate well with

Read More

Shared Decision-Making in Weight Management

Shared decision-making is a process whereby health care providers take into account each person’s personal preferences, priorities and goals before selecting a specific treatment plan. As a weight management expert, it’s a process I’ve been using for most of my career to help my patients lose weight and get healthier. Getting to know each patient

Read More

Stop Unhealthy Habits to Achieve Better Health

As you move through your weight loss journey, you will encounter two kinds of habits – healthy habits you want to create (such as eating more fruits and vegetables) and less healthful habits you want to stop (such as drinking sugar-sweetened beverages). You will find that it’s more challenging to stop an unhealthy habit than

Read More

Use Leftovers to Recreate Healthy Meals

“Doc, I just don’t eat leftover foods” is a comment I sometimes get from patients during my weight management counseling. I always encourage them to reconsider. With grocery prices soaring and food waste being so common, we know that using leftover food is a good strategy that helps your pocketbook and the planet. But you

Read More

3 Tips to Make Healthy Eating Easier at Home

Though your home is the one environment you have most control over, my patients often struggle to take charge of the foods that are available at home. I tell them that successful weight management occurs when you can better control all the ‘eat now’ and ‘eat more’ temptations in your home. If you’re interested in

Read More

Make Progress, Not Perfection

A common misperception my patients struggle with is thinking they have to strive for perfection in order to be successful managing weight and boosting health. But this perfectionistic mindset only sets you up for failure because eating and exercise rarely go perfectly each and every day. Since managing weight tends to be a lifelong endeavor,

Read More

Strive to Try New Things as You Progress in Your Weight Management Journey

Living a healthier lifestyle and better managing weight have many benefits you may be unaware of. I’ve found that as individuals get healthier, many also start feeling motivated to try new things. I especially enjoy seeing my patients having new confidence as they set and attain new goals previously thought unachievable: One patient ran a

Read More

Can You Spare 5 Minutes Toward Improving Your Health? 

Can improved health really be that simple? It’s all about making small changes in your daily activities and deciding what healthier steps you are motivated to start taking today. Helping patients live healthier lives has been a passion of mine throughout my 40+ years of weight management practice. That’s why I take a detailed history

Read More
A dark haired with the word "FOCUS" stamped on the back of her hand

The Weight-Focused Visit

Whether you’re a patient or a provider, you know how quickly time can pass during a health care encounter. Your provider’s priorities may be to discuss your chief complaint, medications, lab results and other chronic medical problems. This doesn’t leave a lot of time to counsel you on managing weight. That’s why I recommend that

Read More

Time to Update Your Heart Health

The American Heart Association has a new checklist for lifelong good health. It’s called Life’s Essential 8, which was recently updated by a panel of experts who reviewed 2500 scientific papers since 2010. Better cardiovascular health helps lower the risk for heart disease, stroke and other major health problems. The 8 factors correlate well with

Read More

Shared Decision-Making in Weight Management

Shared decision-making is a process whereby health care providers take into account each person’s personal preferences, priorities and goals before selecting a specific treatment plan. As a weight management expert, it’s a process I’ve been using for most of my career to help my patients lose weight and get healthier. Getting to know each patient

Read More

Stop Unhealthy Habits to Achieve Better Health

As you move through your weight loss journey, you will encounter two kinds of habits – healthy habits you want to create (such as eating more fruits and vegetables) and less healthful habits you want to stop (such as drinking sugar-sweetened beverages). You will find that it’s more challenging to stop an unhealthy habit than

Read More

Use Leftovers to Recreate Healthy Meals

“Doc, I just don’t eat leftover foods” is a comment I sometimes get from patients during my weight management counseling. I always encourage them to reconsider. With grocery prices soaring and food waste being so common, we know that using leftover food is a good strategy that helps your pocketbook and the planet. But you

Read More