* Start with realistic goals. Ideally, strive for 15% weight loss or better.
* A regular exercise program is essential for maintaining weight loss. If there are no health prohibitions, choose one that is enjoyable. Check with a physician about any health consideration.
* For patients who cannot lose weight with diet alone, effect weight-loss medications are now available, which include sibutramine . This drug may delay or even prevent the onset or progression of diabetes. It may also improve cholesterol levels, regardless of weight loss.
* Once a person has lost weight, maintenance is required. To maintain a healthy weight in our culture, everyone must make daily, even hourly, decisions about what is consumed and what is expended through activity.
* In severely obese patients, procedures known as bariatric surgeries have been very helpful in producing rapid weight loss and improving insulin and glucose levels. Studies suggest that glucose levels improve right after surgery, even before the patients lose weight.