For Dr. Abeles, her weight loss journey started after residency and fellowship. She wanted to lose the weight she gained from a demanding surgical training. As they say, “practice what you preach”, so she applied all that she learned about weight loss to herself. The label reading, protein-first policy, cardio and strength exercises, followed by intermittent fasting and the 5:2 diet. Initially, the weight came off quite easily. Then two consecutive pregnancies, with 60-pound weight gain each time, threw everything off-kilter. Losing the weight after both pregnancies was not as easy as she thought. With a demanding job, two young children and not much time to exercise, her brain could not commit to reinstituting the 5:2 diet. Weight loss was slow and frustrating with long plateaus, but then came the game changer… weight loss medications. The medication jump-started weight loss again, decreasing her appetite and reducing the inclination to snack. It was this layering of different treatment plans at this stage of her life that was the solution for her.

Dr. Abeles knows the genetics of obesity and the real concern for childhood obesity. For her and her family, there is no good or bad food. There is everything in moderation; some foods will make you hungrier and some will fill you up, know your portion sizes and listen to your body’s cues on feeling full. Then, of course, there are days when her children will ask “where’s the protein, mom?”