Ask the Doctor!

Have an important question you would like one of our weight loss professionals? Please send it our way and we will be happy to answer it for you!


“Dr. Kim,

How can drinking lots of water during the course of the day help you lose weight? I feel that it only causes bloating and  water weight gain?"

- Christine P.



Water doesn’t actively promote weight loss, but it is an important tool for losing weight. More on this in a little bit.


Water is the most important nutrient we consume. We could survive three to four weeks without food, but only three to four days without water. Our bodies are 50 to 75 percent water (about 10 to 12 gallons). An average adult loses about two and a half quarts, or 10 cups of water daily. So you can see why it’s important to maintain your fluid intake. The recommended daily intake is between eight to 10 cups a day.


Water serves many functions in our body. It carries our blood cells and vital nutrients throughout our body. It serves as a lubricant for our joints and our eyes. It helps us regulate our body temperature through perspiration. It assists our digestive system in breaking down food, first as saliva and then as gastric acid. It keeps our respiratory tract moist, which in turn prevents infection. Lastly, water helps us eliminate waste products through the production of urine. So it’s easy to see that with all that water does, how we couldn’t live long without it.


Now, getting back to weight loss. Water has been shown in one study to directly promote weight loss. It’s believed that the body expends calories to raise the temperature of the digestive tract after passing water cools it down. This effect is nominal and wouldn’t lead to significant weight loss by itself. However, water has been shown to promote weight loss indirectly by reducing consumption.


Read the rest of this article here!


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Who We Are and What We Do!

Yes—I know what you are going through; I, too, was overweight. In college I was 185 lbs, the absolute peak of my weight. I now weigh 135 lbs.

Prior to college, my weight fluctuated quite a bit. I was pretty heavy in high school, but was able to lose a significant amount of weight before starting college. But after four years, I ballooned up. Stress eating, late night study sessions and a sedentary lifestyle really caught up with me. At 185 lbs, I was uncomfortable and grew increasingly embarrassed about my weight. My clothes didn’t fit me so I had to buy bigger and bigger clothes. It was hard for me to play sports, even basketball, which I loved playing in high school. So one day I made a conscious decision to lose weight. I buckled down and adjusted my eating habits. I exercised when I could. Over a year and a half, I lost 45 pounds and have maintained my weight loss for over 15 years.

I am grateful for what my weight loss has done for me. I feel great! I have more energy and better endurance. I can play sports without getting short of breath. This has been very important for me as my young children (son - seven, daughter - five) are active and play sports. I fit into my clothes much better and I look decent in a bathing suit. (Yes, like all people, I suffer from a touch of vanity). I also feel a great sense of achievement and have had an enormous boost to my confidence. It was not easy losing the weight. I lost the weight during a very stressful time of my life—while I was in medical school. I struggled with weight loss years before and was only marginally successful. But I was determined. Now, I use my own weight loss as inspiration and motivation for everything that I do.

Since finishing medical school and residency, I have come to realize additional benefits to weight loss. Over the past 10 years, I have taken care of patients with many health conditions caused or worsened by excess weight, including high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. Arthritis of the knees, hips and back are also quite common conditions among overweight individuals. Once active, many of these people have great difficulty even performing simple, everyday tasks because of pain. Sadly, this creates a vicious cycle of greater weight gain and reduced physical activity. However, when my patients lose weight, many of these conditions improve and even resolve. There is nothing more satisfying than helping someone come off their medications or walk with comfort.

It’s out of these experiences that I have chosen to work with overweight individuals. As a physician, it is my hope that our weight loss centers can help improve your health. However, as a once overweight person, I wish upon you the improved strength, endurance and confidence that I’ve come to enjoy as a result of weight loss.

Follow the link for more information on medical weight loss!

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