Many thanks to my patient Rachael B. for writing this testimonial, which in the office we call “Client Love.” I was running out of options. Despite being a runner – and in 2017, having logged 1,000 miles of long runs, marathons and ultras. My body was pretty beat up; an observation confirmed by a visit […]
Chances are, at some point, you’ve read a celebrity’s diet tips or food diary and wondered whether you’d look and feel as good if you began your days with a green smoothie, ate a kale salad for lunch, filled your dinner plate with grilled fish and steamed veggies, and topped it all off with a […]
As people age, if they do not do something to stop it, there is a loss of muscle mass. We know that muscle is more metabolically active than fat. Though it is less significant than previously thought, over years it makes a giant difference. Fat storage generally increases with age, which can lead to insulin […]
It seems I can’t watch more than 20 minutes of golf or football without seeing an ad for Androgel to treat “Low T,” or low testosterone. The symptoms of low testosterone are very nonspecific, meaning they can come from many other things besides testosterone. While testosterone levels do decline somewhat with aging, an otherwise healthy […]
6 years ago, the NY Times published an article titled,”In Dieting, Magic Isn’t a Substitute for Science.” I thought then it raised interesting points, and they are still just as relevant today as they were in 2012. The article discusses a study which found low carbohydrate diets are superior for weight loss when compared to […]
This article discusses different kinds of belly fat and how to get rid of it. (Thanks Jen Glantz for including me in it.) Here is a brief breakdown: Belly fat can either be subcutaneous (under the skin) or visceral (in between the organs, ie. “deep” fat). The visceral fat is what carries major health risks […]
I am not a fan of the ketogenic diets for many reasons, and its impact on the GI tract is certainly one of them. There are certain circumstances in which a ketogenic diet may be helpful, like in epilepsy, but for the vast majority of people who want to lose weight and be healthier, I […]
I saw a patient yesterday who started with us last June at 172 pounds. By February (8 months/32 weeks), she was below 130 (42+ pounds) and has steadily continued to drop. Yesterday she was 124 and for the past 3 months has been below 125, which is her goal. Since then we have been increasing […]
I am not a fan of anything drastic, and severely restricting carbohydrates for the rest of your life is certainly drastic. Out of every 1000 people who try it, 990 of them will fail. And although there may be some long-term risks to a ketogenic diet, they are irrelevant for the vast majority simply because […]
With a little bit of planning, you can get your drink on (responsibly) and eat great food while still progressing toward your weight loss goals. In fact, a weight loss plan that involves booze and sliders is probably going to be a lot easier to stick to than one that forbids bread and alcohol. If […]
CoolSculpting seems to be everywhere, so I was excited when Prevention reached out to ask me my opinion on it. If you’re curious about whether it is worthwhile to explore, check out this article. Do you have more questions about this blog post or Dr. Charlie Seltzer’s weight loss program? Contact Us and we’ll get back […]
I gave this talk at the Be Well Philly Boot Camp. I think it has a lot of very valuable information in it, and if you are looking to lose fat, please watch it.
Stress can cause not only weight gain, but weight gain in the most dangerous area of the body. I explain why and how in this POPSUGAR article. As if we need any more reasons to limit stress. Do you have more questions about this blog post or Dr. Charlie Seltzer’s weight loss program? Contact Us and we’ll […]
I am looking forward to the Be Well Philly Boot Camp this Saturday. From 10:30-11:00, in “The Lounge,” I will be talking about weight loss myths. Please come over and say hi if you’re there. And if there is anything specific you would like me to address, please shoot me an email. I will post […]
I made this simple, low-calorie salad the other night and wanted to share it. (The amounts are just estimations; I did not measure the ingredients as I was not following a recipe.) You can adjust the ingredients to fit your nutrition plan. I think diced Vidalia onion and maybe Kalamata olives would add a little […]
I went into Vitamin Shoppe yesterday and was dumbfounded to find out that my Isopure (zero carbs, 40 grams of protein) was subject to the sugar tax!!! Apparently, anything with a sugar substitute is also taxable under the law. I am thoroughly confused. I assumed (wrongly, apparently) that the tax was a double positive: dissuade […]
Biltong is a form of dried, cured meat that originated in Africa. It is similar to beef jerky and is very high in protein and low in calories. On most days, I prefer it to beef jerky and of all the brands I’ve tried, Ayoba-Yo is by far the best. They had a booth at FitExpo Philly and after I […]
I think Claire Nowak did a great job outlining the different schools of thought on this “diet” in Reader’s Digest Online. I have pulled out my quotes (below), but you can click on the picture below to read the full text. What do you think? Dr. Charlie Seltzer, MD, calls the blood type diet a “parlour […]
Clicking the picture below will take you to a Reader’s Digest article that has some of my thoughts in there. Here are some other anti-aging strategies that could probably benefit anyone. • Remove excess body fat. We know that being overweight or obese leads to illness. Therefore, I would rather someone focus on being […]
The Dr. Seltzer Team and I are really excited to be part of the 2018 FitExpo Philadelphia hosted at the Pennsylvania Convention Center this Saturday and Sunday, April 28th and 29th. Visit Emily, Shelagh and me at Booth 1123 as we answer questions about weight loss and fitness. We’ll also be demonstrating the proper way to […]
Magnesium supplementation can lower blood pressure and help you relax before bed. However, if you pick the wrong one, you could end up with significant belly pain. I contributed to this informative article which does a great job of demystifying magnesium supplementation. I frequently test for and recommend magnesium replacement. Give this a read to […]
“Toning” is a very common term in the context of fitness. I have always been fascinated when I hear, or get to participate in, a conversation about it. When I ask what they are talking about, I invariably hear that they want “tone up” the body, or in other words, lose body fat and […]
Carbohydrates are often unfairly vilified. However, modulating carb intake can be an invaluable tool in losing body fat. I wrote this in 2013, but it could have been yesterday. If you’re not where you want to be when it comes time to put on your bathing suit, give this a read. I think you’ll get […]
Weight loss is simple: Eat fewer calories than you burn. Doing this in the context of your life is what becomes challenging. By keeping an accurate account of what you have been doing, then tweaking to bring down calories is always a better idea than trying a “diet” or a trying to overhaul your lifestyle […]
People ask me all of the time if things are healthy, and while it seems like a simple question, I am not even sure what “healthy” means. Obviously, if someone is deathly allergic to a food, then it is unhealthy for him or her no matter how packed full of nutrients it is. Also, and I think […]
This great article from Women’s Health Magazine includes two of my favorite recipes. You don’t NEED to eat breakfast, but if you do, go for something with a good amount of protein, and make sure you like it. Long-term success in weight management suffers if you dread the things you eat. Do you have more […]
If you are looking to improve your health, following you Body Mass Index (BMI) should be toward the bottom of your priority list. Decreasing your body fat percentage and your waistline are much more important. Hopefully, my quotes make sense. Click on the picture to get the full text. Do you have more questions about […]
Doing this interview was amazing. I think this information is invaluable if you’re interested in losing weight permanently.
If weight loss is on your New Year’s Resolutions list this year, here are three things to increase the likelihood of your success. Avoid changing everything or making unrealistic goals. Instead, like I told my friends at SHAPE Magazine, try “piggy-backing on existing habits—even if they’re not the best habits, it is still better than trying to […]
Crash diets, which almost always include drastic carbohydrate reduction, do cause an initial drop in the scale, but this “weight” decrease is from the elimination of water and sugar from your muscles. IT IS NOT FAT! Ten-pound loss in one week? The scale may say so, but you won’t look any different and your clothes […]
I have Parsonage Turner Syndrome. This is a rare condition in which there is damage to or complete destruction of nerves that control the muscles of the shoulder. This results in paralysis of the muscles controlled by those nerves. The severity of the illness varies from person to person, but in my case, 2 nerves were completely destroyed and several others were damaged. I have total paralysis […]
Here is my interview with 6 ABC Action News talking about the new class action lawsuit that essentially claims that diet soda can cause weight gain. —Would love to your thoughts below!
I frequently emphasize personal experimentation in regard to when, and how, we consume our food. We often hear it is best to consume our last meal of the day at least two hours before we lay in bed. This may work excellently for some… but not for all, and probably not for most. You […]
Is a calorie from an apple the same as a calorie from potato chip? While most people intuitively know that an apple is “healthier” (It has vitamins, fiber and bulk to help keep you full), when it comes strictly to weight loss, the answer is hotly debated. However, the laws of thermodynamics cannot be, and […]
From television commercials advertising large bowls of morning cereal, to food-pyramid nutrition taught in elementary schools, America is rooted in the idea that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But, is it? In this quick and comprehensive lesson on Eating Breakfast, you’ll find the importance of personal choice when it comes to […]
By Dr. Charlie Seltzer People don’t resist change. They resist being changed. – Peter Senge Motivational speakers and life coaches love to say things like, “You can write your own story. Now’s the time to make the change!” It sounds great, but if you are struggling with your eating, your exercise, whatever, you may question […]
This article does a great job of demonstrating different philosophies regarding medicine, health and wellness. Hopefully my comments make sense. Click Here to read the article.
Emily and I work with a lot of females in college and grad school, and like in the general population, eating disorders and body image issues are prevalent. And although most women come into Lean4Life looking to lose weight, our top priority is helping our patients develop and maintain a healthy relationship with food and their […]
Emily Northington put this guide to Philadelphia’s many summer beer gardens together. Eat it. Drink it. Enjoy it. But make sure you count it. Click here to download the guide as a pdf.
One of my patients gave me a bar from a very well-known multi-level marketing company. Since so many people use these products, I thought I would throw in my $0.02. The breakdown per bar is 270 calories, 9 grams of fat, 18 grams of protein, 30 grams of carbs and 1 gram of fiber. […]
The foundation of the Paleo diet is we should only eat what our ancestors were eating in the Paleolithic era. If you do this, say the proponents of this plan, you will feel better, lose weight and be healthier. In general, I am ok with any nutritional philosophy as long as it is not harmful […]
If you’re getting derailed on your coffee run, use this survival guide to pick up a sensible option that you can fit into a 1400 calorie plan. Click here to download the PDF.
Yes, You Can Still Go to Happy Hour Summer is here, the season of happy hour. Center City Sips is in full swing, Spruce Street Harbor Park is up and running and the area is sprouting beer gardens left and right. So it’s no surprise to us at Lean4Life that at this time of the […]
I have never posted a lifting video, but I have put my own self-consciousness aside to demonstrate what is possible with the right attitude and a good plan. When I was in medical school, I herniated a disk in my back and couldn’t walk right for almost a year. I had chronic back pain for […]
I have an extremely strong family history of diabetes, and there is a significant likelihood that I am going to get it no matter what I do. And while sugar intake does not appear to directly lead to diabetes, (High sugar intake is often associated with excess body fat, which definitely DOES increase the risk […]
Congratulations to my client, Tawny Clark, who is featured in the August issue of Oxygen Magazine. The article talks about Tawny’s battle with binge eating disorder. I am very proud to be able to say I have helped her in her journey to manage this very common condition (and prepped her for the photo shoot!). She […]
I want to do my exercise at home. What do I need? I suppose one could argue that the type of equipment will vary based on goals. The proverbial “they” say that if weight loss is the primary goal, you need a treadmill, elliptical, bike, stepper, or whatever else is out there. Then add some […]
I am so happy for Tawny. She looks incredible, and more importantly, she feels incredible! As an aside, for those of you who are afraid that heavy lifting will make you bulky, does Tawny look bulky? If you are unhappy with the way you look or feel, consider moving over to a more traditional, bodybuilding […]
I used to weigh 240 pounds and in my earlier 20’s I had back pain so bad that I couldn’t even walk. Since then, in large part due to weighting training, I’ve been able to control my back pain, keep my weight down, and I actually won an overall body competition in 2012 as the […]
As the only physician in the country to be board-certified in Obesity Medicine and certified by the American College of Sports Medicine as a Clinical Exercise Specialist, Dr. Seltzer has a proven track record of helping people transform their lives for good.