Dear HealthSmart,

I recently lost 140 pounds through rigorous diet and exercise and have transitioned towards a more realistic routine to maintain it. However, the pounds are quickly returning despite my discipline. Do major weight losers such as myself always gain the weight back? Am I doomed to always be overweight?

HealthSmart Betsy Day, Clinician at University of Arkansas Medical School’s Weight Control Clinic. Here’s her response:

Dramatic and rapid weight losers should expect a 20% regain of the weight lost. It’s important to keep in mind that with each year of life, it is biologically harder for us to lose weight. It also sounds as though you transitioned from eating a very restrictive diet and maintaining a rigorous exercise routine, and although you continue to practice healthy habits, you’re ultimately consuming more calories and burning less than before. People who are naturally overweight have a higher content of fat cells that will always be there. They will decrease in size with weight loss, but remain as vessels to store fat as soon as weight is gained. I think finding the right, realistic lifestyle for you and being flexible with your goals will help you maintain a healthy weight, which isn’t necessarily your target weight. Keep in mind that even losing 5-10% of your weight dramatically improves your health!

Dear HealthSmart,

Because my career is so demanding, I plan to wait until my late 30s or 40s to get pregnant. What would you advise? 

HealthSmart asked Dr. Richard J. Paulson, M.D., Director of University of Southern California Fertility. Here’s his response:

If you know you’ll be waiting some years to get pregnant, I’d recommend freezing your eggs before 35 in order to preserve egg quality. Freezing eggs is an outpatient procedure. A needle is inserted into your ovaries using ultrasound guidance and the fluid around the follicle is removed. Next, the needle is used to remove the egg and then it is frozen. The closer a woman is to menopause, the more sessions it will take for maximum harvesting. Out-of-pocket costs can be as much as $7,500 because most insurance companies do not cover such procedures.

Dear HealthSmart,

I’m really attached to my smartphone. I find I’m on it deep into the night. A neuroscientist I know says that unless you shut off your screens early in the evening, your brain thinks it’s morning. How soon before bedtime do I need to shut off my devices?

HealthSmart asked Michael S. Jaffee, M.D., Chief of the Division of General Neurology at University of Florida. Here’s his response:

Our brain produces a hormone called melatonin to help guide our daily circadian rhythms. The release and accumulation of melatonin to help our body sleep usually happens at dusk. This is known as Dim Light Melatonin Onset. This build-up usually results in sleep approximately four hours later if there is no disruption to the accumulation of melatonin. The most powerful cue to our circadian system is light. Light decreases melatonin release and accumulation. Of the light spectrum, blue light such as that found in electronic devices has the greatest effect on suppressing melatonin release and accumulation. It is recommended that we minimize light and especially electronic (blue) light several hours before bedtime. If this is not possible, there are a number of computer screen blue light filters available. These may decrease the intensity of melatonin suppression but not completely eliminate it.

Do you have questions on health or wellness you’d like answered by the nation’s leading medical researchers? If so, you can send to Editor@WashNews.com. HealthSmart is a national newspaper column from the Washington News Service in DC. Due to demand, we are unable to reply to all inquiries. Responses through the column are no substitute for care from physicians or other medical professionals.

Copyright Ellen James Martin 2021