H E A LT H + F I T N E S S
“YOU MAY BE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT SIMPLE FOOD SUBSTITUTION CAN HALVE THE CALORIES YOU CONSUME.” DR STEPHEN FAIRLEY IT MAY SHOCK YOU to learn that Queensland is the most obese state and Townsville and Mackay are among the fattest cities in Australia. “Unlike the national average of 66 per cent of people being obese or overweight we weigh in at 75 per cent of the Townsville population,” Dr Fairley says. “The motivation for my book (The Mystery of Sustained Weight Loss – And you thought it was impossible!) was my dismay at what’s happening with obesity in society and all the diseases that follow on from this.”
TAKING THE MYSTERY OUT OF WEIGHT LOSS
INSTEAD OF GOING THROUGH THE SAME STORY WITH PATIENT AFTER PATIENT, DR STEPHEN FAIRLEY HAS PUT ALL OF HIS KNOWLEDGE FROM 25 YEARS OF SPECIALIST PRACTISE IN THE AREA OF WEIGHT LOSS INTO A BOOK.
These include diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and many common cancers such as breast cancer, bowel cancer and pancreatic cancer. “We seem to regard many of these things as inevitable and related to ageing but that’s not the case,” Dr Fairley says. “They are avoidable in most people and you may well be able to stop many or all of your current medication if you follow the advice given, but you must involve your doctor in this process.” The book explains why we have a problem with obesity in our society and the medical consequences of obesity. There is a detailed explanation of what foods are made of and what you should and shouldn’t be eating and why. “Most of the public seem to have no idea how harmful many processed foods are to them and their children,” Dr Fairley says. “You may be surprised to learn that simple food substitution can halve the calories you consume. You don’t have to go hungry to lose weight. There are many natural products you can use as appetite suppressants or as bulking agents to fill you up.” Dr Fairley came to Townsville in 1991 from Melbourne, where he grew up and trained at Melbourne University and the Royal Melbourne and Austin Hospitals. “I was keen to work where there was more of a need for specialists than in a big city and looking forward to a more relaxed lifestyle,” he says. “The book is like a bit like a long medical consultation. I’m hoping it will make a difference out there, more so than I can achieve by seeing patients one at a time.”
You can buy The Mystery of Sustained Weight Loss – And you thought it was impossible! for $15 directly from Dr Fairley’s practice at 163 Kings Road in Pimlico, at the Townsville Day Surgery, many GP practices and Amazon online.
74 DUO MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2014 duomagazine.com.au