Today just about everyone agrees that the number one cause of overweight and obesity in the United States is the consumption of processed foods like Doritos, Snickers, Coke, and Pepsi. We Americans buy a lot of this stuff from vending machines, and it’s packed with sugar, salt, and fat.

Olivera Weight Loss knows something about this because we have been helping patients lose weight for almost 40 years. Our patients come from all over Chicagoland  we help them with their cravings for these tasty, but very addictive and unhealthy foods.

Recently I started thinking about the vending machines down the hall from our office. While these vending machines are often used by the employees in the building, our staff began to notice that some of our patients (and their children) were stopping to buy snacks and drinks from the vending machines, either before or after their office visit with us. The problem: they were loaded with Snickers, M&Ms, and Reese’s candy bars! And the drink machine offered lots of Pepsi and Coca Cola.

We thought about how courageously our patients confront their weight loss challenges, and could not escape from knowing that the foods in those machines were often one of the main culprits in their lives.

I contacted our landlord and explained our concerns, and asked if they would consider stocking the vending machines with healthier snacks and beverages. The reception we received was outstanding. Yesterday, after a few months of discussion and investigation, the old vending machines were removed and replaced with new machines offering healthier products. Here is a picture I took of one of the machines:

Many of the healthiest products are recognizable brands like Vitamin Water, La Croix, Cliff Bar, and Kashi. Yes, some snacks and beverage still contain plenty of sugar, salt, and fat. But in most cases the amounts are much less than the foods in the old vending machines.

So we want to say thank you to the leadership of our landlord, Healthcare Realty Services, who manages our office at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. And thank you to Life2, the company that services the healthier vending machines. These folks have stepped forth to do their part to help Olivera with its mission to help people lose weight and be healthy.

Come by and see our amazing staff, let us help you with your weight loss. And check out the new vending machines down the hall. To be honest, we would prefer that you skip these items, and not buy any, except perhaps the water!

Patrick Foley, Executive Director