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          Obesity is one of the most common medical conditions in the US, affecting one third of the population. The excess body weight that comes with obesity can greatly increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, osteoarthritis, type 2 diabetes, cancer, sleep apnea, liver disease, anxiety, and depression. While obesity was once thought of as simply being caused by overeating or a lack of physical activity, it is turning out to be heavily influenced by hormones and metabolic dysfunction. Reduced calorie intake and exercise can certainly be helpful in reducing body weight, but often simply eating less or working out more isn't entirely effective at producing weight loss.

            At HealthyWeight we offer a comprehensive, customized approach to weight loss that is focused on optimizing your whole body metabolism and health. We believe in using evidence-based methods to ensure that our patients receive the most effective treatments. Our approach is rooted in scientific research -- we are active scientific researchers in metabolism, and we also review the latest studies and findings to constantly improve our program.
            There are many factors that contribute to obesity, and we address all of these factors when coming up with your treatment program. While weight loss can have profound positive impacts on your life, we expect our patients to be active participants in our Program. Participation in our Program is therefore an active partnership between our staff and providers at HealthyWeight and you as the patient.
            While individual results vary, many patients experience a 15-25% reduction in body weight. For someone who is 250 pounds, that corresponds to 40 to 65 pounds of weight loss!

            We have designed our Program to be comprehensive, personalized and based on extensive research. There are four main components to our program:

1.     Medical monitoring and medication management: Our medical providers will supervise your weight loss treatment. This includes collecting surveys about your lifestyle, any medical symptoms related to being overweight such as joint pain or fatigue, and your psychological and emotional state. We will also order labs to help ensure you remain safe during the Program, and to determine the impact of your weight loss on your overall health. For our patients who see us in the office, we will also measure your body composition to track changes in body fat and lean muscle mass. After your initial visit, we typically see you again in one month, and then again usually every two to three months until your optimal weight is achieved. 

Your provider may also recommend medication to help achieve your weight loss goals. Not every medication is appropriate for every patient, and your provider will recommend medications based on your individualized health and medical history, as well as your needs and goals. Insurance coverage for weight loss medications is variable and we cannot guarantee your insurance will cover the medication we prescribe. Your co-pay for medications will also be variable. We will work with you, your insurance, your pharmacy, and medication manufacturers to help identify which benefits you would be eligible for. If your insurance does not cover a specific medication, many medication manufacturers offer a coupon or savings program.

2.     Lifestyle and behaviors: Numerous research studies have shown that making changes to your lifestyle are key to effective and long-term weight loss. There are healthy behaviors (eating, psychological, sleep) that can support your weight loss. Changing behaviors can take 3 months or more so it’s important to focus on your goal, stay positive, and surround yourself with family and friends who encourage you in healthy habits. 

3.     Physical activity and exercise: Physical activity and exercise have many health benefits and are important for losing and maintaining your weight. We will work with you to set goals for physical activity and exercise. In addition to exercise, there are also physical activities such as cleaning the house, gardening, mowing the lawn, parking your car far and walking, raking leaves, standing at your desk, using the stairs, washing the dishes, etc. Being sedentary is not ideal and it’s important to include movement throughout your day. This means for every 50 minutes you are sitting, you should be moving around for 10 minutes. We partner with various online programs to help track you address changes to your lifestyle and engage in comfortable and effective exercise.  

For many patients who are overweight, joint pains and osteoarthritis can make it difficult to start an exercise program right away. If you are one of these patients, our approach is to ease you in to exercise and also treat any painful joints that may be keeping you from exercising. In addition to treating your joint pain, we can have you start exercise with simple flexibility and stretching activities which help to loosen up your muscles and joints, improve your blood flow and get you ready to start low impact, comfortable exercise. You can perform these activities from the comfort of your own home, or in a gym or fitness facility.

For patients who already engage in regular exercise, we will make recommendations that might help optimize your exercise routines and help you experience further reductions in body fat from physical activity. If you have already started a weight loss routine, and experienced some reduction in body weight but hit a wall in your progress, our comprehensive approach can often help you get back on track to losing weight.

4.     Nutrition and diet: The focus here is on a healthy diet that includes all the necessary nutrients needed for your body to function. We do not require that you follow a specific diet, as we prefer to give patients a choice in determining which diet fits best for their lifestyle and interests. However, we do recommend most patients consider an anti-inflammatory diet, sometimes known as the Mediterranean diet, as not only does this diet help promote weight loss, it can also reduce inflammation and improve other medical conditions. In general, any diet that limits fast food, sugar or sweetened beverages, salty food, red meat, fat, carbohydrates, and refined food, and that incorporates fruits, vegetables, fiber, and protein is likely beneficial. Some of the other diets to consider are gluten-free, meal replacements, Paleo, and very low carb (Atkins, Keto). The best diet is the one that you can stick to, will help with weight loss, and improve your overall health.