Weight Loss Management

Physician Assisted Weight Management Program

A Physician-supervised Weight-loss program focuses on treating people who are overweight, obese, or severely obese in a clinical setting with a licensed Nurse Practitioner. The programs at the Diabetes and Wellness Center offer services such as nutrition and physical activity counseling as well as behavioral therapy.

The cost to participate in a Weight Loss Management program varies depending upon the services offered. Your health insurance may cover some or all of your treatment, particularly if you have weight-related health conditions such as heart disease, hypertension or diabetes.

Initial Appointment:

Our licensed nurse practitioner specializing in obesity treatment provides the initial consultation. The first appointment involves a focused medical evaluation for diseases related to obesity and causative factors, along with a physical. In addition, we will look at your weight history, which includes past diet attempts, and may conduct a thorough psychological history.

Many of the patients who come to the Diabetes and Wellness Center have undiagnosed diabetes, high cholesterol, thyroid disorders, abnormal liver tests or obstructive sleep apnea.

Overall, the nurse practitioner may include all or a few of the weight loss management techniques:

Behavior Modifications (diet and exercise)
Pre-packaged Meal Replacement Plans
Pharmacotherapy (weight-loss medications)

Behavior Modifications:

Diet and exercise are often the first place a person starts when it comes to weight-loss, and most individuals affected by obesity do struggle with this; however, diet and exercise should be the first place for you to start. Regardless of the route you choose, lifestyle modifications through diet and exercise are essential to the success of any weight-loss program. The average patient loses 6-8 pounds the first week, 5-7 pounds the second week and then 2-4 pounds a week thereafter.

Diet:

We just need to control the calories that we consume, right? Unfortunately, deprivation from foods we are used to eating is difficult to accept by our bodies and minds. Dieting can cause the body to react by activating compensatory mechanisms that increase appetite and slow metabolism. This makes dieting even harder.

Physical Activity:

Physical activity is an important addition to diet, as it boosts metabolism and increases weight-loss. Even 20 minutes of physical activity per day will benefit you in helping to maintain weight-loss long-term.

How do the Meal Replacements work?

Individuals who are interested in starting a supervised weight management program must do so through our licensed Nurse Practitioner. A medically supervised weight loss management program has many phases structured to the needs of the person seeking weight-loss.

Weight-loss:

Individual results will vary by program, but patients may lose as much as 50 pounds or more in 18-24 weeks. Average is 20 pounds a month here at our program.

Follow-up Visits:

Patients are given the opportunity to revisit a topic or obtain more information on an area of interest during follow-up visits. Frequent patient visits are encouraged until initial weight-loss goals are achieved.