Weight Loss

In the U.S. approximately 1//3 of adults are overweight and obesity related deaths have climbed to 300 000 per year. Obesity rates are even higher in children. For many Americans, healthy weight loss, is essential for short-term and long-term health. The medical concern is that obesity moves you towards chronic diseases including heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer. In addition, because obesity, especially central obesity brings with it more inflammation, you are likely to experience more inflammation as pain and fatigue. Known inflammatory medical conditions such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohn’s Disease, Psoriasis, Lupus and Multiple Sclerosis will be made worse because of the inflammatory promoting extra fat.

For most Americans, weight gain is almost always a consequence of poor eating habits and too little exercise. Simply put, if you eat more calories than you burn, you must gain weight. However, all calories are not created equal. Research has shown that participants on an 1800 calorie low carb diet lost 30% more than those on an 1800 low-fat diet. From a medical perspective weight loss is a medical therapy that can:

• lower blood pressure and risk of heart attack
• control blood sugar and improve and reverse diabetes
• reduce inflammation and thus reduce pain
• improve inflammatory medical conditions

 

Our Integrative Approach

Obesity and inflammation are significant factors in many chronic diseases. Therefore, medically supervised weight loss is an essential part of good comprehensive and restorative medical care. An anti-inflammatory diet is a cornerstone of our comprehensive treatment. The good news is that a common side effect of this kind of diet is weight loss.

We begin with a history of how you gained the weight. Sometimes it may not be obvious. Testing for undiscovered health problems may reveal why you gained weight or why you can’t get it off. If your thyroid hormone levels are in the low normal range and you have symptoms of hypothyroidism, a therapeutic trial of thyroid hormone may be indicated. Supplementing with thyroid hormone in this situation can improve metabolism and energy as well as  facilitate weight loss. Sleep apnea and sleep deprivation are other causes of weight gain . Once treated, energy rebounds and weight control is easier.

 

Getting Started:

• Evaluation– We begin with a complete medical assessment that includes a history and physical and complete blood work to identify metabolic and thyroid problems. Additional conventional testing may include Glucose Tolerance Testing, Lipid Profile and electrocardiogram (EKG). Measures to be documented will include your baseline weight, waist /hip ratio and Bioimpedance Analysis (BIA). This non invasive test measures your body’s muscle and fat mass (fat%), extracellular and intracellular water levels, caloric requirement, cellular health, function and membrane integrity.
• Education – Learn what types of food works best to achieve your weight loss goals and why. We will also address nutrition and exercise.
• Thought processes – Learn how to change your thinking about food. Food can be for nutrition or for comfort. Understand how to identify and address your sabotaging thoughts about nutrition and lifestyle. Your mind is one of your most powerful tools and is an integral part of reaching and maintaining your goals. If you do not change how you think about food you run the risk of lapsing back to old patterns. This key element is missing in most conventional plans.

Unique Therapies for Weight Loss

Your physician may also refer you to our TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes) Program.  TLC is designed to dramatically improve your chances of success.

 

You will meet with your TLC Educator, Who will give an individualized diet and exercise program, along with workbooks, recipes, meal plans, tracking charts, and other tools for staying on track. Doing so can help you lose weight and also reverse disease and improve virtually every aspect of health. The most important therapy for permanent weight loss is, of course, therapeutic lifestyle changes. We teach you about carbohydrates, fats, and protein and how they affect appetite and weight. You’ll be taught which foods help burn fat and reduce cravings, and which ones you need to avoid. Instruction includes group lectures and nutritional discussions as well as individual consultations.
Exercise  is also emphasized as a therapy for burning calories and building lean muscle, which is important for long-term weight control because it increases overall metabolic rate. We give you specific instructions in how to exercise safely and when to exercise for maximum fat-burning benefit. We will also help you stay on track by tailoring a strengthening and aerobic exercise program to fit your lifestyle.

 

 

 

A. Our State of the Art Testing

• Many patients have a difficult time losing weight due to a combination of thyroid, neurotransmitter, adrenal, nutritional and other hormonal issues. Testing can include specialty testing to address the issue.
• We will work with you to develop your customized weight loss program which will encompass not only what food to eat to achieve a healthy weight, but what behaviors and thought processes will make your results permanent.

 

B. Our Program Addresses Lifestyle Changes

• In accordance with our philosophy of treating your total body and mind, we view weight loss as a key tool is insuring that you live a vibrant, active life sustained by good health, high energy, mental clarity, full function, and absence of disease well into old age. If that’s what you want, our Health care team can help you.

We use the patented First Line Therapy (FLT) weight loss program and the HCG Diet protocol.
The HCG Diet
You may be a candidate for the HCG diet that uses the power of human chorionic gonadotropin along with a low calorie diet to change your metabolism. The use of HCG for this purpose is not FDA approved. However, the program is based on Dr. Simeon’s program, has been studied extensively over the last 60 years and is safe as long as it is medically supervised. Most people lose around 20 pounds in 40 days.
Nutrients called lipotropics, such as choline, inositol and methionine along with the B vitamins help reduce the excess accumulation of fat in the liver and other tissues through their involvement in fat metabolism.
For many patients, we suggest the HCG program to start. The quick and often substantial weight loss is motivating. After the HCG program, most patients continue with FLT and continue to achieve their goals.
The Firstline Therapy Program
We use the FLT program  because it works! FLT is a supervised Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC) program that is managed by our nutritionists with the support of our full staff of medical doctors. The FLT program not only helps you reach a healthy weight permanently, but also teaches you to evolve into a lifestyle that arms you with a first line treatment to prevent common, chronic health problems.

Why we use the FirstLine Therapy® Program First
Leading health organizations recommend lifestyle changes as the “first line of therapy” for the treatment and prevention of chronic disease and other serious health threats. Here are just a few of the health conditions that FirstLine Therapy can effectively address:

 

 

 

 

There are four key reasons that make FirstLine Therapy (FLT) different than conventional lifestyle programs:

1. FLT is about more than just weight loss

• FLT can help you lose unhealthy fat while retaining healthy, lean muscle.
• FLT integrates body composition testing (fat & lean tissue ratios)-because being thin doesn’t necessarily mean you’re healthy.
• An imbalance in body composition (gaining too much fat or losing too much muscle) can lead to serious health problems such as high blood pressure, altered cholesterol levels, etc.
• Loss of muscle results in loss of ability to burn calories, which makes it much more difficult to maintain weight loss over time.
• FLT focuses on lifestyle factors that are the underlying cause of many health problems.

2. The FLT eating plan is different

• Most diets focus on NOT eating-not eating fat, not eating carbs, or just plain not eating much of anything. With most diets, success is based primarily on will power.
• The FLT eating plan emphasizes the need to eat, and to eat frequently.
• The focus is on eating THE RIGHT KIND OF FOODS-the right kind of fat, the right kind of carbohydrates, and the right kind of protein-all in the right portion size.
• FLT incorporates a low-glycemic-index eating plan based on the latest scientific research that will help you maintain stable blood sugar and energy levels.
• According to recent studies, low-glycemic diets are more effective than low fat diets in treating obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
• People report less hunger and more energy, making it much easier to stick with the program.

 

3. FLT incorporates medical foods and dietary supplements.

• Using appropriate medical foods and dietary supplements as part of this program can improve the effectiveness of the program for you and help you achieve your health goals.
• Dietary supplements provide targeted nutritional support for specific functions, such as healthy blood cholesterol or blood sugar levels, joint function and mobility, or healthy hormone metabolism.

4. FLT has been demonstrated to be effective in controlled clinical trials. Most other diets have not.

 

It’s not just the calories; it’s the habits! Making psychological changes is a key step ignored by most programs; which focus only on food. Changing your mindset and habits allows you to feel satisfied with your food choices, your weight and most importantly, yourself.  You will be taught to change your mind set about healthy eating and stop the cycle of losing and regaining; you will learn the techniques that will enable you to follow your nutritious eating plan in any situation.
You will learn what to do when you are challenged by:

• Stress
• Time
• Cravings
• Hunger
• Emotions
• Boredom
• Food Pushers
• Fatigue

 

You will learn how to stay on track when you are:

• Traveling
• Dining out
• Vacationing
• Celebrating
• Attending a special function
• Feeling that dieting is just too difficult

 

You will Learn:

1. How to be satisfied with realistic/moderate portions
2. What to do if you are tempted to have an unplanned snack between meals
3. How to consistently use good eating habits-eating slowly, while sitting , enjoying every bite
4. How to plan in advance and monitor yourself as you go along
5. How to stay motivated and give yourself credit
6. How to make healthy eating a priority
7. How to get back on track when you make a mistake
8. How to reduce and deal with hunger and cravings
9. How to include your favorite foods

 

 

Equipped with a customized, medically based, detailed program addressing food choices, behaviors, mindset as well as the support of our nutritionist, you will have the tools you need for permanent success. We will teach you the skills you need for successful, permanent weight loss, crucial lifestyle changes, and how you think about food and healthy eating. Not only will we teach you theses skills, but also how to practice them every day no matter how stressed, tired, busy or unmotivated you are.