Medical Weight Loss (Nonsurgical)

We understand there are many reasons you might struggle with your weight, at different stages of your life.

• Medical History, or any health conditions you have, can sometimes cause weight gain or make it hard to maintain a healthy weight. This includes your genetics, medications you might be taking and your gut health. Your hormones and metabolism are often affected by your medical history.

• Emotional Health concerns can lead to weight gain, through food, alcohol or drugs. If you regularly have shifts in your emotions, experience relationship issues with partners, friends or loved ones, or have a mood disorder, you are more likely to overeat or use alcohol or other substances more often. Even when you experience positive emotions like happiness, joy, or celebration, you might overeat or use substances more often.

• Activity is important, including physical exercise and your overall movement each day. You may have physical limitations, such as a breathing issue or an injury, have trouble making time for exercise or activity, or you may sit for most of your day for work. Activity is important to both your physical and emotional health, and can boost your metabolism, help you lose weight and build muscle.

• Nutrition changes will be important in your weight loss journey. This includes how much you eat, how healthy the food and beverages are, as well as the timing of your meals and snacks. Nutrition has an impact on appetite, regulating your hormones and determines if your body uses food as fuel or if it stores it.

• Sleep plays an important role in your weight. Sometimes, certain sleep disorders and sleep habits can cause weight gain. Treating sleep issues and learning better sleep habits can help your overall health, not just your weight.

To participate in our medical weight loss program, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old

• Have a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 35

• Or, have a BMI greater than 35 but you are not interested in bariatric surgery

Your BMI is calculated using your weight and height, estimating your body fat percentage. BMI charts are the same for adult men and women, although male and female body fat percentage may be slightly different.

Check your BMI using this body mass index/body mass calculator

Our team will go over your health history and evaluate what prescription weight loss medications, if any, will work best for you. Some approved weight loss drugs cannot be mixed with medications used for hypertension (high blood pressure) or to help stabilize behavioral health needs like anxiety or depression.

Prescription diabetes medications that have become popular and can help with weight loss include:

• GLP-1 agonists include tirzepatides, dulaglutides, liraglutides and some forms of semiglutides

• Semiglutides (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound, and others) can include shot (injectables) and pill formats.

• Phentermine (Adipex-P, Lomaira) and topiramate

These weight loss medications can help you feel full longer by slowing down the food leaving your stomach. Because food leaves your stomach more slowly, you may eat less overall. These medications and how they work was discovered through metabolic surgery research. For instance, after metabolic surgery, the body naturally makes more of these proteins which help with weight loss and blood sugar control. These medications were first used to treat diabetes and now they have been approved for help with weight loss.

Your provider will help you determine if a weight loss medication can help you lose weight and improve your overall health. It is important to remember that using these drugs for weight loss may cause side effects that can impact other areas of your health, including your kidney function, blood sugar, heart rate, and sleep. They can also interact with other prescription and general over-the-counter medications, such as aspirin or cough/cold medications.

Many health plans cover medical weight loss programs if you meet their pre-qualifying criteria. However, specific benefits may vary depending on your health plan policy. Contact your health plan to find out more about your policy coverage and referral requirements.

Some medical weight loss prescriptions or medications may not be covered by insurance.

You may not need a referral from your primary care provider (PCP) before contacting our program. If your insurance requires a referral from your PCP, we can help you with this.

Once you have determined that your current insurance covers medical weight loss services, contact our office for a pre-screening evaluation. This evaluation will help determine whether you are eligible for the bariatric program, based on your health plan coverage and criteria.

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Losing weight through a medical weight loss program can help you gain self-confidence and feel better about your body, but may also improve other obesity-related health conditions such as:

• Type 2 diabetes

• High blood pressure

• High cholesterol

• Gastric reflux or heartburn

• Obstructive sleep apnea

Many people also benefit from learning about how sleep, stress and nutrition affect your body and your weight.