What is a Medical Weight Loss program?
We’ve all seen the before and after shots of people who have lost weight on TV. It’s very common for viewers to wonder how these celebrities are able to lose so much weight in such a short period of time. The answer is a medical team that specializes in helping clients achieve their health goals. Let’s know more about medical weight loss in this article:
What is a Medical Weight Loss program?
Physician supervised medical weight loss is the process of losing weight by restricting calorie intake, changing eating habits or modifying behavior. In this case we are talking about supervised medical treatment that delivers a medically governed diet and exercise program to lose weight and keep it off without depending completely on will power. This type of treatment consists of three stages: rapid weight loss, a highly restricted calorie intake to maintain your weight loss goal and then a transition phase if you want to maintain the lost weight.
“Supervised medical treatment is one that has been prescribed by an expert on obesity”.
How does it work?
This type of programs has proven for many years and has helped thousands of men and women lose weight, even those who had tried unsuccessfully many times previously on their own.
These programs are also helpful for individuals with a history of weight regain or difficulties with losing and controlling weight. They can be especially useful if you have experienced serious health problems as a result of your being overweight. Supervised medical treatment is regarded as most effective for people who can commit to make substantial changes in their lifestyle, exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet.
The medical treatment works by dividing the weight loss into stages. That way you don’t get overwhelmed with too many restrictions or too much effort that will result on failure. This is done by reducing the calorie intake during the first phase until you reach your weight goal, and then entering into maintenance phase in which you will maintain your lost weight.
The programs generally use medically prescribed calorie-restricted diets, regular visits to physicians and exercise specialists; this is the most important factor as it consists of nutrition counseling, physical activity, and behavior modification counseling on a weekly basis during the whole process.
Who can be a candidate for one of these programs?
People who have reached their normal weight and maintain it can be candidates to use a medically supervised program. That is because they already know how to eat correctly and exercise, so the key factor is improving your calorie intake and exercising regularly as you will need that to lose more weight without losing muscle mass or getting other harmful side effects.
Medical weight loss programs are an effective way to achieve rapid results in a short period of time. If you are over 15% above your ideal bodyweight, they should be considered as part of a treatment plan for the diseases that have been shown to improve with weight loss such as: diabetes mellitus type II, high blood pressure; sleep apnea; gallbladder disease; coronary artery disease and heart attack or stroke.
Benefits of Medical weight loss
Medical weight loss programs have been shown to be successful for most of the participants who follow them accurately and with determination during the whole process. This type of program allows you to lose more than 10% of your initial bodyweight within 6 months if you are being supervised by a nutrition specialist or physician and keep it off if you continue with the program during the maintenance phase.
Medical weight loss programs have several benefits for participants, including health benefits regarding many chronic diseases: a significant improvement in quality of life and body image as well as an increase in physical activity. Also, a reduction in health costs related to overweight or obesity has been observed.
What are the short – and long-term health benefits?
Several chronic diseases have been shown to improve or even resolve completely when losing weight with a medically supervised program, additional to those related to overweight or obesity such as: diabetes mellitus type II; high blood pressure; sleep apnea; gallbladder disease; coronary artery disease; heart attack or stroke; and some types of cancer. Those diseases have been shown to improve significantly when weight loss is achieved, sometimes in a little as one year.
What are the risks?
The risks for medically supervised programs include low blood sodium levels, which can be corrected by drinking more water and salt; a reduction of bone density, which is corrected by maintaining a good exercise program; an increase in the risk of gallstones, which can be controlled with changes in diet and / or medication.
Medicare covers medically supervised weight loss programs only when it is part of chronic disease management such as hypertension or diabetes mellitus type II. Please check if your health insurance will cover the cost of these programs or how much they will cover.
How do I know which is the best program for me?
You should look for a program that has qualified and experienced providers, nutritional planning and counseling, medical supervision to ensure you receive proper nutrition during the plan, an exercise program with initial evaluation by a certified physical trainer or exercise specialist and monthly check-ups during the program.
Medical weight loss programs have shown to be highly effective when done under medical supervision, to achieve rapid results with a high degree of maintenance after the program is finished. You should not attempt to do these on your own or by joining a non-medical group / program as you will not achieve the same results or benefits in health factors.
How much do these programs cost?
The cost of medical weight loss programs varies depending on which one you choose, how long you will need to be followed and what other services are included, such as: nutritional planning and counseling; physical activity advice; behavior modification counseling; drug testing; foot care; and nutrition counseling. It even depends on the location for example a Medical Weight Loss in Las Cruces may be different from medical weight loss in New York.
You should choose a program according to your health insurance coverage and how much they will cover, or if you can afford the costs without a coverage.
