At Physician’s Weight Control and Wellness, our weight loss programs are unique in that they are physician-guided and individually tailored to each patient. Because every patient is different, no two treatment plans are the same. Our patients’ personalized treatment plans include personalized consultations and can contain any or all of the following, depending on individual patients’ needs: medications, supplements, and lipotropic injections.
Personalized Consultations
Our bariatric weight loss programs are structured around regular, personal consultations with our doctors. During these consultations, our physicians assess your body’s biometrics, check in on your current weight loss progress, create and adjust a meal plan and exercise program, and, most importantly, get to know you and your weight loss goals. We know you are invested in your weight loss journey – we are too!
Medications
There is no “magic pill” for weight loss. However, there are medications that can aid in suppressing hunger and help you get past that first barrier to shedding pounds. Our doctors may add a prescribed appetite suppressant to your treatment plan to assist with portion control, reduce cravings, and dampen the urge to binge.
Appetite suppressant medications, also known as “anorectics” or “anorexigenics,” affect the body’s nervous system and hormones, which are responsible for the hunger response. This helps you to feel full faster during meals and fight back cravings for unhealthy food. While these medications do not cause weight loss directly, they can help maximize your success in making the healthy lifestyle changes necessary to lose weight.
The medications we use include (but are not limited to):
- Phentermine – stimulates certain hormones to suppress the appetite and increase metabolism, resulting in stomach shrinkage over time. It was originally introduced and approved by the FDA in 1959 and has remained approved through two additional evaluations in 1976 and 1996.
- Phendimetrazine – stimulates the central nervous system to increase heart rate and reduce appetite. It was originally introduced and approved by the FDA in 1961.
- Diethylpropion – stimulates certain hormones to suppress the appetite and increase metabolism. Also approved in 1959, it is intended for obese patients whose body mass index is greater than 30.
- Didrex – similar to Phentermine, but with different recommended dosages.
All of the medications we use are FDA-approved and administered under our physicians’ care. We regularly monitor our patients’ dosing and follow the usage and safety guidelines set by the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA). For more information on the above medicines, ask one of our physicians during your regularly scheduled appointment.
Supplements
There are a variety of wellness and natural weight loss supplements that can boost weight loss. Ensuring that you have an adequate amount of these beneficial vitamins and minerals is critical to the success of your weight loss treatment plan. Many of these supplements can be taken orally as a tablet.
Examples of health and wellness supplements include:
- Glucosamine – amino acid that stimulates oxygen collection
- Iron – trace metal that aids in the production of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to the body’s cells
- Melatonin – hormone that serves as a sleep aid and regulates the body’s sleep cycle
- Vitamin B12 – critical to the health of nerve and blood cells; also an important component of DNA
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids – improves risk factors for heart disease and fights inflammation in the body
Lipotropic Injections
Our physicians may prescribe lipotropic B12 injections as part of your treatment plan. These injections contain amino acids, minerals, and vitamins like B12 that help to increase a patient’s metabolism.
Please see the Injections page for more details and contact us with any questions.
Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash
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