Medical Weight Loss

Entering the second week of the new year, many of you might be having trouble maintaining that weight-loss resolution that you made not long ago. Maybe work is keeping you from the gym, or maybe the beguiling aromas from the restaurant below your office have beckoned you for a hearty lunch for the fourth day in a row. The fact is, resolutions toward a new self-image are not easy ones, which is why people make them year, after year, after year.

 But maybe neither of these things is the issue preventing you from getting the body you want. For many people, it’s possible that they have a history of unhealthy weight-loss habits, or insist on functioning on a very low-calorie diet. Although these methods do deliver results they can certainly have adverse health effects such as gallbladder stones; a lack of nutritional variety can also keep you from losing weight in a healthy manner if you impose excessive restrictions on your diet.

Since unsupervised weight loss can be dangerous in some instances, medically-supervised weight loss should be considered if you intend on not only being thin, but becoming a healthier person. A medically-supervised weight loss schedule and regimen not only gives you a well-rounded approach to achieving your goal weight, but can also provide you with a team of professionals that can hold you accountable for your own improvement.

I know the phrase “medically-supervised” can sound intimidating (not everyone loves a visit to the doctor), so it might be helpful to address some of the things that you can expect from this method of weight loss. Below are some of the techniques and practices that your supervisors will employ to provide you with the most thorough plan of action in reducing your weight.

 Meal Replacements

Attribution: Janine

When people decide to be the sole supervisor of their weight loss, they can often self-prescribe a low-calorie diet that is too meager, and not very nutritious. But doctors have a better understanding of ways that cut your food intake, but still give your body the fuel that it needs. Doctors can evaluate your current eating habits and then prescribe an approach to your diet that will meet the low-calorie requirements for your daily intake, but also will allow you to actually enjoy your food while on your schedule.

Doctors will begin the analysis by estimating your body’s Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Pairing this with your BMI, the doctor will decide what your daily caloric quota should be – usually between 800 and 1200 calories each day. The best thing is that your diet won’t have to entirely consist of replacement food. Many weight loss plans allow the patient to include normal food in their diets, so long as the food fits within the nutritional requirements for the plan and is not consumed to excess. Protein shakes and beverage alternatives may also be used since they can deliver a nutritional payload while still only making a modest impact on your calorie count.

Prescription appetite suppressants

Prescription appetite suppressants, commonly referred to as “diet pills” are often sought as a cure-all solution to an unhealthy weight. Used on their own, diet pills can actually be harmful to a person if they are not balanced with legitimate nutrition, or moderated in terms of consumption. Fortunately, however, a medical professional can use this type of medication in addition to a carefully thought out program to enhance your body’s ability to lose weight.

Attribution: 2day929

Rigorously adhering to a strict low-calorie diet is not easy work, but appetite suppressants can be a very effective way to prevent consuming any extra calories throughout the day. Appetite suppressants do just what you’d expect: they help your body believe that it is full, making you less likely to snack mindlessly or eat when it isn’t necessary. Diet pills can do this by increasing the body’s production of serotonin and/or catecholamine¹ - the chemicals your brain releases to communicate information about your mood and appetite.

 Be sure, however, that you are careful to use these medications only as prescribed by your doctor. Just like all prescription medications, addiction is a possibility; consider diet pills only as an addition to your diet plan, and do not allow them to become the prime factor in your weight-loss regimen. http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/weight-loss-prescription-weight-loss-medicine

B12 lipotropic injections

Whenever your body has trouble thoroughly metabolizing your food it stores it as fat, which is why eliminating fat deposits is essential if you hope to successfully lose weight. One thing medically-supervised patients have access to that non-supervised people don’t is lipotropic injection. This injection is meant to stimulate your liver activity to reduce the amount of fat that your body deposits. The injection increases the flow of bile and, most importantly, fats, from the liver; the increased activity facilitates metabolism and decreases the amount of fat that your body decides to store.

In particular, the B12 variation of the injection introduces (B) vitamins that help the body turn your food into glucose, which is used for energy. The B12 component of the injection stimulates the body’s metabolism², allowing you to process your food more efficiently and leaving less fat around for your body to hang on to.

Behavioral Counseling

It is ultimately up to you how effective your weight-loss program will be. If you are serious about preserving your new physique, then you will be expected to continue with regular physical activity once you are no longer under the supervision of a medical professional.

Attribution: GO INTERACTIVE WELLNESS

Behavioral counseling is a constant element of monitored weight loss that is used to ensure your continued success after you have completed your schedule. Your physician will evaluate what type of physical activity is best for you, but also which activity is convenient and fits into your schedule. You will be directed to a local facility that features the type of exercise most appropriate for your unique body type, and will discuss with fitness professionals how frequent and intense the activity should be. These fitness counselors understand that many patients are liable to experience lapses in good behavior in the months following their program. Because of this they are eager to understand the behavioral or environmental factors that can reverse your progress, and recommend the best way to avoid these factors.

Summer is just a few months away, so make a promise to yourself that this will be the year that you meet your goal weight. The Frisco weight loss community has physicians who are excited to develop a program that is right for you, and assist you in getting the body you’ve wanted for so long. Below is a weight loss calculator to help you begin your journey to a thinner, healthier lifestyle.

Web MD: Diet Pills¹
Wikipedia: B12 vitamins²