How Virginia Medical Weight Loss Centers help you Lose Weight

If you have developed health problems because of your weight, consider visiting our Virginia Beach medical weight loss center. Medical weight loss is usually reserved for overweight or obese people who have not had successful weight loss with dieting and exercising. Overweight and obesity are terms used to describe ranges of weight that increase the likelihood of certain health problems and medical conditions.

For adults, overweight and obesity ranges are determined by body mass index (BMI). BMI is calculated using weight and height to give a standard number. An adult with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is overweight, whereas and adult with a BMI of 30 or higher is considered to be obese. BMI does not directly measure body fat, but it correlates with body fat. Medical weight loss centers also calculate body fat by measuring waist-to-hip circumference ratios and skinfold thickness. Find out how a medical weight loss center can help you lose weight.

Assess for Health Risks associated with Excess Body Weight

The medical weight loss center professionals in Virginia Beach are specifically trained to assess and identify certain health risk associated with excess body weight. BMI is one indicator of potential health risks, but the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute guidelines recommend evaluating two other predictors:

• Waist circumference – Abdominal fat is a predictor of health risks related to obesity.
• Risk factors – The clinicians will assess for diseases and conditions associated with excess weight, such as high cholesterol blood levels and high blood pressure.

Prescribe Weight Loss Drugs

When combined with regular exercise and a low-calorie diet, weight loss medications can produce a weight loss of 5 to 10 percent of total body weight within a 12-month timeframe. This is a typical weight loss goal for patients of a medical weight loss center. By losing just 10 percent of total body weight, you can improve health by:

• Lowering blood pressure
• Decreasing blood glucose levels
• Lowering cholesterol levels

Offer Quality Nutritional Supplements and Support

Someone who is dieting often does not get adequate vitamins and minerals to support a healthy metabolism during weight loss. Therefore, the medical weight loss center offers nutritional supplementation that includes proper proteins that supply a balance of nitrogen and amino acids necessary for protein synthesis and other metabolic functions. All of these medical supplements are safe, effective, and low in fat and carbohydrates to facilitate the release of stored fat.

The Four Phases of Medical Weight Management

• Phase I: Assessment – You will meet with a medical weight loss professional who will take a detailed medical history and conduct a lifestyle assessment. This allows the provider to help you customize a treatment plan for your unique needs.

• Phase II: Active Weight Loss – During the second phase, you will meet weekly with a medical weight loss professional who helps you with diet, activity plan, and modification of behaviors. This phase last around 12 weeks. Medical monitoring during this phase includes blood pressure evaluation, physical examination, and laboratory tests.

• Phase III: Transition – The third phase last for about 6 weeks, where you are reintroduced to certain foods in small quantities. The clinical continues to monitor your health and reinforces your new activity and eating behaviors.

• Phase IV: MEDAL – This is the Maintenance, Exercise, Diet, and Lifestyle phase, where the supportive weight loss team members teach you how to sustain your lost weight. Interventions include support groups, weigh-ins, medication monitoring, and individual consultation with the physician.