Medical Weight Loss 101: An Introduction to Medical Weight Loss

Medical weight loss refers to a non-surgical science based methodology of losing weight which is carried out under the supervision of a medical practitioner. The professional guidance of the physician ensures that your weight loss program is done in a safe and healthy manner. The medical weight plan loss requires you to follow a personalized nutrition diet, exercise plan, and specific medication. You need to strictly adhere to a fixed diet plan even if you are supplied with a hunger suppressant. Fitness experts reckon that a fast weight loss does not in any way mean that you should go on an extreme diet fad.
According to studies, our body tends to use fatty acids for fulfilling energy needs when it senses starvation. This situation isn’t good for our brain because it cannot use fatty acids directly as a fuel source. Also, using muscle mass for fuel by the body negatively impacts our metabolism and eventually the weight loss returns in pure fat. Therefore, it is recommended that in order to remain healthy, you must eat only the right foods in the right amount.



In medical weight loss, exercise plays a vital role in burning fat which accumulates from the food eaten. As exercise converts fat into energy, the more you engage in different exercises, the more fats you metabolize. Cardiovascular conditioning, strength building, and flexibility training, in addition to nutritional management, are critical components of effective medical weight-loss programs. Apart from balanced nutritious diet and exercise, a medical weight loss program involves medication in the form of support prescriptions, medical assessment, and treatment plan for individual weight loss goals. Finally, a health coach will help patients identify and modify behavioral barriers to weight loss and help keep patients motivated to improve their health.

The following are some of the better known medical weight loss treatments and procedures that hit the headlines recently:

Contrave

This is a weight loss drug developed by Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. Results of clinical trials show that it reduces weight as much as 17 pounds compared to a placebo. Contrave combines a drug to combat depression and smoking with a drug prescribed for alcohol and opiate addiction. This combination reduces the body’s craving for food.

Glucagon and GLP-1 Peptide

These two drugs are combined together in different proportions in order to target two body systems. One targets the body’s metabolism by speeding it up, while the other suppresses the appetite. A trial conducted in mice showed that a single injection reduced body weight by 25% and fat mass by 42%.

Orlistat

Orlistat was initially approved by Food and Drug Administration in 1999 as a prescription drug under the brand name of Xenical for treating obesity. In 2007, however, its lower-dose variation was approved for over the counter use under the brand name Alli. This drug can be consumed with meals containing fat, up to three times per day.
In terms of availability, Alli is available over-the-counter, while Xenical is only prescribed for considerably overweight people. While the usage of this drug certainly adds to the number of pounds a user can shed, it also requires changes in diet and can have some unwanted effects on the digestive system.

Phen-Pro Program

The development of Phen-Pro was an attempt to find a miracle weight loss drug for a svelte body and lean muscle mass. It is a combination of two prescription drugs: Phentermine and Prozac (therefore the name Phen-Pro). Phentermine is used to suppress appetite by increasing neurotransmitters that curb hunger, while Prozac is an antidepressant generically known as fluoxetine. The combination of these two drugs reduces the side effects of either drug in the mix.

Bariatric Surgery

Bariatric surgery is performed for losing weight by restricting the amount of food the stomach can hold, which in turn causes malabsorption of nutrients. The most common techniques used in bariatric surgery are gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, adjustable gastric band, and biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch. It is being termed as a metabolic surgery because in addition to causing weight loss, it improves diabetes and lipid disorders. It is typically used in patients who are extremely overweight and who have the body mass index above 35.

Liposuction

Liposuction, also called lipoplasty, is a form of cosmetic surgery that breaks up and sucks fat from the body. It is most commonly used on abdomen, thighs, buttocks, neck, chin, upper arms, calves, and back. The procedure of liposuction is performed with the help of a suction device attached to an instrument called a cannula. The cannula is then inserted into fatty areas via tiny incisions. The excess fat lying between skin and muscle is then sucked using a suction pump and a large syringe. Liposuction, being a cosmetic procedure might enable a person to tone his or her body, but it doesn’t achieve significant weight loss.

Final Words

To sum up the overall concept of medical weight loss, it essentially is a proactive management of diet, fitness, medication, and healthy behavior conducted by a doctor or physician. Various medical weight loss programs require a thorough metabolic testing as well as medical diagnostics for monitoring physiological shifts.