Medically Supervised Weight Loss

Methods of losing weight are all over the media, from news segments to magazines to self-help shows, all encouraging overweight people to get motivated and lose the weight. While many find success from taking matters into their own hands, there exists a portion of the overweight population that require medical intervention to lose weight and get healthy. These individuals are often clinically or morbidly obese, and their condition is often life-threatening.

The Clinics

Several weight loss clinics are available in metropolitan areas, all staffed and supervised by doctors, dietitians, nutritionists and exercise physiologists. These centers and clinics first work on developing a personal relationship with the patient, as the goal is to determine strengths and weaknesses in the patient's psychology. Once those strengths and weaknesses are identified, the medical team can properly customize a weight-loss program geared toward the patient.

About the Programs

Diet and exercise are the tried and true methods of weight loss, so the clinics and centers base their program offerings not only according to the degree of help the patient requires, but how much diet modification and exercise the patient is able to handle. This is done on a gradual basis to acclimate the patient's body to these lifestyle modifications. Oftentimes, appetite suppressant medications are introduced to deal with food cravings.

Diet & Exercise

Meals are low-calorie and nutritionally sound. The meals serve double duty, restricting calories but also teaching the patient about smarter food choices and portion control, two key components in losing weight and keeping the weight off for a lifetime. Exercises are both cardio and resistance-based and are gradually increased in intensity to promote calorie burning and lean muscle development, as lean muscle building is paramount to eating away at fat stores.

Psychology

Many obese patients lack the self control to eat properly, or use food as a comfort mechanism in times of stress. Weight-loss centers often offer psychological counseling to help patients deal with their dependence on food, such as stress management, impulse eating or poor self-image issues. In some cases anti-depressive medications are prescribed should the patient require them.

Surgery

In dire circumstances, bariatric surgery is available, but only to those patients who are meet certain criteria--generally, those with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 35 or greater. Liposuction is another surgical option, although this procedure isn't considered the best method for long-term weight loss.