Medical Weight Loss

The Dynamic Life Health Center in Southlake, TX Can Help You Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals Safely!

Dr. Berutti and her Physician Assistant, Melanie Martin have seen the devasting health effects that obesity and its complications can cause. Additionally, they both understand the frustration that so many of their patients feel, because of going from one diet to another without any long-term success.

As advocates for their patients, Dr. Berutti and PA, Melanie Martin have put hours of research into finding a medically supervised weight loss plan that is realistic, healthy, and sustainable long-term, and are confident that this medically supervised weight loss plan can help their patients achieve lasting weight loss and long-term better health! We are excited to offer Transform, a medical weight loss program that is customized just for you! 

Transform Medical Weight Loss Plan

Transform isn’t just another diet; it is a medical weight loss plan based on the science of medicine and specifically customized exactly for you, based on analysis of the following:

• Sleep habits
• Adrenal health/Stress response
• Hormonal health
• Nutrition
• Behavior

The Dynamic Life Health Center can help you lose weight, keep it off, and achieve optimal health. We use the latest scientific testing and data to identify any impediments to your weight loss and design a plan specifically for YOU.

This is not a fad diet and isn’t the type of diet where you will lose massive amounts of weight in a short period of time. Instead, it is a healthy lifestyle change. It can be incorporated into various eating plans such as the Mediterranean diet, Balanced, Low-carb, and Low-fat, depending on what is right for you. 

Our PA, Melanie Martin, has extensive training in functional medicine, weight loss, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, and thyroid disease management. We are excited to announce that she will be launching our new Transform weight loss program for new patients.

Dr. Berutti and Melanie Martin are exceptional providers and having been to see Melanie for my health issues, I can personally recommend both of them as truly competent & knowledgeable medical providers who put their patients’ welfare and health at the top of their list! I’m so impressed with the immediate and helpful care I’ve received and after only a little over a month’s treatment, I feel better than ever! The expertise, professionalism and care for their patients is unmatched, in my experience as a patient, and I’m so grateful to have found them! Only the best should be considered when it comes to our health and they are committed to providing the best to each and every patient and only recommending them to the best in the field if needed for serious conditions that require more care than they provide at their very capable clinic. Thank you to Dr. Berutti and Melanie Martin! You’ve changed my life as well as other patient’s lives!” –  Rebecca D.

Advantages of the Transform Medical Weight Loss Plan include:

• Addresses root causes of weight gain and/or the inability to lose weight.
• 60-question health profile provides insight into behaviors and other factors that can impede weight loss and adversely affect health. This questionnaire helps us to customize your compounded medication and recommend supplements specifically for your individual weight-loss needs.  
• Detailed lab work identifies which systems aren’t working optimally, and identifies conditions that prevent weight loss.
• Affordable compounded medication specifically for YOU based on your profile and health history.
• Pharmaceutical-grade supplements customized specifically for you based on your health questionnaire and lab results, to help your boost metabolism, detoxify, and keep you feeling good while you lose weight.
• Medically supervised support and education to help you succeed and regain your health and vitality. 
• Book now and receive 4 B-12 Lipotropic Injections for the first 4 weeks of the program (available for a limited time only! 

Call our New Patient Coordinator to get all your questions answered,

817-539-6168

or fill in the inquiry form below and tell us the best way to reach you.

How is the Transform Medical Weight Loss Program Different From Other Diets?

Our medical weight loss program looks at the root causes of weight gain to rule out any impediments to your own personal weight loss. These include things such as:

• Sleep
• Adrenal health
• Nutrition
• Insulin Resistance
• Thyroid function
• Behavior

The Transform Weight Loss Program includes a 60-question health profile to help us gain insight into your lifestyle, behaviors, sleep patterns, stress levels, and diet. We will also run a comprehensive set of labs that will look at your thyroid function (a very common impediment to weight loss), insulin levels, lipids, and Hemoglobin A1C, along with a Complete Blood Count(CBC) which is used to evaluate your overall health and detect a wide range of disorders, and a Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP), which looks at liver and kidney function and more.

Once we have reviewed your questionnaire, we can then prescribe a compounded medication just for you, made by Pharmacy Solutions, a top-quality compounding pharmacy. Just as your weight loss plan should be individualized, so should your medication. You are a unique individual, so this plan is tailored specifically for YOU. Because this is a medically supervised weight loss plan, if your medical history indicates any risk whatsoever, we will do an EKG if necessary to rule out any risk factors.

Best of all, this weight loss plan is medically supervised, so you will always have a support system, a medical professional to educate you, and you will be given a comprehensive, all-inclusive weight loss plan designed specifically for you based on the results of the Pathway Genomics Healthy Weight DNA test! 

Dr. Berutti is an excellent doctor. Started going to her practice in 2015. Dr. Berutti listens to your health concerns and then puts together a plan that works just for you. Best individual health care I have ever had from a doctor. Dr. Berutti’s staff/team are as attentive as she is and I have never had a question, email, or phone call go unanswered. Excellent Service! I have never felt better, thanks to Dynamic Life Health Center.” – Mary H.

For Those Interested in Having Their Hormones Balanced, We Also Offer a Combination Medical Weight Loss/Hormone Assessment

Melanie Martin, PA, is an expert, not just in Medical Weight Loss, but also in Functional Medicine, which is the science of getting to the root cause of chronic disease, disease prevention, overall wellness, and Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy. If you are interested in coming in for overall health, wellness, and hormone check, we can extend your appointment to include all. Many of our patients who are interested in losing weight, also suffer from hormonal imbalances in their estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol levels. We are pleased to offer this comprehensive service to all of our patients! 

Obesity Now a Chronic Health Condition 

Americans are overweight in staggering numbers and obesity is now classified as a chronic health condition. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 42.4% of ALL adults in the United States are overweight or obese. These numbers were derived from a study done in 2018, and it is likely that those numbers have risen, especially considering all of the challenges that 2020 has brought. Obesity affects all ages:

• 40% for adults 20-39 years old
• 44% for those 40-59 years old
• 42.8% for adults 60 years and older

Also, according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), the prevalence of obesity in the United States increased by 40% between 1980 and 1990. Since 1960, obesity in children 6-11 years old, has increased by 54% and in adolescents 12-17 years old, it has increased by 40%. 

Being overweight or obese causes Metabolic Syndrome, which includes at least 3 of the following conditions:

• Waist size greater than 40 inches in men, and greater than 35 inches in women
• High Triglycerides (greater than 145)
• Low HDL, or good cholesterol
• High fasting glucose levels (greater than 100)
• High Blood Pressure

Metabolic Syndrome drastically increases your risk for many diseases to include:

• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Stroke
• Cardiovascular disease, heart attack
• Certain types of cancer
• Sleep apnea
• Osteoarthritis
• Fatty liver disease
• Kidney disease

Why Most diets Don’t Work:

• The underlying root causes of weight gain are not addressed, which can set you up for failure no matter how hard you try to lose weight. 
• Most diets are too restrictive and unrealistic to sustain over time. You may lose weight initially, but find yourself gaining it back again as soon as you go off of the diet, and back to your “normal” lifestyle.
• Many people attempt to lose weight on their own, rather than under the guidance of a medical professional, and therefore don’t have all the tools necessary to ensure successful, long-term results
• Cultural differences
• Inflammation throughout the body from stress, sugar, and gut dysbiosis (imbalances in the gut microbiome)
• Many diets work fine for short-term weight loss, however, they don’t lead to long-term sustainability, health, and wellness.
• Most diets take a “one size fits all” approach, which doesn’t take into account the root causes of weight gain, or the individual’s personalized needs.

Common Causes of Weight Gain 

Weight gain can obviously be associated with consuming too many calories or eating a diet of processed and sugary foods in addition to not getting enough exercise. Calorie restriction isn’t always the answer; many people just need to change their lifestyle and eat the right kinds of food that are nutritionally dense and low in simple carbohydrates. However, it’s possible to self-sabotage your weight loss journey because of things you may not even be aware of that can contribute to weight gain, or the inability to lose weight in a healthy way.

A lot of the factors that affect your weight are interdependent on each other. Just as sleep can cause issues with cortisol levels and the way you handle stress, the reverse is also true. The thyroid gland regulates metabolism which can affect just about every other hormone function in your body. All of your hormones work as a complete symphony together. When one area starts to become “out of tune,” all other areas are impacted. Fortunately, the reverse is also true. Once the root cause issues are identified, they can be addressed both individually, and as a whole, and the results can be exponentially positive, both in the way you feel and the way that you look!

Lack of Sleep

According to the International Journal of Obesity, researchers have found that obesity and higher BMIs were associated with less than six hours of sleep a night. Identifying and addressing sleep issues to ensure consistent and adequate amounts of sleep can not only make you feel more rested and energetic, but can also lead to a lower BMI and a reduction in weight. This is because a rested mind and body impedes cortisol secretion, allowing your body to appropriately expend energy and not hold on to excess fat.

Stress 

Cortisol is a “stress hormone” that is produced by your adrenal glands and is one of the most important hormones because it is responsible for the fight or flight response to STRESS. Cortisol is needed to live, sleep, manage stress, regulate mood, balance blood sugar, regulate blood pressure, and modulate the immune system. With constant stress, your cortisol levels can rise, staying at high levels throughout the day. Too much cortisol directly causes tissues in the body to no longer respond to other hormones, creating a condition of hormonal resistance.

Imbalanced cortisol levels can cause insomnia (leading to a lack of sleep) and lack of sleep can elevate cortisol levels so that it becomes an endless cycle. Cortisol imbalances can also cause carbohydrate and sugar cravings, create thyroid imbalances (which regulate metabolism), and adversely affect the way that you handle stress. Because cortisol is the fight-or-flight hormone and both high-stress levels and lack of sleep can cause imbalanced levels, this condition can become chronic.

When your body is constantly reacting to stress, it goes into survival mode, thus effectively shutting down non-essential functions, including digestion. Sluggish digestion causes weight gain, and/or the ability to lose weight. High cortisol also signals the body to hold on to fat stores, especially the visceral fat around the abdominal area. The 60-question health profile that you complete for this weight loss program can give us a good idea of how you are dealing with stress in your life. We can provide you with education on ways that you can help to manage your stress levels. 

Call our New Patient Coordinator to get all your questions answered.

817-539-6168

Or fill in the inquiry form below and tell us the best way to reach you.

Nutrition

“You are what you eat.” We’ve all heard this slogan, and it turns out that it’s true! The food that you put into your body can pave the way for a lifetime of wellness or a lifetime of disease. Fortunately, it’s never too late to start eating clean which can help to reverse chronic disease and aging. The Standard American Diet has become all too common. It is full of processed and genetically modified foods consisting of unhealthy grains, sugars, and starches, and is one of the leading causes of obesity in this country.

With the Transform Medical Weight Loss Plan, and through genetic testing, we can take all of that data,  and give you menu plans that can easily become a sustainable way of a healthy life rather than a short-term diet to follow. Some people will do better on the Mediterranean Diet, others will do better on a low carbohydrate plan, and others will thrive on a low-fat diet. These healthier ways of eating can be adapted to gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian as well. After meeting with you and going over your questionnaire and Pathway Genoma Healthy Weight DNA test results, we can advise what food plan will work best for you! You can view some sample eating plans here. 

Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance is a condition that left unaddressed can lead to Type 2 Diabetes, diseases of the endocrine system, and cardiovascular disease. Insulin is a hormone that’s made by the pancreas and one of its functions is to produce insulin when you eat. Glucose levels rise and insulin acts as a “key” to let the glucose into the cells in muscles, the liver, fat, and other organs where it is used for energy. Insulin resistance occurs over time as the cells become “resistant” to insulin and as a result, the “key” no longer works to allow glucose to move into the cells which causes blood sugar levels to stay high in the bloodstream. Insulin levels can be up to 5-7 times higher than they should be, which has an adverse effect on the metabolism and inhibits the body’s ability to break down fats. Cells can become starved of energy while glucose levels stay high in the bloodstream since there’s nowhere for it to go. Higher insulin levels will cause the body to store visceral fat around the abdominal area. This fat is particularly dangerous since it causes the liver and other organs to become fatty and inflamed. What’s worse is that the visceral fat around the abdomen also can cause insulin resistance so it becomes a “chicken versus the egg” situation.

Additionally, other causes of insulin resistance include:

• Obesity
• Eating a diet high in sugar and processed foods
• Physical inactivity
• Inflammation
• Imbalances in the gut microbiome
• Poor sleep habits
• Genetics

Fortunately, insulin resistance can be reversed usually with diet modifications and exercise.

Thyroid Function

The thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped gland located at the front of your neck and is sometimes referred to as “the master gland.” It is important for your overall health and is responsible for regulating metabolism; it affects every cell in your body. It’s also important for:

• Fat breakdown
• Energy levels
• Cholesterol levels
• Weight
• Temperature control
• Hair growth of the scalp and eyebrows
• Mood
• Cognitive function

Dr. Berutti and PA, Melanie Martin both specialize in diagnosing and treating thyroid disorders. We see many patients at Dynamic Life Health Center who have been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism (under active thyroid gland) and put on medication that simply isn’t working. Other common scenarios are patients coming to us because they have had doctors tell them that their labs are “normal,” even though they are having every symptom of hypothyroidism, which almost always includes weight gain or the inability to lose weight.

Our providers will get to the root cause of your thyroid problem and treat it appropriately. Our thyroid testing includes a FULL panel to check TSH, T4, T3, Reverse T3, and antibodies. If antibodies are present, this indicates a root cause of Hashimoto’s, which is an autoimmune disease. Hashimoto’s Disease is the most common cause of Hypothyroidism and requires comprehensive care to address both the underlying causes of Hashimoto’s disease and the symptoms of Hypothyroidism. 

Behavior

In order to customize your weight loss plan with the Transform method, we must look at behaviors that can sabotage efforts to lose weight and regain health. Behavior that can influence weight loss include:

• Diet
• Sleep habits
• Exercise
• Alcohol usage
• Stress levels and coping mechanisms

Once we identify behaviors that may be impeding your ability to lose weight, we can educate you and provide you with the materials you need in order to modify as needed.

About Melanie Martin, PA-C

Melanie Martin, PA-C, is Dr. Berutti’s Physician Assistant who has been practicing medicine for a total of 30 years. About halfway through her career, she realized that the “conventional medicine” approach wasn’t always meeting her patients’ health goals and that the gaps in that system did not promote wellness and optimal health. Melanie decided that she could better help people by using a more integrative approach so she decided to make a career change 14 years ago.

Melanie believes that the key to truly helping patients is to be able to spend plenty of time with them in order to have ample opportunity to listen to their needs. She incorporates a collaborative approach so that everyone feels involved, educated, and empowered with their personal health care.

She has trained and worked under some of the top functional medicine practitioners in the area and is happy to be a part of Dr. Berutti’s team so that she can continue to learn from Dr. Berutti’s vast areas of expertise. She’s also excited to focus on helping her patients get to the root cause(s) of their symptoms and illnesses so they can achieve optimal health and wellness.

Dr. Berutti and our staff are very happy to have Melanie be a part of our team! Not only is she an experienced Physician’s Assistant, she is also considered an expert in her field. We are confident that our patients are going to love her and her commitment to their health care!

Insurance Coverage

We can provide you with the information that contains the diagnostic and CPT codes that you can submit for possible reimbursement with your insurance company. We do encourage you to contact your insurance company prior to your first visit to ask them what benefits they give for seeing an out-of-network provider and for comprehensive lab-work. If for some reason they will not cover lab fees, we can offer our patients a substantial self-pay discount and we will work with you to keep costs within your budget. You are also able to use Health Saving Accounts (HSAs) and FSAs.

Contact our New Patient Coordinator for More Information

When many patients come to see us, they have lost hope because they’ve felt unwell for so long and don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. It’s rewarding as a practitioner to be able to help so many people realize a much better “normal” and a regained sense of vitality!

Please call us to get more information about how our clinic and Dr. Berutti can help you with your health goals and schedule an appointment.

We look forward to the opportunity to restore your health and regain your vitality for life!

For More Information Call Us at 817-539-6168

Or fill in the inquiry form below and tell us the best way to reach you.

For existing patients, please call us at 817-912-1600.