Medically Supervised Weight Loss Program

How Our Customized Weight Loss Program Can Reshape Your Body and Revitalize Your Health

Starting a new weight loss program can be intimidating. That’s especially true if you’ve lost weight before only to regain it over time.

We understand, and we’re here to help. Our medically supervised weight loss program has helped our patients achieve successful results. 

Sure, fad diets can provide quick weight loss, yet most people who complete them eventually gain their weight back. Fortunately, our program isn’t a fad diet, and you can achieve long-term results. 

Dr. Berutti and Melanie Martin, PA, want to help you achieve a healthier lifestyle and a healthier weight. We also understand the importance of maintaining your weight loss after going through the program so that you can live a long and healthy life.

The Problem with Being Overweight

Per the Centers for Disease Control, 73.6% of people over the age of 20 are overweight! And 41.9% are obese. These are some sobering statistics, and obesity is now considered a national epidemic.

Duke University completed a study that shows that for the first time in decades, life expectancy is going down for Gen Xers and Millennials. The number one reason for this is because of obesity. The chances of developing chronic diseases increase exponentially if you are overweight or obese.

Even people who are not considered overweight can be at higher risk for health issues. How much you weigh isn’t the only factor that puts you at this risk.

The question to ask is, where are you carrying your extra weight? If you have extra fat around the abdominal area, it’s likely that you have “visceral fat.” This type of fat causes high levels of inflammation. It also puts you at risk for higher blood sugar and insulin levels, which can lead to pre-diabetes.

Plus, being overweight is often the root cause of chronic diseases or conditions, including:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Stroke
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol, which can cause plaque in the arteries to form
• Fatty liver
• Some cancers
• Osteoarthritis
• Sleep apnea
• Hormone disorders, including Insulin Resistance
• Alzheimer’s or dementia
• Depression and other mood disorders
• Joint pain

Our Providers at Dynamic Life Health Center Have a Solution that Works!

What makes our program different from other weight loss programs? Four reasons:

1. Functional Medicine Approach. As functional medicine practitioners, we’re focused on finding the root cause of your inability to lose weight. Eating right and exercising is only part of the answer… particularly when your body has imbalances and toxicities.

2. Lab Testing. We provide comprehensive lab testing and a full medical evaluation before you start, so your program is tailored to your specific needs. 

3. Genetic Testing. We also offer NutriGen, a genetic test for personalizing your diet, wellness, and weight loss planning. If you have ever wanted to understand how your genetics affect your body weight, this test can tell you. This test determines which of over 850 foods are best for your body. It also shows potential nutrient deficiencies and gives you recommendations to ensure you’re getting the right vitamins and minerals. 

4. GLP-1 Medications. We offer GLP-1s as part of the program. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is a type of medication that may lead to weight loss and improved blood sugar control, including semaglutide and tirzepatide. Studies have shown that GLP-1 medications decrease food cravings, suppress appetite, and help control blood sugar. If you aren’t a candidate for GLP-1s, we offer other prescription medications options as well. 

For More Information on our Medically Supervised Weight Loss Program, Call Us at 817-539-6168.

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

What are GLP-1 Medications?

You have likely heard about semaglutide or tirzepatide. These medications can regulate appetite, reduce cravings, and improve insulin sensitivity. Plus, they can help people achieve significant weight loss: up to 15% of total body weight for semaglutide and more for tirzepatide.

It’s important to note that semaglutide and tirzepatide are NOT stimulants. So you won’t have to deal with side effects like sleeplessness or the jitters.

Semaglutide mimics the effects of a naturally occurring peptide called Glucagon-like peptide 1. Many studies have shown that this peptide reduces appetite and helps control blood sugar. Tirzepatide combines the benefits of two peptides—GLP-1 and GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide).

When you take one of these medications, your appetite will drastically reduce. Plus, you’ll lose the cravings for sweets and sugary foods. However, if you don’t eat healthy foods, you won’t feel well physically throughout the program. Exercise is also recommended, as it helps prevent changes in skin appearance as you lose weight.

Our program is three to six months long, depending on how much weight you want to lose. Should you decide to continue, we will require you to see us in person 90 days after you finish the three months and then again six months afterward. We will continue to write the prescriptions for you during this time.

The major benefit you will feel—which will help you lose weight—is that a GLP-1 reduces your appetite and makes you feel fuller for longer periods of time. It also keeps you in fat-burning mode.

Additional health benefits are that this medication targets fat cells and regulates your blood sugar. It also helps to stop the production of plaque in blood vessels.

You should know that these medications can cause side effects such as tiredness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation. Nausea usually lessens as you continue the medications. If any of these effects last or get worse, let us know as we can help with some of these side-effects. 

How We Prescribe Weight Loss Medications on Our Program

We don’t prescribe semaglutide or tirzepatide under any of the brand-name medications. Instead, we work with a local pharmacy to compound the medication together with Vitamin B6.

All our patients start off at a lower dose for the first month, as this helps to minimize side effects. Then we increase the dose as needed, based on your individual response. 

We do this because if you start off with too high of a dose, you can experience nausea as your body gets used to the drug. And we add Vitamin B6 because it helps with nausea. We are also happy to prescribe Zofran which should also ease any nausea as needed and will make other recommendations to help minimize any side effects. 

GLP-1 medication is administered via injection. You inject the dose subcutaneously (under the skin) and not into a muscle.

The needle is tiny, and the injection is painless. However, if you are needle-phobic and don’t want to do the injection yourself once weekly, you are welcome to come into the office. One of our nurses can do the injection for you for a nominal fee.

What Does Our Medically-Supervised Weight Loss Program Include?

Our 90-day program includes:

1. Three office visits with your provider. The first visit is 60 minutes, and the following two are 30 minutes each. 

2. Initial lab testing includes:

• CMP (comprehensive metabolic panel)
• CBC (complete blood count)
• Insulin
• Hemoglobin A1C
• Thyroid labs TSH, T3, and T4
• Lipids
• Vitamin D

Please note that we include all labs in the program’s price, and they will need to be done at LabCorp.

3. Four free weekly B12 lipotropic injections for the first month. This is a “fat-burning” shot ($150 value)! 

Lipotropic injections aid in weight loss by boosting the metabolism, helping to detoxify the liver, and increasing overall energy levels.

NOTE: The weight loss program does not include the cost of the semaglutide or tirzepatide injections. We use local compounding pharmacies that compound the injections. 

Recommendations While on Our Weight Loss Program

1. Eat Healthy Food. It’s best not to overeat on this program. If you’re eating junk food, you won’t feel well, and your energy levels will be low. We recommend incorporating more protein and nutrient-dense foods into your daily food intake. If you follow these guidelines, you’ll feel much better and have higher energy levels, even while eating less!

3. Drink Plenty of Water. Water is vital for all bodily functions, but it becomes even more important when you’re taking a GLP-1 medication. That’s because staying hydrated can prevent the nausea that some people experience on this medication. We recommend a minimum of 80 ounces of water a day.

2. Exercise. Exercise is not mandatory for you to lose weight while taking semaglutide or tirzepatide. However, we recommend you incorporate exercise because of the added health benefits and more rapid weight loss. Exercise will also help to maintain your muscle mass while dieting. If you aren’t exercising right now, walking can be a great place to start.

What to Expect from this Program

The more momentum you gain, the better you will feel. On average, with semaglutide, you can expect to lose up to 15% of your body weight, depending on how long you are taking the medication. With tirzepatide, you may lose more. Your provider will determine which medication is right for you based on your lab work and medical history. 

For those who only want to lose 20-30 pounds, the 90-day program may be enough for you. If you want to continue to lose more weight, we recommend continuing until you have lost the desired amount of weight. If you want to lose a large amount of weight, it may take up to a year.

Also, after you start the program, you should experience better sleep.

Long-term Benefits Lead to Longer Life Spans

Being overweight or obese causes or can contribute to chronic diseases such as Heart Disease, Stroke, Type 2 Diabetes, Alzheimer’s/Dementia, Fatty Liver Disease, some cancers, and more. These diseases are some of the top causes of death worldwide. Most are preventable with lifestyle changes, and that starts with what you are putting into your body.

Our medically supervised weight loss program can be an easy first step to getting your health back on track. If followed correctly, it can improve your quality of life and increase your life span.

Contraindications

While semaglutide or tirzepatide is appropriate for most, there are some contraindications that would prevent you from the program. These include:

• Personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or multiple endocrine neoplasias
• Personal or family history of parathyroid cancer or pancreatic cancer
• Being pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or breastfeeding
• History of anorexia, bulimia, or body dysmorphic disorder
• Type 1 diabetes
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Renal insufficiency
• Vitamin B6 or Vitamin B12 allergy
• History of pancreatitis or pancreatic disease
• History of gallbladder disease (NOTE: If you have had your gallbladder removed, you are eligible for the weight loss program).

Potential Side Effects

As with any drug, there are some potential side effects from semaglutide or tirzepatide. Many of these may improve on their own as your body adjusts to the drug. Side effects may include:

• Fatigue
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea or vomiting
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Allergic reaction
• Pain at the site of injection
• Low blood sugar
• Gallbladder disease
• Pancreatitis 
• Kidney damage
• Thyroid tumors

We encourage you to communicate any side effects to your provider. If the side effects become severe at any point, please get medical attention right away.  If you experience any side effects, we are here to help—just give us a call! 

Are You Ready to Get Started on Becoming a Healthier You?

The first step is to contact our New Patient Coordinator. She can go over the details of our weight loss program and get you scheduled for your appointment.

After scheduling you, we will have you complete a health questionnaire and then send you to the lab to have your blood drawn.

Your first appointment with us will be two weeks after you book. This will allow us time to get your labs back and go over your health questionnaire and goals with you. We can also write your prescription for semaglutide or tirzepatide at your first appointment.

Please call us with your questions and schedule an appointment! We look forward to speaking with you and being a part of your health journey!

Call Us at 817-539-6168

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