Frequently Asked Questions

It would seem that there are as many diets, schemes and approaches to solving the problems of being overweight as there are overweight people. It is almost impossible to pick up a magazine or newspaper without seeing at least one “new” diet, exercise or product that promises miracle results in losing weight fast. Some of these methods do seem to work, at least temporarily, but sometimes at varying degrees of risk to the user’s health.

The Bariatric Weight Loss Centers have been established for those overweight individuals who are wary of the “off again – on again” syndrome of such methods. The centers are for those who are now determined to take off weight and keep it off — sensibly, safely, and under the supervision of medical specialists.

The Bariatric Weight Loss Program is a highly successful and realistic approach to achieving and maintaining optimum body weight. If you have additional questions, please feel free to call or visit any of our centers.

And now for the frequently asked questions. The first question most people ask is:

What does bariatric mean?

Bariatrics is a branch of medicine that deals specifically with problems of obesity, or being overweight. It is a very specialized field and only about 1% of the medical doctors in this country are qualified members of the Obesity Medicine Association, formerly known as the American Society of Bariatric Physicians. All the doctors in charge of our programs are members of the Association and adhere to its principles and standards.

It is true that many published diets, especially those of the “crash” variety, result in rapid, TEMPORARY weight loss. We emphasize the word TEMPORARY. Few people can tolerate for long the boredom of foods eaten on such programs and, if they could, serious damage to their health from nutritional deficiency might result. Even a return to previous eating habits, after being on such diets, will often bring the weight right back to the original point or higher.

Very much so, but balanced diets are designed by registered dietitians and nutritionists for patients in accordance with the patient’s physical make-up and condition at the start of the program. Diet recommendations are not necessarily the same for all patients examined.

Medications may be used in the treatment of any associated conditions as determined by the multiphasic blood studies. They may also include appetite suppressants and diuretics where found advisable. The use of certain vitamins as catalysts involved with fat metabolism is also an important part of our program.

Your physical examination and blood studies will reveal much of the information your physician will need in prescribing for your weight problem. Your progress will be watched carefully and re-evaluated by your physician in future appointments.

This is due to the basic thoroughness of the initial medical examination in diagnosing the underlying factors of the patient’s weight problem. The guidelines in nutrition and exercise that the patient receives bring more conscious thought to bear on good health and proper eating habits. As the program progresses, you will feel so much better in every way that you will have less inclination to relapse into your old eating habits.

Physiologically, no two human bodies are alike. What is proper diet and exercise for one person is not necessarily so for another. The Bariatric Weight Loss Program concentrates on the specific need for each individual patient. The Bariatric physician, unlike most other medical doctors, has received special training in nutrition as it relates to problems of the overweight. It is in these ways that the Bariatric Weight Loss System differs from most weight control programs and ensures our high success rate.

You have probably tried one or more of the so called “crash” diets that specialize in rapid weight loss at the sacrifice of balanced nutrition. Such diets, as previously mentioned, can be dangerous to your health. Their results, though sometimes spectacular in the beginning, are often short lived.

The diet you will be advised to follow by your Bariatric physician will supply all the particular nutrients your individual body requires. You must remember, however, you will be changing your way of life as far as your eating habits are concerned. You will be exchanging bad habits for better ones and this will take a certain amount of will power. In order to help you achieve this your physician will prescribe appetite suppressants.

You will have a choice of many different foods but in smaller quantities than you are probably used to eating. You may actually start to enjoy food more than you have in the past. As time goes by, you will feel so much better that you will want to continue. You will eventually reach the point where your appetite will be satisfied with less food. When your weight has reached its optimum level, you will be able to keep it there with little effort.