Medical Weight Loss | Charleston, SC

If your weight is affecting your life, activity level, or confidence, and your efforts at diet and exercise aren’t paying off, it may be time to seek medical assistance with your weight loss. First, it’s important to understand what medical weight loss is not. It is not an invasive surgical solution to your weight problem. It is a program that includes diet and exercise advice, support, and techniques that are tailored to your individual need and designed to help you lose weight.

Establishing a Medical Weight Loss Plan

The first step in establishing a medical weight loss plan is identifying and targeting the causes of your weight gain and retention. Contrary to common belief, weight loss is not always just about cutting calories. The average American does tend to eat far too many calories, but diet changes alone will not be enough to achieve long-term, sustainable weight loss. Anyone who has spent extensive time riding the diet roller coaster can attest to that. A tailored program addresses multiple issues that may be related to weight gain and retention.

Diet and Nutrition

Even “healthy” eating has pitfalls. Fad diets and diets that exclude certain foods or types of foods are often riddled with nutritional pitfalls. Your medical weight loss plan takes into account your unique situation, your caloric needs, and your fitness level. There are no “bad” foods, but there are poorly constructed diets. Your doctor can help you design a diet that meets your physical needs without leaving you feeling deprived.

Exercise

Many people start out on a new exercise program with enthusiasm, only to lose steam because they’ve set themselves unreasonable or unattainable goals. You didn’t gain excess weight overnight, and losing it will take time. An individualized program of reasonable exercise goals can help you build up to more ambitious challenges and begin to peel off the unwanted weight.

Every individual is different, and everyone’s weight loss journey follows a unique path. Your doctor at Alphacare can help you design an approach to losing excess weight that works for you.