Most dieters attest to a truism: it’s far easier to put on weight than to take it off. Sedentary jobs, processed foods, fats and added sugars all combine to increase our belly bloat. When our body weight starts making us feel uncomfortable and daily living becomes more difficult, it’s time to take action. Advanced Life Clinic’s Huntsville, Alabama weight loss clinics offers affordable and effective solutions.
How Much Does a Weight Loss Clinic Cost?
Weight loss clinics provide an effective and affordable treatment for excessive pounds. Part of their popularity comes from the sensible pricing for such life-changing results. Programs fit into anyone’s budget, whether you are a student, a retiree or a working person.
Much of the cost is based on the length of the program. Shorter programs, such as a 12-week plan for moderate medical weight loss cost, run just a few hundred dollars. Some clients require longer programs for larger amounts of weight loss. These programs are not more expensive but cost more in the end because of the longer duration required.
What Services Do Weight Loss Clinics Provide?
Weight loss clinics provide medical weight loss services. Physicians run medical weight loss programs. They ensure safe weight loss with lasting results. Physician-administered weight loss provides many advantages over crash diets and other techniques of dubious quality. Non-medical weight loss programs tend to produce temporary results, mainly from the drastic reduction in calories.
The problem with those methods comes down to biology: Drastic calorie cuts put the body into survival mode, where metabolism slows. Because of deprivation, the body needs a resupply of nutrition and the weight returns.
Medical weight loss prevents your body from going into survival mode. Instead of a crash diet, it changes the way you eat and teaches your body to metabolize food faster. Combined with exercise, the approach gets results quickly.
Why Are Medical Weight Loss Programs So Effective?
People gain weight for different reasons. As a result, they need to approach weight loss by changing the specific habits and biological processes that caused the weight gain. For example, many clients’ bodies have a limited capacity to process carbohydrates. Medical weight loss specialists will determine if this is the root cause, and, if so, prescribe a diet rich in proteins.
Others may be having trouble processing sugar, which is then stored as fat. As this can lead to diabetes, the focus of this diet will be on eliminating added sugars and consuming only naturally occurring sugars, such as those found in fruits and vegetables.
The key lies in determining the reasons behind the weight gain. Non-medically based weight loss programs ignore the reasons and prescribe a one-size-fits-all program. Medical weight loss is geared towards the needs of the individual.
How the Advanced Life Clinic Process Works
Your path to lasting weight loss starts with a free consultation. There is no obligation. The consultation is an opportunity to determine if medical weight loss is right for you. Our consultants will use this time to discover the reasons behind your weight gain and formulate a plan that will address those specific issues.
They also discuss the specific weight loss strategies available and which ones are best for you. Weight loss approaches include prescription medications, the HCG diet, lipotrophic weight loss, vitamin B6 and B12 injections and other proven weight loss methods.
Your care includes weekly follow-up sessions, which include injections, weigh-ins and blood pressure checks. In addition, you receive expert advice, tips and the support needed to persevere.
Each follow-up session includes a seven-day eating plan. Our eating plans include real foods that keep you feeling full and energized while reducing overall caloric intake and fat consumption, including the elimination of unhealthy forms of sugar. Our clients eat less because the food we recommend keeps them fuller for longer. They also report feeling more energetic and focused because of their dietary changes.
Prescription Medications for Weight Loss
Reducing calories, fat and sugar are always part of a weight loss plan, even if prescription medications are a facet of the program. Exercise is also a valuable component of any weight loss plan. It serves to not just shed the pounds, it also strengthens the heart, increases musculoskeletal resistance and boosts mood. However, when a large amount of weight needs to be shed, prescription medications can help the process along and achieve stunning results.
The decision to include prescription medications depends largely on body mass index (BMI). BMI is a ratio of a person’s weight to their height and physical makeup. Because of this, it is a better determiner of whether a person’s weight is healthy.
About BMI
When BMI exceeds 25, doctors began to be concerned about excessive weight affecting their patients’ health. Prescription medication may not be indicated for some people at a 25 BMI, as diet, exercise and other approaches can result in a healthy weight. When BMI far exceeds this number, doctors often prescribe prescription medications. When BMIs reach into the 30s, 40s and above, a person can develop severe health conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
Because of the health risks and the large amount of weight high BMI clients must lose, prescription medications that block fat may be needed to get weight under control quickly, before it can do serious damage to the body. Medications may be prescribed to people with lower BMIs if they suffer from certain health conditions, such as high blood pressure or type II diabetes. Doctors want to bring weight down to help control these conditions as quickly as possible.
Common prescription weight loss medications include Orlistat, Belviq, Contrave, Saxenda, phentermine, and Qsymia. Before prescribing weight loss medications, our medical staff reviews any allergies or other conditions that may interact with prescription drugs. They also check medical history and what other medications clients may be taking. In addition, it’s important to tell our medical staff if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning on getting pregnant in the near future.
The HCG Diet
This diet is designed for rapid weight loss of one to two pounds per day. It involves weekly injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a natural hormone present in the body. Measuring HCG levels has long been part of diagnostic medicine, including detecting pregnancy and cancer. In 1954, British doctor Albert Simeons discovered that HCG could also be an effective weight-loss supplement. Simeons developed a weight loss system that has been helping people conquer fat since the 1950s. The approach follows this methodology:
- Clients reduce calories to an ultra-low 500 per day
- HCG hormone is administered weekly via injections, tablets, pellets or sprays
Clients start with the loading phase. During this period, they began HCG injections and eat plenty of high-fat, high-calorie foods for two days. Then the weight loss phase begins, which requires a 500 calorie per day diet and weekly HCG injections for three to six weeks. Clients then enter the maintenance phase, where HCG injections stop and food intake is gradually accelerated to a normal caloric intake, though sugars and starches must be avoided completely for three weeks. Cases where a large amount of weight must be lost often require repeating this cycle multiple times.
During the weight loss phase, clients eat just lunch and dinner. These meals should include one portion each of lean proteins, vegetables, breads and fruits. Butters, oils and sugars are forbidden. Coffee and tea are okay, and clients need to drink plenty of water.
The Lipotropic Weight Loss Method
The lipotropic weight loss method involves regular injections of vitamins and medications that assist the body in eliminating fat. This method is meant as a complement to a robust weight loss program that includes exercise and a low-calorie diet. Vitamin B12 is one of the key ingredients because it helps burn fat while also being safe in large quantities. Other ingredients in lipotropic injections may not be safe for all people. The injections should be administered under medical supervision.
Common ingredients included in lipotropic injections include:
- Vitamin B-12
- Vitamin B-6
- Vitamin B complex
- Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)
- L-carnitine
- Phentermine
- MIC (a combination of methionine, inositol, and choline)
Shots are usually administered in the arm like a flu shot, but they can be injected in other areas containing subcutaneous fat. Injections need to be delivered once per week. Vitamin B12 injections may be administered twice per week to help boost metabolism.
The Top Exercises for Weight Loss
Taking medications and injections, reducing fats and sugars in your diet and avoiding too many carbs all go a long way toward weight loss, but they go farther when you practice a regular exercise routine. In addition to helping burn more calories, exercise builds muscle tone and even increases your resting metabolic rate, which is the speed you burn calories while inactive. To jump start your weight loss journey, consider the following exercise choices:
Walking
Going for a walk is a great way to burn calories while strengthening muscles and joints. Because it is low impact, walking comes with a low injury risk. Walking regularly helps prepare the body for more intense exercise, such as jogging or running.
Jogging and Running
Technically, the line between jogging and running is a pace of about ten minutes per mile. Both activities burn calories, increase muscle strength and enhance cardiovascular fitness. Running burns belly fat specifically, particularly bad fat deposits that surround the internal organs. To avoid injury, start by walking and then gradually mix jogging and walking. As your fitness progresses, jog for continuous periods until able to handle the pace of running for a sustained workout.
Weight Training
Many people don’t associate weight training with weight loss; they may have images of power lifters who put on large amounts of bulk muscle. Endurance lifting, where weights are lifted for at least eight repetitions per set, does not cause weight gain from muscle bulk. Instead, it builds lean muscle and burns fat. Over time, weight training boosts resting metabolic rate and becomes a key component of a weight loss exercise program.
Weight Loss Clinics Provide the Best Value in Preventative Medicine
Weight gain leads to a host of health conditions, including heart disease, diabetes and mobility disorders. The risk of developing one of these conditions diminishes greatly once the excessive weight is lost. In fact, some conditions, such as pre-diabetes, can be reversed. For the cost of just a few hundred dollars for a multi-month long program, medical weight loss prevents diseases that cost thousands of dollars in medical bills, reduce quality of life and even cause disability. Because of this, weight loss clinics provide the best value in preventative medicine.
Advanced Life Clinic provides clients with medical weight loss solutions that get the extra pounds off and keep them off for good. Our medical professionals evaluate the weight loss cost and reasons behind each individual’s weight gain and create a plan that addresses these specific issues. In a matter of months, you could be on your way to the slender body you’ve dreamed of. To get started, contact Advanced Life Clinic in Huntsville, Alabama and speak to one of our friendly representatives.
