Types of medical weight loss solutions
There are three broad categories of medical weight loss:
- Lifestyle Transformation Therapy (specific nutritional planning, exercise)
- Motivational therapy
- Weight loss medication
Lifestyle transformation therapy
Lifestyle Transformation Therapy is a lifelong lifestyle change that produces weight loss. Lifestyle Transformation Therapy involves using a series of stepwise lifestyle changes to transform your weight and your health*.
Weight loss medication
Weight loss medications are prescription drugs designed to help you lose weight*. There are several different medications which can act in different and sometimes complementary ways. Generation 1 medications like phentermine, Qsymia, and Contrave work by decreasing appetite. Generation 2 medications like semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound) work by slowing down your digestive process to decrease your food intake.
You can find a full list of weight loss medications, and their impact and side effects, here.
Weight loss medications are only effective when they are used in conjunction with dietary modification and increased exercise. In this setting, patients on generation 1 medications on average lose 5-10% of their total body weight*. Patients on generation 2 medications may lose between 7-17% of their total body weight depending on the study.
Pros
- diagnoses and corrects maladaptive behaviors
- empowers healthy decision making
- retrains habits
- resolves cognitive dissonance
- foundation of lifestyle, medical, and surgical weight loss
Cons
- Can result in complications such as gastroparesis, acute pancreatitis, bowel obstruction, serious mental health consequences, and cancer.
- nausea, vomiting, dehydration, renal failure, and heart problems
- Benefits only last while taking the medications
- Can be significantly more expensive than surgery after just 2 years.
Motivational Enhancement
Motivational methods focus on identifying and correcting maladaptive self-sabotaging behaviors that derail success. For example, we assist patients in breaking free from victim mentality by empowering them with enhanced and intentional decision-making capacity.
Once corrected we then encourage habit formation around healthy behaviors to remodel their foundation. We explore readiness for change and encourage planning for success through cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing.
Pros
- Improve meal structure and stop snacking/grazing
- Very low calorie intake
- Decrease food options (stimulus control)
- Can translate into some successful weight loss when followed exactly
Cons
- atient must have transparent awareness of the problem
- patient must be ready to embrace change
- patient must recognize their intrinsic value
Bariatric surgery
If your goal is to lose a few pounds, and you have a BMI <35, then medical weight loss alone may be the right solution for you.
However, if your BMI is above 40 (or 35 with weight-related health risks) and you have tried to lose weight before and failed, then bariatric surgery (in conjunction with a life-long commitment to Lifestyle Transformation Therapy) may be the powerful tool you need to lose weight and keep it off.
Meet your Bariatric Physician Dr. Joshua Long
MD, MBA, FACS, FASMBS
A nationally renowned and double-board-certified Denver bariatric surgeon, Dr. Long uses a partnership care model with each patient to tailor care to their individual needs. Patients routinely thank Dr. Long for his warm, compassionate bedside manner. He’s considered to be at the top of his field, having performed well over 2,000 surgeries in all places consistently throughout the site.