How Medically Supervised Weight Loss Can Help You Not Only Lose Weight But Keep It Off

It's no secret that one of the few things harder than losing weight is keeping it off afterward. A 2005 study found that only 20 percent of its participants managed to maintain a 10 percent loss in weight over one year, painting a bleak picture for anyone who is already struggling to shed a few pounds. But these results only confirm what the medical community has been saying for years; diets alone are not enough to achieve meaningful weight loss. Medically supervised weight loss programs encourage long-term weight loss and maintenance by educating patients, promoting a healthy lifestyle and offering accountability and structure when it matters most. 

Putting Your Progress in Context

When many people begin dieting, they try to lose every pound as quickly as possible and sometimes even punish themselves if their progress is not quick enough. This is an unhealthy mindset, and more often than not it leads to a failed diet and no significant results. By working with a physician, you will learn to ignore this impatient thought process and instead focus on gradual change brought about by sustainable lifestyle adjustments. As you periodically check in with your supervisor, he or she will be able to analyze your weight loss for that time period and offer an objective analysis of how your weight loss is going and what adjustments could be made to keep you on track.  

Emphasizing Physical Fitness 

Obesity is associated with many harmful conditions, but being thin doesn't guarantee your health either. Many diet plans recommend exercise, but they often fail to demonstrate how physical fitness plays a major role in your metabolism and overall health or to formulate an individual plan tailored to your fitness needs. Medically supervised weight loss, on the other hand, balances both exercise and nutrition to ensure that your weight loss is balanced and driving you towards truly good health. 

Focusing on Long-Term Results

Your physician doesn't care whether or not you look good for bikini season, but instead whether or not you are on the right path to remain active and healthy for the rest of your life. By avoiding crash diets, you can instead focus on changing your lifestyle without feeling punished. This means that you can still occasionally indulge yourself with sweet treats or a day off the treadmill, eliminating the guilt many patients feel when they give in and "cheat" on their diet, without taking the behavior to excess. By arming yourself with knowledge and relying on the expertise of a weight loss physician, you should stand a much better chance of remaining trim, fit and happy far into the future.   

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