Choosing a Program

Medical Weight Loss of New York Will Develop a Weight Loss Program Specifically for You

Diet choice depends on many factors: how much weight you have to lose, how fast you wish to lose it, and cost and lifestyle.

Effective Weight Loss is Individualized

Dr. Scinta believes weight loss must be individualized. For example, she would recommend that a 400-pound, middle-aged male do the full meal replacement with OPTIFAST®, because on that plan, he can safely lose 3 to 7  pounds a week*. For him, time is of the essence. On the other hand, a post-menopausal female with only 15-20 pounds to lose would be better suited to a food-based or partial plan that would enable her to lose one to three pounds per week*.

Your Program Keeps Pace with Your Changing Needs

As a patient nears his or her goal, the emphasis switches from strictly nutrition and behavior to exercise. Some patients are not initially mobile enough to exercise on land. Dr. Scinta will set these patients up with equipment in the water, where weight is not an issue. As they lose, they graduate to land-based workouts and increase the time and intensity of their workouts.

Dr. Scinta sees patients develop positive attitudes from the benefits of increased exercise. She says, “I rarely have to force a patient to exercise. If we are doing our jobs right, they have so much energy, they ask to do it.”

Weight Loss is an Ever-changing Continuum

When it is time to address the maintenance issues, the team will shift gears again to launch into a long-term weight management plan. Dr. Scinta’s programs address weight loss and weight loss maintenance as two completely different worlds, and there is not necessarily a beginning and an end.

If a patient is getting bored, an unexpected event occurs, or a vacation or holiday arrives, the team may switch the patient temporarily into “maintenance mode.” Dr. Scinta wants all patients to be able to clearly understand how the rules change between weight loss and maintenance. During the early weight loss states, the scale can be your enemy and rigorous exercise can cause muscle loss and excessive hunger. During maintenance, however, exercise is critical and weighing yourself at the same time every day is important.

*Saris, W. H.M. (2001), Very-Low-Calorie Diets and Sustained Weight Loss. Obesity Research, 9: 295S–301S. doi: 10.1038/oby.2001.134