In a world saturated with fleeting diet trends and unsustainable weight loss programs, Calibrate emerges as a beacon of hope, offering a comprehensive, science-backed approach to weight management and metabolic health. Founded in 2020 by Isabelle Kenyon, Calibrate's mission is to establish a new standard of care for treating obesity, empowering individuals to regain control of their health. Calibrate distinguishes itself by prioritizing long-term outcomes, combining personalized coaching, FDA-approved medication, and science-backed educational resources to facilitate meaningful lifestyle changes and sustained weight loss.
Understanding the Metabolic Approach to Weight Loss
Traditional diets often fail because they rely on calorie restriction and willpower, neglecting the underlying biological factors that influence weight. Calibrate recognizes that sustainable weight loss stems from improving metabolic health, addressing the complex interplay of biology, genetics, and environment.
The Role of Metabolism and Set Point
Metabolism encompasses the essential chemical reactions within the body that convert food into energy. Your metabolic system involves organs, hormones, cells, and molecular messengers. Studies suggest that each individual has a biological "set point," a weight that the body strives to maintain, regardless of whether it is metabolically healthy. This set point is influenced by genetics, biology, and environmental factors like food, sleep, exercise, and stress.
When attempting to lose weight through calorie restriction, the body perceives this as a threat and defends its set point by slowing down metabolism, increasing hunger hormones, and decreasing fullness hormones.
Resetting Your Metabolism for Sustainable Weight Loss
Calibrate's program is designed to help you change your metabolism's set point within 6 months, and then work to sustain those changes for good over an additional 6 months. Unlike fad diets that offer temporary solutions, Calibrate targets the underlying biology of metabolic health through a comprehensive approach that includes:
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- Prescription FDA-approved metabolic medication
- Behavioral changes focused on food, exercise, sleep, and emotional health
The Calibrate Program: A Holistic Approach to Weight Management
Calibrate's One-Year Metabolic Reset program is a comprehensive, medically supervised weight loss program that combines medication, lifestyle changes, and personalized support to help members achieve sustainable weight loss and improve their overall metabolic health.
Eligibility and Enrollment
Individuals between the ages of 18 and 64 with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 and above, or individuals with a BMI of 27 or more when combined with a weight-related comorbidity such as hypertension, sleep apnea, or diabetes, are typically good candidates for the Calibrate program.
The enrollment process involves:
- Completing an eligibility quiz and signing up for the program.
- Downloading the Calibrate app and completing a comprehensive health intake form.
- Scheduling a virtual visit with a Calibrate doctor.
- Completing blood work at a local lab.
- Receiving a welcome kit with instructions on using the Calibrate app and syncing devices.
Key Components of the Calibrate Program
The Calibrate program encompasses several key components that work synergistically to promote weight loss and improve metabolic health:
1. Medical Evaluation and GLP-1 Medication
Calibrate's program begins with a thorough medical evaluation to assess your overall health and identify any underlying medical conditions that may be contributing to your weight. Based on this evaluation, a Calibrate doctor may prescribe a GLP-1 receptor agonist medication, such as semaglutide (Ozempic®, Wegovy®) or liraglutide (Saxenda®).
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GLP-1 medications work by mimicking the effects of the naturally occurring GLP-1 hormones in the gut. They regulate metabolism, reduce appetite, and promote feelings of fullness, helping to reset your metabolic system and sustain long-term weight loss.
2. Personalized Coaching and Support
Calibrate provides personalized 1:1 video coaching to support members throughout their weight loss journey. Coaches work with members to develop individualized plans, set realistic goals, and provide ongoing guidance and encouragement.
The One-Year Metabolic Reset includes four levels of accountability coaching that break down into sessions with Calibrate’s coaching team, focus classes on topics you choose, sessions focused on setting healthy daily habits and learning techniques for long-term success.
3. The Four Pillars of Metabolic Health
Calibrate's program emphasizes four key pillars of metabolic health:
- Food: Calibrate's food philosophy focuses on incorporating high-quality whole foods into your diet, minimizing fast-digesting carbohydrates, and maximizing nutrient-dense foods that include protein, fiber, and healthy fats. The program emphasizes learning how your body reacts to different foods and making sustainable dietary changes. It's not a diet that restricts calories. Instead, you’ll learn to eat less sugar and processed foods, focusing instead on healthy, whole foods in the right proportions.
- Sleep: Consistent, quality sleep is crucial for regulating metabolism and appetite. Calibrate helps members establish a consistent sleep schedule and improve sleep quality to support metabolic health.
- Exercise: Regular exercise is essential for lasting weight loss, improving metabolic health, and building muscle mass. Calibrate encourages members to incorporate 150 minutes of movement into their week and prioritize resistance training.
- Emotional Health: Stress and mood can significantly impact eating habits, metabolism, and weight. Calibrate provides tools and techniques to reduce stress, recognize emotional triggers, and improve emotional well-being.
Calibrate's Food Philosophy: Rebalancing Your Diet for Metabolic Health
Calibrate's food program is not a diet that restricts calories or uses meal replacements. Instead, it focuses on rebalancing your diet by adding in nutrient-dense whole foods and minimizing fast-digesting carbohydrates.
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The Calibrate Food Triangle helps you learn how to quickly and effectively assess foods by looking at how they affect your body from the inside out. The program emphasizes the quality of foods, empowering you to give your body the building blocks it needs while helping you to feel in control.
Real Results and Data-Backed Efficacy
Calibrate stands by its results, offering a money-back guarantee if members do not lose 10% or more of their body weight on the program.
Clinical Evidence and Research Support
Calibrate's approach is rooted in scientific research and clinical evidence. Studies have shown that GLP-1 medications, combined with lifestyle interventions, are the most effective approach to sustained weight loss.
A double-blind trial of 1,961 adults with obesity or overweight but not diabetes, participants in the group using semaglutide and lifestyle intervention lost an average of 14.9 percent of their starting weight. Seventy percent of the participants in the semaglutide trial group lost at least 10 percent of their starting weight.
A double-blind randomized clinical trial using tirzepatide also found strong weight loss results. In this trial, adults with obesity had average weight loss of 19.5 percent with 10 milligram (mg) doses of tirzepatide, and 20.9 percent average weight loss with 15 mg doses.
Calibrate Member Outcomes
Calibrate has collected results and published reports on member outcomes to prove its efficacy. In the 2023 Results Report, an analysis of 2,643 members showed that the Calibrate weight loss program led to 15 percent average weight loss.
In addition to weight loss, Calibrate results show improvements in some metabolic health markers.
Calibrate vs. Traditional Medical Weight Loss
While Calibrate falls under the medical weight loss "umbrella," it distinguishes itself from traditional medical weight loss programs in several ways:
- Virtual Access: Calibrate offers convenient virtual access to coaching, a medical team, and other resources.
- Focus on Metabolic Health: Calibrate puts metabolic health at the center of every effort, not just the number on the scale.
- Sustainable Lifestyle Changes: Calibrate is designed to help you make small tweaks to your food, sleep, exercise, and emotional health habits that are easy to sustain and personalized to your unique circumstances.
Is Calibrate Right for You?
Calibrate may be a good option for individuals who have struggled with lifestyle interventions alone for weight loss and who are fairly self-sufficient as far as needs from their doctor.
If you are ready to make small, sustainable changes that will help you meet your weight loss goals and improve your metabolic health, Calibrate may be the right program for you.