Embarking on a weight loss journey can be a transformative experience. Des Moines, Iowa, offers a variety of weight loss programs designed to meet diverse needs and preferences. This article provides a detailed overview of some of the prominent options available, incorporating insights from patient experiences and expert perspectives.
Iowa Weight Loss Specialists: Tailored Solutions for Long-Term Success
Iowa Weight Loss Specialists (IWLS) provide tailored weight loss solutions designed to support long-term success. Offering both surgical (bariatric surgery) and non-surgical (medical weight loss) programs, IWLS customizes each plan to care for patients on an individual basis. The team, led by Dr. Hoelscher, is certified in both Internal Medicine and Bariatric Medicine. He uses his education and training to help his patients lose weight to improve their health and well-being. The cost depends on the patient’s particular treatment plan and insurance coverage.
A Focus on Community and Support: The FIT Connection
IWLS emphasizes the importance of finding a supportive fitness environment. Kristin, a postsurgical patient, found success at FIT, a small, locally owned fitness center. She highlights the welcoming atmosphere and the encouragement she received, regardless of her fitness level.
FIT offers a variety of group fitness classes that incorporate all areas of the body. Classes include functional strength training, kickboxing, barre, Pilates, yoga, HIIT insanity and even “Golden Girls” classes that are tailored for women ages 60 and up.
FIT has a nice open layout and is equipped with a variety of different equipment, and workouts incorporate a combination of medicine balls, kettle bells, free weights and TRX suspension training systems. At FIT you’ll find that there is always something to keep you pushing forward. For example, they’ve implemented what is called the FitRanX standardized training level system used for gauging your fitness level. FitRanX is a scientific progression-style motivator that works to ensure you continue moving in the right direction. As you successfully complete a handful of select exercises comprised of a push, pull, squat, hinge and core movement, you earn dog tags and then proceed to the next level of exercises. FIT also offers a number of different monthly challenges-both fitness and lifestyle, to keep members motivated and on track. A few examples of some of their monthly fitness challenges include: 2500 kettle bell swings, run 100 miles, and 5000 med ball slams (each is its own individual challenge). The goal is to chip away at the challenge day-by-day, and progress is tracked on a white board hanging in the gym. Some of the lifestyle challenges include: commit to reading 10 pages a day, walking outside for 10 minutes without checking your phone, and a variety of other simple and effective methods to ensure you’re working towards not just a healthy body, but also a healthy mind.
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Key aspects of FIT include:
- Welcoming Environment: Newcomers are readily embraced, and modifications are accommodated for all fitness levels.
- Positive Reinforcement: Encouragement and celebration of even small accomplishments are central to the gym's culture.
- Community Focus: Friendships are fostered, creating a supportive network.
The gym's atmosphere is further enhanced by positive messages written in chalk on the walls, creating a motivating environment for workouts.
While FIT is predominantly female, it offers a diverse range of classes and training options, making it a potentially excellent choice for IWLS patients seeking a supportive fitness community.
Patient Testimonials: Real Stories of Transformation
Patient feedback highlights the positive impact of IWLS and its associated programs:
- Adam: "This was the best investment in myself!"
- Jackie: "I am the happiest I’ve ever been."
- Robert: Now he's even playing with his grandchildren!
- Jeanna: She says she couldn't find a better group to walk this journey with her and that she now has the life she always dreamt of for herself.
- Nicole: Nicole was ready to get her life back.
- Gerald Hill: Now he says he has a new lease on life.
- Angela: She finally made the decision have weight loss surgery because she wanted to live for her children and herself.
- Lindsy: Since having the surgery, she feels she's been given the opportunity to start over with life. "I can now do one of the most important things in life. I can smile!
- Kourtney: After surgery she was even able to going ziplining.
- Cassie Fleharty: Cassie Fleharty woke up one day and decided enough was enough.
- Tessa: After weight loss surgery, Ashley discovered she could do things she never imagined doing.
- Ashley: Weight loss surgery gave Ashley more confidence. Not only did it change her life, but it changed her son's life in such a good way.
- Kristin: Kristin has had so much success with her weight loss surgery that she recommended IWLS to her sister and her daughter.
- Nicholle: Nicholle had a lot of anxiety over being out in the public at her previous weight, but now she is an active part of society again.
- Nicole: Now she's riding long distances on her bike, paddle boarding, and taking rowing classes.
- Brooke Willey: She realized that wasn't the case, and though it's hard work, she says it is so worth it.
- Karen: Now she's an active participant.
- Amie: She also wasn't living life to the fullest and needed to become a role model for her daughters. She says, "Having the vertical sleeve has changed my life.
- Damon and Karin: Husband and wife, Damon and Karin, would never have had the energy to open a second pizza joint if it wasn’t for their weight loss surgeries with Iowa Weight Loss Specialists.
- Jeremy: Jeremy says: “My joint pain has disappeared and I no longer have acid reflux.
- Anita: After having the surgery, she no longer has to have a physical every three months for work - saving her time and money.
- Mark: Now he runs over three miles several days a week!
- Stormy: Now she is running and exercising almost every day!
- Shelley: Now she can easily get up and down off the floor and run around in the back yard with him.
- Faith: At high risk for heart disease and diabetes, and finding it difficult to maneuver around the free dental service bus where she worked serving school children, Faith decided it was time for a change.
- Jennifer: When she realized she could not hold her daughter on her lap at a movie theater, Jennifer decided it was time to change her life.
- Chase Roller: As a probation/parole officer, as well as a coach for high school football and wrestling, Chase Roller was motivated to live a more active and healthier life.
- Jennifer Nizzi: After trying diets her entire life and always gaining the weight back, Jennifer chose weight loss surgery.
- Steve Simonin: Iowa Weight Loss Specialists opened in July 2014. Our very first patient was Steve Simonin, President & CEO of our hospital site, Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics.
- Pearce: As a funeral director, Pearce was horrified at the number of people he saw who died too young from health conditions related to obesity. At 330 lbs himself, he needed to make a change.
- Lisa: Today, she’s 80 pounds lighter, her health has improved, and she no longer needs medication.
- Julia: "Since surgery, I feel fantastic…
These testimonials underscore the potential for significant life changes through weight loss surgery and the importance of a supportive medical team.
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Weight Management Solutions: Harnessing the Power of Peptides
Weight Management Solutions offer a medically grounded approach to weight loss, focusing on hormonal regulation rather than relying solely on willpower.
How Weight Management Solutions Work
These solutions utilize peptides that mimic the body's natural hormones, specifically those involved in hunger and insulin response. By sending signals to the brain, these peptides help individuals feel full for longer and reduce cravings, leading to a natural decrease in caloric intake. Additionally, they slow gastric emptying and stabilize blood sugar, further supporting fat loss.
Advantages of Weight Management Solutions
Compared to traditional diet programs, Weight Management Solutions offer several advantages:
- Clinically Backed Outcomes: These treatments are rooted in medical science and target hormonal pathways.
- Reduced Reliance on Willpower: By addressing the underlying hormonal imbalances, they make it easier to manage hunger and cravings.
- Enhanced Overall Health: Beyond fat loss, these solutions contribute to improved metabolic health and well-being.
Clinical trials suggest that dual peptide options exhibit a more pronounced effect on weight reduction compared to singular options.
The Coachlight Clinic Approach
Coachlight Clinic provides guidance through each phase of the treatment, ensuring safety, effectiveness, and sustainability. The process includes:
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- Initial Consultation: A complimentary consultation to determine candidacy, review health history, and discuss treatment expectations and potential side effects.
- First Appointment & Dose: Weighing, body measurements, a review of lifestyle practices, and administration of the first dose.
- Weekly Treatments: The program typically involves eight once-a-week treatments, with subsequent doses administered at home after the first visit.
- Regular Check-ins: Assessments to monitor the body's response and adjust dosage for optimal fat loss without unwanted side effects.
- Long-Term Management: After the initial eight weeks, a review of progress and the development of a long-term plan, which may involve maintenance doses or continued weekly dosages.
Coachlight Clinic also offers additional wellness services such as body contouring, hormone optimization, and VISIA skin analysis.
UnityPoint Clinic Weight Loss: A Multidisciplinary Approach
UnityPoint Clinic Weight Loss is accredited as a MBSAQIP Comprehensive Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. A team of board-certified surgeons, a registered dietitian, a mental health counselor, a nurse practitioner and an exercise physiologist surround our weight loss program patients. They work side-by-side to cover every aspect of our patient’s health starting months before the beginning of the program and continuing through the years after to ensure long-lasting success.
Commitment to Quality
Wellmark® Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® has recognized Iowa Methodist Medical Center as one of the first health care facilities in the nation, and one of the only three hospitals in Iowa to Blue Distinction Centers for Bariatric Surgery®.
Comprehensive Program Components
Pre-screening assessment, unique weight loss plans, nutritional counseling and post-op support are all important parts of our comprehensive program.
Healthy Lifestyles Weight Loss Program
The Healthy Lifestyles Weight Loss Program offers patient-centered weight management strategies. Through our program, patients receive individualized meal plans and physical activity recommendations along with coaching through behavior changes to help reach weight loss goals. Patients who enroll in our Health Lifestyles Program meet regularly with the nurse practitioner, registered dietitian and exercise physiologist to monitor weight loss progress and learn lifelong healthy lifestyle habits and ways to incorporate exercise into daily life to sustain weight loss. Whether you want to lose 30 pounds or 100 pounds, our weight loss program is here to help you learn the necessary lifestyle changes to be successful.
Key Program Features
- Personalized Plans: Individualized meal plans and physical activity recommendations.
- Regular Monitoring: Regular meetings with health specialists to track progress and adjust plans.
- Evidence-Based Recommendations: Utilizing current research to guide weight loss strategies.
- Baseline Tests: Offering tests such as resting metabolic rate and exercise tolerance testing.
The Root Cause Rewire: Weight Reset System
The Root Cause Rewire: Weight Reset System is a brain-based approach trusted by over a thousand local clients that helps you reset your metabolism, rewire emotional eating patterns, and finally see results that break the cycle-for good.
Addressing the Root Causes of Weight Gain
This program focuses on long-term results by addressing the root causes: stress, mindset, metabolism, and environment.
The W-E-L-C-H Framework
Every step is personalized, supported, and science-backed and guided by our proven W-E-L-C-H framework for true transformation.
- W - Whole Food-Based: Clean, nourishing foods that support fat loss and healing
- E - Eliminate Toxins: Remove inflammation-causing barriers to weight loss
- L - Lose Bad Programming: Release emotional pattern and self-sabotaging cycles
- C - Customize with Testing: Use targeted insights from testing to personalize
- H - Heal from the Inside Out: Align body, mind, and metabolism for lasting results.
Personalized Support and Consultation
This isn’t a generic health consult. It’s your first step toward lasting change. Whether you’re focused on emotional eating, metabolic reset, or both-we’ll meet you where you are. No judgment. No pressure. Just real support.