Obesity is a significant health crisis, impacting millions of lives and driving up healthcare costs. While conventional solutions like diet and exercise are often recommended, they aren't always sufficient for individuals struggling with chronic obesity. Fella Health emerges as a specialized weight management and metabolic health platform designed specifically for men, offering a unique approach to tackling this challenge.
What is Fella Health?
Fella Health aims to help men get to a healthier weight by matching them with a board-certified obesity doctor to prescribe FDA-approved medication, while they undertake personalized health coaching.
How Fella Health Differs from Other Weight Loss Programs
Fella Health distinguishes itself from other popular services through its male-centric approach, comprehensive metabolic assessments, personalized coaching, and a focus on FDA-approved medications. The program hinges on the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists like Semaglutide and Tirzepatide combined with comprehensive metabolic assessments and personalized coaching.
Male-Centric Approach
Fella Health recognizes the unique physiological and psychological needs of men. Unlike many weight loss programs that primarily target women, Fella Health focuses exclusively on weight loss for men, acknowledging that aesthetics-related programs have been conventionally geared toward women, and that is changing with the times. This focus is important because only 10% of those using weight management services are men, despite men representing 50% of those with obesity. This is because almost all programs market to women, placing too much emphasis on looks and not enough on health for a male audience. Stress eating is widespread among bigger guys, but mostly ignored - with too much focus on willpower and "eat less, move more".
Comprehensive Metabolic Assessment
Upon joining Fella, you’ll be put in contact with a clinician that specializes in weight loss for your metabolic assessment. If you don’t have recent blood work, your clinician will help schedule a health screening at a lab near you. This screening may include CBC (complete blood count), CMP (comprehensive metabolic panel), TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone), HbA1c (hemoglobin A1c), and a lipid panel. The platform provides free lab work as part of the metabolic assessment, either locally or through at-home lab test kits, which isn't offered by HenryMeds or Ro.
Read also: Weight Loss Guide Andalusia, AL
Personalized Coaching
With Fella, you’ll also get one-on-one video chat sessions with a personal health coach. These sessions take place every two weeks, but you can text them through the Fella app anytime. The Fella app is available for iOS and Android. It’s your one-stop shop for communicating with your personal coach, managing your appointments, and tracking your progress.
Medication Options
Fella offers two medication options: GLP-1s and non-GLP-1s. GLP-1s mimic the natural hormone GLP-1, which the gut produces and releases to reduce your appetite when you eat. Non-GLP-1s encompass the other medications available through Fella that, you guessed it, aren’t GLP-1s. Phentermine and Topiramate: Both work to reduce your appetite.
How it Started
Fella first started as a "CBT+community" product to help men battling stress eating. It resonated due to the stigma around men's eating struggles. But the company realized it was only half-serving most of its customers: even when no longer stress eating, most guys weren't getting to a healthier weight.
So the company started researching effective, evidence-based treatments for obesity. Medication was approved by the FDA in June 2021. It leads to an average 15% decrease in body weight, efficacy close to bariatric surgery. However, medication-assisted treatment for obesity is still stigmatized by family doctors and therefore hard to access.
Fella vs. Found: A Comparison
Both Found and Fella offer a clinician-based, integrative approach to weight loss for men. Found’s tried-and-true DTC weight loss platform offers 13 different prescription weight loss meds for a whopping 60+ possible treatment plans.
Read also: Beef jerky: A high-protein option for shedding pounds?
Personalization and Support
Fella gets the leg-ahead in how the program is structured. While they also provide personalized prescription medication for weight loss, they do it in an even more personalized manner. If you’re a man seeking a weight loss solution, you’ll love Fella’s vibe. Found’s program is best for those who don’t want a hands-on approach, as users have stated that most communication is through the app, not 1:1. The program is made specifically for men and has a community of male users that can support you along your path to weight loss.
Medication
Found offers 13 different off-label weight loss medications. Prescribing a medication “off-label” means that it’s FDA-approved to treat a different condition than the one you’re receiving it for. All the meds offered on Found have been fully vetted by their clinicians and are widely prescribed by obesity medical experts for weight loss. Metformin is conventionally used to lower blood sugar levels in diabetes patients.
Accessibility
As a rule of thumb, weight loss with Found is appropriate for anyone with a BMI of 30 or more. Candidates for weight loss with Fella must be between 18 and 64 and have a BMI of 25 or above.
Cost and Transparency
Found’s membership costs aren’t super transparent unless you fully sign up. Your total and monthly cost will depend on your prescription needs, but here is a breakdown based on our research. Note that the cost of lab tests and medications aren’t included in the membership cost. However, after any insurance deductible is met, your medication shouldn’t exceed $30 per month, and Fella has a partner offer for $60 for full blood work. Fella is a 12-month program and costs $149/month, paid quarterly. The company plans to bring costs down over time to improve accessibility.
Availability
Found is currently available in 41 states. Currently, Fella is only available for men in Texas, California, Washington, New York, Illinois, Arizona, and North Carolina. Active States: Fella Health provides services in a number of states including but not limited to California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
Read also: Inspiring Health Transformation
User Experiences
Fella users love the program, many of which claim that they’ve tried other methods and platforms, but this is the one that’s worked for them.
Some users report positive experiences:
- "Fella has been so transformative in every area of my life! With just over 2 months in the program, I've been able to lose 20 lbs and have been motivated to change every other area of my life, including physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial. Fella made me aware of my elevated blood sugar and LDL (bad cholesterol) and gave me a solid treatment plan with medication, amazing support, and education… I'm a different person, I love the way I feel today, and my friends and coworkers see the drastic change. Fella has been the best investment in myself and probably has added years to my life, the cost is totally worth it, as you can't put a price tag on health & well-being!"
- "My relationship with Fella has been terrific. The follow-up and accommodations are the best I've experienced. The time spent from the start with an explanation, process, and strategy makes this a very valuable program. I am down 30 lbs and still engaged. [My coach] is a fantastic health coach. I would recommend Fella to anyone who has had trouble with weight loss."
- "Fella has been perfect for me as I have tried other diets that never seemed to be sustainable. Fella is something I can follow for the rest of my life… I lead a very busy life and could use every excuse in the book to let this program fail, but it isn’t difficult to maintain. My coach is there when needed and encourages me to keep getting better. The medication and my medical provider have been great and have helped counsel me along the way as well. I’ve recommended several friends to the program, and they’re seeing success too."
However, some users have reported issues with the program:
- Some users have found it hard to keep track of filling out the questionnaire and it seems like if they miss it they don't care.
- Some users have been stuck at the same weight for two months.
- Some users used this product for 10 months and lost 7 pounds and feel it's not worth 450 dollars a month.
- Some users have not lost any weight on Fella, even after reducing their diet and increasing their exercise.
- Some users never hear back from fella when they send in their frustration.
- Some users developed body soreness after two months and their family doctor instructed them to stop taking it and had trouble communicating with their advisor and other staff.
- Some users report that when there is an issue, you cannot get in touch to speak with someone.
- Some users report that there is very little proactivity, and they have needed to be prompting and reminding them of their responsibilities and updates to my account.
- Some users had an awful experience with Fella, who operate under Bolt Pharmacy and had to contact their credit card provider to get any resolution.
- Some users canceled their subscription, yet their card was still charged and they cannot speak with anyone outside of “regular business hours”.
Fella representatives often respond to these negative reviews, offering to investigate and resolve the issues.
Guarantee
Fella Health offers a six-month money-back guarantee if patients do not lose at least 5% of their body weight. While this is a significant commitment, it reflects their confidence in their program's efficacy.
Fella Health's Vision
Fella has positioned itself as no-nonsense weight loss for busy bigger guys. The company is building an AI-powered clinical operating system: ClinicOS. ClinicOS makes it effortless for consumer brands to easily offer direct-to-patient healthcare, globally.