Obesity is a significant health concern, contributing to chronic conditions such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. In the United States, over one-third of adults are obese, and in Utah, more than half the adult population is overweight or obese. Intermountain Healthcare has established a comprehensive Metabolic & Bariatric Program to address this issue, offering a range of options from lifestyle changes to surgical interventions. This article explores the various facets of Intermountain Healthcare's weight loss programs, providing detailed information to help individuals make informed decisions about their health.
Understanding Intermountain Healthcare's Approach to Weight Loss
Intermountain Healthcare recognizes the complex nature of obesity, acknowledging the genetic, environmental, and metabolic factors that contribute to the condition. Their programs are designed to provide support before, during, and after any intervention, ensuring patients have the resources they need to achieve lasting success.
Intermountain Healthcare’s Metabolic & Bariatric Program is a comprehensive weight loss program, created by a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, primary care physicians and other healthcare professionals. Intermountain also has a “Weigh to Health” program and “LiVe Well” centers with clinicians who have the aim of helping us to live the healthiest lives possible.
Options for Weight Loss
Intermountain Healthcare offers three primary weight loss options:
- Bariatric Surgery: Surgical procedures that reduce the size of the stomach to limit food intake.
- Gastric Balloon Program: A non-surgical approach where a balloon is placed in the stomach for six months to create a feeling of fullness.
- Medical Weight Management: Utilizing FDA-approved medications to aid in weight loss.
Bariatric Surgery
Bariatric surgery helps you lose weight by making your stomach smaller. Intermountain Healthcare provides several types of bariatric surgery. The surgical weight loss program at Intermountain recognizes the genetic, environmental, and metabolic basis of obesity. This key concept rests on research that demonstrates that clinically severe obesity (e.g. bmi >35 kg/m2, or 70+ pounds over ideal body weight) is a metabolic disease (or disorder) that nearly always requires changes to digestive anatomy and physiology to bring about lasting weight loss results and health benefits. Even with surgery, close attention to healthy eating and regular exercise are essential for optimal, durable results.
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Intermountain has 3 centers accredited by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program for bariatric procedures located at LDS hospital in Salt Lake City,Utah Valley Hospital in Provo and Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George.Procedures may vary at the different facilities, but all offer Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and the sleeve gastrectomy. Both surgeries create smaller stomachs and beneficially affect your body’s digestive hormones to reduce hunger, improve satiety and metabolic efficiency. These surgeries allows people to better follow a lower volume, higher protein diet, which in turn results in more durable weight loss. This tool has also been shown to help reduce or resolve the risk of life-threatening obesity related illnesses.
- Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: Creates a small stomach pouch and connects it directly to the small intestine, bypassing a portion of the stomach and duodenum.
- Sleeve Gastrectomy: Removes a large portion of the stomach, leaving a smaller, sleeve-shaped stomach.
Gastric Balloon Program
A gastric balloon will help you eat less without getting surgery. Intermountain Healthcare will place the balloon in your stomach for six months so that there’s less room for food.
Medical Weight Management
An FDA-approved medication may be the best option for you if you don’t want surgery or a gastric balloon.
Medically Supervised Weight Loss
Whether you're looking to lose weight or striving for better health, empower yourself with a holistic approach alongside our lifestyle medicine experts. The goal is to create a plan to help you change your lifestyle and reach your goals. Since everyone's body and goals are different, your plan will be made just for you. You might choose to work on eating better and exercising, or focus on improving your sleep and reducing stress. It could also make sense for you to consider weight loss medication. As you progress towards your goals in your lifestyle, you’ll need to make adjustments. You’ll work with experts who will meet you where you are and use evidence-based approaches to support your lifestyle changes.
The Way to Wellness Program
The Way to Wellness Program is an accredited, CDC-approved diabetes prevention program for adults who want to lose weight. Available in Utah and Idaho, its evidence-based methods help increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and address health concerns like prediabetes and other weight-related conditions.
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Lifestyle Medicine
An individualized, patient-centered, science-based approach that empowers patients and practitioners to address the underlying causes of disease and promote optimal wellness.
Additional Resources and Support
Intermountain Healthcare provides a variety of resources to support individuals in their weight loss journey:
- Nutrition and Weight Loss Education: Access to information on smart food choices, meal planning, and avoiding grocery store food traps.
- Exercise Guidance: Tips on incorporating physical activity into daily life, including unconventional ways to squeeze in more exercise.
- Behavioral Support: Strategies for managing emotional eating, rewarding oneself without food, and overcoming obstacles to weight loss.
Nutrition and Weight Loss: Smart Choices
Intermountain Healthcare emphasizes the importance of making informed food choices to support weight loss and overall health. Here are some key areas of focus:
Plant-Based Protein Swaps
Explore smart, simple plant-based protein swaps that support your health. Learn how to build complete proteins, boost nutrition, and enjoy easy, everyday meals without relying on meat.
Avoiding Grocery Store Food Traps
Marketers often highlight key ingredients to make their products sound healthier, and more alluring at our expense. Watch out for these traps.
Read also: Inspiring Health Transformation
Artificial Sweeteners: Aspartame
Aspartame is a common replacement for sugar that is 200 times sweeter to the taste. However, aspartame has always been subject to controversy because people have reported suffering from adverse effects - so we ask: is it really that safe to use as a sugar substitute?
Protein Shakes
Not everyone needs the extra protein that a protein shake can add to your diet. But protein shakes can help if you are not getting enough protein in your diet.
The Importance of Exercise
Regular physical activity is a cornerstone of any successful weight loss program. Intermountain Healthcare encourages individuals to find activities they enjoy and incorporate them into their daily routines.
Incorporating Exercise
Workouts can be tough. But exercise doesn’t have to be. For a healthier lifestyle, being active is the key, and it doesn’t much matter what that physical activity is. So if running a half marathon seems overwhelming to you, try one of these unconventional ways to squeeze more exercise into your week.
Burning Calories
The ice and snow provides an outdoor gym that can help your workouts. There is a heart healthy benefit as you raise your cardio level and build muscle strength as well. But just being cold could also be beneficial.
Addressing Emotional and Behavioral Aspects of Weight Loss
Weight loss is not just about diet and exercise; it also involves addressing the emotional and behavioral factors that contribute to overeating and unhealthy habits.
Rewarding Yourself Without Food
When self congratulations are in order, many of us reward ourselves with a cupcake, donut, latte or soda. But those “little” treats may add up to big health problems like weight gain, heart disease, or diabetes. So how do you balance the desire to “treat yo’ self” with your health goals?
Meal Planning
Meal planning is a great way to save money, keep your sanity and eat good food. But where do you start? Honestly, it depends a lot on how proficient a cook you are. Here are some ideas if you are new to cooking or just don’t feel like you’re very good at it yet.
Sabotaging Weight Loss
You have a plan for losing weight. Likely it involves changing your diet and adding in exercise. It is a great plan and you have been following it. However, if you aren’t losing weight, take a look at these ten ways you might be sabotaging your weight loss.
Patient Success Stories
Intermountain Healthcare highlights patient success stories to inspire and motivate others. These stories showcase the strength, healing, and hope that individuals experience through the weight loss programs. Across our healthcare system, we've helped thousands.
Additional Programs
Welcome to a weight loss program where can you lose up to 20-40 lbs. of your unwanted fat in about 60 days with NO required exercise, expensive pre-packaged foods, or starvation. These numbers are the average amount of pounds lost in about eight weeks on our Metabolic Reset Weight Loss Program. We offer our patients non-opioid pain relief. Living with a chronic pain and conditions like osteoarthritis, joint pain and chronic muscle pain is a burden.
Frequently Asked Questions
Intermountain Healthcare provides answers to frequently asked questions to help individuals understand the various aspects of their weight loss programs. Some common questions include:
- How do I know if I qualify for a particular program?
- How does the service work?
- What information will I need available?
- Do I need insurance to use the service?
- What is the cost of the service and the medication?
- What type of treatment and medications can I get through this service?
- How long may I use this on-demand service?
- When can I expect to be contacted after submitting the form?
- What if I experience side effects or have questions or concerns about the medication therapy?
- What is bariatric surgery?
- Am I a candidate for bariatric surgery?
- What are the steps I have to take prior to surgery?
- What happens after surgery?
- How much does weight loss surgery cost?
- How much weight can I lose from weight loss surgery?
- What are the requirements for medical weight loss?
- What's different about meeting with a lifestyle medicine specialist compared to my regular doctor?
- Does my insurance cover lifestyle medicine?
- What should I expect at my first lifestyle medicine consult?
- What should I expect after my first lifestyle medicine consult?
- If I get a prescription for weight loss medication, will my insurance cover it?
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