The mainstay of healthy weight loss has always been eating well and exercising. Various diet programs have proven successful over time- some more effectively for certain individuals than others. There are many factors that may determine which program works best for your body type and metabolism.
At times, medical intervention may be warranted in addition to a diet and exercise program. Early prescribed medications were appetite suppressants, which generally were relatives of sympathomimetics (stimulants). In general, these had significant side effects and we now have better options available.
The next big hit was the HCG diet. Although the program was developed by Dr. Alfred Simeon back in the 1950’s, there was a revitalization of the diet over the past decade. Unfortunately, Dr. Simeon’s protocol was very specific and many patients were following some unauthorized, adapted version of his manuscript and utilizing “over-the-counter” HCG (solutions or sublingual drops) formulas. In fact, HCG is only medically utilized by injection. In addition, and in accordance with the US FDA, all HCG requires a prescription, so eventually there was Federal crack-down on falsely labeled HCG “formulas.” Meanwhile, people were losing weight with these solutions, but not realizing that any 500 cal/day diet would also cause them to lose weight. Unlike those that followed the actual Simeon protocol and used prescribed injectable HCG, formula patients quickly gained most, or all, of their weight back.
Recently, peptides utilized in the treatment of diabetes have also been found very effective for weight loss. The first breakthrough peptide, Semaglutide, earned FDA approval for weight loss independent of the FDA approval for diabetic use. Subsequently, the peptide obtained Hollywood status as the “Celebrity Diet” drug. Some studies have shown endpoint weight loss near 20% of total body weight. Subsequent peptides that via multiple pathways have proven even more effective in studies with endpoint total body weight loss approaching a remarkable 24%!
Contact us for a consultation to determine if you can benefit from a weight loss program.
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