Day: March 8, 2017

Lutz resident Jim Gibson has lost more than 130 pounds, thanks to the Medi-Weightloss Clinics office on S.R. 54 in Lutz and has kept it off for more than a year.

Debbie Pienkowski of Dade City was hoping to lose 50 pounds, and succeeded by losing more than 60 pounds since she joined Medi-Weightloss Clinics about nine months ago.

Over the past 11 years, since the Medi-Weightloss Clinics on S.R. 54 in Lutz (just two miles west of S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel) opened in 2006, the clinic has helped patients in Wesley Chapel, Lutz, New Tampa and the surrounding areas lose more than 43,000 pounds of unwanted weight.

“I love the business and I am very proud of what we do,” says Gerri Willett, who co-owns this location of Medi-Weightloss Clinics with her husband, Tom, and her brother and sister-in-law. “Losing weight is difficult, so we do everything we can to help our patients.”

Willett explains, “When people come in, they are often nervous. We’ve had people in tears.” She adds that these new patients are often caught in a “negative circle. They’ve tried so many things, and they beat themselves up for not succeeding. Then, they’re depressed, so they eat more.”

She says that Medi-Weightloss helps get these yo-yo dieters into a more positive circle: “They lose weight, they feel better and they’re motivated to continue to lose weight,” Willett says. “They change their attitude, and they lose more weight.”

The hallways throughout the local Medi-Weightloss are lined with “all stars” who have done just that and are proud to display their results. One wall in particular allows all patients to show how many pounds they’ve lost, and how that translates to the number of years they’ve added to their lives.

“For every 10 pounds a patient loses, that adds about one and a half years to his or her life,” Willett says.  In other words, “if a patient loses 100 pounds, they can expect to live 15 years longer.” She adds that the physicians at the Medi-Weightloss Clinics corporate office keep up on all of the latest research to back up these claims.

One of the things that Willett says sets Medi-Weightloss Clinics apart is that it is a physician-supervised program. Andrew Weitzman, M.D., is the clinic’s full-time physician. He meets with patients, reviews every chart and customizes every program to the unique needs of each individual who becomes a patient.

Dr. Weitzman received his medical degree from Tel Aviv University  in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2010 and completed a residency in internal medicine at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, Long Island, NY, in 2013. Dr. Weitzman uses an integrated approach, focusing on lifestyle modification — specifically diet, exercise, food journaling and improving sleep habits. He says he particularly enjoys helping patients with hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol.

Three Phases For Success

“We’re the only program on a national basis that offers three phases,” says Dr. Weitzman, explaining that the phases include an “acute weight loss phase,” a brief “transition phase” and the all-important  “long-term wellness phase.”

The first phase is kicked off with a physical exam, blood work, electrocardiogram (EKG), and consultation with the doctor, who determines the appropriate diet for each individual that will be low-calorie, and designed to put your body into “ketosis,” a state where it burns fat faster. The diet is supplemented with multi-vitamins, Omega-3 and calcium. Patients also receive weekly vitamin-based injections to help with energy levels and cravings. Appropriately portioned food is available for purchase, but is not a required part of the program.

Willett says key components of the Medi-Weightloss system include support through weekly appointments, accountability through the food journal, healthy eating and having the right attitude.

Dr. Weitzman adds that education is key. “We teach people to eat the right foods, in the right portions, at the right time, plus drink fluids and exercise.”

The lessons begin at that first appointment, where patients receive several tools to help them be successful, including a food scale. “We ask our patients to weigh everything they eat,” Willett says. “This helps them become educated so that, by the end of the program, they’ll see a plate of food and know how many calories it has.”

Each patient’s food journal is checked at weekly appointments. “Sometimes, you think you do things that you actually aren’t,” Willett says. “For example, how much water do you really drink? A food journal helps you see what is actually happening.”

Patients also are given a binder with information about healthy eating, including what to order at many popular restaurants. “You can eat healthy anywhere, even McDonald’s, if you’re making the right choices,” Willett says.

After the first visit, weekly appointments last 15-20 minutes. Patients are weighed on an advanced scale that determines how much of the weight they lost was fat and how much was water. They receive support, counseling, education and a vitamin injection. Patients remain in this “acute weight loss phase” until they reach their goal weight.

The second phase is a transition phase, where doctors continue to monitor a patient’s progress weekly, while introducing carbohydrates back into the diet and reducing some supplements.

Dr. Weitzman says that phase three, the long-term maintenance phase, “is what sets us apart from our competitors. It’s also the most critical.” He explains that other programs let you go when you’ve reached your goal weight, even though statistics show that 80-85 percent of people who get to their goal weight on any program will gain the weight back within a year. “But, we cut that statistic in half,” he says. “On other programs, most people stay on maintenance for a couple of months. Generally, at that point, they start to deviate.”

But, at Medi-Weightloss Clinics, patients continue coming in monthly for at least six months, so the staff notices if they begin to slip back into old, bad habits. Dr. Weitzman also can make quick changes to help the patient at that time.

“The patients who receive this help usually do well, because they see how easy it is to get back on track,” he says. “If they weren’t still in our program, we would’ve lost them. But, once you’re a Medi patient, you’re always a Medi patient.”

Willett concurs. “Even after patients have completed all three phases of our program, we encourage them to ‘pop back in’ whenever it’s needed,” she says. “Don’t feel guilty! Life happens, and life is not perfect.”

She adds, “We want you to be successful. That’s why we’re successful.”

Debbie Pienkowski is one such patient who has experienced success at Medi-Weightloss Clinics. She says, “I wanted to lose 50 pounds,” when she attended her initial visit about nine months ago, “but I lost more than 60 pounds.”

She adds, “The staff is fabulous. They give you so much moral support. They walk you through every phase, give you recipes, and go through every bit of your food journal with you every week. Even now that I’ve completed the program, I come back every six weeks to weigh in and talk with them. It keeps me motivated and keeps me on track.”

Many additional reviews are available online through Google. Search “Medi-Weightloss Lutz” to see them.

With 96 locations throughout 24 states, Medi-Weightloss Clinics is headquartered in Tampa. The close proximity of the headquarters gives the Lutz office staff great access to the many resources available at the company’s home office, including training and experts, such as the company’s chief medical officer and corporate dietitian.

New Tampa residents are invited to visit the Lutz/Wesley Chapel Medi-Weightloss Clinics location at 24420 S.R. 54. It is open five days a week: Mon., 6:30 a.m.–noon; Tues., 9 a.m.–6 p.m.; Wed., 6:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; Thurs.,1 p.m.-7 p.m.; and Fri., 6:30 a.m.–1 p.m. For more info, see the ad on pg. 29, call 909-1700 or visit MediWeightlossClinics.com/Locations/Lutz.