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Weight Loss Programs

New Leaf Healthcare provides a range of treatments depending on the patients BMI.

BMI – less than 25- you’re at an ideal weight and shouldn’t worry about your weight, keep to a healthy diet and exercise regularly to maintain your weight.

BMI 25-27 - you’re overweight and should try to lose weight by reducing your calorie intake (eat a bit less) and take a bit more exercise. We can advise you on diets, sensible exercise and can provide a range of supplements to help you lose a few pounds.

BMI over 28 – you should aim to reduce your weight by reducing your calorie intake (eat a bit less) and take a bit more exercise. We would advise you to consult one of our doctors who may suggest one of the prescription drugs to help you shed the extra weight. You will still need to make changes to your lifestyle; the medicines will help you do that.

What is the role of medicines in weight loss?

 

WEIGHT LOSS WITH APPETITE SUPPRESSANTS

The aim of the treatment is to help you lose weight by keeping to a diet based on normal healthy foods. We do not want you to embark on a diet regime that cannot be sustained in the long term. Losing weight is difficult and appetite suppressants will help you do this by reducing your hunger, helping you stop eating between meals and consume fewer calories at mealtimes.

If after a period of diet and lifestyle modification they have not lost sufficient weight some people need a little help to achieve weight loss. Those with a genetic predisposition to obesity may especially need such assistance.

Weight Management Medications

Phentermine and Diethylpropion are appetite suppressants which help you feel satisfied with smaller amounts of food and increases body metabolism. However these medicines are prescription only medicines and need to be prescribed by a physician with regular review of the patient in the clinic.

The clinic uses two special licensed weight management medications that are not recommended by NICE or the Royal College of Physicians. They are however licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and therefore the Doctor can prescribe the tablets legally.

Treatment Length

Treatment with Phentermine and Diethylpropion is an initial course of 12 weeks.

Treatment may be continued in line with the manufacturer’s guidance but the risks will be explained to the patient.

The patient can take at least a 1-week break from treatment if the weight loss ceases.

If the patient is losing weight with no side-effects we will continue to prescribe the medication until the patient reaches their target weight.

The medication can also be used to maintain weight as described in the NICE guidelines pg. 51

 

Cost

The cost of a consultation depends on the medication prescribed. If the doctor prescribes Phentermine or Diethylpropion the cost is £20 per week.

We encourage you to attend weekly as this will give you the best chance of success but if for any reason the doctor prescribes more than one week the cost of the consultation is the weekly cost multiplied by the number of weeks medication prescribed. For example, if the doctor prescribes 3 weeks of Phentermine the cost would be £20 x 3, a total of £60.

Diet

Please always remember the golden rule:

If the amount of energy (calories) in your diet is greater than the energy you expend, the excess will be stored in your body as fat, whatever type of food it came from.

Additional information such as, a food diary sheet, vegetarian diet sheet, Asian diet sheet, etc. will be given by the doctor on specific needs.

DIET    

Please always remember the golden rule:

If the amount of energy (calories) in your diet is greater than the energy you expend, the excess will be stored in your body as fat, whatever type of food it came from.

Of course, leafy vegetables and some fruits contain so few calories that it would be virtually impossible to eat enough of them to become fat, but you will lose weight on a diet of chocolate, cream cakes and alcohol provided that the total calories consumed are less than your calorie expenditure. In other words, all calories are equal. Calorie and energy are the same and calories are the units with which energy in food is measured. If you see an advertisement for a drink or food proclaiming “high in energy” just think how sales would fall if the equally truthful statement “high in calories” were proclaimed instead. The scientific definition of the calorie is that it is the amount of energy required to increase the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree centigrade. The calorie that we normally talk about and refer to in the clinic is really a kilocalorie. If you look for the amount of calories on the label of a particular food they will show as kcals.

The clinic is open from 9am to 4pm every week day.Support

Every other Saturday 9.30am to 12.30pm and Sunday when it is closed. If you have a query and a doctor is not available our staff will be able to get back to you with an answer within a maximum of 24 hours but normally within 2 hours. You are encouraged to visit the clinic to get weighed, check your Body Mass Index or blood pressure at no cost.