Weight Loss for Life Medical Weight Management at CRMC

By Sheila Helmberger

If you have ever struggled with weight loss and the overwhelming task of keeping it off once you do lose it, you are not alone. Seventy percent of the U.S. population is overweight with a Body Mass Index over 30.

Cuyuna Regional Medical Center offers a medical management weight loss practice that is lifestyle-based and for some, potentially aided by medication. The program is for people who are choosing not to go the surgical route or if surgery is in their future, they need to get a jump start on weight loss to prepare.

The Medical Weight Management program is a three- to five-year partnership with staff at CRMC. “What we’ve done wrong with obesity for so long is we’ve treated it like a personal problem,” says Jamie Westerman, APRN, CNP, one of the facilitators of the program. “We have treated it as a will power problem or a lazy problem. Obesity is a chronic disease. It is one of these diseases that kind of ebbs and flows. Sometimes people feel like they have a good handle on it and other times they don’t. By treating it as a chronic disease versus something that we can treat and walk away from there is better success.”

The initial step in the program is a meeting with a registered nurse who specializes in addiction. A lot of people have processed food addiction or sugar addiction. The visit lasts about two hours, talking about food addiction and how it impacts their life. Then a body composition scale is used to determine their current fat percentage. The readings will be used to track fat loss and muscle retention as they progress through the program. Pictures and measurements are also taken.

After the first visit, they are linked with a dietician who they will see every month. “Education about nutrition has changed so much over the years,” says Westerman, “and we have had a lot of inaccurate information. The entire food pyramid was based on studies that were inaccurate, studies that said fat is bad for us. Fat is good for us. The bottom of the pyramid was almost entirely processed foods and consisted mostly of carbohydrates. They aren’t necessarily bad for us, but if you’re eating carbohydrates with fiber — things like vegetables and whole grains — they do something different to your body than carbohydrates like cereal and those loaded with starch. One of the things we teach is how important protein is for us as well. A lot of us undereat protein. It can be a magical nutrient when you eat enough, and it can help eliminate craving snacks.”

Finally, participants are set up with one of the four providers in the program. Monthly check-in conversations with them will include what percentage of time they are following the plan, entries in a food journal, if they have been under stress, getting enough sleep and doing any strength training.

“Ninety-five percent of the people who lose weight will regain some, or all of it,” says Westerman. “We want to keep tabs on people long enough so that they really, truly have habit change.”

To qualify for the medical weight loss program, a patient must currently have a Body Mass Index of 30 or a BMI over 27 with a comorbidity such as diabetes or hypertension to ensure they are seeing the people who need the most urgent help.

Westerman says it is interesting to see the mental health of people when they start the program and how it starts to change throughout varying stages. As there is an increase in physical movement and they start to see progress, she says, “It is fun to watch people really change their lives.”