Do you struggle with your weight? Weight gain is truly a burden! For many it’s a life long battle. For others it starts with the onset of mid-life. That has been my situation. As each decade passed I loaded an extra 10 pounds, on average. But when the big 50 arrived things became more progressive. My interest for food soared. Not only do I enjoy eating but I also enjoy cooking. Complex flavors are so enticing! I love to explore different cuisines. Pinterest has allowed us to dig in to other cultures. And then there’s that other ingredient to cooking, alcohol! With a shot of this or a glass of that your creative powers get energized. And then guess what happens? Food and wine become absolutely devine! With each wonderfully crafted meal and tastey glass of wine the calories add up and layers of fluff begin to grow.
In September 2018 I entered Physicians Weightloss Plan, directed by Dr. Powell, in Redding, California. His main theory on weight loss/gain is the result of unbalanced blood sugar levels. To keep a balanced level I would need to consume a “sneal” every 2-3 hours, starting 30 minutes after awakening. For more information on a “sneal” click on the following link https://www.physiciansplan.net/dr-powell-articles/2014/11/21/the-secret-to-losing-weight-is-eating. I was placed on the “quick start plan” with a 1200 calories/day diet. Cick on this link to see more details for the “quick start plan,” https://www.physiciansplan.net/quickstart. I received weekly injections of Vitamin B12. Phentermine was precribed to boost my energy and curb the cravings.
By February 2019 I had lost around 25#. This was the first weight loss loss experience in a few years.
At this point I started to back away from the diet. However I was able to maintain my weight without any further gain.
Now with plans to leave California and return to Texas I would no longer have the benefits of the in-office visits with Dr. Powell but I had made arrangements for telemedicine visits. However this was not convenient with my schedule for work so I arranged to find a new clinic for weight loss. The new clinic was Texas Weightloss Center. There I met with a nurse practitioner who set me up again with the prescription Phentermine and encouraged a low-carb diet with vitamin B12 injections weekly and a weekly weigh-in. But this office was less than encouraging but I continued to work with the clinic for the duration of the time that I was in San Antonio. Yet I would gain 5# and lose 5#. I made no real progress.
From San Antonio we moved up to Canyon Lake. Canyon Lake is an hour drive north of San Antonio. I chose to find another clinic for weightloss and couple that with hormone therapy. The Neighborhood Wellness Clinic proved to be a little more encouraging. We started working on the low carb diet again and continued with Phentermine and added several other supplements. As time went by Victoza was also ordered and with the Victoza I was able to drop another 6 lb. After wards no more notable weightloss. This program proved to be somewhat more expensive but with all the encouragement we thought it might be beneficial. We continued with this clinic for a few months until about December of 2019 then we had our primary care physician encourage us to utilize him for the therapy instead of the weight loss clinic. We agreed. And we proceeded to back away from some of the supplements that we were using. Now we’re back to making decisions on what’s the next step.
There are four elements required for weightloss:
Diet
Commitment
Focus
Determination
Weight Loss Journey 