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Comprehensive Weight Loss Program

The Comprehensive Weight Loss Program is designed to help individuals change their relationship with food, to slowly lose and keep off weight, and to enjoy a healthier quality of life. Our multidisciplinary healthcare team provides education, support and motivation to achieve optimal weight loss and healthy habits for a lifetime.

The Program

This program incorporates scientifically supported strategies for weight loss and maintenance. The two core treatments are behavioral therapy and nutritional counseling, provided in group sessions.

Combining behavioral therapy and nutritional counseling in a supportive environment, individuals work together with a psychologist, a registered dietitian and other program participants to identify personal values and goals, learn how to make better decisions, develop healthy coping skills and overcome barriers to change.

The behavioral therapy program is based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), an effective treatment approach to overcoming obstacles to successful weight management. CBT increases self-awareness, helping to change a person’s thinking and behavior. Individuals learn to manage expectations, learn how to accept lapses and decrease self-criticism. Shifting the way a person thinks aids in overcoming triggers to regaining weight.

Registered dietitians educate participants about healthy caloric ranges, portion sizes, the nutritional value of foods and how to manage metabolism and blood sugar. An initial nutritional evaluation and one individual follow-up session to develop a personalized dietary plan are included in the program. Program participants who feel they would benefit from further individualized nutritional guidance and support may choose to continue to meet with one of our registered dietitians while also participating in the group sessions.

Learn more about Nutritional Counseling

Group sessions are first held weekly, then biweekly, so new skills can be closely monitored and supported. As participants start mastering the skills learned in group therapy, sessions will taper to encourage greater independence.

Initial Assessments

Individual psychological evaluation

Before beginning treatment, a participant meets with one of our clinical psychologists for an initial evaluation. The clinician provides an overview of the program, answers questions, and identifies personal obstacles toward achieving weight loss goals and long-term maintenance.

Individual nutritional evaluation

During this initial session, a registered dietitian assesses the individual’s typical dietary patterns and food/eating preferences. Together, the dietitian and individual will create a practical nutrition plan. In addition, the dietitian collects the program participant’s height, weight and other data to monitor progress over the course of treatment.

Goals

  • Achieve and maintain a healthy weight
  • Improve cardiovascular health and blood glucose control
  • Increase physical activity to improve metabolism, maintain weight loss, and stabilize blood sugar (glucose)
  • Reduce unhealthy eating habits, such as binge eating, emotional eating, and “mindless” eating
  • Improve sleep quality and quantity

  • Improve overall quality of life and self-esteem

This program is based on sound scientific research and uses treatment protocols and standards of care endorsed by the American Diabetes Association, National Institutes of Health, and The Obesity Society. The treatment strategies and content, length of treatment, and number of behavioral therapy and nutritional counseling sessions included in the program are based on research that has shown what works—especially in the real world!

If additional services, such as individual behavioral therapy, endocrinology, sleep services or other specialty care are needed, we can make the appropriate referrals. Because this is a hospital-based weight loss program, participants have access to other healthcare professionals who treat and help manage problems often associated with excessive weight, including type 2 diabetes, thyroid functioning, sleep apnea, and other medical conditions.

Cost

Many insurance plans cover behavioral therapy and nutritional counseling. We provide our service codes so participants can determine coverage and responsibilities (e.g. co-payments, deductibles). Greenwich Hospital will bill the managed care provider for all covered services individuals receive from us. Ask your insurance provider about your specific coverage.

What else should I know?

How much weight will I lose through this program?

The Comprehensive Weight Loss Program is designed with the goal of helping people lose as much as 10% of their body weight. The ease and rate in which each program participant loses weight will depend on multiple factors that are both behavioral and biological. Every individual’s body is different, as is each person’s readiness and ability to change certain behaviors. We put just as much importance in participants’ improvements in physical and mental health, as we do in their weight loss.

Have other people experienced success through this program?

The Comprehensive Weight Loss Program includes science-based interventions and incorporates treatment protocols and standards of care endorsed by the American Diabetes Association, National Institutes of Health, and The Obesity Society. The program’s behavioral therapy and nutritional counseling treatments have yielded clinically significant results both through our program and in other health care settings. No treatment is perfect, however, and one size does not fit all. Only you can determine for yourself if this is the right place for you.

How much of a commitment do I have to make?

Weight loss is an extremely difficult task that requires a significant commitment to one’s self. Treatment involves weekly, biweekly, and monthly appointments with our clinicians. Successful weight management goes beyond these treatment sessions and requires a considerable change in the degree of attention a participant places on him/herself in between sessions. Program participants are asked to consider their value system and learn how to increase and maintain awareness of such things as food choices, physical activity, sleep patterns and blood sugar.

Why am I less likely to regain weight after this program?

While this program is designed to help people change their behavior, an additional, and equally important, goal is to modify the way program participants think about themselves, their expectations and their behavior. Key focal points of treatment include modifying expectations, learning how to accept lapses, and changing core beliefs (e.g., decreasing self-criticism). Making such adjustments in the way you think aids in overcoming the cognitive, environmental and even physical triggers to weight regain.

Does this program include weight loss medication or supplements?

The Comprehensive Weight Loss Program does not include meal replacements, such as protein shakes, dietary supplements, weight loss medications or weight loss surgery. We are happy to recommend certain products or refer you to a physician with a specialty in medical weight loss for a medication evaluation. While we support certain alternative means of weight loss, they are not part of our lifestyle-oriented weight loss program.

What if I need more than what this program offers?

While we find that the treatment structure of the Comprehensive Weight Loss Program will meet the needs for many program participants, we do not expect that such will be the case for everyone. Some may find they need additional support, which can come in the form of individual behavioral therapy to supplement the group sessions, or additional nutritional counseling sessions. Some individuals may need other forms of support, such as medical care through a personal trainer, endocrinologist, or sleep specialist. Whatever the case, our staff is available to provide you with or guide you toward the most optimal treatment for weight loss success.

What happens after the conclusion of the program?

Our goal is that by the conclusion of the program, participants will have the necessary tools and self-confidence to sustain their achievements on their own. However, not everybody will be ready to leave the program and maintain this healthy approach to weight loss by themselves. Some will value the continued support they received through the program. Therefore, post-treatment support is available in the form of individual behavior therapy sessions and additional nutritional counseling sessions.

Services

Behavioral & Nutritional Health