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Some people attempt to lose weight through dieting or working with a dietician who discusses general nutritional guidelines. Though having some supervision is always better than making potentially unsafe changes to your diet alone, the best player to have on your team is a bariatrician. “Bariatricians are specialized not only in the nutritional and exercise component of weight loss but also in looking into the metabolic and biochemical reasons someone is not losing weight. They look at lab work to make sure everything is nice and safe for them,” explains Dr. Julie Swindler of Medical Bariatrics of Lexington.

Before you decide you need to lose weight, find out where you stand. “Take your weight in kilograms, which is your poundage divided by 2.2, and divide it by your height in meters squared,” instructs Swindler. That equation will give you your body mass index number. “If the number is under twenty-five, it is considered an ideal weight. Twenty-five to thirty is considered overweight. Anything above thirty is considered obese,” defines Swindler.

The first visit with a bariatrician is easy. “You can stop in and get a body composition analysis that will break down how much of you is fat, muscle and water. The best way to judge is to look at overall percentage of body fat,” says Swindler. Though all licensed bariatricians are required to go through the same training, we are lucky to have a local celebrity in our community. “This past month, I was asked to sit on a national board of bariatric medicine called the American Board of Bariatric Medicine. There are only seven people in the United States that get to be on that board which works on the certifications and training of physicians and enhances the field,” shares Swindler.

While lifestyle changes work for some people, others use prescription weight loss medications. “It is individualized based on medical history, lab work, age and current weight,” says Swindler. Safety is the top priority. “We follow all guidelines that are enforced by the American Society of Bariatric Physicians and obviously state and federal guidelines, so we are strict,” says Swindler. Remember that weight loss does not happen overnight. “It is a process so you are constantly learning new things about yourself,” says Swindler.

If you want a long-term solution to shedding extra pounds, do not diet. “There are certain crash diets where you can lose a great amount of weight in a short period of time but plenty of studies show that most of the time, people just gain the weight back because they start going back into old habits,” says Swindler. Having a physician as your partner in weight loss brings positive reinforcement. “In a physician-supervised weight loss program with a bariatrician, we teach you the amount of weight that is appropriate to lose per month and if you are able to follow the guidelines, you can keep the weight off and not regain it back,” says Swindler.

Working with a bariatrician requires a commitment. “Once you lose the weight, there is a transition period and then a maintenance period where we teach you how to keep the weight off,” says Swindler. The results are remarkable. “About 98.7 percent of folks are able to see significant medical weight loss. We know that eight out of ten people who come to see us reduce their risk of diabetes by more than fifty percent. Between my partner and myself, we have seen over eleven thousand weight loss patients and they have been helped to lose over four hundred and fifty thousand pounds just at this one facility in Lexington,” shares Swindler.