Clinic Comparison
At True You, we know that choosing the right medical weight loss clinic is a crucial decision. The choice is best informed by evaluating the clinic’s approach to personal care, their expertise in the actual procedures, and the track record of the clinic in actually delivering results for patients.
A Personal Approach to Weight Loss Programs
In many clinics that perform such non-surgical procedures, weight loss is a numbers game that prioritizes aggressive sales tactics over personal care. Like used car salesmen, they push “deals” and “specials” in an attempt to reel you in and convince you to hand over your money. Even the pricing structure can be intentionally opaque and confusing in order to coerce a sale. The relationship between patient and clinic is more akin to customer and company, and it tends to be devoid of care and concern.
Moreover, many clinics see the transaction as complete and out of their hands once the procedure is over. You’re left to figure out the nuances of life after the first visit without much guidance. If you aren’t getting the results you hoped for or expected, there often isn’t an opportunity for follow-up with a weight loss team about how to modify eating habits and develop a meal plan that will give you the best chance of success.
The True You Difference
At True You Weight Loss, we see a weight loss program as a journey, and we are your partners along that journey. Our staff will be honest with you about everything involved in the procedure as well as show empathy for any challenges you may be encountering. The approach we take is tailored to your specific needs, circumstances, and existing health concerns. At the core of everything we do is a desire to see you succeed! Your success is our success, and we’re in it to help you get the results you want.
We also go out of our way to make sure we are responsive both before and after the procedure. The decision to proceed with ESG, an ORBERA® gastric balloon, or bariatric revision is a big one for most people, and we are always sensitive and attentive to everything that goes into making the decision. Every member of our team is available by text, phone, or email so that you have access to the support you need any time you need it. You will never feel alone while you’re on this journey, and we’ll be there for you throughout the process
Things to Consider:
- Have you tried other weight loss methods? What were the pitfalls? What were the successes?
- What is your body mass index (BMI)? Many clinics recommend procedures for people who have a BMI of 30 or above.
- Any weight loss procedure requires a commitment to making adjustments to your diet and other lifestyle habits. This can be hard to do on your own, and that’s why the clinic needs to provide support beyond just the day of the procedure.
Expertise and Experience
As happens with many new and exciting advances, some clinics get into the field more concerned with financial success than providing excellent healthcare. As a result—and because of how cutting edge the procedures are—many medical weight loss clinics don’t have the expertise or experience to provide truly safe and effective surgery. It’s easy to distinguish some of these places by their lack of listed credentials on their websites or from their lack of quality customer support.
The True You Difference
It’s important to note that all of True You’s non-surgical weight loss procedures (ESG, ORBERA®, gastric bypass revision) are performed with the use of an endoscope, a flexible tube with special surgical tools mounted on the end. It is the expert use of an endoscope that allows us to perform these procedures without the need for risky incisions that require long recovery times. The truth is that very few doctors have sufficient experience with using an endoscope for these kinds of procedures, and that lack of experience can lead to less effective and less safe outcomes.
True You’s team, by contrast, is led by Dr. Chris McGowan, a physician who is triple-board certified in internal medicine, gastroenterology, and obesity medicine and who holds a master’s degree in clinical research. Dr. McGowan has performed more endobariatric procedures than any physician in the nation.
Another highly valuable and unique feature of True You is our Weight Loss team who specializes in endobariatric weight loss; many other clinics have no licensed dietitians/nutritionists. In our estimation, experience and credentials are crucially important because they help us ensure that you are getting the best care possible backed by the latest knowledge in the field.
Things to Consider:
- What credentials does the clinic have? What is their level of experience in performing endoscopic weight loss procedures?
- What have other patients said about the clinic?
- What kind of post-procedure support and insight does the clinic offer?
Medical Weight Loss Program That Produces Real Results
Beyond a personal approach and sufficient expertise, an obvious key metric of success is actual weight loss results. Lesser clinics, in part because of a lack of expertise or having poorer training, may also not be able to produce the results they claim to be able to produce. By pressuring you into getting a procedure, and then not providing support or follow-up, the end results are often missing or fleeting.
In general, procedures like ESG and ORBERA® (and in a gastric revision procedure that would be applicable only if you already had gastric bypass surgery) work by physically reducing stomach capacity so that you can’t ingest as many calories. This has proven time and again to be incredibly effective at helping people permanently lose the weight they had been unable to lose through traditional methods. As effective as the procedures are, though, they require both commitment from the patient to adopt new eating habits and support from clinic staff in adjusting to the necessary lifestyle changes.
But what are the actual numbers? At True You, our ESG patients see, on average, 23% total body weight loss after one year, far exceeding the national average of 17%. At the same time, True You’s complication rate for ESG stands at 0.2%, far below the national average of 2.2%.
The True You Difference
Without the kind of partnership between a new patient and clinic that we foster at True You, long term weight loss is more elusive. This is because the procedures themselves are not a magic wand that makes the extra pounds go away; on the contrary, the procedure is a tool that helps you do the work of losing weight and changing your eating habits so that the weight can stay off. Depending on the procedure that’s right for you (which we’ll help you determine!), you can potentially lose a substantial amount of weight in the first 12 months. For example, our ESG patients end up losing an average of 70% of their excess body weight in the first year.
Things to Consider:
- Long term success from a medical weight loss program often hinges on support and engagement even well after the procedure is complete.
- Much of the initial weight loss occurs within the first 12 months after the procedure, but it takes diligence after the first year to keep the weight off and to continue losing weight.
- Different procedures work for different people and different sets of needs, so the clinic needs to help walk you through which one is the right choice for you.
True You: Freedom is Waiting!
In a world where weight loss services have become such a huge industry, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the seemingly endless options. At True You, we’ve heard countless stories of people who have tried again and again to lose weight without success, and we also continue to hear stories about other clinics that are attempting to offer non-surgical weight loss solutions. Before you choose a clinic, though, consider whether they offer personalized care, what their level of expertise is, and how they intend to help you through the whole process to get real results.
If you have been wanting to lose weight but just haven’t been able to achieve your weight loss goals, it might be time to consider a different kind of approach. Weight loss can be hard, but that’s why True You is dedicated to partnering with you on your weight loss journey. If you’d like to learn more about our procedures and how we work with you, please contact one of our weight loss specialists today to request a conversation.
