What's Covered on This Page
- How Medical Supervision Makes Weight Loss Differently
- Who is Eligible for Medically Supervised Weight Loss?
- What Happens During Your First Visit and After Your Appointment
- Medications and Tools Used in Supervised Weight Loss Programs
- Maintaining Your Ideal Weight in a Seaside Culinary Scene
- What actually happens at my first medically supervised weight loss appointment in Murrells Inlet?
- Do I have to be severely overweight to qualify for a medically supervised program?
- How is medically supervised weight loss different from just following a diet on my own?
- Can hormonal changes from perimenopause or aging affect my weight loss results in Murrells Inlet?
- What happens between appointments to keep my progress on track?
- Is prescription weight loss medication like semaglutide right for everyone in the program?
Need medically supervised weight loss?
Book An Appointment. Call Jolie Visage Rejuvenation Centre now.
How Medical Supervision Makes Weight Loss Differently
Patients coming to our Murrells Inlet office have usually tried to lose weight on their own at least once. Maybe more than once. They've tracked calories, limited carbs, went to the gym, et cetera, and it worked for a time, then it didn't.
This is not a failure of will power.
Medical weight loss is different because we examine what's happening in your body, not just in the mirror or on the scale. We start by ordering bloodwork. We assess your thyroid, check your hormones, look at your metabolism, et cetera. Often we discover issues beneath the surface that nothing found by a diet app or a nutritionist could have identified.
Here are some of the advantages of medical supervision that can't be found in a one size fits all approach:
- Blood work revealing why your body retains fat
- Access to prescription weight loss medication such as semaglutide or tirzepatide, when it makes sense
- Detailed measurements of your body composition to track fat loss vs. muscle loss
- Regular weight loss check ins so your plan can be adjusted along the way
- Screening for underlying factors that make it harder for you to lose weight like insulin resistance, et cetera
Adults working with a doctor for their weight loss are more likely to keep the weight off, according to the CDC. We see it all the time. When trying to break through a weight loss plateau with no medical provider people often give up. When working with a medical provider the treatment changes and the weight loss continues.
In a typical appointment, you come to our office and you tell us how you're feeling. We review your health data, ask how you're doing with your current regimen, and ask what needs to happen. If things need to shift, they shift today, not months from now.
We have worked with residents of Burgess and all around Murrells Inlet who think they are bad at dieting. They aren't, they just needed the proper data about their bodies. That's what medical supervision is all about. It transforms your guesswork into action.
Medically supervised weight loss is one of the medical weight loss services at Jolie Visage in Murrells Inlet. If you are considering more than one treatment, we will help you build a plan that fits your goals.
Who is Eligible for Medically Supervised Weight Loss?
More people than you'd expect.
We constantly hear it here in Murrells Inlet, "I didn't know you could get assistance with that," or, they think that a medically supervised program is only for people losing a lot of weight like 100 pounds or more. It's not. We see people coming to us who have tried to lose 20 pounds, they have tried everything and have had no success. They're candidates.
We see people who need to lose 80 pounds, who have knee pain in the morning, et cetera, they're candidates as well. These are some of the most common folks we see:
- Adults with a BMI of 27 or above who also have another health condition, such as high blood pressure or prediabetes
- Anyone with a BMI over 30
- People who have done calorie counting, bought a gym membership, started a meal kit delivery service, and have seen the number on the scale go up and down and keep going up
- People taking medications that cause side effects like weight gain
- Men and women who have gone through hormonal changes that have seemingly changed their metabolism over night
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 40 percent of American adults fall within the clinical definition of obesity. Many of these people don't even know there are other medical solutions besides surgery.
The first thing you need to know is that you don't need to simply meet a BMI requirement to be qualified for our medically supervised weight loss program. Our doctors and medical assistants run blood work during your first appointment so they can get a better understanding of your thyroid levels, metabolic markers, hormones, fasting glucose, and many other things. We often find things that aren't diagnosed at a primary doctor's office, which isn't that rare.
For example, you're a 40-something woman living near Burgess who noticed you've started gaining weight after you started going through perimenopause. Or you're a man who has always been thin but you suddenly started getting fat and everything seems to no longer fit. Neither of these is a character problem, it's a medical problem. The good news is both will respond to a medical solution.
Also, know that we'll never start you on anything you're not a good fit for. If your lab results and health history indicate that a different type of program would be a better fit for your body, we'll tell you that. Finding a solution that's right for you is much more important than getting started. If you're ready to find out what's going on with your body, then please call today to set up your first appointment!
What Happens During Your First Visit and After Your Appointment
You walk in and we start talking. That is where everything really begins.
Your first appointment lasts anywhere between 30 to 45 minutes. We don't rush our clients; we need to know everything about you before we can do anything for you. Our medical team will sit down with you and go over your entire health history. From what medications you take, to the medical conditions you have, to what diet programs you have tried before.
We always hear from Murrells Inlet patients that "I have tried every diet out there," and that is fine because it means the medical program is your next best option to lose the weight.
Here is a list of what happens during your first appointment:
- Your doctors and medical assistants will run blood work so they can see all of your lab results including hormone levels, thyroid function, and metabolic markers.
- The doctor will run a body composition analysis where they won't just give you a number off a scale, but instead give you the percentage of your weight as fat, muscle mass, and where your body stores weight.
- Once the doctor has reviewed your lab work, they will sit down with you and make a custom plan that you and your team will stick to going forward.
- If a medication like semaglutide or tirzepatide seems appropriate, we'll discuss it, but never with any pressure.
Most patients walk out of their initial consultation feeling like they waited too long to come see us. Once they get the right guidance and stop guessing, it just clicks.
The rest of the journey starts after your first visit, and this is where most programs drop the ball, but not ours. We build ongoing appointments into the plan, so we can stay up to speed with your body's changing needs. Perhaps the GLP-1 medication causes your appetite to drop a bit more than expected in a few weeks. Perhaps stress from work gets in the way of your regular eating schedule.
We adjust.
We're here for you between scheduled visits as well. If you're finding it difficult to maintain a nutrition plan on your own, we can guide you through our nutrition counseling. For busy days when you're unable to make it to the clinic, we also have the option of virtual coaching.
Your plan stays on track, even when life gets in the way, and that's what we mean when we talk about medically supervised weight loss. You're never in this alone; you have a licensed provider who is reviewing the data and making adjustments on the fly. If you are still sitting on the fence about getting your first appointment set, you should call us today.
Need help with medically supervised weight loss?
Book An Appointment. Jolie Visage Rejuvenation Centre is ready to help.
Medications and Tools Used in Supervised Weight Loss Programs
You may have seen mentions of GLP-1 medications like semaglutide or tirzepatide in the news lately or heard one of your friends talk about them. While some people assume they're just a quick fix fad, these are actually FDA-approved medications that alter how your body handles blood sugar and cravings. And we use them here in Murrells Inlet.
While medications are helpful, they are far from everything that can be done with medically supervised weight loss.
Our medically supervised weight loss method relies on the use of multiple approaches to meet your body's individual needs. Once we analyze your blood work and body composition, we can begin formulating a plan for the combination of treatments that's right for you. This may consist of:
- Semaglutide injections: These help decrease appetite by imitating a hormone that the gut secretes naturally
- Tirzepatide: For patients with a need for additional treatment targeting both GLP-1 and GIP receptors
- Phentermine: A helpful option for short-term appetite suppression when medically appropriate
- Lipotropic injections: To assist the liver in the metabolic breakdown of fat more effectively
- Vitamin B12 injections and metabolism boosters: To maintain energy as you reduce your calorie intake
People often say, "I just need to get a prescription and I'll be set." While understandable, what most don't realize is that medically supervised weight loss can provide much better results than simply buying something on the internet because of the oversight involved. We monitor your body's response to the medicine, modify your dosage, and catch possible side effects early before they turn into larger problems.
It's the most frequent question we get: what type of medicine do I need? And our only answer is that we can't tell without looking at your labs first. A 45-year-old woman struggling with insulin resistance has very different needs from a 30-year-old whose cortisol levels are very high. According to the Obesity Medicine Association, this personalized approach is what sets the real difference between actual results and quick fixes.
We also employ body fat analysis during follow-up appointments to you're losing fat instead of muscle. The numbers on a scale don't paint the complete picture.
Maintaining Your Ideal Weight in a Seaside Culinary Scene
You reached your objective. So, what's next?
Here in Murrells Inlet, you have seafood boils, fried items at the MarshWalk, and community members who care about you by means of food. That's us. And we wouldn't demand you abandon whatever draws you here, because it's what you're passionate about. However, keeping weight off is a totally different challenge than getting it off in the first place.
This is what a physician-supervised weight loss from weight loss to keeping it off looks like.
When folks lose weight without medical guidance, they regain the weight within two years. Lose 30 pounds, stay great for three or four months and then, like a feather in the wind, go back to that same spot. And it's not a matter of having willpower. There's a physiological reason.
Your metabolism shifts following weight reduction and your hunger hormones rise. In the long run, your body works to return to its set point.
What the Maintenance Process Actually Entails
Our medical weight loss maintenance program keeps you involved with the exact medical team that you used to lose the weight initially. This may look like:
- Periodic check-ins for early weight gain
- Body fat measurement so we're looking at the actual composition and not just a single number on a scale
- Metabolism booster and lipotropic injections as your metabolism needs
- Dietary education designed for your lifestyle
that individuals who manage to lose and maintain the weight for any length of time are almost all the individuals who don't attempt to do it on their own. They check in. They make adjustments. They have someone on their side keeping them accountable.
And here is the thing nobody discusses when you are thinking about maintenance in a coastal food society. You can still visit the restaurants you love. It's just a matter of having a plan. There is a solution for a weekend spent on the boat, summer barbeques, holidays from Thanksgiving through New Year's.
Our lifestyle change program can help you build behaviors that are adaptable for your social life, not behaviors that can't handle your social life.
Making healthy habits sounds unglamorous. But that is really all the difference when it comes down to losing weight and keeping it. We'd rather do it once, get the results and stay happy and here in the Lowcountry without that guilt for each of those shrimp and grits plates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about medically supervised weight loss services in Murrells Inlet
What actually happens at my first medically supervised weight loss appointment in Murrells Inlet?
Your first visit takes about 30 to 45 minutes, and we spend most of it listening to you. We go through your full health history, run blood work, and do a body composition analysis. We look at fat percentage, muscle mass, hormone levels, and thyroid function. By the end of that visit, you leave with real answers, not a generic handout. Most people tell us they wish they had come in sooner.
Do I have to be severely overweight to qualify for a medically supervised program?
No, you do not need to lose a hundred pounds to qualify. If you have 20 stubborn pounds that won't move, you may be a good fit. Adults with a BMI of 27 or higher who have a related condition like high blood pressure or prediabetes often qualify. So do people with a BMI over 30, even without other health issues. We run labs at your first visit to get the full picture before we decide anything.
How is medically supervised weight loss different from just following a diet on my own?
Medical supervision looks inside your body, not just at the scale. We check your thyroid, hormone levels, and metabolic markers before you start anything. Things like insulin resistance or low testosterone can make losing weight much harder. No diet app is going to catch that. When we find the real reason your body holds onto fat, we can build a plan that actually works for you instead of guessing.
Can hormonal changes from perimenopause or aging affect my weight loss results in Murrells Inlet?
Yes, and this is one of the most common things we see with patients here in Murrells Inlet, especially women near Burgess in their 40s. Hormone shifts from perimenopause can change your metabolism fast. Men deal with this too as testosterone drops with age. These are medical realities, not personal failures. Once we identify what is happening with your labs, we can adjust your plan to work with your body instead of against it.
What happens between appointments to keep my progress on track?
You get regular check-ins so we can adjust your plan as your body changes. If your appetite shifts after starting a GLP-1 medication, we adapt right away. We also offer nutrition counseling and virtual coaching for days when getting to the office is not possible. You are not left on your own between visits. A licensed provider is watching your data and making real-time changes so your plan keeps moving forward even when life gets busy.
Is prescription weight loss medication like semaglutide right for everyone in the program?
Not always, and we never pressure anyone into it. Medication like semaglutide or tirzepatide is discussed only when your labs and health history suggest it makes sense for you. Some people do very well without it. Others see a real difference with the right medication added to their plan. We walk through the options with you at your first visit and make the decision together based on what your body actually needs.