Obesity Medicine
I am Board Certified in Obesity MEDICINE. I am a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. I am now one of only 2 physicians in Lincoln that have that distinction. I am the only surgeon with those credentials and experience.
Why would a surgeon take the time to educate himself to become certified in Obesity Medicine?
In the 16+ years I have worked in bariatrics, I have worked with several thousand weight loss patients. I have a lot of experience with helping patients to achieve and maintain weight loss, both pre and post op. I realized as a bariatric surgeon that the metabolic surgery I was providing was an excellent tool, often our best tool, but it was not a comprehensive or complete tool. I decided to expand my knowledge in order to do the best possible for patients by training in and taking the boards (the certification test) in Obesity Medicine. Now I feel I have the experience AND the credentials to offer patients the best medical science has to offer in order to achieve success. I am now an expert in metabolic surgery and the various modalities of Obesity Medicine, including behavioral therapy, eating strategies, hunger control, increasing metabolism and anti-obesity medications.
From the beginning, I try to help my patients understand that Obesity is not a choice. Patients do not choose to be overweight. They do not “allow themselves” to become overweight. It is not a character weakness, it is not laziness, not gluttony or a lack of self-control. We actually have less conscious control of our hunger and metabolism than everyone, including your doctors, ever thought. Obesity is a disease that needs to be treated and CAN be treated. We need to stop blaming the victim, stop blaming the patient. As doctors and providers, we need to understand your disease, help you understand your disease and your physiology, and come up with real, reasonable and sustainable solutions.
What makes Heartland Weight Loss different?
- Certified expertise. Certified in Obesity Medicine. Fellow of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
- Non-surgical short and long term weight management. The patient has a lot of options on how they may want to develop a comprehensive weight management plan. By understanding how your body and psychology works, we need to deal with hunger and metabolism. We have methods and strategies that address them.
- Metabolic Surgery. I can offer a reasonable perspective of what bariatric surgery can do for them AND the limitations and advisability of surgery IF they are interested. Surgery may or may not be a part of their comprehensive management plan. I offer laparoscopic sleeve as well as laparoscopic gastric bypass. The latter makes me unique in Lincoln.
- Comprehensive program. Heartland Weight Loss has primary care / psych APRNs, a behavioral health staff, registered dietitian, exercise physiologist, and staff that are knowledgeable and experienced in insurance issues for both Obesity Medicine and Obesity Surgery.
- Insurance based. We do all we can to charge the patient’s insurance to treat their disease of obesity. We accept most insurances carriers, most cover Obesity Medicine visits. Most cover pre- and post-operative visits for metabolic surgery. Heartland Weight Loss is the patient’s best resource to find out if they have benefits for surgery.
- Evidence Based in the medical and surgical literature.
- Not the status quo. It is not the old “eat less” and “move more” strategy that has universally failed for the last 60+ years. It is contemporary medical and behavioral science. We steer away from unsustainable radical diets, temporary weight loss, false promises, hyperbole, unsubstantiated claims, and charging for meal plans, supplements, and memberships.
Obesity is a treatable disease. The best treatment of a disease is an organized partnership of all specialists involved. This includes your primary care providers, the specialists you see, and someone who knows obesity the best, a board-certified Obesity Medicine Specialist. Heartland Weight Loss concentrates on Obesity as a disease and WE DO IT WELL.