Our Programs - FAQ's

I've lost weight on dozens of diets but I haven't been able to keep the weight off. Why not?

Because most commercial diet centers only focus on the diet. They give you some combination of products - special foods, supplements, lectures and so on. Few, if any, actually offer a program that identifies and changes the behaviors that contribute to your being overweight in the first place.

Our program will help you overcome the avoidance and denial that have made and kept you overweight. While you’re losing weight you’ll receive professional help and be held accountable for your actions. Clinical studies have shown that accountability and behavioral counseling are effective tools in weight loss and they are the cornerstones of OTC’s program.

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Other weight loss programs make similar claims. How are you different?

Most commercial diets like to focus on one or two success stories but rarely will they back it up with statistics. We at OTC are happy to show you our statistics because we are proud of them: our patients lose approximately 25% of their body weight. Those who continue in our aftercare program are able to maintain 80% of this weight loss two years after completing our program.

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What should I look for in a weight loss program?

There are a lot of questions you should ask before you entrust your health to a weight loss center. How long has the program been in the area? What is its client retention? What are the success statistics of that particular center? What is its weight management philosophy and why is it better than everyone else's approach? Are there physicians on-site? Are they available for on-call services? Are they trained and experienced in the metabolism of weight loss? How will they monitor your health? How experienced is the staff? How long have they worked in that particular program? How are they trained?

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How long will the program take?

The diet phase lasts as long as it takes you to lose your weight. On the average, women lose about three pounds a week, men about five. The maintenance phase is at least eighteen months after weight loss is complete. We have found that this amount of time is necessary to create the long-term behavioral changes needed to keep weight off for good.

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Will the Obesity Treatment Center make me thin?

Our goal is to make you healthy. This includes learning the best nutrition for your body. OTC can teach you the skills and give you the support you need to manage your weight for greater health and vitality and an improved appearance. The program works if you work the program.

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Can't I just take a pill?

Medications are a useful tool in the treatment of obesity for some people. But we feel strongly that relying on a medication for weight loss does not substitute for learning effective behaviors. This is particularly true of people who have a substantial amount of weight to lose or are chronically overweight. Learning to maintain a lower-weight body with skills in nutrition, exercise and self-management cannot be replaced by any medication. In addition, medications will have little benefit without behavior change. At OTC we want to create independence through individual skills for a lifelong of effective weight management. Therefore, we use these medications only as an adjunct to our maintenance program in order to assist patients as they learn to adjust to a lower-weight body. This is required on a minority of our patients.

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Why is your maintenance phase so long?

Two principles we strongly believe at OTC are that it takes time to learn and you must be tolerant of the mistakes you make along the way. Our maintenance phase is based on almost twenty-five years of experience. Although patients are learning while in weight loss, the experience comes in the maintenance phase. We want our patients to stay connected as they adjust to life in a new, lower-weight body. Common challenges are compliance with nutrition and calorie guidelines, maintaining exercise, practicing new behaviors around eating and interacting with people and situations in their lives in a new and different way. These behaviors must be practiced simultaneously, which can cause stress, panic or feelings of failure. Maintenance clients require consistent, frequent contact with the behavioral staff. It takes time to replace emotional responses to old behaviors and focus on facts.

A minimum twelve months of weight management also ensures that the client will experience familiar "eating" situations such as vacations, holidays and life stress with support, accountability and planning rather than resorting to old behaviors that result in weight gain. We know that weight regain is a reality for any dieter. Facing this while under the care of the OTC staff can turn a small weight gain into a learning situation to avoid future regain.

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Should I Just Have Bariatric Surgery?

Just like our medically supervised diet, gastric bypass surgery is not a cure for obesity. It is an effective tool for the severely obese, however, surgery does not cause long-term behavioral change. After an initial honeymoon period, the hunger and emotional longing for food returns. Without effective behavioral skills, there can be significant regain. There are no second opportunities if you regain after surgery. In addition, there are significant medical risks associated with surgery—nutritional deficiencies, surgical complications like intestinal obstructions, bleeding, and even death.

For patients who have decided to have surgery, OTC offers the support necessary to increase their chance for long-term success. Our medically supervised diet allows patients to lose weight often required before many patients are eligible for surgery. In addition, our education and behavioral program provide the skills necessary to make gastric bypass work for you over the long haul.

It’s not unusual for us to see patients who have regained weight after gastric bypass. Our program is appropriate for those patients as well. We can help them lose weight in a nutritionally safe manner and help them change behaviors to allow for long-term weight loss.

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How do I know if I need the Obesity Treatment Center?

If you have been given the diagnosis of obesity (see our BMI calculator) or your weight is affecting your health, the combination of medically supervised weight loss and long-term behavioral counseling offered by OTC is the successful way to manage your lower-weight body. If you're still not sure, request more information by telephone (916-978-0300) or by e-mail: info@keepitoff.com.

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If this program works, why do you have repeat clients?

At OTC we are not ashamed to say that we have repeat clients. While it’s possible to lose weight and maintain a 100% loss, and some clients do, many people possess significant levels of resistance to the new skills and behaviors that will make weight maintenance possible. Their level of commitment is not yet sufficient to learn and maintain these behaviors. This can lead to frustration and feelings of failure, often followed by loss of contact with the program and regain. At OTC we want our participants to understand that, whether they had to interrupt weight loss before reaching their goal or have experienced regain, they are always welcome to return to OTC. A returning patient, for whatever reason, is not a loser but a player. By staying in the game they can continue to work toward their ultimate objective and we applaud them.

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