The National Medical Weight Loss Programme (NMWLP) offers you medical support, advice, education, and treatment options to help you on your weight loss journey, which is approved by nursing and obesity associations.

Designed as a medically supervised and holistic route to weight loss for those who are overweight (BMI 25-29.9) or obese (BMI over 30), we are able to provide a multi-disciplinary approach. This will help you to develop new thinking around what you eat, your relationship with food and cravings, the type of exercise you undertake, including providing help with joint problems which may be stopping you from exercising, nutritional supplementation and hormone therapies where required, as well the option to provide UK licensed and FDA approved medications to assist with weight loss, where suitable following a medical consultation.

You may have tried many options to achieve weight loss, including well-known diet plans and slimming classes, such as Weight Watchers, Slimming World, MyFitnessPal, Atkins, 52, Keto, etc. The NMWLP can work alongside these and we often find that GPs and other practitioners refer people onto our programme who are still struggling to achieve significant weight reduction and long-term weight management.

The first step is a full medical consultation where we take some measurements and discuss your overall health and well-being, as well as your struggles with weight. This is a requirement in order to undertake the NMWLP and gives you and our practitioner an opportunity to fully explore the weight management options available to you, which may include the use of medication, alongside diet and exercise plans, for example.

Should you be suitable for the use of medication, this will involve a simple and painless injection which is self-administered each day or week (depending on your treatment choice), using an easy-to-use pen that is pre-filled with the medication.

Both the daily or weekly treatment options mimic the action of the body’s natural hormone (GLP-1) which regulates appetite and food intake. GLP-1 is released in the gut after eating, and makes you feel full, hence your appetite is reduced. It also delays the time it takes for the stomach to empty, keeping you feeling full and satisfied for longer. This leads to lower calorie intake and subsequent weight loss. By reducing your appetite, and following the NMWLP advice, it will help you keep to the calorie-controlled diet of your choice, or one provided by our team, to help you easily achieve your weight loss goals.

The NMWLP offers a programme of lifestyle and treatment options for controlling and managing weight in those who are overweight or obese, which may include the prescription of medicines to help reduce weight, if deemed suitable during your consultation.

Medicines that are prescribed for weight loss, must be used in conjunction with diet and exercise plans, are for adults aged between 18-75 who have a BMI of 30 or above, or a BMI of 27 when there are any other weight-related health issues present, such as high blood pressure, abnormal levels of fats (lipids) in the blood, or breathing problems during sleep (obstructive sleep apnoea).

If any of the following apply, you will not be suitable for the prescribed medications, but we may still be able to provide other lifestyle, nutritional and medically supervised treatment options for you:

• Allergy to any of the product components
• Pregnant, trying to get pregnant or breastfeeding
• History or family history of medullary thyroid cancer
• History of multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2
• Severe kidney disease
• Severe heart failure
• Severe inflammatory bowel disease
• Disease of the liver, panoreas or gallbladder
• Severe depression, schizophrenia or eating disorders
• Already taking insulin, other GLP-1’s or DPP4 inhibitors

Following a consultation and assessment of your suitability for treatment, medication may be prescribed. As with any new medication, you may experience some side effects, which is why the NMWLP is a medically supervised programme where you can be monitored throughout. The most common side effects are nausea, indigestion, constipation, or diarrhoea. How- ever, these usually settle after a short period of time.

Our friendly support team is on hand to answer any questions you may have when embarking on the NMWLP. You should al- ways bear in mind that by losing weight you are reducing the risk of developing chronic conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and even cancer. Weight reduction will also relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis and joint pain. Please also remember that successful weight loss will help you feel happier and healthier, with an improved sense of well-being and a new found joy for life.

You must first complete an online medical assessment and undertake a medical consultation to ensure that we can discuss all the options available to help you lose weight safely and successfully, which may include the use of prescription medicines if our practitioner believes that you are suitable and it is safe for you to use them.

Simply call or email the clinic to make an appointment or to discuss any further questions you may have about how the NMWLP can help you on your weight loss journey.