Weight Loss & Wellness

Dr. Garramone now offers a proven plan of diet and exercise providing his patients the opportunity to take control of their appearance and their health. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are overweight and one-third is obese. Being overweight increases our risk of disease including coronary artery disease, Type 2 diabetes and cancer. Diets can be difficult to maintain especially with hectic schedules and travel. Our weight management and wellness program, supervised directly by Dr. Garramone, allows you to lose weight safely and efficiently.

The goal of this medically supervised weight loss program, combined with a structured nutritional plan, enables you to lose weight and, most importantly, maintain your weight loss. It is not designed to be a short term weight loss program. Our system, will address your particular issues and provide you with a plan that accommodates your personal weight loss goals and your tastes. You will learn how to maintain your comfortable weight by understanding how food choices affect your body. You will not only look and feel better, but your overall health and well-being will improve.

During the initial phase of the program, a suitable dietary plan with nutritional supplements is initiated. Safe and effective appetite suppressants may be prescribed. The FDA approved prescription appetite suppressants block your hunger so that your body will learn to crave healthy foods. The exercise recommendations combined with the nutritional supplements will boost your energy. Weekly, your progress will be reviewed to help you continue your success until you reach your healthy weight.

Our program offers:

• Medical supervision including initial medical evaluation
• Weekly visits to monitor progress, provide support and ensure optimal medical safety
• FDA approved appetite suppressants to control hunger in appropriate cases
• Supplemental injections when appropriate to enhance results and maintain energy.
• Individualized nutritional planning
• Exercise counseling and support

Our medical weight loss program is divided into three distinct phases:

Phase 1 - Acute Weight Loss: During the initial consultation with Dr. Garramone, you will identify a target weight and design an individualized plan in accordance with your medical information to meet your goal. During this phase, you will be monitored on a weekly basis to ensure progress toward your goal and to provide ongoing support for your lifestyle changes.

Phase 2 - Transitional Step: Upon achieving your target weight, we will continue to encourage and motivate you on a weekly basis to increase your level of activity as we add more servings to the nutritional plan. At this point, your medications will be gradually reduced, and shortly they will no longer be necessary. Additionally, we will teach you exciting lessons from Dr. Barry Sears' best-selling ZONE Diet series (over 6 million books in print!), that will provide valuable tools and strategies to help maintain your weight loss and prepare you for Phase 3 of our program.

Phase 3 - Long Term Maintenance: Entering the long term maintenance phase of our program means you have achieved your target weight, made lifestyle adjustments to help you maintain your new weight, and understand how the concepts of the ZONE Diet  help you live a healthier life - Congratulations!

The goal of Phase 3 is to ensure that you don't fall into old habits or regress to an undesired weight or lifestyle. In this phase, you will be provided support and knowledge on a monthly basis by a member of our medical staff to ensure that you continue to reap the benefits of living the ZONE lifestyle.

Our staff will provide all the tools, tips, strategies and support needed to make this program a success for you. All you have to do is make the commitment to your goal and yourself.

We look forward to supporting you on your weight loss journey, so call us today at 239.482.1900 to schedule an appointment.

Weightloss Testimonial

When I started coming to Dr. Garramone’s office and participating in their weight loss program, I was 29 years old and 205 lbs.  I had always been what I thought was a “healthy” eater, but struggled a lot with my weight.  I felt like I was ALWAYS on a diet and couldn’t ever feel comfortable treating myself without feeling guilty later.  I was worried about the expense involved with the program, but was able to make adjustments in my lifestyle to accommodate, what I hoped would be a successful journey, coupled with a new way of life.

What happened was something even more incredible… something, that before this program, I thought was impossible!  I started the Monday prior to Thanksgiving – you think I am crazy, right?  Well, I couldn’t go through another set of holidays saying “I will start my diet at the beginning of the year” – what, so I could put on another 5-10 lbs. before the holidays were over?  Yeah right!  I told myself that if I could make it through the holidays successfully then I could do ANYTHING!  And guess what? I DID!

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t exactly easy to pass up some of my favorite holiday dishes that only come around once a year, but on the other hand, when the same family members that saw me at Thanksgiving saw me again at Christmas and were able to notice my progress it became more and more evident that I had all the support in the world and that I COULD make it happen!  By the time the New Year rolled around, I had my boyfriend (now husband) on my team as well… he saw the progress and realized that this was not just a “fad” diet I was on, but rather this was going to be my new lifestyle… and his too!  So, I stopped making 2 separate dinners and we did this together!

By my 30th birthday in March I had many things to celebrate – I was blessed with a beautiful niece, I was starting an amazing new job, I got engaged and I was only 5 lbs. away from my weight loss goal of losing 60lbs. and weigh 145.  I don’t think I have EVER been in the 140’s (that I can at least remember) – and honestly, I have gone as low as 138, but my body fights that weight, and I am okay with that.  I am comfortable with who I am and the newfound confidence this new lifestyle has given me!

The support system from not just Dr. Garramone, but also from his staff is incredible!  Julie, Annette and Fran were lifesavers throughout the program – cheering me on when I had a great week and then giving me encouragement when I had an off week.  They had all done the program as well so they had pointers and recipes to share, as did I – I would come in on a Monday morning so excited to share with them a new recipe I tried out, or a new product I found that helped to make this new lifestyle manageable. 

I now know my body better then I ever have. I get scared when I get close to 150, but I do allow myself a little breathing room of at least staying in the 140’s – that is my “happy place.”  I have since been an inspiration to family members and friends and try to teach them as much as I can… so now I maintain this lifestyle not just for myself, but for those that I have encouraged to change the way they look at their eating and exercise habits. 

Oh yeah, and one other perk would have to be that I have Engagement photos and Wedding photos that I will NEVER be embarrassed to look at in years to come!  I felt and looked my absolute best and will always be proud of my accomplishments!

A few pointers I learned along the way:

I could go on, but I am sure you get the point! This program is amazing!  You do need to follow the rules and be serious though – it’s just like someone with an addiction that is being forced to quit – you cannot start this program unless your whole self is ready for the challenge – and believe me, you will LOVE yourself in the end!