Our Program

Individualized, Life Transforming Programs
Supervised by Physicians and Nutritionists

First Visit: Comprehensive Medical Evaluation

During your first visit, our physicians will go through your medical history and discuss the key components of our program that will focus on your individual needs. This includes a comprehensive medical, nutritional, behavioral and exercise assessment. This will ensure that our team has a thorough understanding of your current health (dietary and medical conditions) and as a result allows us to comprise a program that is CUSTOMIZED for YOU!

At Nova Physician Wellness Center, we do not believe in a “one-size-fits-all” strategy, as no two individuals are alike. We all differ in our eating styles, family and work schedules and exercise preferences; hence Meal and Exercise plans have to be personalized according to one’s lifestyle. We use evidence-based medicine to focus on the individual needs of our patients, which allows them to reach life-long goals.

We have a multidisciplinary team which focuses not only on diet, but also on Exercise and Behavioral changes. Research has shown that if you just focus on the Diet alone, you are bound to regain the weight, as Diets alone never work in the long term. At the first visit, after meeting with the doctors, you will then meet our Nutritionists/ Health Counselors who will formulate a Meal Plan and Exercise plan which fits your needs and is individualized to your medical conditions.

At the subsequent visits, you continue to meet with our Physicians and Nutritionists/ Health Counselors who will evaluate your progress and modify the plan if needed, so that it continues to meet your individual needs.

Health counseling throughout the term of the program contributes to our integrative approach in reaching your lifestyle and weight loss goals and more importantly help you maintain those goals. A very close monitoring is provided to all the patients to keep the treatment medically safe and effective. The frequency of the visits is based on your medical condition and/or your progress towards your optimal health goals.

Meal Plans

Our Meal Plans focus on Natural grocery store foods so that our patients are educated and trained from the very beginning with the foods they are going to eat for the rest of their lives. This is a life-long lifestyle change.

We also have special diet plans for the patients with Dietary restrictions, like Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free to name only a few. All of our weight loss meal plans are nutritionally based to help achieve your targeted weight loss goals in a healthy manner.

We do offer meal replacement products at the patient's request and/or convenience, but these are not required for our patients to participate in our program.

And the cost of these Meal Replacements products is significantly below the cost offered by other Weight loss Centers.

Lab Work/ Electrocardiogram or EKG

We may also run a battery of lab tests, which includes your blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, thyroid profile, lipid panel and Inflammatory Markers. This further gives us insight into your health, so that we can recommend a safe and effective nutrition plan. An Electrocardiogram or EKG may be done depending on your medical evaluation.

An Electrocardiogram evaluates the health of your heart to ensure the program and medications prescribed are safe and do not pose risk to your heart.

Bio-Metabolic Analysis

At your initial visit with our physicians, we also conduct a complete bio-metabolic analysis. This will provide insight into how many calories your body burns while resting. To facilitate our pre-program testing, we use Bioelectrical Impedance Testing (BIA) using the InBody 570 from Biospace.

Body composition analysis can accurately show changes in fat mass, muscle mass and body fat percentage, as well as your lean body distribution. Going beyond your bathroom scale, body composition analysis breaks down your body into four components: fat, lean body mass, minerals, and body water. We can individualize your Weight Loss based on your body composition and not just your BMI.

What medications are available to treat overweight and obesity?

There are several FDA approved Prescription medications that can treat overweight and obesity, they all work on different mechanisms of actions. For example, some medications will help suppress your hunger from your brain, and help you feel less hungry or full sooner, other medications may make it harder for your body to absorb fat from foods. The FDA has approved six of these drugs—orlistat (Xenical, Alli), phentermine-topiramate (Qsymia), naltrexone-bupropion (Contrave), liraglutide (Saxenda), semaglutide (Wegovy), tirzepatide (Zepbound)—for long-term use. There are a few other weight management medications that curb appetite are approved by the FDA for short-term use only, for up to 12 weeks.

Weight Maintenance Phase

Losing weight is very important but maintaining weight loss is even more important. We put as much importance to your Weight Maintenance as to your Weight Loss, as this is an integral part of our program. Once you reach the goal weight, the Low Calorie diet is changed to a Transitional diet and eventually to a more Balanced Maintenance diet.

Focus is also shifted to increased physical activity, as it is an essential component of a comprehensive weight-maintenance strategy. To learn more about our Weight Maintenance program, click here.

Can children or teenagers take weight management medications?

Yes, There are three prescription medications, orlistat (Xenical), liraglutide (Saxenda), and wegovy, which are approved by the FDA for children ages 12 and older.

Can medications replace physical activity and healthy eating habits as a way to lose weight?

Medications don’t replace physical activity or healthy eating habits as a way to lose weight. Studies show that weight management medications work best when combined with a lifestyle program. The team at Nova physician wellness center will design customized lifestyle treatment programs for weight management that will work for you.

What are the benefits of using prescription medications to lose weight?

When combined with changes in behavior, including healthy eating and increased physical activity, prescription medications help some people lose weight and maintain weight loss. On average, after 1 year, people who take prescription medications as part of a lifestyle program lose 3% to 12% more of their starting body weight than people in a lifestyle program who do not take medication.

Research shows that some people taking prescription weight management medications lose 10% or more of their starting weight. Results vary by medication and by person.

Weight loss of 5% to 10% of your starting body weight may help improve your health by lowering blood sugar, blood pressure, and triglyceride levels. Losing weight also can improve some other health problems related to overweight and obesity, such as joint pain and sleep apnea. Most weight loss takes place within the first 6 months of starting the medication.

Which weight management medication might work for me?

Choosing a medication to treat overweight or obesity is a decision between you and your health care professional. Important factors to consider include:

○ the likely benefits of weight loss

○ the medication’s possible side effects

○ your current health issues and other medications

○ your family’s medical history

○ cost

How long will I need to take weight management medication?

How long you will need to take weight management medication depends on whether the drug helps you lose weight and keep it off, and whether you experience serious side effects.

If you have lost enough weight to improve your health and are not experiencing serious side effects, your health care professional may advise you to stay on the medication indefinitely. If you do not lose at least 5% of your starting weight after 12 weeks on the full dose of your medication, your health care professional will probably advise you to stop taking it. Your health care professional may also:

○ change your treatment plan or consider using a different weight management medication

○ have you try different lifestyle, physical activity, or eating programs

○ change your other medications that might be causing weight gain

○ refer you to a bariatric surgeon to see if weight-loss (bariatric) surgery might be an option for you

Because obesity is a chronic disease, you may need to continue your new eating and physical activity habits and other behaviors for years—or even a lifetime—to improve your health and maintain a healthier weight.

Will I regain some weight after I stop taking weight management medication?

Some people who are not able to continue with healthy eating and exercising lifestyle changes may regain weight after they stop taking weight management medication.

Developing and maintaining healthy eating habits and increasing physical activity help keep weight off. Obesity is a chronic disease, you may need to continue your new eating and physical activity habits and other behaviors for years—or even a lifetime—to improve your health and maintain a healthier weight.

We recommend at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and at least 2 days a week of muscle-strengthening activities. You may need to do more than 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week to reach or maintain your weight-loss goal.

Will insurance cover the cost of weight management medication?

Some, but not all, insurance plans cover medications that treat overweight and obesity. Dr. Chaudhary and Dr. Suri will decide which medications are suitable and if covered through your insurance and also will help with the prior authorization process, but the final decision for coverage lies with your medical insurance.

How do healthcare professionals use prescription medications “off-label” to treat overweight and obesity?

Sometimes healthcare professionals use medications in a way that’s different from what the FDA has approved. That’s called “off-label” use. By choosing an off-label medication to treat overweight and obesity, your health care professional may prescribe:○ a drug approved for treating a different medical problem

○ two or more drugs at the same time

○ a drug for a longer time period than approved by the FDA

Many obese and overweight patients are also diabetic and there are several medications which are FDA approved for treating diabetes, many of these medications not only help the diabetes but also the weight loss. Dr. Suri and Dr. Chaudhary and other providers at NPWC will decide which medications to choose from based on your co-morbid conditions and insurance coverage.

○ Ozempic (Semaglutide)

○ Mounjaro (Tirzepatide)