Holistic Weight Loss
Our Program includes:
- Low and slow GLP-1 injection therapy
- Nutrition counseling
- Customized meal plans
- Exercise program
- Accountability
- Nutritional supplementation to support the whole body
What are GLP-1 injections and how do they work?
Semaglutide (also known as Ozempic) and Tirzepatide (also known as Mounjaro) are two medications also known as GLP-1 agonists. GLP-1 stands for Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 and is a hormone that is naturally made in your gut. Semaglutide and Tirzepatide optimize the function of GLP-1 receptors. There are GLP-1 receptors in the brain, GI tract, pancreas, peripheral nervous system, kidneys, lungs and cardiovascular system. Primarily, GLP-1 sends signals of fullness to the brain in response to eating. Semaglutide and Tirzepatide mimic the action of this naturally occurring peptide by telling your brain it is full and to stop eating. This helps cut cravings and overeating. GLP-1 also prompts the body to make more insulin, which helps with blood sugar stabilization, reducing insulin resistance and lowering inflammation in the body.
What conditions can these peptides help?
Besides helping with weight loss, diabetes and prediabetes, there are studies showing that semaglutide can reduce cardiovascular disease, chronic fatigue, depression, chronic pain, gut issues (dysbiosis, IBS, leaky gut, etc), autoimmune diseases, age-related conditions (osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, arthritis), kidney diseases, fatty liver, skin issues and even addictions.
What are the side effects?
The most common side effects are nausea, headaches and constipation. Nausea and headaches are due to decreased appetite and thirst, which can be avoided if you are hitting specific protein and water goals daily. Constipation can also be avoided if you are drinking enough water and increasing magnesium if needed. Heartburn sometimes occurs, but can usually be mitigated by stopping eating 3 hours before bed and not eating beyond fullness. Muscle wasting can occur, but can be avoided with eating at least 90g of protein daily as well as strength training using weights. We want you to maintain muscle mass because that is a huge factor in helping you sustain weight loss. Vomiting, diarrhea, pancreatitis, and gastroparesis are potential side effects that are highly related to taking too much medication too quickly. They can generally be avoided with our low and slow dosing.
How are these peptides used?
These injections are used as a tool to aid in weight loss, but cannot be used in isolation. Other lifestyle modifications like diet, stress management, quality sleep and strength training all must be on board for the process to create lasting effects. The goal is to lose 1-2 pounds per week while supporting the body to clear toxins and adjust along the way. Losing weight rapidly is not the goal as slow weight loss is much more permeant.
We will be using a compounding pharmacy to tailor dosages to you specifically. We start low and slow, to avoid side effects and create lasting impacts. Once you reach a consistent pace of 1-2 pounds of weight loss each week, we will maintain that dose until the goal weight is reached. If you are losing weight too quickly, we will reduce the dose and if you are at a plateau, we may increase it. We are not going by standardized dosing like the brand names use. We work with your unique body to find the best balance.
How is progress tracked?
We will be checking in every 2 weeks with alternating email check ins and in person visits. You will weigh in, track muscle and fat percentages on our specialized scale, and measure waist circumference at each in person visit.
Our goal:
We want to help empower you to reach health and weight goals by improving metabolic health, especially for those of you who are doing “all the things” and not seeing the scale budge. The naturopathic approach focuses on modifying many lifestyle factors (diet, sleep, stress, exercise) as well as balancing hormones, healing GI issues and addressing underlying causes of disease in the body. At Stellar, we will address all these factors for a well-rounded and highly individualized weight loss approach. We believe in using the least invasive tools to make the most dramatic effects. Compounded GLP-1 injection therapy falls right into that category! We are using it as a tool, not the only solution, to manage weight and increase your longevity and quality of life.