“We’ve had lots of success stories, but one gentleman I’m working with now is making an amazing change. We’re seeing huge improvements in his health, and my entire office is cheering him on,” Dr. Manish Patel, internist and weight management physician with Piedmont HealthCare, told me when I visited to learn more about his weight reduction program. “He’d been wheelchair bound for quite some time, the result of an amputation from diabetes, and when we started on his weight loss plan he probably weighed in at about 350 to 380. We didn’t really know, because we couldn’t get him weighed. After his surgery he was never able to walk with his prosthetic leg; in fact, he never really tried. He just couldn’t manage it. As we talked about losing weight, he said his goal was to walk again, but I challenged him to make that goal personal, to give it heart. We decided on setting a goal of driving to Alabama to see his grandson and throwing football with him. I wrote him a prescription for ‘playing ball with your grandson.’ He’s truly motivated, and he’s been working hard ever since.“

This man’s story isn’t finished yet, but Dr.Patel reports that since January, he’s down to just under 300 pounds, walking unassisted with a walker, completely off one of his diabetes injections, and his blood sugar levels are incredibly under control—down from 300 units of insulin a day to 90 units! Success does happen.

LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE AND STUDY
Dr. Patel is a tall, handsome man with a quick smile and friendly sense of humor. You would never imagine that he was 100 pounds overweight in high school and has struggled with weight issues all his life. Born in England and raised in Tifton, Georgia, Manish Patel grew up vegetarian. Unlike the myth that all vegetarians are rail thin, he wasn’t. He knows what it’s like to struggle to lose weight, and these memories, I’m sure, help him understand what his patients are dealing with and working to accomplish.

“I was my first patient eight months ago. I went from 200 to 175 in six weeks—over Christmas and New Years—following guidelines that we’d developed from our study of what really works,” Dr. Patel shared. “The basics are very easy to understand: we recommend a modified carbohydrate, protein sparing diet, which translates to mean eliminate simple carbs and sugars, increase fiber, and eat the correct amount of protein each day for your individual body. Spread the right foods throughout the day, and you will be satisfied, energized and losing fat, not muscle—what healthy weight loss is really about. We give people real menu choices that don’t require calorie counting or special diet foods. We want to change how you make your food choices for the rest of your life. We give you simple, smart tools you can use everyday.”

MOTIVATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY
“I need people who are ready,” Dr. Patel says. “I started one man out with only four directives: no exercise, but do 30 minutes each day of physical activity; no fast food for breakfast, but do eat any type of cereal with milk in a Solo cup each morning. Why in a cup? So he could walk while he ate. Now this was a very unique instance, designed to help him see that he could do it, and it isn’t part of my regular diet plans, but when this big fellow lost 30 pounds the first month…then he was ready! He went on to achieve his first goal of getting to 300 pounds, and he did it in just four months.”

Dr. Patel’s approach to weight loss is easy to understand. His plans are designed to help patients feel better by losing fat while maintaining lean muscle mass. Each visit offers education, support, and accountability. Dr. Patel’s plans help patients achieve their goals easily and effectively. Patients who lose just 10% of their current weight can begin to reduce or eliminate medications and serious health conditions that are caused by, or exacerbated by, excess body fat. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? With regular guidance from Dr. Patel and Amy Bolling, his nurse practitioner, it is. Typically, patients meet with Dr. Patel or Amy once a month. When patients come in with medical conditions related to their weight problems, Dr. Patel is often able to bill the patient’s insurance company.

IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT FAT
In 2000, obesity moved beyond smoking as the number one preventable cause of death in America. We spend over $40 billion on weight loss products, yet 66% of us are overweight or obese. “And we’re not getting much better” Dr. Patel explained. “In the next 30 years the number of obese adults will double. Childhood obesity is up 66% in the last ten years. People need to think about themselves over the next 30 years—where do you want to be?” The list of medical problems that are caused by being overweight is staggering. We all know about diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, but the list also includes gall bladder problems, thyroid problems, osteoarthritis, depression, back pain, joint problems, and more. Obesity increases the mortality rate of every cancer and increases the risk of developing some cancers, such as breast, colon, prostate, kidney, esophageal, and endometrial cancer in post-menopausal women. Obesity is a serious medical condition.

THERE ARE NO MEDICATIONS FOR LIFE-LONG TREATMENT
Dr. Patel provides his patients with handouts that define the parameters of his program. The initial appointment takes a little over an hour. Various measurements are taken, not just of your waist and hips, but measurements that determine how much activity your body needs to make a difference in your weight loss. Establishing your resting energy expenditure (REE), which tells how many calories your body burns at rest doing nothing; your activity thermogenesis, or the number of calories you burn during physical activity and exercise, and then knowing the thermogenic effect of food, can help you understand all the areas of your diet and exercise routine that you can tweak to increase your level of success.

Appointments are made monthly; blood work is done every three months, when appropriate. The program is adaptable for different patients and their overall health, but the basics are the same. And the goals of immediately beginning to improve your overall health, eliminating certain medications, and learning how to stay healthy and at your optimum weight for the rest of your life are emphasized throughout your work with Dr. Patel and his team.

IT’S ABOUT RESULTS
Dr. Manish Patel has developed his program through extensive study and discovering, by working with real people just like you and me, what really works. (His partner, Dr. Fahey, has lost 35 pounds; Dr. Fahey’s wife has lost 47!) Dr. Patel’s weight loss and exercise recommendations are well documented and effective. He is currently working with about 300 patients, helping each one reach their own personal goals. One of his patients recently told Dr. Patel, “I can’t thank you enough for your dedication and expertise. I really did not think that it was possible to move my measurements with diet alone. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I have the tools to keep the weight off and reach goals I never thought I would even set.” Sounds like the perfect referral to me.

Manish Patel, MD
Lake Medical Associates
Piedmont HealthCare
704-658-1001
www.piedmonthealthcare.com