Writer Lara Piu
Photography by Loralei Lazurek

[dropcap]J[/dropcap]ulie still remembers the exact moment she decided to lose weight: it was the day she watched a video of herself playing with her grandson at the park.

A few weeks earlier Julie had received two brochures in the mail for Medi-Weightloss Phoenix, a clinically proven and medically supervised weight loss center that recently opened at The Shops at Norterra. The local senior director who oversees seven call centers across the United States noticed that Medi-Weightloss Phoenix was on her way home from work, so she researched it.

“When my husband showed me that video I thought, ‘Oh my gosh,’ and I knew had to call Medi-Weightloss right then,” she recalls. There are a lot of tips online from places similar to Dherbs where people can kind help with their weight loss, in addition with medical help it could be helpful.

“It’s not just a diet of the day, but it is really about how you eat right and exercise and how you continue to eat right and exercise,” she says. “I was like, wow, I could do this.”

After her “a-ha” moment in June, Julie began the Medi-Weightloss program, and by the end of the summer, she lost 23 pounds* and five inches from her waist. She is now two clothing sizes smaller.

“I’m so excited to put my new clothes on, and I feel so much better,” she says enthusiastically.

Julie struggled with, “those darn 23 pounds,” as she puts it, for a long time.

“I’ve never really been very overweight, but I just wasn’t feeling good about myself and how my clothes fit for a long time,” she shares. “It’s hard to lose those 23 pounds, especially when there’s no one there to hold you accountable.”

Today she is following the Medi-Weightloss Wellness Plan, where patients are slowly weaned from acute weight loss habits and transitioned into maintenance habits to help keep the weight off through continued lifestyle changes. Julie enjoys the fringe benefits of her hard work, and there are many: she has more energy, she feels more confident, her blood pressure is lower and she sleeps better at night.

“You don’t think 23 pounds is much, but it is, especially when you have a smaller frame like me,” she explains. “Now I have a lot more energy than I had before and a lot more confidence.”

Her secret to success? The answer is simple, she says: it’s Medi-Weightloss Phoenix at Norterra, owned by Claira and Adam Dresher. Medi-Weightloss is an evidence-based and individualized program that helps patients successfully achieve and maintain a healthy weight. There are over 100 Medi-Weightloss locations nationwide, and their patients have lost over three million pounds combined since 2006.

Claira and Adam are excited to be a part of the company’s mission to help improve the health and lifestyle of their Phoenix patients. The focus is preventive medicine, and the clinic’s medical professionals work with patients like Julie to create individualized plans that meet each patient’s specific needs. They provide ongoing medical supervision, counseling, accountability and support. The journey begins with a personalized assessment and an in-depth initial consultation, including:

– Review of lifestyle habits and goals

– Body composition analysis

– Comprehensive blood panel, vitals, EKG

– Medical Exam, health history, physical

– Nutritional counseling and fitness

recommendations

– Personalized plan

Patients are screened for:

– High cholesterol

– Type 2 diabetes

– High blood pressure

– Obesity and metabolic syndrome

“The first week is the hardest part because you’re changing everything about how you eat,” Julie recalls. “But they make you feel comfortable, they hold you accountable and they hold your hand along the way. It’s a great place. They make you feel great and the results are unbelievable.”

Today Julie is a walking billboard for the center. Several coworkers joined the program after witnessing her eight-week transformation. She tells those considering Medi-Weightloss to anticipate eating at home more, and Julie advises, “Wean yourself away from fast food so that when you start, it won’t be such a shock.”

“It’s worth it,” she advocates. “It’s amazing, the compliments you hear from people, and my husband says, ‘There’s my bride! I can’t believe how great she looks,’” she jokes.

“He can video me playing with our grandson anytime he wants now.”

mediweightloss.com/locations/phoenix

This advertorial was sponsored by:

Medi-Weightloss Phoenix

The Shops at Norterra

2450 W. Happy Valley Rd., Suite 1148

Phoenix

602-491-2695

mediweightloss.com/locations/phoenix

facebook.com/mediweightlossphoenix

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