Bariatric Center in Florida

Services

Our team works with patients to determine the best course of care based on the BMI and other health factors. These medically supervised interventions include:

Nutrition Therapy

The bariatric team provides nutrition counseling and works with patients to create a calorie-controlled meal plan to induce weight loss. Patients will learn guidelines for healthy food selection and portion control.

Behavior Modification

The bariatric team helps people determine behaviors that likely are contributing to their struggle with weight, such as skipping meals, snacking between meals, eating out daily, frequently consuming indulgence foods, eating in response to stress or negative emotion and not participating in physical activity. The team will help devise strategies for behavior change.

Pharmacotherapy

Weight-loss medications can be a helpful addition to a healthy low-calorie diet and exercise plan. The bariatric team can advise patients whether medications are an appropriate treatment option.

Liquid Meal Replacement

This may be an option for those who need to lose a significant amount of weight. This physician-supervised, 11-month program provides a nutritionally balanced full-meal replacement diet for rapid weight loss. The program also includes weekly lifestyle education classes led by a dietitian, clinical psychologist or exercise specialist.

Weight-Loss (Bariatric) Surgery

Weight-loss surgery is for people who are severely obese and have obesity-related health problems. The bariatric team helps people decide if this is a good option and which procedure is best.

The most common operations performed at our center are gastric bypass and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Evaluations for surgery usually take three to eight months from initial appointment to surgery. Before deciding to proceed with the surgery, it is important to understand that successful surgery requires a lifelong commitment to changing diet and exercise habits. In large part, the patient determines the success of the surgery.

The Bariatric Center has special expertise in surgical procedures to repair previously unsuccessful weight-loss surgeries and in helping those with a BMI greater than 50.

Learn more about bariatric surgery at Mayo Clinic.