If you are overweight, chances are you already know that losing weight can help improve your overall health and quality of life. But it can be a frustrating experience to reduce weight and keep it off.
At UC San Diego Health's Weight Management Program, we are confident we can help you reach your weight loss goals and provide tools and support to maintain your weight loss.
One size doesn’t fit all — so we offer safe and effective, nonsurgical weight loss plans customized just for you. Come partner with us to achieve your wellness goals and enjoy a full, healthy life.
Why Choose Us?
As an academic health system, we are at the forefront of the latest science on weight control. We are always researching innovative ways and tools to enhance our treatment plans.
We understand there is much more to weight loss than focusing on numbers alone. Therefore, we approach each patient as a unique individual and try to understand your specific circumstances when developing a comprehensive weight loss plan.
We specialize in working with people who need to lose weight to resolve chronic health conditions. They include patients with medical complications of obesity, such as
diabetes and
hypertension / high blood pressure, and those with other chronic conditions, including
high cholesterol,
fatty liver disease,
GERD (acid reflux),
metabolic syndrome and
sleep apnea.
We offer seamless coordination of your care by an expert team, which includes obesity medicine physicians, registered dietitians, nurses and health educators.
Our team is led by:
Losing weight is not easy; it requires commitment. Our entire team will offer all the guidance and information you need along with the support and structure to help you stay on track.
Read our patients' success stories to learn how well our program works.
Personalized Weight Loss Strategies for You
In addition to individual consultations and structured programs, we have long-term maintenance plans to support your weight loss efforts for as long as you want.
We will discuss your needs and goals and help develop a weight loss plan that’s tailored for you. You can choose between one-on-one consultations with a weight loss doctor and, depending on your assessment, you could meet with a registered dietitian or health coach throughout your journey. Or choose a group session or program or a combination of these options. We'll help you find a solution that’s just right for you.
1. Individual Consultations
We offer individual consultations with weight loss experts, including physicians and registered dietitians. We also help customize diet and activity plans to meet each person's goals and everyday realities.
Obesity is a complex problem that is also affected by an intricate set of hormones that regulate weight, making it difficult to lose weight and keep it off. Over the last few years, medications have been developed that help some people battle the body’s resistance to losing weight.
You can get individual consultations with a doctor who can:
- Prescribe weight loss medications, if they're right for you. Sometimes, medications tend to produce better results when combined with one of our weight loss programs below.
- Refer you for one-on-one health coaching or nutritional counseling.
- Recommend
surgical options, if needed.
In addition, you can choose one of the weight loss programs below.
2. Group Weight Loss Programs and Maintenance Plans
We offer group programs and maintenance plans that are designed by experts to help you find and maintain your healthy weight.
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Lifestyle Weight Loss Program: Participants meet weekly in a group setting, and there's no strict diet or meal plan. You’ll learn individualized strategies and get help to determine food and activity plans that fit best with your lifestyle.
Find out more about our Lifestyle Weight Loss Program.
- SLIM (Supervised Lifestyle and Integrative Medicine) Program: This program includes group classes led by a physician and a health coach. You'll have one-on-one visits with our lifestyle medicine doctor who will personalize your care. The classes help you set weight loss goals and get culinary lessons and guidance on healthy eating, sleep quality, physical activity and practicing mindfulness.
Learn more about our SLIM program.
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Weight Maintenance Plans: After you finish the above programs, we also have follow-up plans to help you maintain your ideal weight and long-lasting health by transitioning to healthy dietary and physical activity strategies.
Program Costs and Insurance
Did you know that some of your costs associated with the UC San Diego Health Weight Management Program may be covered by your insurance plan? Check with your insurer.
Generally, consultations with our doctors are covered by insurance, but you should confirm with your health plan and ask for a referral from your primary care doctor if it's needed.
Our specially designed weight management classes may be reimbursed by your health plan. Food costs are generally
not reimbursable.
At this time, we do
not bill your insurance directly — except for the
SLIM program. For other programs, you can pay out of pocket and ask your health insurance plan about which costs can be reimbursed and the steps you need to take. Your doctor can provide a letter of medical necessity, which can be useful when seeking reimbursement for these costs.
You may also be able to use your employer-provided flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA) to pay for some expenses with pretax dollars.