LIFESTYLE MEDICINE:
USING SCIENCE TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE,
CHANGE YOUR HEALTH
If you want to actually achieve optimum health,
managing your lifestyle choices is key.
FAQ'S
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WHAT IS LIFESTYLE MEDICINE?
At TLC: Total Lifestyle Clinic, we use scientifically-proven methods to help you practice healthy behaviors and achieve the ideal body composition to reduce risk factors for chronic diseases of ageing, such as heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis. (back to top)
>WHAT IS BODY COMPOSITION?
Body composition is much more important than your weight or even BMI (body mass index). Body composition is not only your percentage of fat or lean mass, ie. muscle. It is also where the fat is distributed, how well hydrated you are, and were your body water is stored. These things help determine how efficient your metabolism is. (back to top)
>HOW CAN I FIND OUT MY BODY COMPOSITION?
Body composition can be measured quickly, efficiently and painlessly in our office through the BIA, or BioImpedance Analysis. In addition to telling us your percentages of fat and lean mass, your intra- and extra-cellular water distribution, it also calculates your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR. This is a very personalized measurement of how many calories you are actually burning at rest. (back to top)
>WHAT IS YOUR SCIENTIFICALLY-PROVEN METHOD?
FirstLine Therapy uses the data from your body composition analysis, the BIA, to personalize your optimum health plan. We use these numbers to produce an individualized program to help you get your metabolism operating better, thereby helping you to lose weight in the healthiest way that will help you keep it off. Even if you do not need to lose weight, we improve your metabolism to turn on healthy genes and turn off unhealthy genes so that you will be able to reduce blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol naturally. This program is scientifically proven to benefit these conditions as well or better than medications.
>I’VE TRIED COUNTING CALORIES AND EATING SPECIAL FOODS. THEY DON’T WORK. HOW IS FIRSTLINE THERAPY DIFFERENT?
Our healthy eating plan does not require you to count calories, fat grams, glycemic index, etc., as this has already been personalized for you. You will receive detailed coaching and support materials with your specific healthy eating plan. It can be adjusted for food preferences and food sensitivities. Individualized adjustments are also made to continue to maintain your metabolism as you progress through the program. We do this by measuring your BIA at each visit, so that you will have immediate feedback of how your metabolism is improving, are you gaining muscle and losing fat, are you retaining water, etc. (back to top)
>WILL I BE HUNGRY?
We stress appropriate portion sizes and frequent snacks so that you should not be allowed to get hungry on this program, as that reduces metabolism. We emphasize eating from all food groups because that is an important key to promoting effective metabolism. It allows you to eat common foods found at most grocery stores, and many restaurants. (back to top)
>HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE OTHER DIET BOOKS AND INTERNET SITES?
More than just designing a diet, this program is about coaching you to actually achieve better health. We factor in physical activity and stress management to help you achieve your goals. Health-improvement coaching replaces the traditional "do as I instruct you to do" model of health care. It allows the coachee to discover why he or she has blocks to achieving health behavior change, guides you to overcome those blocks, and most important, to obtain measureable results. Because you are coached, you have built-in accountability to help ensure you actually meet your goals. In fact, this program has been shown to actually speed up health benefits. In nationwide studies, people who followed the FirstLine Therapy program achieved improvement in health parameters in only 12 weeks, as compared to folks who followed a diet alone. The diet-only patients needed 24 months to achieve similar results.
>WHAT IF I AM CURRENTLY ON MEDICATIONS?
Medications can be used during the program. If you already have conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol, because we are physicians, we can work with you and your doctor to help reduce medication usage as your health improves. (back to top)
>WILL INSURANCE PAY FOR THIS LIFESTYLE MEDICINE TREATMENT?
Because this plan follows recommended national guidelines, it is insurance-reimbursable for conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and metabolic syndrome. (back to top)
>ARE THERE ANY OTHER BENEFITS TO THE PROGRAM?
The program can also benefit many other health conditions, such as chronic pain, sleep dysfunction, digestive disorders, hormonal problems, and prevention of diseases of ageing. Most people report improved energy and well-being. (back to top)
> WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO GET STARTED ON THE FIRSTLINE THERAPY PROGRAM?
You do not need a doctor's precription to be referred FirstLine Therapy, however we are happy to work with your doctor as you go through the program. If you do not have a doctor, you can establish with us as a patient. Simply call 919-651-0820 with your insurance information available so that we can schedule your appointment. (back to top)
