Weight Management

Are you struggling with both binge eating disorder (BED) and weight management challenges? Our specialized program offers a holistic approach that addresses the underlying causes of both conditions, helping you break free from the cycle of overeating and achieve sustainable weight loss.

Binge eating disorder and weight gain often go hand-in-hand. Overeating can lead to weight gain, while weight gain can contribute to feelings of shame and guilt, which may trigger further binge eating episodes. Our program is designed to address both the emotional and behavioral factors that contribute to these issues.

Interventions: We start treatment by managing binge eating by:

1. Eating on a schedule: Eating something every 3-4 hours is important for blood sugar stabilization. Getting hungry over very long stretches of time can be a trigger for binge eating.  
2. Working on breaking food rules. Sometimes if you’re depriving yourself psychologically or physically or certain types of foods or food groups, you may end up binge eating these foods. 
3. Eating mindfully. Eating slowly, taking time with food that you prepare, and enjoying every bite. 
4. Understanding emotions that might be driving binge eating. Foods that individuals binge on tend to light up the reward centers of our brain and therefore can help people escape mood states they don’t want to be in (i.e. stress, boredom, loneliness). Using approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for binge eating disorder can be quite helpful in learning new coping mechanisms to manage internal distress that can drive binge eating episodes. 

Once binge eating disorder symptoms have improved, we can work on behavioral weight management. Read more below about what that entails!

We take a personalized approach to behavioral weight loss. Have you tried to lose weight and regained it and then some more? Often efforts to lose weight are not effective because individuals are not addressing core underlying issues. 

At Mind Body Health, we’ll not only be targeting behaviors, but your mindset and emotional well-being too. Whether or not the number on the scale changes, your health-related behaviors can leave you feeling better than ever before. 

Interventions: 

• • Exploring your relationship with food from childhood to now. 
  • Identifying triggers and finding coping strategies for overeating, emotional eating and/or mindless eating
  • Nutrition education to the extent that you need it. We find that a lot of our clients are experts in having done their own research on what healthy foods are, appropriate portion sizes, and meal planning. However, if you want additional support in this area, we’re here to help. 
  • Discussing barriers to movement and finding ways to incorporate joyful movement 

• Stress management and sleep hygiene 

Results: Changing the number on the scale can be difficult metabolically. While we’re open to looking at the number on the scale with you and trying to understand it, we are often focused on how you’re feeling outside of the number on the scale. What we anticipate you will feel are the following: 

• More ease and enjoyment in your relationship with food 
• Improvement in your blood work results and overall health 
• Improved confidence and self esteem in feeling like you can manage your health and take good care of yourself 
• Reduced stress and better sleep which can lead to increased energy

Are you considering bariatric surgery to achieve your weight loss goals? Bariatric surgery can be a life-changing procedure, but it’s important to understand the commitment and lifestyle changes involved. Our bariatric surgery specialists provide comprehensive support to help you make an informed decision and prepare for the journey ahead. 

Interventions: 

• Making an informed decision: Our psychologists trained in working with bariatric surgery candidates will help you understand the risks, benefits, and prepare you for what’s entailed pre- and post-surgery. 
• Preparing for surgery: Weight loss surgery can be most successful if you’re mastering behaviors ahead of time that will ensure success down the line. For instance, we’ll discuss eating at set meal times, eating mindfully, incorporating protein into your diet, and maintaining an active lifestyle. We’ll also ensure that your emotional ties that may exist to food along with barriers to living a healthy lifestyle are addressed ahead of time. 
• Post-Operative Support: We’re here to help you throughout the entire process. Or, if you’ve had surgery and are finding yourself in need of support after surgery, we’re here to help you get back on track. We’ll discuss many of the things addressed in the bullet point above. 

Bariatric and Weight Loss Surgery Evaluations

Most weight loss surgery programs require that their patients have a psychological evaluation as part of the process to determine eligibility for surgery. The goal of the psychological evaluation is to assess readiness for surgery and potential barriers to making the significant behavioral and lifestyle changes that are needed in order for surgery to be a success. 

It should be noted that in many cases a mental health diagnosis or treatment history is not a rule-out for surgery. Many people with depression, anxiety, or other psychological concerns can have great success with surgery as long as their mental health is being well-managed. If there are any concerns about potential barriers to success, our psychologists can provide recommendations and resources to help you work towards addressing those barriers.

Our psychological assessments for weight loss surgery typically include a 1.5-2 hour clinical interview as well as completion of several psychological measures that provide us with additional information about you. The cost of the assessment also includes a feedback session with the psychologist, which you can complete in person or by phone. A copy of the report is sent to your weight loss surgery program.

Most weight loss surgery programs require that their patients have a psychological evaluation as part of the process to determine eligibility for surgery. The goal of the psychological evaluation is to assess readiness for surgery and potential barriers to making the significant behavioral and lifestyle changes that are needed in order for surgery to be a success. 

It should be noted that in many cases a mental health diagnosis or treatment history is not a rule-out for surgery. Many people with depression, anxiety, or other psychological concerns can have great success with surgery as long as their mental health is being well-managed. If there are any concerns about potential barriers to success, our psychologists can provide recommendations and resources to help you work towards addressing those barriers.

Our psychological assessments for weight loss surgery typically include a 1.5-2 hour clinical interview as well as completion of several psychological measures that provide us with additional information about you. The cost of the assessment also includes a feedback session with the psychologist, which you can complete in person or by phone. A copy of the report is sent to your weight loss surgery program.

While we do not have the ability to prescribe medication for weight loss, we are happy to connect you with trusted physicians in the area who can help you decide if medication is a good course of treatment for you to address your weight loss concerns. 

Regarding counseling, our therapists provide a deeper conversation of what taking these medications will mean for your life. 

Our psychologists and dietitians may address the following topics with you: 

• • Ensuring Good Nutrition: You’re still eating enough to be medically healthy while taking appetite suppressing medications
  • Navigating Relationships: Patients can find that others in their life may react differently towards them as they lose weight. This can be complex and difficult, but something our trained therapists are used to exploring on a deeper level with our clients. 

• Exploring identity: Weight loss can bring up interesting questions about identity. Individuals may have moved about the world in a particular way when they were at a higher weight to manage stigma that does exist around being overweight or obese. As weight loss occurs, it can bring up a lot of internal turmoil as patients may feel people are treating them differently. There can be resentment and difficult and discomfort in navigating everyday experiences. Occasionally this becomes so overwelcome that clients can self-sabotage and regain weight just to be back in a place that feels more familiar to them. Our psychologists are trained to have discussions with our clients about this very phenomenon. 

Addressing underlying psychological concerns. Just because your appetite might be more suppressed and you are losing weight, doesn’t mean your internal struggles will have disappeared. The same old disruptive thought patterns, self-image, stressors, and relationship dynamics can still exist and work against your ability to lose weight even while on medications. Mindless eating or emotional eating can often happen in the absence of hunger, thus, these behaviors can still occur while taking weight loss medications. It’s important to tackle these underlying psychological concerns.