Atlanta Wellness Clinic Podcast

Realistic Weight Loss: What to Actually Expect

• Catina Wilson • Episode 8

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What Are Realistic Expectations For Weight Loss With Medical Treatments?

Forget miracle solutions and overnight transformations—we're getting real about medical weight loss in this eye-opening episode. Licensed nutritionist Catina Wilson breaks down exactly what you can (and should) expect when embarking on a medical weight loss journey: one to one and a half pounds per week, amounting to about 5-10% of your starting weight over several months.

While these numbers might sound modest compared to flashy fad diet promises, they represent sustainable progress that won't disappear the moment you stop treatment. The difference lies in approach—medical weight loss combines effective medications with critical lifestyle changes, nutrition guidance, and behavior modification to create lasting results. As Catina emphasizes, "The medications are tools, not miracle drugs," designed to support your efforts rather than replace them.

Perhaps most valuable is our discussion of "non-scale victories"—those powerful changes that happen regardless of what the bathroom scale shows. Better sleep, improved digestion, reduced medication needs, increased energy, and clothing that fits better can all signal progress even during weight plateaus. We share a recent case where a client experienced minimal weight change but significant inch loss, demonstrating why body composition matters more than pounds. The 80-20 rule of weight management (80% nutrition, 20% exercise) illustrates why you "can't out-exercise a bad diet" and why nutritional guidance remains central to our approach. Many clients even report that medications help recalibrate their taste preferences toward healthier foods—a remarkable benefit for long-term success.

Ready to begin your own transformation journey with realistic expectations and comprehensive support? Visit Atlwellnessclinic.com or call us for a free weight loss consultation—because sustainable change starts with understanding what's really possible.

To learn more about Atlanta Wellness Clinic visit:
https://www.ATLWellnessClinic.com
Atlanta Wellness Clinic
1827 Powers Ferry Rd. SE, Bldg 1 STE 250
Atlanta, Georgia 30339
770-726-8978

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Atlanta Wellness Clinic podcast Hosted by licensed nutritionist and clinic owner, katina Wilson. We're here to kickstart your weight loss journey Because, let's be honest, the only thing we want gaining weight is our wallets. From medical weight loss and nutrition coaching to body contouring, we help Metro Atlanta women get real results. Let's dive in.

Speaker 2:

Medical weight loss can be life changing, but what results should you realistically expect and how fast? Let's set the record straight. Welcome back everyone Millie M, co-host and producer, back in the studio with licensed nutritionist and clinic owner, katina Wilson. How are you, katina? I'm great. How are you Doing quite well? Thank you so much. Everyone listening wants to know what are realistic expectations for weight loss with medical treatments.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I think that is such an important question. Having realistic expectations is critically important. The reason is because when you don't have the right expectations and you miss out on those expectations, you tend to get discouraged, and I think you have to think about it. Reality is, the weight didn't happen overnight, so it's certainly not going to drop off overnight. For most people, one to one and a half pounds per week is best when it comes to a realistic expectation. That equates to about five to 10% of your starting weight over a three to six month period. You know, I think about like my own journey when I was losing weight, you know, a pound a week. It just sounded like, oh my gosh, it's going to take forever, but before I knew it I was at 25 pounds. And so, you know, once those numbers start to add up, it can really start to not only motivate you but you start to really feel good about yourself.

Speaker 2:

Well, how do medical weight loss treatments differ from like fad diets or extreme weight loss programs?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, great question. I think a lot of times when you're talking kind of fad diets, you lose the weight pretty quickly, but most of the time that's probably like water weight, so you can lose it quickly, but a lot of times you can also gain it back and gain it back even more. Many of those programs, again, they focus on losing the weight quickly, so your body kind of goes into starvation mode. Once you start going back to those normal habits that you had before, you're going to end up gaining a lot of it back, if not all of it, and sometimes more. One of the things that we try to emphasize here at the Atlanta Wellness Clinic is remember these medications. It's a tool. Right, they're miracle drugs, for sure, but it is a tool. And so, as you're going through that journey, we're encouraging you with meal plans, encouraging you to exercise, encouraging you to drink the water. It is important that you're doing all of those things, that you're really learning those really good healthy habits so that once you're off the medications now those healthy habits have been instilled and, I think, beyond a number on the scale.

Speaker 3:

I think one of the things that I also try to emphasize is what I like to call non-scale victories. There are times during your weight loss journey that the number on the scale may not even be moving. However, let's look at non-scale victories. How are you sleeping? Most people who are losing weight, they start to sleep better. How's your digestion? Most people who are losing weight, they're not having the same digestive issues that they were having before. Again, I know when I look at my own journey, scale didn't move for about a month, month and a half, but I was actually losing inches, so the clothes were fitting better, I was starting to feel better, I was starting to look better. There's a number of factors that can keep the numbers on the scale from actually moving. So, instead of just looking at the numbers on the scale, also look at the non-scale victories as well.

Speaker 2:

And that's how you help your clients stay motivated when they see that progress slowing down.

Speaker 3:

Oh, absolutely. We literally just had somebody leave the clinic a few minutes ago. They didn't lose much weight over this last month, but when we looked at their inches loss they even said my clothes are fitting better. We did a quick body scan and we actually showed not only did they lose just a few pounds, but they lost significant amount of inches over the last 30 days or so. So again, that can be equally as motivating as a number on the scale.

Speaker 2:

Can't wait to talk about those body scans. So what other health benefits do patients typically notice during their weight loss journey?

Speaker 3:

As I mentioned, the non-scale victories sleeping, better, digestion inches loss For people who are on medications, whether it's cholesterol medications or high blood pressure medications five to 10% weight loss for a lot of people. They start to see the amount of medication that they're taking come down If being completely taken off those medications altogether. Five to 10% weight loss can be dramatic for a lot of people. I would imagine. More energy too? Oh, absolutely, absolutely, of course. Of course You're feeling better and you're wanting to do more, and a lot of times what people find and again I can even look at my own personal journey because I had the energy level, because I was feeling better, you know it motivated me to want to exercise more. So now I'm getting outside more, getting to the gym more, doing those kinds of things, because now it's a little bit easier, because you're carrying less of a load.

Speaker 2:

For sure, for sure. And I noticed even with myself going to the gym almost makes me want to go to the gym more, where, even if I've missed a couple of days, my body will be like craving it almost like, oh, you haven't exercised in a while, it's time to get back at it. So you'll feel like you're missing something when you haven't had that exercise.

Speaker 3:

Oh, that is such an excellent point and I tell people all the time. You know, sometimes just getting to the gym is really a matter of just doing it, even if it's just 10 minutes. Just go like five, 10 minutes and you really start to feel better because it releases endorphins. Right, it just releases those endorphins, you start to feel good and again you sleep better. You know, and you just start to feel better. And I know, for me, when I don't do it, I find my stress levels are a little bit higher.

Speaker 2:

But when I do it, I'm just an all around better person to probably be around and I just feel better, absolutely. Let's talk about nutrition really quickly. How important is nutrition and lifestyle coaching alongside the medical treatments for long-term success?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, when it comes to losing weight, you can't out exercise a bad diet. You just really can't. I mean, you think about that 400 calorie candy bar. How long do you have to run to hit 400 calories? How long do you have to do cardio or whatever to remove that? So it really starts with what's on your plate, what's on your fork, what you take in. That's where we see the most weight loss. So it's really kind of an 80-20 rule 80% what your nutrition habits look like, versus maybe 20% or so of the actual exercise.

Speaker 3:

Many personal trainers will tell you the same Again you just cannot out-exercise a bad diet. And so, again, the medical weight loss. It helps, it provides a tool. It doesn't give you leeway to continue to eat those Reese cups which, by the way, are my favorite. You know to do those kinds of things but again, you use it as an opportunity to build those really good nutrition habits and build some better habits and to start getting comfortable eating healthier foods. And what's interesting also about the medication too and we hear this from a lot of patients is it actually starts to train them in a way or signal to their brain that you know what that sweet thing or that bad food doesn't really taste good anymore. We actually have a client who says she now craves salads. Right, you know, we're used to hearing people crave the chips and the candies and the other processed foods, but to now want to start to crave something healthy, you know, I do think that's a good side effect of the medication.

Speaker 2:

That's a beautiful thing. It's limitless. You can eat as much of it as you want. You eat as many. You know apples and oranges and you know those fruits and those vegetables. You don't have to limit yourself to how much you can eat because you're getting those nutrients.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and the one thing I just want to clarify with something that you just said low fat and no fat is not necessarily equate to like a good thing. There are healthy fats out there, right, and we do encourage people to eat those healthy fats Like I love avocado and nuts and things like that because it's healthy and, honestly, you feel better, because you feel full longer, you feel more satisfied than just simply eating an apple. It is important to make sure that, as you're heading down your path to improve nutrition, that you include some healthy fats in there as well.

Speaker 2:

Well, thank you for pointing that out. I can't wait to talk to you on our next episode. Have a great one, katina. All right, thank you, millie.

Speaker 3:

Bye.

Speaker 1:

That's a wrap on this episode of the Atlanta Wellness Clinic podcast. If you're ready to kickstart your weight loss journey, and not just your bathroom scale and frustration, visit atlwellnesscliniccom or call us at 770-726-8978 for a free 10-minute weight loss consultation, because the best time to start was yesterday. The second best time Right now. See you next time.