Am I a Candidate?

Most people who have been on a diet realize they feel better when they lose weight! The trouble is that if you have not changed your lifestyle and your habits, ending the diet often means ending the good feeling and that weight comes back on. In fact, there are physiological reasons why this happens. The body is designed to store energy and to maintain weight. When it sees decreased intake, such as during a diet, it panics and increases hunger and other signals to protect itself from weight loss. That is one reason weight management through our center is not a specific diet, but includes lifestyle options, education and even surgery to help make those changes safely and effectively.

How do I know if I am overweight?

We use the Body Mass Index or BMI to determine your overweight status. It takes into account your weight and height and is calculated with the following formula:

BMI: Wt(KG)/ Height(M)²

or you could use

BMI= weight in pounds / height (in inches)² x 703

Over 25 = over weight
Over 30= obese

The best way to determine BMI is to use our calculator.

Anyone with a BMI over 25 would benefit from weight management at the St. Rita’s Weight Management Center.

Surgery is the best treatment for anyone with a BMI over 40 or over 35 with weight-related medical problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea. To learn more please see Excess weight and health risk.

Humans are designed to have a BMI 19-25. This is where we are the healthiest and live the longest. Excess weight causes medical problems and shortens lifespan. A BMI over 30 decreases lifespan by 2-4 years and a BMI over 40 decreases lifespan by 8-10 years.

The good news it that just 5% weight loss (10 lbs for a 200 lb person) improves health and decreases the risk of disease. We have options in our program at St. Rita’s for 5-10% weight loss with medically supervised weight loss up to 35-40% weight loss with surgery.

For more information, or to get started, register for a St. Rita’s Weight Management seminar.