Implementing a Weight Loss Program Into Your Practice

As chiropractors, we learn in school or very early in practice that there are two things you do not talk about with patients; politics and religion. The challenge with nutrition in practice, which has yet to be identified, is that when you counsel patients in nutrition, you are entering the realm of both politics and religion. In such a diverse and educated world where people's beliefs are the standards by which they live, we as chiropractors should know more than anyone else that this should be respected. We want to help them, but need to respect their beliefs.

We want to integrate our natural philosophy into their lives. However, if we are not flexible in our ability to deliver our message to fit their established beliefs, we will never be able to deliver the message of health, the message of hope. Religious followings, the distrust of corporate landholders and philosophical leanings must be considered. Our message needs to be refined so that it can be delivered to anyone. What stands us apart is our ability to deliver this message universally.

Don't Tell Patients What To Do

Sounds counter-intuitive doesn't it?

But during detoxification and weight loss programs, telling your patients what they must include in their diet will get the most resistance from your patients. No one wants to be told what to do, your kids, your spouse and certainly not your patients.

In clinical practice, it works better to tell people what NOT to do, rather than what to do. They would rather be told the dangers of something they shouldn't consume, rather than what they should.

Ask them if they have observed how sugary foods or candy affect children's behavior. Then ask them if these same foods would affect their ability to perform well in school. You should have agreement now.

Then ask them, wouldn't your diet effect your abilities also? Do you have a mid-afternoon burn out that you treat with sugar, caffeine or an energy drink? Constipation, headaches, fatigue, loss of focus and of course weight gain are common symptoms of an overloaded system, usually starved for nutrients. What is assimilated into your body should be clean, natural and wholesome. Then your body has what nature always intended for it, the metabolic fuel necessary for health.

For optimal results, steer your patients away from toxins in their diet. People will avoid what is not healthy before they will change their eating habits to what is.

Make them believe in YOU, your philosophy and knowledge, and they will bring others.

The Current Model of Dieting

So what is wrong with our current model of dieting? How about everything! If we had any clue about what really caused weight gain and obesity, would we be the most overweight we have ever been? As The Doctors of Nature, we must also respect our own beliefs. We need to apply our philosophical approach to weight loss, with a respect for nature and its grand design.

What is the reason for fat cells? What function do they serve? Are we actually accumulating fat to sustain ourselves during a famine or are they there to make us self-loathing on major and Hallmark holidays? Saying that fat cells exist to store calories usually around our waist, is like saying cars exist to pollute the air, or swimming pools exist to drown people. It's the negative view of fat as a useless and bad thing to be battled, fought and conquered like a disease that is not congruent to our philosophy.

We don't treat disease and we don't treat symptoms, so why do we approach weight loss in this manner? As we know, lipids are required for all cellular life. So let's categorize them into good fats and bad fats. Really? This seems kind of primitive.

Today's good fat is sure to be tomorrows bad fat. Let's try applying our philosophy to this equation. There are fats that are natural and there are fats that are not. Let us take this natural philosophy even further. There are natural foods and there are foods (if you want to call them food) that are not natural. When the body assimilates what is a natural, wholesome food, it thrives. When the body assimilates what is not natural, it immediately goes to work eliminating this compound.

Proper Nutrition

Nutrition is about two things, assimilation and elimination. It is the stress and eventual breakdown of this system which leads to weight gain, obesity and eventually illness. What stresses this system? Overload.

[pb]Chemically laden foods grown in depleted soils, miracle diets and scientific breakthroughs are what ails us today. Returning to nature is the only way to break this viscous cycle. Nature has the answers, it always has.

So how do we apply this natural philosophy in our practice, how do we lead our patients to a better, more natural lifestyle? Just like you, your patients want information. The best way to educate and teach them is to appeal to their common sense.

Educate your patients, educate yourself.

New patient orientations, looped video in your waiting room, newsletters or e-mails, you must be their trusted source of information and truth. Don't fall prey to the endless barrage of new miracle breakthroughs, we have yet to appreciate nature and her endless bounty. It's time to stand up! It's time to go to your window, open it up and yell, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" We all know what the problem is, tell them the truth and they will listen. Stand tall, nature has your back.

Implementation begins with you, your core beliefs and your philosophy; this is the foundation on which you'll stand tall, unwavering and confident. Align yourself with companies who subscribe to your beliefs, who can provide you detailed information brought about by years of patient management and step-by-step guidance from doctors in the field. These sources will be more than happy to share their experience with you, for their mission is congruent with yours; your success is their success.

Successful Implementation: DIY

So what should you do to successfully implement weight loss into your office?

First, choose a company who specializes in natural detoxification and weight loss that is in alignment with your philosophy. Request their program information and any implementation tools. Your success is greatly dependent on understanding the specifics of the program you choose.

Second, have your staff and the doctors at your office complete a detoxification and weight loss program just as if they were a patient. Have them watch any slide shows, attend a patient orientation talk, fill out any specific intake forms and have them weigh and measure each other.

Having your staff actually do this together will not only raise the level of health in your office, but is a great team building exercise. Everyone jumps at the chance be less toxic and lose weight so getting your staff on board is easy. In fact, giving this type of health perk to your employees makes you the hero, especially at the beginning of swimsuit season.

You will find that managing your patients during their weight loss and detoxification programs is far easier due to the fact that in many cases your staff can answer patient questions. They will have been intimately involved with the dietary program, supplement schedules and helpful forms that have been specifically designed to keep patients on track and focused. Provide a patient management schedule along with FAQ sheets and talking points. I can't stress enough how important these patient management forms are. Having these forms keeps everything flowing smoothly in your practice.

When you and your staff have first-hand knowledge of the programs you are suggesting, it is easy to get the weight loss and detoxification ball rolling in your office. In fact, many times an excited staff member is the catalyst for many new weight loss patients. Weight loss programs should have detoxification as their basis. Then everyone, even those not needing to lose weight, will benefit.

Third, keep it simple! Follow the program you choose exactly. Choose a program that is easy to follow and that makes sense. More patients can, and will stick with a program if it is workable long term. And if it is too good to be true, well it usually is. Your weight loss patients know this, and they are tired of "miracle cures" and "magic potions" that promise the world and don't deliver in the long run. They are hungry for something that really works. That is why they are coming to you.

Choose a company with excellent customer support and chiropractors on staff for you to speak to. Implement a solid weight loss program into your office and help just one person lose a significant amount of weight quickly and easily and you will not be able to hold back the flood of new patients.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, make certain to charge an appropriate amount of money for any program you offer. If there is little or no value, then there is little or no incentive for follow through. By this I mean make sure to charge for your time as well as products. See your weight loss patients several times each week. Remember doctor, your time is a valuable resource.

The health gurus are endless, their fixes abundant, but who really stands on natures foundation. For over a century we have led the way to nature and our task is even more important today. As chiropractors we have the most important gift to give and in a perfect world that would be enough. It's not a perfect world. We have to rise up. If we don't, who will?