If you are a physician, dietitian, nutritionist, physical therapist, or any other wellness professional that deals with the ever-present problem of overweight, then read on. This page is intended specifically for you to understand how you can easily integrate SlimSmart with your existing program so your patient AND your practice can benefit.

SlimSmart is takes a different approach from other aspects of your program, so you will generally find that it doesn't compete or replace those aspects of your program that are already working well. Yet, one of the most important areas that is frequently missed in many programs is long-term maintenance -- something that SlimSmart is particularly good since it's focus is behavior modification and change of habits.

The table below provides a view of how SlimSmart can be added to almost any existing program. Obesity is a multi-faceted problem and no single program is perfect for everyone. Yet, we feel that SlimSmart is risk free, and therefore can be added to any weight management program. Here's how:

In this example, we have an existing program consisting of a baseline week of no eating changes, but with the start of supplementation, followed by a period of low-calorie diet based on grocery-store foods with supplementation. The original plan did not have a long-term maintenance program.

In option 1, we do not use the aggressive low-calorie diet, instead only restricting the types of foods in general (according to the general guidelines in the Existing Program), but not the portion size. SlimSmart will adapt to the correct portion for each individual to achieve weight loss.

In Option 2, SlimSmart is used in conjunction with the exact diet regimen used in the Existing Program, using SlimSmart to slow the eating rate and give the user an idea of how many bites "should" be taken. By using it in FIXED plan, you have the benefit of monitoring the number of bites and weight, without changing the portion size automatically. It may be a good idea to split each meal into two parts, protein and bulk by using two different meal settings on SlimSmart. For example, if for dinner, the patient eats "bulk" items first (i.e. salad) then this would be meal setting "d" (dinner) and the protein portion would be meal setting "Ad" (After Dinner).

The two options could be dynamically interchanged at the direction of the clinician, so that if a patient is making good progress on Option 1, then don't further restrict food choices or portions. If not, then use the more aggressive Option 2. On the other hand, if the patient can't stand the austere diet in Option 2, then switch to Option 1 for a while.

In this example, the Existing Program did not specifically include a Maintenance phase. SlimSmart lets the clinician continue to monitor the patient for a much longer period of time, probably with fewer supplements and perhaps less rigor in weighing. Consider this a 6 month to two year interval (or longer).

Supplements are used identically in all program options. (We can provide sources of good supplements if you need a supplier.) Physician makes additional revenue by providing computer-aided feedback reports to the patient.

In this example, we are reviewing an existing program which emphasizes eating 6 smaller meals per day of restricted food choices, but all foods are available in a typical grocery store. Again, we offer two alternatives for integration into this existing plan, as follows

In option 1, SlimSmart is introduced early to start to change the way your patient eats from the first week. At first, your patient only uses it in Fixed Plan with the SIZE of the meal set to a high number so the patient will not receive the end-of-meal indication, but the patient will be able to set the meal and capture her weight and number of bites. Sometime later (probably at the second visit) use Auto Plan to allow SlimSmart to automatically adapt to the portion size appropriate for your patient. The Alert Mode may be useful to remind the patient to eat a meal (set to perhaps every two hours) or to drink water regularly (set to perhaps every 30 minutes).

In Option 2, wait for the patient to become accustomed to your basic regimen before introducing SlimSmart. This introduction would be handled in the same way as described above, but would be added once the patient has made the initial behavior changes in the existing program, and perhaps as she tires of the diet and may request appetite-suppressant drugs.

Need help integrating SlimSmart into your existing program? Just give us details on your program like those above and we will give you some options to improve your results and bottomline.