Losing weight is easier said than done. Eating healthier foods like fruits and vegetables and incorporating regular exercise can help you shed some of those unwanted pounds.
Hitting the gym regularly is just one of the lifestyle changes Justin Groen has made to help him lose 80 pounds.
“255 was my starting and I’m about 175 now,” said Groen, an Avera patient.
His weight loss journey started a few years ago.
“I wasn’t in the best shape. I had gone through renal failure and that makes me gain weight so I was trying to get rid of it,” said Groen. “I saw an ad in the newspaper for Dr. Lee and it specifically said weight loss on the ad, so I thought I would give it a try.”
“I first met Justin less than a year after he’d had his second kidney transplant. He had some successful weight loss prior to meeting me but was seeing that weight come back and was really interested in decreasing his risk of obesity-related comorbidities and helping with his kidney transplant,” said Kelsey Lee, MD, family medicine practitioner with Avera Medical Group. “When I had met him we talked about different lifestyle changes incorporating more physical activity and talked about medications and even surgical indications for him as well.”
Dr. Lee decided he should focus on maintaining a healthier lifestyle and using medications to help reach his goals.
“One of the kind of simple rules he followed was following the outskirts of a grocery store, so hitting those fruits, vegetables, proteins, maybe fresh, frozen vegetables as well, and he really stuck to that diet plan,” said Lee. “The first medication we started was called metformin, and metformin typically helps with processing of blood glucose and it can lead to weight loss for some patients, and then we looked at GLP1 agonist, which is like semaglutide or liraglutide, those medications have been studied particularly in post-transplant patients.”
“The medication really made intermittent fasting a lot easier to deal with, I tried and it went OK, but it was hard to stick to that eight-hour period where you’d eat, so the medicine really helped get in that rhythm and then exercise was huge too,” said Groen.
Justin not only saw his weight decrease, but also other health benefits.
“We’ve seen his bio markers all improve, which means his cholesterol is better, his A1C is better, we are seeing that his kidney numbers are great,” said Lee.
“So just seeing what maintaining a good weight can do long term makes me want to keep with that,” said Groen.
“I think for any patient who is working hard and seeing the results from their hard work, it's gratifying for them and it is gratifying for me too,” said Lee.
Justin is continuing to make strides at the gym and grocery store, and credits Dr. Lee’s help for reaching his goals.
“She’s great, I see her for the weight loss but also my primary care physician so she is able to handle all my health needs in one,” said Groen.
To find out what options you have for weight management, talk to your physician about the risks, benefits and possible costs if medication is needed.
