A Leaner Happy Camper

There was a time when the idea of getting away, pitching a tent and roughing it in the woods for a few days held great appeal for Sandy Heen. Not anymore.

Though she still loves an outdoor getaway, Sandy now prefers doing so from something more substantial than a drape of canvas supported by a collection of aluminum poles.

“I like camping in a trailer,” says Sandy, whose family devotes a good chunk of free time to that popular cross between camping and glamping.

“We get out for the weekend three or four times a year, and in the summer, we usually go away for a couple of weeks,” Sandy shares. “Last year, we went to the mountains in North Carolina. I love the weather and the scenery there.”

One thing Sandy didn’t love was the way she was looking prior to that trip to the mountains. Fortunately, she works for a doctor who recently added a new weight loss program to the practice’s list of services.

The doctor is Melissa Dean, MD. She is the founder of the Dean Wellness Institute in Vero Beach, where she practices traditional medicine, offers a holistic approach to wellness, and specializes in the treatment of menopause and andropause.

Dr. Dean also specializes in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), which is considered the most natural and effective solution for hormone-related issues such as insomnia, vaginal dryness and lack of focus.

Stay Full Longer

Sandy, a 58-year-old licensed practical nurse, has worked with Dr. Dean for two years. Last spring, she expressed her desire to lose between 20 and 30 pounds and asked Dr. Dean to recommend a weight loss plan.

Dr. Dean recommended the semaglutide program, which asks participants to combine a healthy diet and exercise with weekly injections of semaglutide, a medication that was approved for weight loss by the FDA in June 2021.

Developed by the pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk in 2012, semaglutide was originally approved to help Type 2 diabetics. The more it was studied, however, the more it was learned that patients taking it lost 15 to 18 percent of their weight.

“Semaglutide does a couple of important things,” Dr. Dean explains. “It slows down your digestive process, which helps you get full quicker and stay full longer after eating. And it stabilizes your blood sugar, which helps diminish your sweet cravings.

“It also activates the GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor in the brain. That receptor releases a hormone into the brain that regulates your appetite and tells you you’re satisfied, which helps limit the number of calories you take in.”

Calorie counting is not required with this program, but Dr. Dean does urge “calorie awareness.” That means taking in a healthy number of calories each day — about 1,600 for women, 2,000 for men — and developing good eating habits.

“The objective there is to get people in the habit of eating healthy because that’s how you’ll keep the weight off once you complete the program and are no longer taking the medication,” Dr. Dean notes. “And I help them with that in a couple of ways.

“The biggest thing is, I give them guidelines for what they should be eating. That makes them a little more aware of what it is they’re putting into their body. I also encourage them to exercise. If you already exercise, great. If not, start by walking two or three days a week.

“That’s an important part of it because we’ve found that when someone combines this medication with a healthy diet and a little bit of exercise, the results are profound. In fact, I don’t think I’ve had anyone who put even half effort toward this program fail at it.”

Eating Better, Smarter

Sandy certainly didn’t fail. Over six months on the semaglutide program she lost 45 pounds. Even better, she has kept that weight off and is feeling better overall than she did beforehand.

“Dr. Dean started by doing some blood tests to check for food allergies, vitamin deficiencies and things like that,” Sandy reports. “Once we got those results back, we knew what foods I needed to avoid and what vitamins I need to be taking.

“Then we started with the semaglutide, and it has definitely worked well for me because you don’t feel hungry when you’re taking it. And because you don’t feel hungry, you’re not constantly thinking about what your next meal or next snack is going to be.”

As a nurse, Sandy didn’t struggle with the weekly injections either. She delivered them herself and says the needle used for the injections is very small, doesn’t cause any pain and can be used easily by most anyone without difficulty.

“The vast majority of people on this program do the injections themselves at home just as Sandy did, and they’re not nurses,” Dr. Dean relates. “But we will do the injections for them if that’s what they prefer.

“The other thing we ask participants to do is weigh themselves at home themselves once a week to keep track of their progress. Again, they can do that at home, but we do ask that they come in once a month for a weigh-in and to discuss any issues they might be having.”

Sandy had no issues with the program and is thankful that it’s allowed her to develop better eating habits. She says guidance from Dr. Dean helped her make that transition to a healthier lifestyle, and she gladly recommends the diet for others.

“Absolutely,” Sandy concludes. “And, of course, I recommend Dr. Dean. She’s awesome. I love her, and I am grateful for her help in achieving my weight loss goals.”