Medical Weight Loss vs. Traditional Dieting: What’s the Difference?

Nearly half of the U.S. population was categorized as obese in 2017–2018. When it comes to losing weight, there are many different approaches you can take.

Two of the most common are medical weight loss and traditional dieting. But what exactly is the difference between the two? And which one is right for you?

What is Medical Weight Loss?

Medical weight loss is a structured program supervised by healthcare professionals, often including medications, lifestyle modifications, and ongoing support.

These programs are tailored to individual needs and are designed to achieve sustainable weight loss and improve overall health.

Medical weight loss programs empower you to lose weight by changing your relationship with food, eliminating harmful eating habits, and adopting a healthier lifestyle.

Some of the key components of medical weight loss include:

Professional Supervision: Medical weight loss programs are supervised by doctors, nutritionists, and other healthcare providers, ensuring a safe and effective approach.
Personalized Plans: Programs are tailored to an individual's medical history, lifestyle, and weight loss goals. This could include addressing hormonal imbalances, prescribing medications, or crafting a customized nutritional plan. Some approaches may also incorporate berberine, a natural compound known for its potential benefits in supporting metabolism and blood sugar regulation.
Medications: In some cases, medications may be used to help you lose weight. Medications can lead to an average weight reduction of 8–22 per cent of your body weight if one medication is used. Using medications in combination can lead to more weight reduction.
Non-surgical treatments: These may include things like intragastric balloons or endoscopic procedures.
Meal replacement programs: These programs, such as OPTIFAST®, provide full meal replacement for 12 weeks and transition to self-prepared "everyday" meals in conjunction with comprehensive patient education and support, to help patients achieve long-term weight management.

What is Traditional Dieting?

Traditional dieting typically involves making changes to your diet and exercise habits on your own. There are many different types of traditional diets, such as the Mediterranean diet, the ketogenic diet, and intermittent fasting. Some common traditional dieting methods include :

Low-Fat Diets: Decreasing fats and increasing carbohydrate & protein consumption.
Low-Carb Diets: Reduced carbohydrate intake while consuming protein and fat.
Balanced Diets: Eating various food groups while not going beyond the limits of a set number of calories a day.

Traditional diets often play a role in honouring cultural heritage and family history. They frequently emphasize the importance of locally sourced, minimally processed foods. For example, the traditional Pacific Island diet is rich in fish, root vegetables like taro, and fruits.

Medical Weight Loss vs. Traditional Dieting: Key Differences

While both medical weight loss and traditional dieting can be effective for weight loss, there are some key differences between the two approaches.

Feature

Medical Weight Loss

Traditional Dieting

Supervision

Supervised by healthcare professionals.

Often self-directed, although it can be supervised by a nutritionist or dietitian.

Personalization

Personalized plans tailored to individual needs and goals.

Often generic plans may not suit everyone's needs.

Medications

May include medications or other medical interventions.

Typically does not include medications.

Support

Often includes ongoing support and accountability.

Typically relies on self-motivation.

Focus

Focuses on long-term lifestyle changes.

May focus on short-term weight loss goals.

Cost

Can be more expensive.

Typically less expensive.

Which is Right for You?

The best approach for you will depend on your individual needs and goals. If you have a significant amount of weight to lose, have health conditions that may be contributing to weight gain, or have struggled to lose weight with traditional dieting in the past, medical weight loss may be a good option for you.

If you are looking for a more affordable and flexible approach, traditional dieting may be a better fit.

It's important to talk to your doctor to discuss your weight loss goals and determine which approach is right for you.