A person’s weight is a very personal topic, particularly when it comes to weight loss. For years, it was thought that will-power over diet and exercise was the key to success, but recent science has demonstrated that’s not exactly the case. Genetics, metabolic imbalances, and other factors have far more impact than once thought.
Whether you’re trying to lose weight for the first time or have struggled with weight management, you now have more options than ever to achieve your goal weight, but may wonder what method is better for you. Is sticking with diet and exercise the way to go, or should you try a medical weight loss program?
What Is a Traditional “Diet” for Weight Loss
The word diet means what you eat. So, whether you eat healthy, not so healthy, or somewhere in between, that’s your diet!
Of course, for many people the term diet is synonymous with “trying to lose weight.” In this context, diet means taking in fewer calories than your body uses each day. That could mean exercising more, eating less, or (most commonly) a combination of both. This creates a calorie deficit that, with time, will lead to weight loss.
What Is Medical Weight Loss?
Medical weight loss is similar in that the ultimate goal is to burn more calories than you consume. But unlike a traditional diet, you work with a healthcare provider who considers the underlying biological, metabolic, and behavioral factors that can influence your weight.
For example, your healthcare provider may test you for a thyroid imbalance to see if that’s contributing to your weight management issues. Likewise, if traditional diet and exercise haven’t worked for you, your provider may suggest taking a GLP-1 medication to kickstart your weight loss journey.
How Are Medical Weight Loss and Dieting for Weight Loss Similar?
In the end, medical weight loss and traditional dieting are similar. They both rely on the same principle: over time, your body must use more energy than it consumes.
How Your Body Loses Weight
Your body burns a certain number of calories every day to perform the basic functions you need to exist. That’s things like breathing, repairing cells, and pumping blood throughout your body. This base burn rate is your basal metabolic rate (BMR), and it accounts for about 60% to 70% of the calories your body uses every day.
Our individual BMR is based on factors like age, height, and the amount of lean muscle and fat tissue we have. On average, men have a basal metabolic rate of about 1,696 calories per day, while women average about 1,410 per day.
Your BMR, though, is just a starting point. Even on days you crash on the couch, binge-watching your favorite show, you’re moving, and that movement counts toward your calorie burn. Walking around the house, typing on the keyboard at work, and even digesting lunch burns additional calories.
When you combine your BMR with this movement, you get your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), which is how many calories you burn each day. To lose weight, you need to take in fewer calories than your TDEE.
While everyone’s needs and goals are different, some people shoot for a specific number of calories to cut, and for many people that’s between 300 and 500 calories a day. It helps them achieve safe, steady, and sustainable weight loss. However, it’s important to note that that range is not a hard rule. If cutting 300 calories a day means you won’t get adequate nutrition, you should consider cutting even fewer calories or consulting with a medical professional to discuss your weight loss options.
Why Exercise Matters in Weight Loss
Whether you go the traditional dieting route or choose a medically supervised program, both help you lose fat tissue. However, they can also cause the loss of lean muscle mass.
Weight loss programs put you in a long-term calorie deficit. And while that will force your body to break down fat tissue for energy, it will also break down lean muscle mass, because those proteins can be broken down into amino acids to produce glucose and other things your body needs to function.
So, when you’re actively losing weight, it’s helpful to pair your reduced calorie intake with two types of exercise: cardio and weights. Cardio, like bike riding or swimming, increases your TDEE, helping you burn more calories, while weightlifting helps you maintain and even build your lean muscle mass.
How Does Dieting for Weight Loss Work?
Traditional dieting is when you change your food intake to create and maintain a calorie deficit. How you go about that depends on what kind of “weight loss diet” works for you. Some people find Mediterranean diets work for them, while others get the results they want with a low-carb or Keto diet. The trick is finding a diet you like and can stick with short-term to get the weight loss results you want, as well as long-term to help maintain those results.
To be clear, medical weight loss and traditional dieting rely on behavioral changes to lose weight. The main difference is that on a traditional diet, you’re generally on your own and not medically monitored. So, while you can make all the necessary behavioral and lifestyle changes, an undiagnosed thyroid imbalance could be undermining your weight loss efforts.
How Does Medical Weight Loss Work?
For people who’ve struggled with traditional weight loss methods, medical weight loss may be the better option. While it also relies on calorie deficit, it includes clinical evaluation, treatment, as well as medical supervision and monitoring to ensure optimal results.
Clinical Assessment
Before starting a medical weight loss program, your provider will evaluate your:
- Medical history
- Body composition
- Metabolic rate
- Past weight loss efforts
The information is combined with medical testing to rule in or out any underlying health conditions, hormonal imbalances, or medical issues that could be contributing to your weight issues. Then your provider suggests a customized medical weight loss plan.
Nutrition and Behavioral Support
A medical weight loss program may include weight loss medications, like GLP-1s. But they also stress behavioral changes to support long-term, sustainable weight loss and weight management. So, your plan may also include suggestions like choosing baked potatoes and plant-based proteins over French fries and beef whenever possible, and include an exercise plan to help you burn more calories.
Medical Weight Loss vs. Dieting: Which One to Choose
While losing weight is significant (and something to celebrate), achieving your goal weight is only one step on a lifelong journey toward optimal health and wellness. Keeping the weight off is the key to success, and for many, that goal can be more difficult to achieve.
Studies have shown that whether it’s traditional diet or medical weight loss — including newer GLP-1s — lost weight can be regained. For example:
- A 2014 study of participants in a weight-loss program that emphasized lifestyle changes lost 10% of their body weight after one year. After eight years, nearly 61% of that group regained some or all of the weight they lost.
- A 2022 study of people on semaglutide found that while people lost weight, one year after discontinuing use, participants regained, on average, about two-thirds of the weight they lost.
- A 2024 study of people on trizepatide also found that people lost weight while on the drug, but regained it after stopping.
What these and other studies show is that losing weight is only one part of the puzzle. Keeping it off requires a long-term strategy. That could mean sticking with a particular diet and exercise program, staying on weight-loss medication, or some combination of approaches. The important part is finding an approach you can maintain once you achieve your goal weight.
With all that said, how do you choose between a medical weight loss program and a traditional diet approach? Here’s what to consider.
| Traditional Dieting | Medical Weight Loss Program |
|---|---|
| Tends to be one-size-fits-all. You might follow a diet plan like Keto or Atkins, but the recommendations aren’t tailored to your specific needs, goals, activity levels, or health considerations. | Generally more personalized and tailored to you. May include specific portion sizes that ensure you get the right nutrition for your activity level and body composition. |
| Tends to address the symptoms but not the root cause of your weight issues, which could be caused by an underlying medical condition. | Takes a more holistic approach to weight loss. Looks for any underlying medical issues that could be contributing to your weight and treats those in conjunction with a weight loss program. |
| Doesn’t monitor any physiological changes that happen when you lose weight. | Keeps track of important physiological changes, like your blood pressure or blood sugar levels, to give you a fuller picture of your overall health. |
What Works for You
Ultimately, the choice between traditional dieting and weight loss comes down to which path you can maintain long-term. Many people lose weight and keep it off with sustained lifestyle changes. Others, though, are more successful with medical weight loss and use that to maintain their success.
At Complete Wellness and Aesthetics, we offer a range of weight loss and weight management programs, including nutritional counseling, lifestyle coaching, and medical weight loss to help you achieve your weight goals. We take a collaborative approach to your weight loss and health goals and will work with you to create a targeted, personalized program to help you achieve optimal health and wellness. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.