Welcome to Spark’s Weight Optimization Program

Colorado’s #1 Non-surgical medical weight loss center. Helping you lose weight, keep it off, and thrive.

Congratulations on taking the first step toward a life transformative journey. This isn’t just about losing weight; but to create the person you aspire to become. If you commit and put in the effort, the path towards remarkable results lies ahead.


Medically Supervised Weight Loss


An exceptional team of experts and medical professionals working with you every step of the way to ensure your success.


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Behavioral, Nutrition, & Exercise Counseling


Accountability sessions will set you up for success. It’s important to have a team supporting you, giving you guidance and help along the way to know exactly what to do.


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Unlimited Text, Phone, & Email Support


We help you create a vision for yourself. Then give you the strategy to get there and the tactics to do the work.


GETTING STARTED – Your First Week

Before your first coaching session, the following information will ensure you have a solid foundation for success. For best results and to receive maximum benefit from the program, we provide nutrition advice, exercise guidelines, and behavior modification support. The goal of the program is to lose weight, but by focusing on the process you optimize your health and build the life you want.

Step 1: Education Resources – Introduction

A YouTube playlist on insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and a fresh perspective on nutrition. Some of us have no idea how bad the SAD (Standard American Diet) is. We have been lied to, that the highly processed and refined foods are not that bad.
Youtube Playlist!

Below are links to documents on sugars, reducing carbs and general guidelines for low carb healthy fat nutrition, our preferred approach to nutrition. Our philosophy is to provide principles and guidelines, not specific meal plans. This is a discovery process to find out what works for you so this is sustainable long term. These documents will be helpful to understand why the foods most people eat are unhealthy and contribute to chronic disease, metabolic syndrome, and inflammation.

Healthy Fats DownloadQuit Sugar Guide20 Top Tips For Low Carb Starters





Step 2. Track Food & Activity –

  • Track at least three days of everything you eat. You can use an app, a written journal, or both. Please don’t leave anything out we are not here to judge you. The first step is to take an inventory of what may be getting in your way and holding you back.
  • Think about and write what are the foods you struggle with. We all have a relationship with food, for some it may not be healthy.
  • What emotions or triggers can you identify when you face challenges with food?
  • Activity, exercise or fitness you typically do.

If you want to use an app, we recommend either Cronometer or Myfitness Pal. Apps easily allow you to track food. They help to understand what is works for weight loss but also bringing awareness to what is counterproductive. Tracking food is about education. It’s important to understand some basic differences about what is in the food you eat. This program is not about tracking macros, counting calories, or obsession on points. But if you don’t know the difference between a carbohydrate, a fat, and a protein some education is helpful. Tracking long term isn’t necessary, but when starting it can be beneficial.

We advocate for a LCHF (low carb healthy fat) nutrition plan, see the documents discussed above for what this means. For reasons we will get into soon, this is an effective way to reverse metabolic syndrome and lose weight.

Step 3 “Relationship with Food Journal”

We all have a relationship with food. For those that stuggle with their weight it’s not a healthy one. Those that have struggled with countless diets, yo-yos, and difficult maintaining weight loss, we have to work on this relationship. Food is not the problem, but our relationship with it.

We want to create a healthy relationship with food. Begin by writing any emotions that come up when you eat, how food makes you feel, and emotions experienced when struggling. This starts a discovery process and creates awareness of compulsive and unhealthy habits. The first step is to be self aware of this relationship to create strategies to correct behavior. If there is no awareness, it is challenging to create strategies to deal with belief systems, programs, and habits.
Example: most patients that come to us are focusing on portion control or counting calories. The same broken approach of eating less and exercising more. Concepts based on restriction and deprivation which don’t work. This is crucial to understand, and you will soon.

Much of the work to be done is mental. We work on this when you are ready. Journaling is a highly productive exercise.

Step 4: Clean out your cabinets

We encourage you to remove as much processed and refined food as possible (especially sugar). This can be difficult, and we often justify why we can’t throw away food (wasting money, guilt, starving children in Africa, and countless other reasons). The longer you wait, the longer you delay making necessary changes. It’s not realistic to keep food around we struggle with and expect to resist. Once we accept that we may have an issue with certain foods, it becomes easier.

Step 5: Understanding BMI & In-Body composition scan.

If you aren’t sure what a healthy weight should be for you visit our BMI page here where we discuss BMI or body mass index and why this is important.

An In-Body is a body composition scan. This allows us to track body composition progress. With this scanner we can track not only weight loss, but what that weight consists of. Our goal is to minimize muscle lost during weight loss, and an In-body provides this info. We recommend a scan every six to eight weeks so we can track progress. This can be done at NoCo Fitness in Greeley. The cost is $10, it’s non invasive and takes less than five minutes. NoCo Fitness is located at: 3820 W 10th St Suite B-10, Greeley, CO 80634 Click Here for their website.


If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out, we are here for you. We can be reached via email, the contact us form, or you can call or text the clinic line at (970) 716-1173. You can always schedule an additional session if you need more support.

Have Faith, Do the Work, Trust the Process

The Spark Hormone Therapy Team


The First Week

What to expect, what needs to be done, and how to maximize your results.

NEXT?

Put more Patient Resources HERE!

RECIPES
EXERCISE AND RESISTANCE TRAINING


FAQ

  • What can I expect for weight loss every week?
  • Do I have to exercise?
  • Do I have to eat low carb?
  • Am I going to gain the weight back after I stop taking the medication?
  • Why no matter what I do, can I not lose weight?
What can I expect for weight loss every week?

This is highly variable but you should expect to lose anywhere from .5-1% of your bodyweight every week. This will depend on you though. We have had patients that do all the work, really dial in their nutrition, activity, exercise and do better than this. It is also not uncommon for patients to lose well over 10% of their body weight in the first 8-12 weeks.

Do I have to exercise?

Many people believe that they have to exercise in order to lose weight, but the truth is that exercise is not always necessary for weight loss. While physical activity can certainly be beneficial for overall health and well-being, the key to losing weight is really about balancing our hormones, improving insulin resistance and pulling energy from out fat stores and oxidizing it to be released and utilized by the body.

This means that you can lose weight simply by adjusting your nutrition. In fact, research has shown that changes in dietary habits are often more effective for weight loss than exercise alone. And we can never outwork terrible nutrition.

Of course, exercise can still be a valuable tool for weight loss, especially strength and resistance training as it can help increase muscle mass which will boost metabolism. This burns more energy even at rest. However, if you are unable to exercise due to physical limitations or time constraints, you can still achieve weight loss success through dietary changes alone.

Ultimately, the most important factor in weight loss is finding a sustainable approach that works for your individual needs and preferences. Whether you choose to incorporate exercise or focus solely on your diet, consistency and patience are key for long-term success. But we have taken all of the guess work out through knowing what works with thousands of successful patient of our own and our partners.

Do I have to eat low carb?

No but you should, and I’ll tell you why. While low-carb diets can be effective for weight loss and improving certain health markers, such as blood sugar control and triglyceride levels, it is not necessarily required for everyone to follow a low-carb diet. However, in our experience it is by far the most superior way to lose weight the fastest and completely reverse most of the metabolic syndromes we face. If you have metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes, diabetes, or fatty liver disease any amount of carbohydrates are going to be detrimental to healing.

it is important to note that many individuals today are metabolically damaged, insulin resistant, and may have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), often as a result of a high sugar, high-carbohydrate, processed food diet and sedentary lifestyle. In these cases, adopting a low-carb diet can be beneficial and effective.

Low-carb diets typically involve reducing or eliminating foods high in carbohydrates, such as sugar, bread, pasta, rice, and increasing consumption of healthy fats and protein. This approach will help improve insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation in the body, leading to weight loss and improved health outcomes.

Am I going to gain the weight back after I stop taking the medication?

It is natural to wonder whether the weight loss achieved through taking semaglutide shots can be maintained after stopping the medication.

While it is possible to regain weight after stopping semaglutide shots, it is not necessarily inevitable. The key to maintaining weight loss after stopping the medication is to make lasting behavioral changes that support a healthy lifestyle. This means adopting healthy eating habits, staying physically active, and managing stress levels. If you reverse your metabolic syndrome and your insulin resistance, there is no reason that you can’t maintain your weight loss.

Research has shown that successful weight loss maintenance requires ongoing efforts and commitment to healthy behaviors. Therefore, if you rely solely on taking semaglutide injections without making permanent behavioral and lifestyle changes, it is a certainty that you will regain weight.

After you reach your goal weight, we will also be working closely with you to make sure that you are setup for success long term.

Why no matter what I do, can I not lose weight?

If you have been struggling to lose weight no matter what you have tried, it is likely that you have underlying metabolic issues, such as metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance. Only 7% of Americans today are metabolically healthy. These conditions make weight loss challenging and all but impossible, even when eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic risk factors that increase the risk of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. The condition is characterized by a combination of factors such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, and excess abdominal fat. Having metabolic syndrome can make it difficult to lose weight and can often leads to weight gain.

Insulin resistance and hyerinsulinemia is another metabolic issue that can make weight loss extremely challenging. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that regulates blood sugar levels. Insulin resistance occurs when the body’s cells become less responsive to insulin, leading to high blood sugar levels. Because blood sugar in excess is toxic it must be removed, and in people that are insulin resistant this often is removed and stored as fat. This can cause weight gain, especially around the abdomen, and make it difficult to lose weight.

Research has shown that weight loss is more than just about calories in versus calories out. Hormones play a significant role in regulating appetite, metabolism, and fat storage. In particular, the hormones insulin, cortisol, and leptin can dramatically impact weight loss success.

Insulin plays a critical role in regulating metabolism and fat storage. When insulin levels are high, the body is in fat storage mode, making it difficult to lose weight. Reducing insulin resistance through dietary and lifestyle changes can help improve weight loss success.

In conclusion, if you have been struggling to lose weight despite efforts to eat healthy and exercise regularly, it is important to consider underlying metabolic issues such as metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance. These conditions can make weight loss challenging and may require specific dietary and lifestyle changes to improve success. Additionally, understanding the role of hormones in weight loss can help shift the focus from simply counting calories and increasing physical activity to addressing hormonal imbalances that may be contributing to weight gain.

HOW IT WORKS



CONSULTATION


Set up an initial consultation where questions are answered and lab work is ordered.


LABS / PLAN


Follow-up appointment to discuss in-depth lab results and YOUR personalized plan.


FOLLOW UP


Depending on the therapy chosen, follow-up is initially in eight weeks then every six months. Some patients only require labs and follow-up yearly depending on how YOU feel!

Your Current BMI (Body Mass Index)

Find your height on the left side, then your weight on the top and follow down to find your BM. Now find where your height and weight coincide in the green area and this is your recommended healthy BMI. We all have slightly different builds and carry weight in different areas. So when you approach your healthy BMI range, body awareness with how you feel in your body is crucial. It’s important to note, when we go above the top range of the healthy BMI our risk of chronic disease, diabetes and cardiovascular disease increases. We don’t need to fixate on BMI, but a good guide on the weight loss journey.

There are other ways to calculate your body composition or level of health. One basic indicator is your waist to height ratio.