FAQS

Our patients lose an average of one to five pounds each week.* Women tend to lose one to three pounds, while men lose two to five.  After nine months of following the JumpstartMD program, our average patient has lost 17% of their body weight and 7 inches in waist circumference. Of course, your results will depend on many factors, including your starting weight, medical conditions, personal approach, and individual program design.

*Results may vary.

We get it. Losing weight is hard, and the experience can be very frustrating. But over the years we have helped thousands of members lose weight and improve their overall health. Our comprehensive program is not a diet; it’s a way of life. Major lifestyle change is not easy, and that is why diets fail. At JumpstartMD we empower you to transform your lifestyle in order to lose weight and keep it off. We do this by providing the ongoing private and personal support you need to stay on track. Most importantly, our program is flexible enough to address challenges and issues specific to your life and circumstances. Medically supervised and based on the science of weight loss, our program will help you overcome obstacles with time-tested techniques and smart, effective strategies. Unlike a diet, cleanse, or fad, our program builds fundamental knowledge and behavior change which is the key to sustained weight management.

We work with men and women seeking to lose ten pounds or more. Some have struggled with weight their entire lives; others come to us after major life changes such as career transitions, childbirth, or menopause. Some of our patients are looking to correct or improve medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, or high cholesterol. Many simply want to lose weight quickly and safely in order to regain their former selves. Our patients range in age from teenagers to seniors.

At JumpstartMD, we offer a highly personalized and customized program to meet your needs and objectives.  We will work with you to develop a program that includes an initial assessment and ongoing follow up meetings. Pricing is based on the frequency of meetings and where you are in relation to your overall health and wellness goals.

For more information about pricing and how we work with insurance, please call us at 855-586-7782 or request a no-obligation consultation.

Payment is due at the time of service. Members may use HSA or FSA cards to pay for services.  We also offer a concierge claims service that submits on behalf of patients with PPO coverage for out-of-network reimbursement, although .reimbursement and individual reimbursement amounts are not guaranteed All reimbursements are sent directly to the patient. In the event that we do receive a reimbursement check, we will forward it along to our patients ASAP. We cannot file claims to Medicare, even if a patient holds an active secondary PPO plan through their employer.

For more information about how we work with insurance and FSA/HSA programs, please call us at 855-586-7782.

We offer different levels of membership depending on your individual needs. For optimal results, we suggest weekly visits with a clinician or health coach.

Numerous studies support our own experience: long-term weight loss success is greatest when supported by consistent and frequent visits. In these meetings, we support your progress by fine-tuning your program, adjusting any medication, monitoring your health, and developing strategies to cope with your unique challenges. This gives you an opportunity to reflect, troubleshoot, ask questions, and raise any concerns as you educate yourself to keep the weight off.

You will meet with a health coach to collect biometrics on your initial visit. Once you have completed laboratory work, your second visit is with a clinician, with a deep understanding of bariatric medicine and our program, who will also discuss medication options with you. On subsequent visits, you may meet with a clinician or health coach cross-trained in nutrition, medicine, psychology, or physical fitness. Our experts collaborate to benefit you from multiple areas of expertise. You will meet with a combination of counselors throughout your program.

No! We will help you design a customized meal plan that provides the right amount of macronutrients to result in healthy, gradual weight loss. We also highlight diet composition over simplistic calorie counting.

This type of plan follows the guidelines of the National Institutes of Health for the treatment of overweight and obese adults. (Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults: Evidence Report, 1998).

No. To sustain your weight loss, you will need to develop healthy habits that extend beyond your initial weight loss phase. We don’t believe our clients can learn how to maintain a healthy weight long-term unless they are learning and practicing healthy eating habits during weight loss. We teach our patients how to shop, order, and prepare healthy food for themselves — with an emphasis on strategies for eating in real-world settings like the workplace and with family. That’s hard to do if you’re eating packaged meals or drinking a series of shakes and juices and for that reason, we do not sell prepackaged meals.

You will continue to enjoy many of the same delicious, whole, fresh foods that you already love while developing a healthy respect for foods that should be the exception and not the norm. We teach you how to order food in social settings and provide strategic shopping lists for Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Mollie Stone’s and Safeway. We appreciate the great resources we have in the Bay Area and encourage our patients to enjoy food and drink in a way that nourishes our lives and physical wellbeing.

Not at all. Understand that exercise is a wonderful and effective wellness tool that we wholeheartedly support, but if your goal is effective and substantive weight loss, your initial focus is better spent on nutritional change. If you are completely sedentary when starting the program, exercise is introduced gradually. To prevent you from becoming too hungry, we recommend moderate exercise once you have settled into the program. Over time, we will increase the amount of exercise and introduce resistance training. High-intensity exercise has many benefits, but we recommend it in the correct sequence.

They can be when indicated. Many of our patients choose not to take medication, while others use it to complement their program. We desire that all of our patients do the program in a manner in which they are most comfortable. Weight loss medication can serve a useful purpose as part of a comprehensive weight loss program involving nutrition education, exercise recommendations, and behavioral changes. If you are a candidate for prescription medication, you will have the opportunity to discuss your personal preferences with one of our clinicians.   Members can pick up their prescriptions at the pharmacy of their choice, or depending on your prescription; some medications may be delivered directly to you from our partner pharmacy. Medication costs are not included in membership fees.

Yes. We treat patients who are 16 and older with parental consent on a case-by-case basis. Adolescents entering or attending college (18 or older) especially benefit from our program as they learn to better manage the unique challenges associated with campus life.

The following medications may be prescribed to interested and medically eligible members as part of our comprehensive program:

• Ozempic^® or Wegovy^® (active ingredient Semaglutide), Trulicity^® (active ingredient Dulaglutide), Byetta^® (active ingredient Exenatide): weekly dosing
• Saxenda^® or Victoza^® (active ingredient Liraglutide): daily dosing
• Mounjaro^® (active ingredient Terzepatide)
• Metformin Extended Release (ER) Medication
• Wellbutrin^® or Zyban^® (active ingredient Buproprion)
• Medication Containing the Active Ingredient Naltrexone
• Sodium-Glucose Co-Transporter 2 Inhibitor (SGLT2 Inhibitor) Medication
• Medication Containing the Active Ingredients Phentermine or Phendimetrazine, or Phendimetrazine Extended Release Medication
• Medication Containing the Active Ingredient Diethylproprion or Diethylproprion Extended Release Medication
• Topamax^® (active ingredient Topiramate)

Learn more about each medication’s benefits and risks by visiting the manufacturer’s Prescribing Information webpage prior to starting any weight loss program.

BHRT is a safe, proven clinical therapy that rebalances hormone levels that are often responsible for symptoms associated with aging. Bioidentical hormones are designed to precisely match the molecular structures of the natural hormones in your body.

Absolutely. Suboptimal hormone levels (deficiencies) are responsible for many of the symptoms attributed to “getting older.” Correcting these deficiencies with biologically-identical, natural hormones are safe and simple and can dramatically improve your health, quality of life and youthful vitality.

Yes. Bioidentical hormones exactly match those found in your own body, are administered with scientifically supported physician oversight, and are fine-tuned to achieve optimal levels within a normal physiologic range. As a result, you can experience their benefits safely and with minimal or no side effects.

By contrast, synthetic non-bioidentical hormones, while commonly prescribed, have subtle differences in their chemical structure that lead to a different metabolic footprint in your body. Studies have shown that these differences matter greatly and all too often result in adverse side effects and dangerous downstream consequences. For these reasons, we don’t recommend or use non-bioidentical synthetic hormones.

We offer BHRT Treatment at most of our Bay Area Centers. Call today to learn more about how BHRT may benefit you. 855-JUMPSTART

The first step in the process is to fill out a gender-specific health history questionnaire and have pertinent labs drawn either in our office or elsewhere so that those results can be ready when you meet for a consultation with one of our medical experts. From that exchange, we will customize a treatment plan to restore your optimal hormone levels if needed.

Following that consultation, we can perform an individualized hormone pellet insertion procedure in our office and, if indicated, prescribe oral therapy based on your customized plan.

Follow up testing, and a check-in occurs approximately 3-6 weeks after the initial pellet insertion or oral dosage to determine if optimal hormone levels of hormone balance have been achieved.

Progesterone and thyroid are typically taken orally.

Estrogen and testosterone are typically delivered via pellets, which are inserted into the fatty tissue just beneath the skin of the buttock.

A pellet is a small cylinder slightly bigger than a grain of rice. Manufactured with pharmaceutical grade quality controls, each pellet contains, as an active ingredient, a specific dosage of an FDA-approved bioidentical hormone.

Pellets are placed in the fatty tissue underneath the skin of the buttock through relatively painless procedures performed in our office under local anesthesia. By using this approach, the hormones in the pellets are spared from “first pass” metabolism into byproducts in the liver, as occurs with oral (pill) therapy. Each pellet treatment delivers hormones at a consistent level through the day and lasts for up to 3-4 months in women and 5-6 months in men.

It may take time to find the optimal balance, and your dosages may require adjustment. Although rare, during this adjustment phase, you may experience side effects such as headaches, irritability, mood swings, increased acne, difficulty sleeping or breast tenderness.

Once your hormones are balanced properly, you’re eating properly, and you’re active and managing your stress, you may begin to experience any or all of the following:

• Improved energy levels, motivation, and mood
• Enhanced sexual drive and gratification
• Reduction in body fat and weight
• Improved memory, mental clarity, and quickness
• Improved strength, muscle tone, and exercise capacity
• Diminished hot flashes

The effect of the hormones usually begins within 24 – 72 hours after insertion and reaches its peak efficacy after about 3-5 weeks. The benefits typically start to decline after 3-4 months in women or 5-6 months in men. More muscular, active/athletic people tend to see reduced efficacy sooner.

Potential complications from bioidentical hormone therapy are rare but could include fluid retention, swelling of hands and feet, breast tenderness or nipple sensitivity, spotting or bleeding, or mood swings and irritability.

Testosterone therapy may rarely cause a slight increase in facial hair in some women. This is typically treated easily if needed. While very rare, hair thinning on the scalp may occur in people that convert testosterone dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This is also treatable and may furthermore be mitigated by proactive preventative techniques for anyone with those concerns.

Bioidentical hormones are chemically identical to those hormones found in our own bodies. Studies show that properly delivered, BHRT does not cause cancer. Some studies suggest that bioidentical hormones may exert a protective effect against some cancers.

Bioidentical hormones match the precise chemical makeup of the hormones your body produces naturally and, as a result, are indistinguishable to your body from the hormones that provide it an abundance of beneficial effects. Bioidentical hormones efficacy in promoting quality of life and health is dependent on their presence at optimal levels.

Synthetic hormones were well received for years, as they helped to control symptoms associated with menopause. Yet synthetic hormones are distinct from bioidentical hormones because they are not identical chemical replicas of our natural hormones, and thus not a perfect match in our body. As a result, they have metabolic footprints distinct from natural bioidentical hormones, and we have seen the downstream consequences.

Studies have shown synthetic hormones to be associated with a host of adverse consequences ranging from non-life threatening adverse side effects such as bleeding, breast pain, bloating, and mood swings to more dangerous afflictions such as cancer, blood clots, heart disease, and more. This is why we only advocate for replacing your hormones with an exact replica of your natural human hormones, particularly when the evidence suggests that bioidentical hormones can be highly beneficial to your health and well being.