Looking to shed a few extra pounds and don’t know where to begin? Delray Medical Center has developed a four-week weight management course for people looking to lose weight.

The first session of Winning at Weight Loss, a non-surgical weight loss program, launched last month. Meetings were held Tuesday evenings with weight management dietitian Samantha Barone.

Barone is the only full time bariatric dietitian on staff at a local hospital. She already works with patients seeking surgical weight loss at the hospital, so the team decided to expand its services to help people looking to lose weight without necessarily going under the knife.

The program is geared toward adults over 18 who are either looking to lose a few pounds, need to lose weight in order to qualify for weight loss surgery or aren’t considering surgery at all but want to learn some tools to help with weight loss.

“Education is necessary to be successful,” Barone said. “My goal is to promote tools people need to succeed long term.”

Classes will last about an hour and a half and cover topics like how food affects the body, hydration, exercise, food behaviors and ways to set goals to plan and prepare for the future.

“We can’t cover everything, but we can provide tools and knowledge necessary to help keep going,” she said.

Once the class ends, Barone hopes to reassemble everyone 6-8 weeks later to check in on progress, pitfalls, plateaus and any other topics.

The goal is to offer the course on a rolling basis. The four-week class costs $150 total.

Barone said participants should not expect to be handed a piece of paper with a meal plan. That is not the type of lecture she is giving. Rather, the goal is to talk about making small changes that will impact people’s overall weight loss goals.

“There is no magic diet,” she said, adding she will debunk myths behind some diet trends and fads.

While Barone will be leading the new program, it was formed by the hospital’s surgical weight loss team. Barone is on that team along with Certified Bariatric Nurse Diane Schofield, medical director and bariatric surgeon Erica Podolsky and bariatric surgeon Ariel Rodriguez-Pimental.

With the introduction of the non-surgical weight loss program, Dr. Rodriguez-Pimental said the hospital is offering something for everyone.

For some people they are seeking structure or a first step, he said.

The team agrees the program will help make an impact on people who fall in between obese and not having a large enough body mass index to qualify for weight loss surgery.

For more information, visit 1-800-897-9789.

The next classes will be offered: Tuesdays, April 7, 14. 21, 28

5:30 – 7:00 pm

Fair Oaks Building Delray Medical Center Campus

4 week Course Fee $150

Reservations and to make payment CALL 1-800-897-9789