Helping people gain better

At Texas Diabetes & Endocrinology, the doctors, advanced practice providers and staff are committed to helping our patients lose weight, maintain weight loss and gain better control of their health. Obesity and carrying excess weight are increasingly common, which can lead to high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and diabetes as well as other health conditions. People with and without diabetes struggle to lose weight and may have to take multiple medications for medical problems related to the excess weight. Take the Next Step with Texas Diabetes & Endocrinology!

If you have struggled with weight maintenance for a long time, or if you haven’t been able to lose weight through personal efforts, lifestyle changes, or through a structured weight loss program, our new offering is for you!

The NextStep program incorporates weekly visits with one of our experienced coaches into a medically managed program where monthly meetings with one of our healthcare providers supplements the program through the use of expert advice, guidance, and –if indicated- medications.

We have evaluated and tested a number of different weight loss solutions and work closely with our patients to recommend the methods that offer the greatest opportunities for success. We focus not only on weight loss, but work with our patients to maintain that weight loss long-term. People with diabetes frequently can reduce their blood-sugar-lowering medication, including insulin, by losing weight.

Our programs are medically supervised for our patients with diabetes, but are also open to people who have pre-diabetes or don’t have diabetes at all. As your health and wellness coaches, we offer one-on-one sessions. Our goal is to educate, motivate and support you through your weight loss journey. Our programs are medically designed with two components – sensible weight loss and sustainable, stable weight maintenance. Our weight loss strategies include the use of nutrition education, diet and exercise plans as well as FDA-approved weight loss medications if necessary.

One of the exclusive weight loss methods that we work with is Muscle Wise. The Muscle Wise protocol offers structured weight loss while supporting muscle mass and understanding of how food affects and is utilized by the body, including what causes fat storage, utilization of stored fat for energy, improved energy, appetite control and reduced cravings. It is proven that losing weight can improve blood sugar, cholesterol levels and reduce blood pressure. While following the Muscle Wise protocol, your pancreas will get a well-deserved break by limiting simple and complex carbs until your weight loss goal is achieved. The emphasis here again is weight maintenance once a healthy balance is achieved.

MuscleWise is differentiated from other similar programs by the ability to maintain an exercise regimen, the ability to maintain greater flexibility and much more.

Through the one-on-one coaching sessions, we will help you navigate the world of contradictory nutrition advice. We will help you determine what changes are necessary while on the Muscle Wise program in order to establish new eating habits and form long term success. Each coach brings vast nutrition knowledge and experience to the table ensuring you are receiving the best support a

Obesity (defined as a body mass index (BMI) >30kg/m2) is a chronic disease that is increasing in prevalence in adults, adolescents, and children and is now considered to be a global epidemic. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 2016 showed the prevalence of obesity in the United States to be 39.6% (37.9% in men and 41.1% of women), up from 22.9% in 1994.

At Texas Diabetes and Endocrinology we investigate many aspects of this disease. We rule out any possible secondary causes (such as pituitary, thyroid, adrenal or ovarian abnormalities) as clinically indicated, discuss contributing medications, and obtain a thorough weight gain/weight loss history. Obesity is associated with a significant increase in morbidity (including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, heart disease, stroke, sleep apnea, and cancer) and we assess these and come up with a comprehensive plan to manage them.

Weight loss itself is associated with a reduction in obesity-associated morbidity and we are committed to helping our patients achieve these benefits. We counsel all patients on lifestyle and behavioral modification. We also offer medically supervised programs to assist with individual goals. Muscle Wise is one program we utilize: it provides structure and one-on-one coaching that can help achieve not only weight loss but also reduction in comorbidities and often medications. We also use FDA-approved weight loss medications as needed to help our patients achieve their goals.

Finally we conduct clinical trials at all of our locations and these often involve obesity treatments. Currently at the south office we are conducting a study on a medication (semaglutide) to evaluate weight loss and long-term cardiovascular outcomes.

Congratulations to Texas Diabetes & Endocrinology physician partner Valerie Espinosa, MD for achieving certification by the American Board of Obesity Medicine.

The American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM) serves the public and the field of obesity medicine by maintaining standards for assessment and credentialing physicians.Certification as an ABOM Diplomate signifies specialized knowledge in the practice of obesity medicine and distinguishes a physician as having achieved competency in obesity care. ABOM collaborates with the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) to administer the annual credentialing exam.