Changing The Way The World Treats Weight

By Growing Bolder

Health

Last Updated on December 12, 2022

This article was created in partnership with our friends at Calibrate.

It’s About Biology, Not Willpower

For decades, the United States has maintained a culture of diet fads and weight loss trends that have sent a shameful subconscious message to those who are living with overweight: if you are having trouble losing weight, you just aren’t working hard enough.

Amidst the echoes of these outdated messages and yo-yo diets, one organization has emerged with a mission of changing the way the world treats weight. For Calibrate, losing weight is about biology, not willpower.

“95% of diets fail, and it is not for a lack of effort,” Dr. Kim Boyd, Chief Medical Officer at Calibrate, told Growing Bolder. “It’s not that people haven’t been trying hard enough. It’s that what we’ve been doing hasn’t been the right approach, it doesn’t work.”

Instead of shining a shameful light on those who have struggled to shred unwanted pounds, Calibrate has taken a scientific approach to understand what is going on underneath the surface.

“Obesity is a chronic disease, so we treat it as a chronic condition using GLP-1 medications. These GLP-1s work on a hormone that’s naturally produced by the body and has impact in many different systems,” Boyd explained. “It influences inflammation. It affects how our insulin is secreted. It regulates digestion. We’re addressing the physiology that’s most important for obesity and metabolichealthoverthelongrun.”

While most wellness programs can make you feel like you’re on your own, the Calibrate program matches its members with a coach for 1:1 virtual support, to work together to make meaningful changes to Calibrate’s Four Pillars of Metabolic Health: food, sleep, exercise, and emotional health.

“The accountability coaches help our members with goal setting, cheerleading, full support and troubleshooting. That human connection matters. We need to have somebody who’s in our corner on good days, celebrating our successes, and on harder days helping us to remember how far we’ve come and how much power we actually do have in our own lives,” Dr. Boyd said.

By combining a biological component, a human support system, and a robust digital platform of educational resources, Calibrate members have found results that speak for themselves.

“It truly is never too late, and that’s research backed,” Dr. Boyd said. “We know that people in their 80s who make changes to exercise regimens are able to build strength, they’re able to shift metabolic health markers, so there’s no excuse. Rather, [older adults] are all the more motivated and have that perspective of what really matters, and a reason for why you should do this.”

Their mission of changing the way the world treats weight is a lofty one, but it’s a mission that Dr. Boyd says has impact far beyond what you might see in the mirror.

“It’s about a whole lot more than the number on the scale and whether jeans fit or not. It’s about being able to spend meaningful time with friends and family, doing the things that you love, moving your body.”

Average Calibrate Results