Nutrition Education

At Jumpstart, participants meet one-on-one each week with our nutrition educators. During these visits, our experts help you create an individualized, low-calorie “high satiety” diet based on your personal preferences and composed of healthy and delicious real food. We do not believe in meal replacements or a liquid diet. Instead, we intend for you to lose weight with us while enjoying food and learning healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime and sustain your weight loss long term.

Broadly speaking, our diet is low in carbohydrates and fat to control calories and minimize cravings. We proportionately increase patient’s intake of protein to maintain muscle mass and curb hunger. Overall, this approach prevents hunger despite consuming fewer calories.

Jumpstart participants also learn other crucial elements of nutritional health – ordering in restaurants, “mindful eating”, overcoming individual dietary challenges, learning to read nutrition labels, managing special occasions, healthy cooking techniques, and the importance of proper hydration, daily snacks and breakfast.

But as one patient said, “Losing weight is not just about the diet.” While our nutrition educators are replete with dietary tools and knowledge, we think of them as “agents of change.” The title comes from the belief that sustained weight loss often involves a personal transformation that goes beyond exercise, food choices and portion control. Through compassionate support that reinforces positive changes, our educators help nurture a new lifestyle. Old, unhealthy habits make way for new and life affirming ones. One patient described her experience as akin to shedding an old cocoon and re-emerging as a beautiful butterfly.