I would recommend GMOS to anyone, and everyone. Dr. Cindi Larimer, and her staff, are just a…read morepleasure to meet with and the results that I have had with them are simply amazing.
Like a lot of you, I have tried almost every diet there is: Atkins, South Beach, NutriSystem, WW, some very strange ones, and even a number of the other clinics listed on Yelp. As a stubborn male, I was somewhat hesitant to admit that I was severely overweight: let's face it, at 280 pounds, I was morbidly obese. I had been putting off hip surgery for two years because I needed to lose weight to have the surgery --- and I could not lose weight, no matter what I tried!
Finally, I went to my family doctor and admitted that I needed help, that I needed a referral to a weight-loss clinic or a nutritionist. I think that's what he had been waiting for; my willingness to admit that I had a weight problem. He immediately sent me to GMOS and Dr. Larimer. I am so glad that he did. Everything else that I had tried had seemed to be a little bit like psuedo-science; they had the miracle cure, quick results guaranteed, and a lot of talk to convince you that they, as opposed to everyone else, were not a con just out to take your money.
Dr. Larimer was different, and surprisingly so to me. First, she was an actual medical doctor with many years of practice and experience. Second she is the only Board Certified Obesity Specialist in Florida. Third, she explained the recognized science behind her program: as a scientist myself, I could understand and follow the logic and rationale of her program and appreciated dealing with facts, not platitudes. Fourth, she did not promise any miracles, and even explained why some people simply can not lose weight, especially if they had tried off-and-on dieting many times over the years.
Her dedication to the science of obesity and weight loss is what really impressed me. She was not interested in signing me up just to get my money --- she wanted me as a patient only if she thought that I might benefit from her program. She is first and foremost, a doctor: given my age, she had one of her staff administer an EKG, and then she verified that I had no abnormal heartbeat, before she would agree to accept me into her program.
And I have benefited from her program. I have now lost 80 pounds and I am well on my weigh (pun intended) to meeting my weight goal. I feel better, I look better, and I am much more active, even with a bad hip. The only downside is that I have gotten rid of almost all of my old clothes in the closet and have had to go out and shop for new clothes (which can be "sort of fun" if it means getting smaller and smaller sizes over time).
However, the most important point that I have learned from her is that I am going to have to be aware of my eating habits, and the trade-offs that can be made, for the rest of my life. If, once I reach my goal, I simply return to my old eating/drinking habits, and consume large amounts of sugar/alcohol/carbs, it would not be too long before I was once again up to 280.
