Welcome—thank you for being here.

Are you interested
in weight loss at NSWM?

You are in the right place!

Interested in a consultation?

About our Weight Management Program

All of our programs will require tracking of your intake- both food and water. You will use a body-composition scale that connects to our BodySite App using your smartphone. This allows us to monitor your progress on a frequent basis. This regular accountability has proven to be an essential element in successful weight loss and maintenance.

The first thing we want all potential patients to understand, is that sustained weight loss IS possible, and the best chance of success is to be right here reading about medical weight loss. Programs like ours require a higher level of commitment than weight loss clinics that are not part of a medical practice. Most of our patients have tried other methods to reach a healthier weight, and we understand it’s a long and frustrating road. We also understand the science behind weight loss and weight gain, and what is absolutely necessary to reach a healthy weight and STAY THERE.

The second thing to consider is the two main programs we offer:

  1. All grocery food- you will be planning and preparing all your own grocery food as laid out by our Director of Nutrition.

  2. Meal Replacement- some or all of your daily food is replaced by New Direction protein shakes/soups/bars. These are high quality medical-grade supplements used in our medical weight loss programs to allow safe, nutritionally complete and more efficient weight loss.

Some of our new patients are initially resistant to the idea of high protein meal replacements for weight loss- and it’s almost always due to misconceptions about how and why they are used.

Warm regards,

Program Plans

Plan 1: All Meal Replacements (No Grocery Food)

This is the most straightforward plan, and provides the most efficient weight loss:

✔️ 5 NewDirection® products per day


Plan 2: 3–4 Meal Replacements with Small “Lean and Green” Meal*

These are a LITTLE bit more “flexible”, weight loss will be slower:

✔️ 4 NewDirection® products per day plus 200 calorie meal OR
✔️ 3 NewDirection® products per day plus 400 calorie meal

*Your “Lean and Green” meal plan and shopping list sheet are provided to keep things simple! PLANS 1 and 2 require WEEKLY visits with Jen and MONTHLY visits with Dr. Costello.


Plan 3: 2–3 Meal Replacements with Grocery Meal Plan**

These are the most “flexible” in terms of grocery food variety. Weight loss is definitely slower, and the meal preparation takes a bit more time.

✔️ 2–3 NewDirection® products plus 5-600 calories of grocery food

**Plan 3 includes fruit, starch, veggie, fat etc. in 4 different eating patterns. Meal guides and shopping list sheet provided. PLAN 3 requires WEEKLY visits with Jen and VARIABLE visits with Dr. Costello.

Interested in a consultation?

Next Steps

Step 1: Consultation

  • Review our entire website

  • Review this full Weight Management page**

  • Please also review our Services & Pricing

**It’s important to have a general idea what program suits you prior to meeting Dr. Costello. Mainly, you will want to know how quickly you’d like to lose, and whether you want to use meal replacements. We highly encourage patients to consider at least starting with meal replacements- either Plan 1 or Plan 2. This gets the weight loss going and is very encouraging, and gets people off to a great start. Your consultation may be a telehealth or in person meeting.

Step 2: Labs and EKG/ Medical records

  1. If you elect to do Plan 1 or Plan 2, we need a very specific set of labs that are not usually part of routine lab work, as well as an EKG. If you’ve had an EKG within the last 3 months, we can use that.
    **Your EKG must be reviewed and signed by a physician. We encourage you to have this at Anna Jaques Hospital where we have an established relationship and the EKGs are read by their on staff cardiologists. If your EKG has any abnormalities, you may be asked to see a cardiologist to ensure there is nothing needing further evaluation.

  2. At least one office note from your PCP as well as any notes from any specialists will be needed prior to your Med Screen.

Step 3: Medical Screen Follow up with Dr. Costello

The Medical Screen Follow-up is either in person or via telehealth (depending whether you saw her in person for the initial Consultation) to review your labs/EKG and go over any questions you may have, as well as what to expect.

Step 4: Order product, schedule initial appointment with Jen

Once you are cleared by Dr. Costello, Danielle will reach out to you with the link to order products, she will order your scale and set up your first appointment with Jen.

General Nutrition Weight Loss Education

ALL grocery food, and the weight loss is MUCH slower than when on a plan including meal replacements. You are still required to use the Body Site App and our connecting body composition scale.

Month 1: Initial 30 min visit with Jen, then two 15 min visits in the same month.

Month 2+: You’ll have 15 min appts either 2–4 times per month. Periodic medical appointments with Dr. Costello may be required if you are prescribed weight loss medication, or if she is managing any other medical conditions.

  • Knowing about nutrition is a great start, but it often doesn’t result in weight loss. We need an “inside view” of what you are doing, so we can better understand you as a whole. Like anything else in medicine, this is a diagnostic process. We can’t do it without the data.

  • There are differing styles of practice with nutrition experts- some focus purely on nutrition knowledge, and some specialize in weight loss. Most do not specialize in weight loss. Jennifer, our Director of Nutrition, has over 25 years of experience specifically in the field of weight loss.

  • Liking healthy whole foods is awesome! We want that! But that’s not enough to lose weight. Meal replacements bundle the right balance of protein, carbs, fat, vitamins and minerals into the right calorie portion for healthy weight loss. And more importantly, using them as part of your weight loss plan will help prevent the loss of muscle (“lean mass”). When anti-obesity medications are used and appetite is suppressed, it’s too easy to go without an adequate amount of daily protein to help prevent loss of muscle.

  • The expectation is never to use meal replacements long term! They are an effective tool for the weight loss portion of your journey. Your long term weight management plan is to eventually transition to

  • The screening lab work and EKG are submitted to your insurance and are usually covered. You may submit to your insurance company for reimbursement of nutrition visits and some people have received partial reimbursement. We can provide the documentation needed to submit, but we are not involved in the process. Meal replacements are generally not covered by insurance, but many people use their HSA to cover some of the cost. Hopefully at some point insurance will cover all aspects of obesity treatment. Many of our patients use their HSA to cover fees.

  • Yes I do prescribe these medications. These can indeed be an important addition to healthier eating and better habits for successful long term weight management.

  • Yes, of course..for MOST people. That is why we do a thorough Medical Screen, and I discuss any issues with the primary care or other specialists for certain health issues, prior to considering them for our programs.

  • Once you’ve read through everything (and we mean everything! Please be sure you’ve read over all the tabs: Welcome, Programs/Descriptions, Treatment Consent and these FAQs) please call for a consultation and have any recent records/bloodwork sent from your primary care doctor and any specialists you may see. You’ll then meet with Dr. Costello to discuss your entire weight history, eating habits, and evaluate any medical reason you may struggle with weight. If you decide you do want to join a program, we’ll order screening lab work and an EKG. You’ll then have one more appointment to review everything to get started!

Weight Loss FAQs