Those health professionals who are regular followers of this blog know that HealthWise has been recommending and promoting The Inner Diet for years. The reason why can be found in something they said to me at our very first meeting. They simply told me that they hear the need for a program like The Inner Diet constantly from their customers and they wanted to be in the position to offer them a solution. I might add that, to my surprise, they wanted nothing in return from me. The satisfaction of being helpful to their clientele was simply enough. I knew immediately that this was a company that I would be proud to associate with. As a result, I often interact with HealthWise employees, customers and newsletter readers. For that I am deeply grateful because I’m not part of some big company or organization. I am just one person who had a very good idea, worked diligently to develop it and is motivated by a sincere, heartfelt desire to help. So, with the health industry turning more toward the distribution of health-related information, products and services through telecommunication mediums, I have been given the opportunity to tell you why The Inner Diet is a perfect telehealth delivery program for your weight loss clients. With that said, let me begin with a brief description of The Inner Diet.
The Inner Diet is a self-help, home-study program that identifies and addresses emotional eating. As I like to say, it provides the professional with a kind of emotional x-ray of the weight loss client while providing the client with the awareness, understanding and direction they need to address their emotional eating triggers. I designed it to enhance and compliment any diet and it has been used by doctors, dietitians and other weight loss professionals as an integral part of their weight loss programs for over 30 years. I developed it to be used by the client in the privacy of their home and without the need for professional assistance. In short, the client begins by completing a 40-item online questionnaire. I should mention that the development of the questionnaire was the topic of a doctoral dissertation and, as a result, is a statistically valid and reliable assessment instrument. After completing the online questionnaire, the client immediately receives an email containing their results. Their results include: A) a 6-15 page personalized profile reflecting their responses to the questionnaire, B) a 32 page activity book and C) a link that takes them to 1 hour and 46 minutes of audio support that explains their results and walks them through the entire program. I should also mention that, at the same time the client receives their results, the professional also receives a separate email with a summary of their results. And this can all happen without the client ever having to leave their home or walk into your office. There lies one of the great benefits of telehealth delivery systems. This is particularly useful considering all the current pandemic restrictions that have been put in place regarding safe business operations.
The reality is that due to the presence of Covid-19, a great many health professionals have found themselves working from home and remotely connecting with their clients. I know for a fact that many of my Inner Diet customers are currently operating in this manner. Because of the ever-present fear of catching the virus, along with the onset of many regional mandatory lockdowns, we are all spending much more time at home these days. As a result of the constant stress and isolation this has created, research shows that there is an abundance of emotional eating taking place behind closed doors. This, in turn, has led to increased anxiety, added weight gain and poorer health. This causes a variety of issues for a lot of overweight people but has particularly raised the risk factor for those classified as obese. According to the CDC, “Having obesity, defined as a BMI of 30 or above, increases your risk of severe Illness from Covid-19”. And Matthew Hunter, a surgery professor at Harvard Medical School and president of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery noted, “The pandemic has been a real wake-up call. We’ve realized that patients with obesity are at much higher risk for serious cases of Covid-19, including ICU visits and intubation, and even death”. As a result, many professionals have found this increased risk to be one of the primary factors motivating many people to finally take action and address their weight.
A case in point can be found in an article that I read recently. The Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Ali Aminian said that patients seeking bariatric surgery jumped 40% during the summer. She went on to say, “We’ve had patients who wanted to come and take care of their obesity, to be healthier, and when we ask them, why did you come now? It’s because they’ve heard this message that it’s a risk factor for Covid infection”. For many people and particularly the obese, the desire to lose weight has never been more palpable and vital.
As you undoubtedly know, telehealth is increasing in usage and popularity for the delivery of both medical and psychological services. I read an article just the other day that said, “this is becoming true for behavioral healthcare providers, who have typically been reticent in adopting virtual care technologies”. The article went on to say, “A recent survey from digital behavioral health company Tridiuum found that 81% of behavioral health providers began using telehealth for the first time in the last six months due to the Covid-19 pandemic”. The survey further noted that 70% of these respondents reported that they plan to continue offering telehealth services even after the pandemic has passed. There is no doubt that this model of health care delivery is here to stay and about to change the way we do business in a significant way.
So, if you’re a weight loss professional and would like to add a powerful telehealth tool to your weight loss program, HealthWise and I would like to offer you the opportunity to take a look at The Inner Diet and examine it at no charge. Just click on this link and follow the simple instructions as directed. I am sure you will find it time well spent and I am confident that you will immediately see the benefits that it would deliver for both your professional staff and your clients. It would provide your weight loss clients with a telehealth program that targets emotional eating, make your current program stronger, offer you an additional way to attract new customers and provide a fresh, personal and exciting new conversation in your clinics. And why do you need a cognitive modification program that targets emotional eating like The Inner Diet for your weight loss clients? Because, as the motto to The Inner Diet so aptly states: You Can’t Change Your Weight…Until You Change Your Mind!®
Wishing You Great Health,
Dr. John H. Sklare
The Inner Diet Program is for Weight Loss Professionals
Dr. Sklare is the originator of The Inner Diet Program and was a practicing Psychotherapist for many years. He partners with Nutritional Resources (d/b/a HealthWise- www.healthwisenri.com) for the creation of intellectual content for weight loss practitioners and their patients.