Gaining weight is easy, but losing it can feel impossible.
Part of the problem is that diets are (inherently) extremely restrictive. When life’s daily stressors show up, food is one of the most effective ways to feel better. But when your diet takes food off the table, the mental battle gets even more difficult.
How many times can people be expected to try another diet before caving in and heading to the pantry? The struggle to lose weight and keep it off can cause some people to get so demotivated that they quit altogether.
Diet and exercise are essential components of achieving a healthy body. We all know that. But the reality is that especially as we get older, the goal can become progressively more difficult – especially without a personal trainer or chef.
This is what makes the advent of medical weight loss platforms like Found Health so special. They offer accessible, on-demand access to medical weight loss treatment that respects your body at every stage of the process.
Key Takeways
- Found Health providers can prescribe a variety of 13 FDA-approved GLP-1s and off-label medications to help patients reach their weight goals.
- Found has a team of expert clinicians and coaches to help members achieve long-term success.
- The platform is geared toward those with a BMI over 27-30 who have struggled with conventional weight loss approaches or those who need medical support for pre-existing conditions
Table of Contents
Found Health pros and cons
Pros
- Widest weight loss medication toolkit on the market: Found prescribes 13 different medications that can be combined to create more than 60 possible treatment paths to support your weight loss journey.
- Personalized program tailored to your body, health, and goals
- Access to 1:1 coaching that helps support sustainable weight loss.
- Doorstep delivery of your medications
- Holistic approach that cares about more than just cutting calories and speeding up your metabolism.
- Access to a supportive community of people also losing weight through the Found program.
Cons
- Program cost fluctuates and is not stated upfront
- Bloodwork not included
- Does not accept insurance
- Only available in 41 states
What Is Found: Why Choose Found Medication Weight Loss Program
Found is a company that promotes healthy weight loss through medical support. They believe that patients should embrace the journey, and recognize how much they have to gain through losing weight rather than focusing solely on the scale.
They have designed a comprehensive program that overcomes a lot of the hurdles to other types of medical weight loss programs. Here’s why they’re one of the best available:
- Safe, Effective Medications & Combination Therapy: Found prioritizes responsible prescription practices, offering only the safest and most effective FDA-approved weight loss medications. They offer both branded anti-obesity meds as well as off-label generic combinations when they’re determined safe for use by the prescribing clinician.
- Personalized Approach: Found’s whole-body approach to weight loss embraces each person’s individual biology. The brand personalizes its prescriptions by taking into account factors like genetics, hormones, metabolism, and medical history.
- Medication Management: To help patients minimize side effects and avoid the risk of dependency, Found carefully manages its medication dosages and prescription length. Clinicians monitor for potential side effects, drug-drug interactions, and any other risks an individual may face. Each medication is prescribed at a dose personalized to the patient’s unique needs.
- Expert Clinicians: The Found team is made up of board-certified clinicians who specialize in weight management. They focus on long-term sustainable weight loss that takes the whole person and body into account.
The team works with individuals to develop personalized weight loss plans, learn about each person’s health, and explore their medical history. They do this by asking questions about health conditions (cholesterol, diabetes, sleep apnea, etc.), pre-existing conditions (eating disorders, kidney problems, heart disease, etc.), current medications, family history, exercise habits, diet, sleep quality, stress levels, mental health, and more.
How does Found Weight Loss work?
Getting Started With Found Health
There are two stages to joining Found’s weight loss program: sign-up and evaluation.
Signing Up:
To register, visit the Found home page and click “Continue” to start the process. You’ll know after completing a short survey whether you qualify for the prescription program.
If you are eligible for that plan, you’ll be directed to complete your order and profile. From there, you can start your full intake survey. This will gather all the necessary details about your health to provide some backstory for your clinician before they meet with you.
After the survey is complete, Found will schedule your consultation.
Evaluation:
During your medical consult, you’ll meet with an experienced clinician who will talk with you about your history, goals, and previous attempts to lose weight. They will decide which medication would be best for you to try, and prescribe a custom dose. Rx Path members of Found also get access to the community, blogs, nutritional guides, and additional content that supports their weight loss journey. Follow-up consults will monitor your progress, make any necessary modifications, and ensure the medication you received is helping you reach your goals.
Found prescription weight loss coach: Is medication alone enough?
Medication is not a substitute for a good weight loss program. You will still need to prioritize getting enough exercise and making healthy dietary choices to support your well-being.
To improve patient outcomes, Found incorporates the following benefits into their Rx Path:
- Personalized Coaching: Found members receive 1:1 coaching to support their individual weight loss journeys. Coaches are there to offer guidance on exercise, stress management, and other factors that might influence weight loss.
- Expert Resources: You can access a wealth of resources to support your weight loss, including recipes and articles curated by registered dieticians. The content is tailored to each person’s needs and preferences, making it easier to incorporate healthy habits into your daily life.
- Community Support: Found also offers community support that allows them to connect with others, share tips, and encourage one another throughout their journey.
- User-Friendly App: There is a user-friendly app you can use to set goals, log your routines, track your progress, and celebrate every milestone!
Found Health cost breakdown
Found memberships are based on commitment length, which is charged on a monthly basis. While Found doesn’t provide exact pricing on their site, word around the web says that they change between $89 to $119 per month.
The cost of your membership includes free shipping on medications through participating e-pharmacies, access to the Found community, expert resources, coaching, and technical support.
Alternative medication weight loss program: Found vs Calibrate vs Roman Weight Loss vs Form Health
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program cost | $89-119 per month | $129 per month / $249 for metabolic analysis | $99 first month, then $135 every month thereafter | $199 per month |
| Types of prescription meds | FDA-approved GLP-1s and off-label | FDA-approved GLP-1s | FDA-approved GLP 1-s | FDA-approved GLP-1s |
| Number of medication options | 13 | 6 | 2 | 7 |
| Doorstep delivery of meds? | ✔ | ❌ | Only in cases where local pharmacy doesn’t fill a prescription | ✔ |
| Free shipping of meds? | ✔ | ❌ | Unknown | Unclear |
| Included blood lab work? | ❌ | Yes, with metabolic analysis | No, but has a metabolic lab test you complete at home and send back | ❌ |
| 1:1 coaching? | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| 24/7 care support team? | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Nutrition education? | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Community support? | ✔ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Accepts insurance? | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| App | Online | Online, iOS, and Google Play | Online and iOS | Online, iOS, and Google Play |
| Where is it available? | Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota , Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington , Wisconsin, and Wyoming | All 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. | All 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. | Select counties in Alabama, Arizona,California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia,Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, Pennsylvania South Carolina, Texas, Washington |
| Website |
Medically Assisted Weight Loss: The Skinny on Weight Loss Meds
As with everything, there are pros and cons to consider when looking into medical weight loss programs. Here’s our take on the good and bad side of this approach:
The Good
- Great for people who are morbidly obese and have struggled to lose weight through traditional methods like dieting and exercise.
- Prescription weight loss medication can help jumpstart someone’s weight loss journey and help people achieve their goals, especially in conjunction with a diet and exercise plan.
- Some weight loss medications work by suppressing appetite, which can curb overeating, while others block the absorption of fat in the body.
- For people with weight-induced or weight-affecting medical conditions, a medical weight loss program can personalize their treatment to ensure they are given the best support for their bodies.
The Bad
- Prescription weight loss medication is not a substitute for a healthy lifestyle, and it shouldn’t be seen as a quick fix or workaround for eating well and staying active. Instead, it’s there to help people start their weight loss journey effectively.
- There are side effects to weight loss medication to watch out for, such as nausea, diarrhea, and changes in mood and sleeping patterns. While many can resolve on their own, they can still be disruptive to your daily life.
- Some prescription weight loss medications can be habit-forming, and they should be closely managed under the care of a medical professional.
- Prescription weight loss medication can be expensive, and it may not be covered by insurance. This makes it inaccessible to people who are underinsured or don’t have any coverage.
- While it can help some people, weight loss medication is not for everyone, and it is not a long-term solution to keeping weight off.
Beyond Diet: Understanding the Biological Factors Behind Weight Gain
Many people have struggled with unwanted weight gain throughout their entire lives. And while diet and fitness habits absolutely play a critical role in maintaining a healthy weight, there are other factors to consider as well. And unfortunately, there are still misconceptions about the factors that contribute to weight gain (and loss).
Some of the key biological factors that could play a role in your own weight gain are:
Metabolic rate/thermogenesis: Your metabolic rate is the speed at which your body burns calories. This rate can vary greatly from person to person, and it’s impacted by factors such as age, sex, and muscle mass. People with slower metabolisms can experience weight gain as they burn fewer calories throughout the day.
Thermogenesis, the body’s process of generating heat, also affects your metabolic rate. Brown fat cells generate heat and boost metabolism while white fat cells store energy and can contribute to weight gain.
Hormones: Hormones are chemicals that send messages throughout your body. They tell different physiological systems what to do, how often to perform certain processes, and can even impact appetite.
Hormonal imbalances can lead to weight gain. For example, hypothyroidism, a condition that causes the thyroid to produce less of its key hormone, can lead to weight gain. Insulin resistance, the body’s inability to properly process insulin, can also cause you to gain weight and cause high blood sugar levels. This is common among people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
The hormone ghrelin stimulates appetite, and when it isn’t being produced and regulated properly, it can also lead to weight gain because it causes people to eat more in order to feel satiated.
Leptin, a hormone fat cell, helps regulate hunger and can also affect weight gain. People who have leptin resistance may struggle to control their appetites and weight.
Neurobiology: Your brain’s neurotransmitters also play a role in your weight. For example, dopamine is involved in reward, pleasure, and motivation. A dopamine imbalance can cause someone to overeat and gain weight as a result.
If you have any mental health struggles, like depression, your neurotransmitters may be further disrupted and affect factors like your appetite and food cravings.
Microbes: Billions of bacteria live in your gut, helping your body regulate all of its processes and produce the right level of hormones. Inflammation and imbalances can result in hormonal fluctuations that affect appetite and even influence your body’s ability to process food properly.
Studies have shown that individuals with less diversity in their gut biome may be more likely to gain weight. Certain strains of bacteria, such as Firmicutes, have also been tied to weight gain.
Genes: Your genetics can affect your likelihood of gaining weight and your body’s responses to certain foods. For example, researchers have linked the FTO gene to obesity and a higher body mass index (BMI).
Other genes can also influence hunger levels and satiety signals, like the MC4R gene.
Why Medication May Be Needed: Although exercise and diet are important elements of a healthy lifestyle, they may not be the only factors to consider when it comes to losing weight. In some cases, it’s important to address any underlying biological factors that could be making it harder for you to keep off weight.
Medication may be able to help some people manage health conditions that can cause weight gain. For example, someone with hypothyroidism may need to take thyroid hormone replacement to regulate their metabolism; someone with type 2 diabetes may benefit from medications such as metformin, which can improve insulin sensitivity.
Found Health reviews: What are other customers across the internet and social media saying?
Is Found Weight Loss worth it?
Yes, if you’re looking for prescription weight loss meds, coaching, and support along your journey to a slimmer self. Found offers a good variety of medications, and services to patients with state-licensed clinicians, so you can trust their medical authority.
The only thing to watch out for is the exact medication prescribed and the costs. Because Found also uses off-label medications, you may be recommended prescriptions not used for weight loss. This can have potential side effects and even complications with other meds.
Because their pricing isn’t transparent, you should closely evaluate all of the fine print before signing up, especially their refund policy, which may have an early termination fee to watch out for.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Found prescribes a variety of medications for weight loss, including FDA-approved weight loss meds as well as some off-label drugs. Even off-label prescriptions are FDA-approved for their original intended purpose.
You must have a BMI over 30 or 27 with certain comorbidities.
Weight loss medications work slightly differently depending on their formulation, but the underlying principle of all of them is to suppress appetite and/or block your body’s fat absorption.
Found is not a cure for weight loss, but it can be beneficial for people struggling to lose weight. Those with high BMIs and/or comorbidities like type 2 diabetes will likely find the support and aid of the clinicians and coaches helpful on their journey.
Found is available in 41 states.
No, there is a fixed price per month depending on the plan you sign up for.
