Dr. Thomas Marlowe
Weight Loss Institute
By Henry Bostic
      
A life-changing encounter with a friend shortly after he graduated from medical school led the newly minted physician to an unexpected medical specialty career. Now weight loss expert Thomas Marlowe, M.D., has brought his M.O.S.T weight loss program to Charlotte, and he was at Rotary on Tuesday to talk about his program to lose weight and keep it off.
 
The Indiana native left a multi-physician practice in Indianapolis to establish in January Dr. Marlowe's Weight Loss Institute in the Queen City's Elizabeth neighborhood and to practice one of medicine's newest specialties -- bariatrics.
 
Bariatric medicine concerns the medical treatment of overweight and obesity and its associated conditions. Bariatricians address the obese patient with a comprehensive program of diet and nutrition, exercise, lifestyle changes and, when indicated, the prescription of appetite suppressants and other appropriate medications. The word bariatric stems from the Greek word barros, which translates as heavy or large.
 
Dr. Marlowe recounted his encounter with a friend right after his graduation from medical school that changed his life. The friend, Big James, told Dr. Marlowe that even though he liked him as a friend he would never be his patient because Dr. Marlowe was overweight, smoked, didn't eat right nor did he exercise. The friend also told the new doctor he should lose about 40 pounds, explaining that he had once weighed more than 300 pounds but had lost 100 pounds and kept it off. The Big James nickname even came from the time he was so overweight.
 
Thus began Dr. Marlowe's journey to becoming a physician weight loss specialist which included an internship in sports medicine at the National Institute of Fitness and Sport from Dr. Douglas McKeag, the founder of Sports Medicine.
 
Dr. Marlowe's Weight Loss Institute offers patients a medically-supervised, individualized program to lose weight he calls M.O.S.T: M. Medicines for Weight Loss; O. Obstacles to Weight Loss; S. Simple Exercises; T. Tailored Nutrition.
 
To lose the most weight, a person's weight-loss program needs to have all four components, the Dartmouth College graduate explained. "You will have some weight loss if your program has some of these features, but you will lose the most weight if you have all four."
 
Medicines for Weight Loss - There are hundreds of diet pills. Some have been proven to double or triple the weight-loss from diet and exercise. How can you know which ones will be helpful and which ones are a waste of your money? he asked. Dr. Marlowe said he has investigated every medicine for safety and effectiveness, including alternative medicines and herbal supplements, and says there is sometimes a place for careful use of drugs in successful weight loss programs.
 
Obstacles to Weight Loss - There are many reasons why people struggle with losing weight. The Indiana University School of Medicine graduate cited the fact that many drugs used to treat other medical conditions such as depression, high blood pressure and diabetes often cause weight gain. Through training in bariatric medicine, Dr. Marlowe has learned which medications cause weight gain as a side-effect and which undiagnosed medical conditions are responsible when diet and exercise are not effective.
 
Simple Exercises - If you want lifelong weight-loss success, you need an exercise plan that is simple and fun -- something you enjoy, said the veteran of an internship at the University of Massachusetts. "Any weight-loss program which demands you use complicated exercise regimens or routines that are no fun is doomed to failure because you'll quit in a few months," he said. "Choose simple exercises that you truly enjoy so you can do them for a lifetime."
 
Tailored Nutrition - Have you wondered why some people lose weight with Atkin's Diet, but others don't. Each diet is great for some people, but terrible for other people. The question is: How will you know what dietary patterns will work best for you and which ones are safe long-term? He noted that just recently, a New England Journal of Medicine article confirmed that a single lab result can determine which diet will be the most successful. Dr. Marlowe said he had been ordering this lab on patients for five years.
 
Dr. Marlowe said the key to helping a patient lose weight successfully is to listen carefully to the patient's personal story to tailor the nutrition for optimal weight loss possible. Each person has a different underlying cause for gaining weight, he said, and will lose weight only through a nutrition program customized to his/her personal needs and preferences.
 
He outlined ten tips for helping anyone with successful weight loss:

Head Table: John Galles, Phil Van Hoy, David Zimmerman, Katie Tyler, Gene Williams, Myra Johnston;
Invocation: Tom Burgess
Visitors & Guests: Chris Thomas; Health & Happiness: Tigger Alexander; Song: Meg McElwain; Piano: Thomas Moore

• Jay Deyton has been hospitalized for a week and is now home and recovering; Bill Griswold's mother-in-law has had surgery for a brain tumor and will be admitted to a rehab center.
     
• Thomas Moore was recently named Citizen of the Year by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg's Black Women's Caucus; Congratulations to Meg McElwain and Frank Turner who were married May 24th; Gene Bratek has retired from Providence Day School; Carlos Sanchez, AT&T Regional Director, was appointed to the board of trustees at CPCC; Myra Johnston has been busy creating the Health Guidance Center, a nonprofit she envisions as a one-stop resource to connect people with the programs and services they need.
       
• Marilynn Bowler and Natalie English had the final drawing to recognize all who had brought in a new member during 2006-2007. Tickets to ballgames, hockey, baseball, dance, theater, and museums were awarded to Wes Clark, Tom Cottingham, Byron Bullard, Myra Johnston, Natalie English, John Galles, Sadler Barnhardt, Gregg Walker, and Powell Majors. Membership applications are available in the Rotary office. If you have questions or membership referrals, speak to this year's chair, Tom Bartholomy.
 
• Don Millen recognized exchange students Sam Sasscer, who will be leaving for Japan next week and Elif Resigulo, who has just arrived from Turkey for a six-week exchange.

• FIRST QUARTER INVOICES will be mailed on Thursday. If you do not receive your copy by mid-week, please call the Rotary office. Also note the Board of Directors approved an increase in quarterly dues from $94 to $98. (Please remember to increase this amount in your automatic bill paying system.)

• 2007-2008 Rosters are available. Make note of the following changes: