About Us
Meet Dr. Mercuro DO
The Functionally Fit Difference
- Combining Functional Medicine and Medical Weight Loss is unique and provides a different perspective.
- Medical Group Visits provide immense social support and is not typical of other medical programs.
- Personalization of the program to fit the phenotype and individual needs of the patient
Our Mission
Functionally Fit takes a whole-person approach to weight loss. Many of us have struggled to lose weight and have felt frustrated with the many obstacles that can get in the way of weight loss. Whether its stress, lifestyle, diet, or other medical conditions, functional medicine treats the underlying issues resulting in better overall health, including weight loss!
Why can’t you lose weight?
An increase in body fat and weight loss resistance can be a sign of underlying medical conditions. Treating weight gain with a functional medicine approach ensures that the underlying causes of the weight gain are treated as well! A large percentage of our population is overweight and obese, and since all of us have unique genetic predispositions, there is no one size fits all plan for weight loss. Exercise and dietary changes are not the only proper solution for weight loss for those with underlying medical conditions. Using a functional medicine approach, we look at any hormonal, environmental, psychological and metabolic conditions that can be resulting in weight gain and build a treatment plan around the cause – not the symptom.
What conditions cause weight gain?
Common conditions associated with weight gain are stress, a buildup of toxins, insulin resistance, and genetic predispositions to obesity. The stress hormone cortisol can cause you to gain weight around the abdomen, and hormonal imbalances can make it difficult to combat weight gain, as well as lose weight. A buildup of toxins stored in our fat can also cause metabolic issues. A buildup of toxins can also be accompanied by insulin resistance, an imbalance of glucose levels in the blood. Genetic predispositions to certain metabolic disorders, diabetes, and obesity can also be the cause of weight gain and treating these conditions can not only result in weight loss but improve overall health.
Frequently Asked Questions
The cost of the program includes physician review of your medical history and available lab work, the weekly group class, 3 month supply of supplements, access to meal planning app and health coach check ins.
If medical management or pharmaceutical support is needed, one : one physician monthly physician visits can be scheduled for an additional fee.
If there are medication changes or other medically sensitive issues arise we will send notes or discuss with your medical team if needed.
We ask if you join our Functionally Fit Program you use the included supplements as the program and supplements was designed to work for most people. We have selected the pharmaceutical grade supplements so we can be certain as to quality and dosage. There is room of course for personalization which is discussed in the weekly meetings.
We work to set you up for success. The weight loss goal of the program is 5-10% of starting body weight as studies suggest that is the amount of weight loss required for clinical improvement for health benefits. We also try to focus more so on loss of body fat and change in body composition than weight. That being said, after the initial program, some will choose to repeat the program and others move into a less intensive program for maintenance or if they require less support.
This will vary person to person and often the results are not linear- a typical weight loss pattern is accelerated at the start and then slows down to one half to one pound per week. Because our program is designed to hit at some of the causes of body weight set point dysregulation, some individuals will respond to different interventions as our focus varies month to month. Our goal is 5-10% of starting body weight.
You will have access to pharmaceutical weight loss prescriptions if needed. We tend to prioritize lifestyle interventions and the underlying imbalances that lead to body weight setpoint dysregulation but sometimes medications are needed to overcome the biological drive to maintain current weight. Participants in the program, if not current Sparkle Health patients, will have the opportunity to add on 1:1 physician visits during which medications can be discussed or prescribed. This is unnecessary for current Sparkle Health patients.
This program is not covered by health insurance but often can be reimbursable by health saving and flexible spending accounts. If a letter of medical necessity is needed for reimbursement, we can provide this to you with the appropriate diagnosis codes.
We would like for you to have had basic lab testing which may have been done through your regular primary care physician. If not, we can order the basic testing through a commercial lab if needed. Throughout the program, there are opportunities for additional lab testing. Some of these tests would not be covered by health insurance and are optional. They may include functional medicine tests such as stool testing and hormone testing. If these tests are desired, you would need to add 1:1 physician visits to review results unless a current Sparkle Health member.