Two years ago, Dr. Christina Hector and Dr. Lamont Mitchell, opened New Path Weight Loss on Nottingham Way in order to educate people about non-surgical approaches to lose weight and become healthier.
The practice has thrived, they said, because of its personal feel. Hector and Mitchell answer the phone and answer email, and are the ones seeing patients.
Dr. Hector received her training in family medicine with a specialization in sports medicine. During her residency, she saw people battling with obesity, but did not have enough time to truly help them.
“I would have five minutes,” she said. “I would see them a month later and they were at the same point. I didn’t have enough time. I was not giving them the proper tools. That’s where this comes in. We focus on weight loss and give them what they need.”
New Path provides information and counseling for patients to lose weight and maintain weight with encouragement and tools they can use, Dr. Hector said. Initial consultations last 45 minutes to an hour, and follow up sessions are 15 minutes long.
“We are finding information on what they have done in the past; their successes and failures,” she said. “We order bloodwork and develop an individual plan that fits into their lifestyle. We follow up every week or once every other week. If there is a problem, we can address it fast.”
There is a weigh-in for accountability at each appointment.
Dr. Hector or Dr. Mitchell assesses what is working, and what needs to be adjusted, at every meeting.
“Maybe they thought they could do it, but they have not done anything,” Dr. Hector said. “It is about making it fit into what they are looking for as a weight loss program. We nudge them to say ‘You can do it.’
“Our patients are in different programs. If they follow the program, they are successful. It is not easy. We are asking them to give up the foods they find comforting. They have to make that extra change in lifestyle of family, work, and stress.”
Dr. Hector and Dr. Mitchell offer a conservative approach to weight loss to “lose weight as naturally as possible. One of the tools of weight loss that has helped many people is that it has to fit into who they are. If a person doesn’t like going to the gym, I can’t recommend it. They are not going to do it. I try to figure out what they enjoy doing, such as going for a walk, especially on a nice day. I had one patient who enjoyed canoeing, that is good for cardio, especially with nice weather. If it doesn’t fit in they are not going to do it. This is something you learn along the way,” Dr. Hector said.
Programs may include medically provided meal replacement, a modified diet and exercise. Appointments are weekly, and Dr. Hector said patients are more apt to follow recommendations when they know they are going to see her regularly.
Both doctors attended at the University of Medicine and Dentistry Osteopathy Medicine, now Rowan Osteopathy Medical School in Stratford. He is from North Jersey, and she is from New York. When Dr. Hector was about 5-years old, she knew she wanted to be a doctor.
“I enjoy helping people,” Dr. Hector said. “Science and medicine intrigued me. When you put that together, you become a physician. I worked very hard towards becoming a doctor.”
She works with patients when they realize they can no longer lose or maintain their weight on their own as easily as they could in their 20s or 30s. As a doctor, she helps them understand what is happening on the medical side and what to do about it. New Path Weight Loss is open on Tuesdays and Fridays, with hopes to expand hours.
New Path Weight Loss is located at 3105 Nottingham Way in Hamilton. Phone: (609) 414-3635. Web: newpathweightloss.com.
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