We have encountered several instances where we received personal checks as a form of payment and the check was returned unpaid due to account closing, change in account, or insufficient funds. We realize sometimes it can be an honest mistake, but we do want to emphasize that we stopped taking checks as payment since November 2016 and there will be no exceptions.
Payment is rendered at the time of service. We accept many forms of payment for our weight loss & hormone replacement services: Cash, VISA, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, CareCredit, and certain FSA or HSA plan if the card is a Mastercard or VISA and scan in our machine.
We wanted to wish you all a Happy Father’s Day as we welcome our own new addition to the Elevation family.
Remy is almost a week old 🙂
Obviously, Dr. Cooper will be out of the office on maternity leave until mid July, we will however have prescribers available in her place to assist existing and new patients with their weight loss until she returns.
When most people first come to see us, their introduction included several urgings as to the importance of tracking calories. We know that this advice will sometimes fall on deaf ears, but we wanted to take time to reiterate the importance of tracking calories when attempting to lose weight through diet.
Whether you are using appetite suppressants, HCG, or just plain old dieting, you will find that errors in estimating calories can add up throughout the day to a surprising degree. If you doubt this, test yourself on a variety of everyday foods and compare this to what you can find on any number of calorie counter websites. Even if you do well in this controlled setting, I would be cautious to trust your instincts in the real world, especially if these instincts have already played a role in your weight gain.
Also keep in mind that with lower calorie diets, such as those used with HCG or by certain individuals with slower base metabolisms, the margin for error is far smaller. Overestimating by 50 calories per meal make a much bigger difference for someone eating 800 calories a day than someone eating 1600.
Finally, we want to encourage you to begin tracking calories not just for now but also for the future. We have found that the best way to prevent post-diet weight rebounds is by spending adequate time tracking your calories when attempting to eat at “weight maintenance” diet. By getting feedback through your tracker you can better train your body to feel satisfied with the appropriate amount of food for you to avoid subsequent weight gain.
Starting this week, we will send you text message reminders to follow-up for your weigh-in and medication refills. Sometimes we all just need a bit of a reminder, and with your busy lifestyle we figured that you can do without an extra phone call.
Until now we have offered through our website the opportunity to book appointments for our various B-12 injections. We have done this in an effort to better accommodate those with less flexible schedules, however we have found it to cause more confusion than good so we have decided to remove the option from our appointment scheduler.
Don’t worry, this change will not limit the times during which you can come in for B-12 injections but rather you may still come in at any time during which we have regular hours. If our open sign is on, you can come on in for shots.
So to further clarify, no appointments need to be (no can be) made for B-12 injections, appointments are available only for new fills or refills on prescription medications, and only required during non-walk in Physician hours.
It’s been awhile since we had a recipe posting, but we’ve been saving this savory low-carb, recipe for Spring. We use a vegetable spiralizer (found in local home goods store or on Amazon). A vegetable spiralizer is definitely a safer alternative for your fingers to a mandolin slicer. If you don’t have the tools, you can chop the zucchini into thin slices with a knife and still serve a great meal.
Zucchini Noodles with Meat Sauce (247 calories per serving, 23 g of carbs) *prep time 10 min, cook time 20 minutes* Serves 10
Ingredient
Calories
Carbs
93% lean beef, 2 lb
1379 calories
Zucchini, 12 large, washed
648 calories
80 grams
Tomato sauce, canned, 28 oz
227 calories
52 grams
Tomato paste, canned, 6 oz
139 calories
32 grams
Onion, 1 medium, minced
46 calories
11 grams
Parmesan cheese, grated, 1 tsp (optional)
10 calories per serving
Water, 3/4 cup
Garlic, minced, 2 tsp
Oregano, 2 tsp
Sugar, 2 tsp
32 calories
8 grams
Salt, 1 tsp
Basil, 2 tsp (fresh or dried)
Black pepper, ½ tsp
Sugar, spice, and everything nice.. MaiLan thinks it would be nicer if we can put 2 lb of sugar instead of 2 tsp
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine ground beef, onion, garlic, oregano, basil, sugar, salt, black pepper, and 1/4 cup of water in a large saucepan on medium heat.
2. Stir to crumble and brown the meat.
3. Stir crushed tomato, tomato paste, and 1/2 cup of water into the pan until a rolling boil. Simmer on low and stir occasionally for another 5-10 minutes.
We had every intention to use fresh tomatoes, but someone else claimed them.
4. While the meat sauce is simmering, use a vegetable spiralizer to turn the zucchini into noodles.
5. One zucchini (33 calories, 6 g carbs) will yield about 2 cups of zucchini noodles. A serving is 3 cups of zucchini noodles. Spiralize the zucchini into desired thinness. You may want to request for help from an experienced taste tester.
4. In a large microwave-safe bowl or plate, microwave the zucchini for 2-3 minutes on high for every 3 cups you plan to serve.
5. Combine zuchinni noodles with 8 oz of meat sauce. Add on a tsp of grated Parmesan cheese if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Each serving is under 300 calories, which works with both the HCG and phentermine diet plan.
Starting around the age of 30, most men see a constant drop in testosterone levels resulting in reduced energy, motivation, muscle tone and size, leanness, as well as libido. Not only do many men see a decrease in usable testosterone, but years of being overweight combined with environmental factors such as diet and activity level cause many men to “aromatize” testosterone, essentially converting the male hormone, testosterone, into the female hormone estrogen.
By utilizing Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) we can work with you to find the right hormone balance to optimize the beneficial, youthful effects of such a balance. TRT incorporates administration of testosterone in order to assist a man’s body when it can’t sufficiently produce its own. In addition to the testosterone itself, estrogen blockers are used to avoid excess aromatization so that you don’t experience side effects related to high estrogen, such as fatigue, insomnia, water retention, bloating, or erection issues.
For anyone concerned about future fertility, it is a concern with exogenous testosterone usage however our program incorporates the use of HCG, which in addition to its weight loss benefits also mimics a hormone that encourages your body to continue producing its own testosterone, as well as preserve sperm count and quality. HCG has been long used in fertility treatments due to this function, you are not expected to follow our HCG rapid weight loss diet while in the TRT program.
You may be a good candidate for testosterone replacement therapy if you have these symptoms:
Difficulty losing weight
Erectile dysfunction (ED)
Reduced sex drive & spontaneous morning erections
Increased joint/muscle pain
Testes decreasing in size
Low sperm count or infertility
Night sweats
Fatigue
Memory issues
Mental fogginess
Difficulty concentrating
Decrease muscle mass and strength
Increase body fat & waist size
Our balanced TRT program minimizes side effects while giving you the most benefit from restored testosterone levels you’ve once had. For more information see our post here. You can also make an appointment below
Elevation Medical Weight Loss of Pittsburgh & Weirton 2350 Noblestown Rd. Pittsburgh, PA 15205 (412) 304-2016 241 Three Springs Dr. Weirton, WV 26062 (304) 914-3112
Until now we have offered through our website the opportunity to book appointments for our various B-12 injections. We have done this in an effort to better accommodate those with less flexible schedules, however we have found it to cause more confusion than good so we have decided to remove the option from our appointment scheduler. 
