Weight & metabolic health
There is more than one useful next step.
Start with the resource that fits the question you have today. Lasting progress can include food, activity, sleep, support, medication, or surgery.
Start here
Understanding obesity
A plain-language overview of obesity, health risks, evaluation, and treatment options from the UMass Memorial Health Library.
Calorie needs
NIH Body Weight Planner
Estimate how changes in food intake and physical activity may affect weight over time. Treat the result as a planning estimate, not a prescription.
Food tracking
MyFitnessPal
Track food and calories when structured self-monitoring is useful. Tracking is not right for everyone, especially with a history of disordered eating.
Eating pattern
Harvard Healthy Eating Plate
A visual guide to building meals around vegetables, fruit, whole grains, healthy proteins, and healthier oils.
Meal timing
16/8 intermittent fasting
An introduction to limiting eating to an eight-hour daily window. Fasting is optional—not inherently superior—and is not appropriate for everyone.
Movement
Benefits of physical activity
CDC guidance on how regular activity supports sleep, mood, mobility, heart health, diabetes prevention, and long-term independence.
Treatment options
Medications for weight loss
An overview of prescription treatment as one possible part of long-term obesity care. Medication choice should be individualized with a clinician.
Treatment options
Metabolic and bariatric surgery
An overview of surgical treatment for obesity, including who may benefit and why lifelong follow-up matters.
Go deeper
Three books to think with
How Not to Diet
A patient-friendly summary of the book’s approach to food quality, habits, and sustainable weight management.
Read the summary →Patient summaryThe Obesity Code
A patient-friendly summary of the book’s argument about insulin, eating patterns, and fasting—with important context about the evidence.
Read the summary →Patient summaryWhy We Get Sick
A patient-friendly summary of insulin resistance, metabolic health, and practical ways to improve both—with context about where the book overreaches.
Read the summary →You do not have to do this alone
Meet with a health coach.
A referral can be made. Ask your care team whether health coaching is available and appropriate for you.
Talk with your clinician before fasting, starting a weight-loss medication, or pursuing surgery—especially during pregnancy, with an eating-disorder history, or when using insulin or other glucose-lowering medication.