I was born with a mild physical disability known as Cerebral Palsy. My disability is so mild only a select few know/are aware of it, as you can’t tell from simply looking at me, yet it hinders me physically from balancing without help, making my feet drag whenever I walk, and being unable to get up from the floor on my own. I am unable to stand for longer than five or ten minutes and walk long distances without multiple breaks. In the past, I had learned to pull myself up into a kneeling position and push myself up from the floor using a bed, couch, chair, or anything I could reach. Still, due to my physical limitations, working out has often been impossible for me.
I reached my heaviest in 2016 and realized I had to try to lose weight because it had caused me to lose even more mobility when I didn’t have more to lose. I tried all the “fad” diets, weight loss meal programs, weight loss powders, pills, gummies, teas, you name it, and nothing made any difference. I was losing confidence in myself, becoming anxious, and acutely aware that if nothing changed, I would eventually lose the ability to walk any distance, and was feeling my mortality. At my lowest point, I had gotten up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and accidentally turned the flashlight on my phone off, leading me to lose my balance and fall to the floor. I tried to push myself up to a kneeling position, but I couldn’t. I tried to lift myself up with my arms, but I couldn’t. After about an hour of thinking up solutions, I realized that I had to wait on the floor for my roommate to wake up and help me up, which he did three hours later.
Almost a year ago I met Debby Salter and the Why Weight team through my husband. I did some initial testing with Dr. Salter and was given the information and unconditional support needed to start my weight loss journey with the help of a doctor who truly knew the ins and outs of how I could become a healthier version of myself. Over the past ten months, I have lost ninety pounds, and am still seeing my weight go down. Not only am I close to reaching my weight loss goal, but I’ve gained mobility and energy, and I’m back to being able to push myself up from the ground (something I seriously doubted I’d ever be able to do again). I can walk well over a mile without needing a break, and I can move in ways I haven’t been able to for ten-plus years. I have a new lease on life, and I refuse to ever go back. Thanks to Dr. Salter, I’m confident I never will.
-Kath S.
Patient since 2022
My whole life I’ve struggled with my weight—specifically as I now better understand it, insulin resistance. While insulin resistance had been an ongoing problem, in 2020 it became a beast. Before finding Why Weight, I had been gaining pounds and inches consistently for over a year no matter what I ate or how much I exercised. I had consulted another endocrinologist, who had no solution for me other than phentermine. Needless to say, when I finally found Dr. Salter and the team, I was thrilled. I had been researching what was going on with my body but could not get any help. Finally at Why Weight, I was somewhere where they understood what I was going through. I remember crying in my consultation because a doctor finally saw and heard me and knew how to help me.
I began my journey in March 2021. I still meet with Dr. Salter as I am on maintenance. The Why Weight team truly cares about me not only as a patient but also as a person. Whenever I have questions or concerns, they are quick to reach out and help me find solutions. I have continued to refer others to Dr. Salter and the team. With their support and compassion, I met my goals by December of 2022–something I had believed was impossible. I am at a healthy weight, eat a protein and vegetable rich diet, and exercise as part of my routine. In short, my lifestyle is a healthy one, and thanks to the support of the Why Weight team, my body and body image are healthy now as well.
I urge anyone who knows they are eating ‘right’ and exercising but gaining inches and pounds to go to Dr. Salter. She understands. She is an expert in the field. She customizes your plan based on your needs. She cares about you and walks alongside you.
-Ann L.
Patient since 2021
When I first found Dr. Salter and Why Weight, I wasn’t actually looking for a weight loss clinic or
doctor. I had just learned that there were physicians that were Obesity Medicine Specialists, which is one of the certifications that Dr. Salter holds. Without knowing exactly what it meant, I felt like minimally seeing a physician who was specially trained in obesity medicine would be different than any other primary care type doctors I have had in the past. Maybe here, not all of my health problems would be blamed on my excess weight and maybe my difficulties with my weight management would be looked at differently than a character flaw that kept me from sticking to a diet plan. After making the first phone call to the office and realizing what support I could be tapping into, I had to give it a chance.I had been overweight ever since I was in elementary school. No amount of exercise or diet culture could ever bring me into the range of a “healthy weight.” As I went through high school and college, I tried all sorts of diets, which eventually spiraled into a 7-year struggle with eating disorders. I tried so many fad diets, did Nutrisystem for a year and I did Weight Watchers for 10 years and never lost more than 20 pounds and always gained more back when I strayed from the plans. I spent 35 years of my life feeling guilty about eating and I thought it was normal.
I had dieted my way up to 350 pounds by the time I had my first appointment with Dr. Salter. I felt chronically sick, in pain, and exhausted. My previous experiences with physicians and weight loss advice generally involved a “calories in need to be less than calories out” speech with a handout with generic nutrition advice, so I was a little skeptical but hopeful that this time it would be different. IT WAS DIFFERENT! Starting with the intake paperwork, the questions that were asked made it obvious that the team knew the struggles of being obese and there was no judgment attached. The relief I felt made it easy to move forward.
The first appointment with Dr. Salter was full of amazing information and insight about how obesity works and affects so many different aspects of our health. Though the most amazing thing from that first appointment was that I FINALLY FELT SEEN AND HEARD BY A PHYSICIAN. I was not an obese patient, I was a person with obesity. Dr. Salter heard what I said and believed me when I said that diets weren’t working. She already knew my whole story and my struggles with weight and weight loss. To feel believed by a doctor and supported was literally life changing. The level of understanding that she has for this and the passion she has to help is incredible.
From that day forward, the word that describes my experience with Dr. Salter and the Why Weight team is SUPPORT. My in-depth lab report showed how out of balance my blood sugars had become and how they were affecting fat storage and use. I immediately had weight loss success once we started balancing my blood sugar with medications and diet. Every weigh-in and appointment with Dr. Salter was met with encouragement and genuine concern about how I was feeling. The support that I received eliminated all of the guilt and shame about my weight I had carried with me my entire life. If I were to write in detail all of the positive experiences I have had working with this team, it would fill an entire book!
Within the first year I lost over 100 pounds. I have maintained a loss of 120 pounds for the last year. I have gained a life with my husband and kids that I had no chance of having two years ago, let alone the years of life that I have reclaimed. Thanks to the support from Why Weight I have gained confidence, self-acceptance, and serenity that I never thought possible. It has been an amazing journey!
-Jessi L.
Patient since 2021
The 58 year-old woman who lost over 60 pounds, grained confidence and is living healthier than ever
Most of my young-adult life to the age of 57, I was in a pattern of losing weight on virtually every diet known to man and then gaining it all back. I’ve spent more decades overweight than at a healthy weight. Being overweight brought low self-esteem, disappointment in the way I looked in the mirror or in pictures and I just didn’t feel healthy. I realized I needed help when I found myself living the same dismal day over and over and knew that I needed to stop using food as a coping mechanism for emotional struggles.
In July 2022, I was looking online for bariatric doctors and came across Why Weight Colorado. I felt like I won the lottery after meeting with Dr. Salter. She knows the ins and outs of weight loss, she listened to my weight loss struggles and reassured me she can help me achieve a healthy weight. The knowledge, tools and support from Dr. Salter and the Why Weight Team is incredible. Here I am, down 64 pounds and am about 15 pounds from my goal weight. I have confidence, love the smaller clothes size and feel healthy. I began this journey thinking about the weight I’ll lose but really that’s the side benefit, it’s more about the life I’ve gained.
-Tracy M
Patient since 2022
“I have a huge family history of obesity and diabetes. Although I am very active and eat well, I continued to slowly gain weight over the last few years. When I heard another family member of mine was diagnosed with pre-diabetes, I knew that I had to take a step for my health that I had not before considered. My primary care physician recommended Dr. Debra Salter. I was so impressed with our initial meeting and I knew that this journey was going to be successful. I told her I could not take medication that would make me antsy and that I love to eat (I did not want to starve myself in order to lose weight). She carefully did a workup that included lab work, a physical exam and a history intake. She set up a plan for me, keeping in mind that I did not want to stop living life in order to lose weight and get healthier. There came a time during my weight loss journey where I plateaued about 10 pounds away from my goal. I wanted to give up, but Dr. Salter would not let me. She and her team are so supportive and helpful . I was able to reach my goals after I went along with Dr. Salter’s recommendations on how to overcome the plateau. I’ve now been successful with my weight loss goals for months. She taught me that I can live life and still be at a healthy weight, instead of on the road to being a diabetic. I can’t thank Dr. Salter and her team enough! I highly recommend this office.”
-Annie C.
Patient since 2021
“January 2019 was a turning point in my life. My husband and I had just booked a trip to Disney World, the first visit for our 5 and 8 year old sons. It was something we’d been looking forward ro and talking about for years and I was so excited for it to finally happen. After that initial excitement wore off I was drowning in anxiety. 17 years ago I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) after gaining 30 pounds very rapidly. The doctor told me to lose a little weight (I was only slightly overweight then) and that’s it…nothing about the other ways PCOS could affect my life, nothing about how losing weight with PCOS was an uphill battle, nothing about how it could affect my fertility. Nothing. Within five years I weighed more than 300 pounds. After doing some of my own research about losing weight I came across the American Board of Obesity Medicine website and from there I found Why Weight. Dr. Salter spent a long time with me at my first appointment, it was a conversation that was like therapy to me, because I finally felt understood. She saw that I’d tried and failed over and over again, but didn’t blame me. For the first time my weight wasn’t being treated as a personal failing. She wanted to get to the why.
The initial blood work was revealing and reassuring. Yes there were issues, but Dr. Salter made it all seem manageable and that first month I lost 8 pounds. It wasn’t even hard. Was it work? Sure, but work isn’t so hard when you never feel hungry or deprived. One of the things that kept me on track was that I actually looked forward to my appointments. I enjoyed seeing everyone and I actually enjoyed getting weighted, even at the appointment where I’d gained. That seems strange, but it’s because I knew we’d get to the why and I’d be able to move forward and correct whatever hadn’t been working. My goal was to lose 50 pounds before traveling to Disney World with my family in December. By the day we left in December 2019, I’d lost over 100 pounds. I’m thankful everyday that I found Why Weight because when I found them, I found the life I’d been missing out on.”-Allie A.
Patient since 2019
*Check out Allie’s full story in our office!
