New Direction
• Approach/Method: New Direction facilities have been
helping patients lose weight for over ten years. Our New
Direction and OutLook Programs focus upon wellness and life
long weight management rather than weight loss. You progress
through three phases: reducing, adapting and sustaining. New
Direction is a medically supervised very low-calorie diet,
utilizing 3 to 4 servings of nutritional beverages totaling
600 to 800 calories per day. OutLook is a multidisciplinary
moderate calorie weight-control program ranging between
1,000 to 1,400 calories daily where patients replace two
meals daily with the nutritionally complete beverage, and
eat at least one balanced meal of grocery type foods. This
is to begin reshaping eating habits gradually. All education
materials and patient learning
modules are included within each program.
• Clients: To be eligible for the New Direction
program, women must have forty pounds to lose and men have
fifty pounds. Patients must also pass a medical and
behavioral screening. Candidates for the OutLook program
will need to lose between fifteen to forty pounds, or be
unwilling to give up regular food, or have previously lost
weight, and gained it back.
• Staff: Each center is staffed with experienced
dietitians/behaviorists/exercise physiologists/nurses and
physicians who will help you through each phase of your
program.
• Expected Weight Loss/Length of Program: The New
Direction program average weight loss is approximately three
to five pounds per week. The length of program
participation is dependent upon the amount of weight loss
determined by the patient. Weight loss (reducing) is
typically 12 to 16 weeks; Transition back to traditional
food (adapting), is 5 to 6 weeks and finally maintenance
(sustaining), lasts a minimum 6 to 12 months. In OutLook the
average weight loss is one and a half to two pounds per
week. The length of the program is dependent upon the weight
loss needed.
• Cost: Program cost varies with the amount of weight
the patient needs to lose. The cost for New Direction during
the weight-loss and adapting phases is approximately $25-$45
per week for program fees which includes medical monitoring,
counseling and lab tests and $40-$50 per week for product
(beverage). Most programs offer free maintenance. The use of
beverages is not mandatory during maintenance, but is
encouraged if needed. The cost for Outlook is
approximately $15-$30 per week for
program fees which includes classes and $25-$35 per week for
product (beverage). Most centers offer free maintenance. The
use of product (beverage) is not mandatory during
maintenance, but participants are encouraged to use it when
needed.
• Healthy Lifestyle Component: Each New Direction
center offers fun,
informative, useful activities and educational materials to
help you develop the healthy lifestyle skills that promote
long-term weight management.
• Comments: The New Direction Programs have been
designed to utilize drug therapy (for appropriate patients)
along with our behavioral,
nutritional and exercise components to promote healthy
weight loss
and long term maintenance.
• Headquarters: Robard Corporation-Medical Nutrition
Division, Mt Laurel, NJ 1-800-222-9201.
Information supplied by New Direction.
