.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Three months ago, Gus Hinnenkamp wouldn’t have dreamed of trying to keep up with his 5-year-old grandson.

Over a period of just 11 weeks, however, Hinnenkamp has dropped 62 pounds. Having worked out regularly, running alongside his grandson is no longer out of the question. His diabetes is in remission and he is now off all seven medications he had been taking for conditions related to his weight.

“I can’t believe how good I feel,” said the 55-year-old Norwalk resident, who was among the first people to enroll in the Weight Loss Clinic of Iowa when it opened in West Des Moines.

For Dr. Casey Clor, a family physician whose specialty is treating obesity, such dramatic results aren’t surprising. He opened the clinic, located near Jordan Creek Town Center at 230 S. 68th St., in April to offer a multidimensional approach to weight loss under one roof.

According to a 2005 report by the Trust for America’s Health, an estimated 119 million Americans, nearly 65 percent of the adult population, are overweight or obese.

Those extra pounds add up to significant health problems, said Clor. His program allows him to accomplish what family practice physicians don’t have time to do: closely monitor patients as they go through a multiweek weight-loss program.

“For a 300- or 400-pound patient who’s taking 15 pills that are caused by his weight, no (doctor) can sit down and say, ‘You know what? Let’s treat this obesity problem first that’s causing all these illnesses.'”

The clinic offers a comprehensive, physician-supervised weight-loss program that incorporates a low-calorie gourmet meal plan, nutritional and psychological counseling and exercise. Clor works in partnership with a fitness center, the Center for Wellness & Nutrition, which Dr. Majed Barazanji, a family practice physician, and Dr. Leonard Lomax, an orthopedic surgeon, opened in the same building as the clinic.

Clor sees his patients weekly during the initial weight-loss period, which ranges from six to 18 weeks. Each patient undergoes an electrocardiogram and other screening tests to determine whether he or she has any undiagnosed conditions prior to beginning the program.

“They have the gym at their disposal, with specialists to assist them, and a wave pool for people whose joint pain prevents them from getting on the treadmill,” he said. Other elements of the program include sessions every other week with a psychologist to counsel patients about underlying causes of overeating, and a dietitian to teach them good eating and food shopping habits. “Then they see me at the clinic weekly to see if there any problems we have to address.”

Hinnenkamp, a journeyman tool and die maker who weighed 358 pounds and had a 58-inch waist when he began the program, now fits into size 50 trousers. Better yet, his cholesterol is down from 304 to 119 and his blood pressure is back in the normal range.

“My goal is just to keep losing,” he said. “In the next year I’d like to take off 120 pounds.”

Another patient, Tricia Bachman, lost 44 pounds over 11 weeks.

“When I went to the orientation, I thought I’d only be able to lose half of what (Clor) said, because I don’t seem to be able to lose weight,” said Bachman, a 58-year-old actuary. “But I was actually right on target. In six weeks I had lost 25 pounds, and at 11 weeks I’ve lost 44. I’d like to lose another 30 to 40 pounds. I also have diabetes in my family. That’s a big incentive to lose weight.”

Each patient is required to monitor their progress with a journal and report what they ate and how much they exercised to the clinic. That’s a key element in the program’s success, Clor said.

“Research has found that 50 percent of patients who self-monitor continue to lose weight,” he said. “There’s someone they’re held accountable to. I always tell them weight loss is a skill. It’s like playing golf or piano. You have to practice it every day to get better, and you have to learn to do it the right way.”

Clor said the clinic’s one-time fee ranges from $1,000 for the six-week program to $3,700 for the 18-week program. “I prefer that they buy all the food as part of the complete program,” he said. “They have the option to add weeks as they go along; we work with our patients depending on what they need.”

Clor, who currently sees clinic patients just one day a week, said he hopes to continue adding new patients and clinic days and eventually add some partners.

“Hopefully I can bring the prices down to appeal to more people down the line,” he said. “I’m working on more programs, not necessarily just for people with severe weight issues but also for people who want to live healthy.”