Calendar of EventsBariatric (weight loss)
Dr. Elsie Verbik, M.D.
Call to schedule an appointment.
Dr. Elsie Verbik, M.D., has specialized training in Bariatrics, the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention and treatment of obesity. She is also certified as a diplomat by the American Board of Bariatric Medicine.
Her bariatric clinic focuses on:
• weight loss strategies
• weight management
• nutrition counseling
• physical training
• behavior modification.
Patients will have one-on-one consultations with Dr. Verbik on a monthly basis to review your progress, access strategy and have questions answered.
Bariatric clinic appointments are available each Friday and appointments are billed through insurance. To make appointments, call McCrary-Rost Clinic scheduling at 1-800-560-7500 or 712-464-7907.
Janet’s Story
Janet Zebley of Lake City knew she needed to shed some pounds. “But I have a terrible time starting to lose weight,” she says. Her family physician, Dr. Robert Hedges of the McCrary-Rost Clinic, also urged her to go on a diet because of her diabetes. “He wanted to refer me to Dr. (Elsie) Verbik,” says Zebley. “I finally agreed to see her.” Today she is glad she did. After seven months of meeting with Dr. Verbik, Zebley cut 51 pounds. She’s not done, and she’s confident that with Dr. Verbik’s help she’ll be able to lose even more weight. “She’s so nice,” Zebley says of Dr. Verbik. “She doesn’t put you on a strict diet. She leaves it up to you, although she will give suggestions.”
Dr. Verbik is a recognized expert in the medical management of obesity. She is one of only two Iowa physicians and 300 throughout the United States certified as a diplomat by the American Board of Bariatric Medicine. Dr. Verbiks’ bariatric clinic focuses on weight loss strategies, physical training, behavior modification and limited use of appetite suppressants. According to Dr. Verbik, lifestyle changes are the most important aspects of losing weight. “You must change your lifestyle to lose weight and keep it off,” she says. “I meet with patients once a month and we customize the lifestyle changes,” she says. “Research has shown that for us to adopt a new lifestyle, it takes one to two months. It takes two years to make that change permanent.”
For Janet Zebley, the lifestyle change included changes in her food plan and increased physical activity. “I exercised for only 10 minutes at the start,” she says, “but then it increased to 60 minutes a day.” She also studied the “Fill Up to Slim Down” book that gave her eating tips, and she kept a food and exercise diary, which Dr. Verbik would review at their monthly meetings.
Dr. Hedges is proud of his patient. “It took a lot of determination and courage to do what she did,” he says. “Her diabetes was out of control. She was tired. She had no energy. She didn’t have the motivation to exercise before she started working with Dr. Verbik.” For Zebley, the best thing about her lifestyle change is the positive effect it has had on her diabetes. “Dr. Hedges,” she says, “reduced some of my diabetes and cholesterol medications the last time I met with him.”
