I mentioned that I was going for more first appt. with Dr, Wharton at the Canadian Bariatric Clinic. I was sure what to expect- but several forums had led me to believe that he was very quick to push the Opti-fast program and drugs. The clinic was very busy and to be honest I was put off by the amount of business going on- scales and cases of Optifast were being sold like crazy- there was quite a bit of traffic of people purchasing things from the receptionist and this troubled me- ALOT.

The wait time was much longer than I expected. On a positive note- staff cam out often and were friendly to returning clients patients. There chairs where extra wide and comfortable.

I first saw some sort of intake worker- her role was never explained to me. She rhymed off what felt like a “speil” she had said a thousand times in a quick monotone. At this point I could see no difference between a Jenny Craig office . The selling of stuff from behind the counter was just so unprofessional and it got worse. I had to pay a mandatory 100.00 to receive their special binder and take test using a calorimeter which checked your metabolic rate. Also I had to buy a scale - the ones I saw flying from behind the counter- a whopping 130.00. I filled out a lengthy medical history and chronicled my weight loss attempts and history.

I did express my concerns to Christina that from what I could see it looked like they were positioning themselves to be the next Dr. Bernstein … she was polite and friendly but she did say it felt like a slap in the face. She said that the scale was difficult to find and that it was really a service they were providing patients. I then said- if you were doing a service than the scales would be provided at close to cost and were they- she said “no” and did admit that in that regard it was a business. She made great effort to tell me they were like a family here.

I was weighed and measured and goals were discussed, etc then asked to go back to waiting room to wait for Dr. Wharton. she also explained some of their available services- a psychiatrist ( covered by OHIP) , kenesieoligist (not covered and 65.00) and nutritionist (not covered).

I waited about another half hour - again staff were very friendly and many came out to waiting room to greet patients by name.

I finally went into Dr. Whartons office. He gave me quick medical exam- checking for swelling, rashes and enlarged liver as well as listened to my heart and chest.

I spoke with him for about 10 minutes- not a lot about treatments, etc was discussed- basically had to journal my food, he talked about the importance of understanding food , relationship of carbohydrates , proteins and was adamant that the key was understanding calories and nutrition. And before I left he advised that I attend his lecture coming up on Wednesday.

I left feeling a bit like every other program i have ever tried.. and felt like this was just another business aiming to make money off of weight loss. I also wanted to give it a chance- i have been wrong before about first judgments and after all- this was a bit of a last stop for me before getting weightloss surgery ( WLS) . Nothing else has worked.