High Metabolic Clinic
Comprehensive weight management.
Medical treatment.
Mindset + behavioural support.
Medical Treatment
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Our medical team consists of Endocrinologists and Internal Medicine Specialists who have expertise in the field of Obesity Medicine. All of our physicians are specialists, therefore medical treatment from our clinic does not trigger negation or require de-rostering from your Family Doctor. Meet our Team HERE.
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Medical treatment for obesity includes pharmacotherapy (medications) and/or bariatric surgery. Should medication be indicated, our physicians will outline your treatment options and provide counselling on side effects, risks, and benefits.
Obesity medications in Canada include Liraglutide (Saxenda), Wellbutrin/Naltrexone (Contrave), Semaglutide (Wegovy), Orlistat (Xenical).
Occasionally, off-label medications may be recommended based on clinical judgment and what is best for the individual patient.
If bariatric surgery is recommended, our physicians will refer you to the Ontario Bariatric Network (OBN). We do not perform bariatric surgery at our clinic.
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The medical appointments with our obesity physicians at the High Metabolic Clinic is covered by OHIP.
All medical appointments are fully virtual. We do NOT offer in person visits. Patients of our clinic must be comfortable using technology to do virtual visits (including having access to a camera and microphone on their desktop or smart phone).
To note - the cost of medications in Ontario is not covered by OHIP.
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Best Weight is Dr. High’s weight loss coaching program exclusively for women. Dr. High is one of the leading experts in cognitive and behavioural therapy for weight management in North America. Best Weight teaches women the cognitive tools and skills to overcome stress/emotional eating, create consistency in their health habits, and stop yo-yo dieting.
Best Weight is where we make your healthy habits stick for life. You’ll gain confidence in your own abilities, develop resilience and create self-efficacy.
What you’ll gain:
An easy approach to nutrition that is unique to your life and body
Emotional regulation skills so you can self-soothe and reward yourself without using food
Mindset mastery to overcome self-sabotage and all-or-nothing thinking
Behavioural tools to foster consistency in your health habits (instead of starting over every Monday)
Practical strategies to conquer cravings, hunger and mindless snacking
This coaching program offers two weekly live coaching calls, a library of 50+ video lessons on everything from nutrition to emotional regulation skills, a private podcast of all recorded calls and workshop, and a community for accountability and support.
The women who participate in Dr. High’s coaching program are those who have the most longterm success. You can check out many success stories on Dr. High’s website and podcast (High on Life).
Learn more about Best Weight HERE.
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We want to ensure that cognitive and behavioural treatment is available to as many as possible. That’s why Best Weight is offered at a low monthly price of $97 CAD.
What’s included?
two weekly live coaching calls and workshops with Dr. Sasha High and team
library of 50+ video lessons on everything you need to create sustainable weight loss (including emotional regulations skills, mindset mastery, body image revamp)
private podcast with all recorded calls
private community for accountability, support, and all your questions
meal plan and recipe ideas for every taste
We recommend that you commit to a minimum of 6 months in order to give yourself the best opportunity to create change in your health habits.
Many of our women choose to stay with us for 2 years or more because of the tremendous value they find inside the weekly coaching with Dr. High and team!
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For 1:1 individualized nutrition help, patients are recommended to work with our expert team of Registered Dietitians. Our RDs have extensive experience working with patients with a variety of metabolic conditions including prediabetes, diabetes, PCOS, high cholesterol and obesity. Additionally, our RDs are knowledgeable about obesity medications and the nutritional requirements of being on therapies like Ozempic, Wegovy or Saxenda.
Patients with private health insurance may have coverage for Registere Dietitian Services. More information can be found HERE.
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Registered Dietitian services are $120 CAD per 30 minute session.
If you have private health insurance, you may have Dietitian coverage. Our Dietitians will provide you with an insurance receipt for claim purposes.
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For 1:1 psychotherapy, our therapists aim to empower individuals by providing evidence-based tools and strategies to navigate mental health challenges, create sustainable changes, and improve overall well-being and resilience. Key focus areas include:
mood disorders
addiction
ADHD
behavioural activation, motivation
self-compassion
body dissatisfaction / dysmorphia
disordered eating
Patients with private health insurance may have coverage for Registered Psychotherapy Services. More information can be found HERE.
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Registered Psychotherapy services are $165 CAD per 50 minute session.
If you have private health insurance, you may have Psychotherapy coverage. Our therapists will provide you with an insurance receipt for claim purposes.
What is Obesity?
Obesity is a chronic medical condition characterized by excess adiposity (fat tissue) on the body that is impairing health, quality of life, or function.
Obesity is not your fault.
Obesity is caused by many factors including our genetics, epigenetics, environment, medications, mental health, hormones, lifestyle factors and psychology.
For many years, patients living with obesity have been told to "eat less and exercise more". This hasn't worked. Patients have sought diet after diet in earnest attempts to manage their weight. With each failed strategy comes a growing sense of learned helplessness.
The reality is that diets don't solve obesity.
Obesity requires a multidisciplinary treatment approach to address the physiology, psychology AND behaviours through an empowered mindset.
Our Medical Team is here to help you address the physiology of weight dysregulation. With new pharmacotherapies that target the appetite and weight regulation centres of the brain, obesity is now a treatable chronic medical condition where patients can expect successful longterm weight loss and health improvement.
Want to learn more about Obesity?
Listen to Dr. Sasha High's podcast entitled High on Life (available on all streaming platforms).
Expert Medical Care
Our multidisciplinary team at HMC consists of Endocrinologists, Internal Medicine Specialists, an MD Psychotherapist and Registered Dietitians.
We offer virtual telehealth care only (we do not offer in-person medical visits).
Current wait times: from time of referral to booking an appointment 3-4 weeks | time to appointment with physician 2-3 months
What to expect at the High Metabolic Clinic
Step 1. Referral
We require a referral from your Family Doctor. Once received, our administrative staff will contact you to set up a virtual Medical Consultation with one of our Obesity Specialist Physicians.
Step 2. Medical Consultation
At your consultation, our physician will explore your weight history, family history, medical history, medications and lifestyle to understand what may be contributing to elevated weight or obesity.
Our physician will then outline your treatment options which may include private psychotherapy, nutrition counselling via our Dietitian team, lifestyle coaching, medications or bariatric surgery.
Our goal is to help you understand what treatments are available so that you can choose which tools you want to implement in your life.
Step 3. Behavioural & cognitive support
Longterm successful weight management is only possible with behavioural and cognitive support.
Women are recommended to join Dr. High’s weekly coaching program, Best Weight.
Men and women can receive nutrition counselling with one of our Registered Dietitians.
Our psychotherapists provide private counselling for mood disorders, ADHD, body dysmorphia, emotional eating, resilience and any other psychological challenges that may be barriers to successful longterm health habits.
Behavioural and cognitive supports fix the gap between knowing what to do, and actually doing it. Most people understand what healthy behaviours are. But when life gets in the way, when we’re under stress, when everything else seems to be a priority, it’s easy for our health goals and habits to slip.
However, with effective cognitive behavioural treatments, you can learn how to drop all-or-nothing thinking, and instead create longterm consistency (not perfection!) that will lead to your healthiest life - longterm.
Step 4. Medical treatment
If you wish to proceed with obesity medications, our physician will prescribe and supervise care for one-year. Follow up medical visits are scheduled as medically indicated, but usually every 3 months. After one year, ongoing medical care for obesity is transferred back to your Family Physician for the longterm.
All medical visits are virtual by video only. We do not offer in-person appointments. We do not offer telephone appointments.
There are some conditions that may require a physical examination. Given the limitations of telehealth, we will refer you back to your Family Physician if an in-person medical appointment is necessary.
Patients who are uncomfortable with technology or unable to perform a video visit may not be appropriate for our program.
What medications are available in Canada?
Our physicians use expert clinical judgment and evidence-based guidelines to determine whether obesity medications are indicated and required.
In Canada, the following anti-obesity medications are approved by Health Canada: Orlistat (Xenical), Liraglutide (Saxenda), Wellbutrin/Naltrexone (Contrave), and Semaglutide (Wegovy).
The follow medications may be used off-label in the treatment of obesity and related disorders: Metformin, Semaglutide (Ozempic), Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) and Lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse).
Behavioural & Cognitive Support
Longterm successful weight management is only possible with Behavioural and Cognitive Support. Medications are a valuable tool, but without behaviour change through mindset work (cognitive reframing), longterm success will be limited.
HMC’s Founder, Dr. Sasha High, also founded a healthy lifestyle coaching program exclusively for women, called Best Weight.
Best Weight is recommended for every female patient of HMC to learn the tools and skills to overcome diet thinking (all-or-nothing), stress/emotional eating, mindless snacking, and weight cycling.
The most successful patients to come through the High Metabolic Clinic were those who also did the mindset and behavioural work through Dr. High’s coaching program. Many of them have been featured on Dr. High’s podcast, High on Life.
Dr. Sasha High, HMC Founder
Read. Watch. Listen.
GET STARTED NOW WITH INSIGHTS AND STRATEGIES FROM HMC FOUNDER, DR. SASHA HIGH
