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May 22, 2025
Real weight management starts with building strength—not just burning calories.
When most people think of weight loss treatment, they imagine restrictive dieting or endless cardio. At Dr. Fortino’s lifestyle medicine and medical weight loss clinics, we take a smarter, more sustainable approach.
“You’re only as strong as your back.” – Dr. Fortino
This philosophy guides everything we do. It’s not just about dropping pounds—it’s about building a strong, lean, and capable body that works better, feels better, and performs better.
Strength training is one of the most effective tools for long-term fat loss. Unlike cardio, which primarily burns calories during exercise, resistance training builds lean muscle mass that keeps your metabolism elevated long after your workout ends.
More muscle means your body burns more calories at rest—making it easier to maintain weight loss and avoid the yo-yo effect of crash diets.
Incorporating weight training into your wellness plan not only accelerates fat burning, but also improves posture, supports joint health, and enhances overall energy and resilience.
Dr. Robert Fortino combines medically-guided weight loss with fitness strategies that are built to last—because real transformation starts with strength.
Strength Training: The Secret Weapon in Weight Management
Strength training plays a powerful role in fat loss and long-term weight management. Here’s how it works:
- Builds lean muscle, which boosts your resting metabolism and increases calorie burn around the clock
- Preserves muscle during calorie reduction, avoiding the “skinny but weak” result of crash diets
- Reduces body fat by enhancing fat oxidation during and after workouts
- Improves posture and helps prevent injury by strengthening your back, core, and stabilizing muscles
- Increases energy, supports healthy testosterone levels, and improves mental clarity
Dr. Fortino places a strong emphasis on training the back and posterior chain—because when your back is strong, everything else follows.
“A strong back supports not just your body, but your entire transformation.” – Dr. Fortino
Amplify Your Results with Peptides and Amino Acid Injections
To accelerate strength-building and fat-burning results, Dr. Fortino incorporates targeted amino acid & vitamin injections and peptides into many personalized weight loss treatment plans, including:
- Peptides – Support recovery, enhance fat metabolism, and promote muscle repair at the cellular level
- L-Carnitine – Transports fat into the mitochondria, where it’s converted into usable energy
- Arginine – Improves blood flow, boosts nitric oxide production, and may enhance strength and endurance
- Taurine – Supports hydration, nerve signaling, and stamina during intense workouts
- MIC Lipotropic Shots + B12 Booster Injections – Aid in fat breakdown and boost metabolic energy
These advanced therapies help patients train harder, recover faster, and burn more fat—while preserving lean muscle and improving overall performance.
Strength Training: A Catalyst for Metabolic Enhancement
Strength training doesn’t just burn calories during your workout—it boosts your resting metabolic rate (RMR), helping your body burn more energy even at rest. In fact, research shows that after ten weeks of resistance training, individuals can experience up to a 7% increase in RMR, significantly improving fat loss and muscle gain over time.
- Brain and Body Benefits
The advantages go beyond the physical. Strength training has also been shown to enhance cognitive functions like memory, focus, and overall mental clarity. This is due to increased blood flow and the release of brain-supporting neurotrophic factors, contributing to improved brain health and sharper mental performance as part of a well-rounded wellness plan.
- Bone Density and Joint Support
Regular strength training also improves bone mineral density and strengthens the tissues around joints. This not only helps prevent osteoporosis but also enhances joint stability and reduces the risk of injury, allowing you to stay active and strong for the long haul.
- Hormonal Balance and Muscle Preservation
By stimulating the production of testosterone and growth hormone, strength training supports muscle development, boosts metabolism, and enhances recovery. This hormonal support is crucial for maintaining lean muscle during weight loss and avoiding the common pitfall of muscle depletion.
- Cellular-Level Adaptation
Strength training helps your muscles adapt at a cellular level, improving their ability to oxidize fat and regulate blood sugar. These changes promote better insulin sensitivity and overall metabolic health—key factors for long-term weight management and disease prevention.
The Dr. Fortino Approach: Strength, Science, and Strategy
Most people don’t realize that muscle is metabolically active tissue—it burns more calories at rest than fat does. So the more lean muscle you build, the more energy your body uses throughout the day, even when you’re just sitting at your desk or sleeping.
Weight training also helps preserve muscle during a calorie deficit, which is key. Without it, your body can burn through muscle as well as fat, slowing your metabolism and making it harder to keep the weight off long term.
At Dr. Fortino’s clinics, we guide patients toward sustainable strength-based movement—not just cardio or crash diets. Our goal is to help you build a body that works with you, not against you.
Because when you get stronger, everything else gets easier: blood sugar balance, energy levels, sleep quality, and yes—fat loss too.
Every patient’s plan is custom-built, combining:
- Strength-based training support for fat loss, performance, and functional
strength - FDA-approved weight loss treatments like Semaglutide and Tirzepatide
- Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) for male patients to support
muscle mass, energy, and recovery - Real food, high-protein nutrition plans—not restrictive calorie-counting
- Advanced supplements and injectables like peptides, amino acids, and fat-burning vitamins like L-Carnitine & Arginine
If you’re ready to stop chasing the scale and start building real strength from the inside out, Dr. Fortino’s lifestyle medicine and weight loss treatment plans are built for you.