weight loss

Spring into a Healthier You at Dr. Briones Medical Weight Loss Center

March 22, 2020 by Deborah Raider Notis

When Dr. Maria Briones started working with orthopedic patients at Burke Rehabilitation Center in 1999, she noticed that many of her patients’ problems, from arthritis of the knees and hips to broken bones, resulted from carrying extra weight. Much of the natural wear and tear on people’s joints and the need for joint replacement surgery was, according to Briones, exacerbated by excessive weight.

“Losing all the weight can be a lifesaver for these patients with knee and hip problems who use canes to walk,” says Briones, who opened her Medical Weight Loss Center, a Mt. Kisco-based medical weight loss facility in 2007. Briones partners with her patients, motivating them, and investing in their weight loss success.

Individualized Plan for Patients

Briones focuses on whole body health. She works with her patients to set up goals and plans. She identifies any medical causes of weight gain and designs a manageable weight loss reduction program for her patients. She creates individualized nutrition plans, vitamin and supplement regimens, and professionally designed, customized exercise plans. If necessary, she provides FDA-approved appetite suppressants and hormone replacement therapy.

Most importantly, Briones helps her patients develop a long-term wellness plan, teaching her patients how to maintain their weight loss and offering ongoing support whenever they need it. Her plans are adaptable to the changing needs of her patients. “My patients feel like I am a friend,” says Briones, who credits her warm relationships with her patients for much of her success.

Former Pound Ridge resident Nancy Farkas, who spent three years as Dr. Farkas’s patient, whole-heartedly agrees that Briones’s close relationships with her patients is key to their success. “Dr. B is wonderful to speak with, she’s inspirational. We had a wonderful relationship.” Farkas, who saw Briones approximately once a week, was impressed with the detailed yet flexible program that Briones built for her. “I followed her specific schedule and her careful instructions, and that was a huge thing for me.”

Briones has lived in Westchester for over 25 years, spending the past 15 years in Chappaqua. “This is a great place to raise a family.” She started her career as an internist. Born in Spain and raised in Nicaragua, Briones attended medical school in Costa Rica before coming to the United States.

Long-Term Relationships with Patients

“People tend to stay with me,” says Briones, who has significant client retention and a high percentage of success. She believes that feeling good about yourself is key to staying healthy. That is why Briones encourages her patients to take steps to ensure that they do not look older than they feel.

In addition to weight loss therapy, Briones offers non-surgical weight loss solutions, including cellulite treatments, Cool Sculpting, and Lipo Light Therapy. She started adding cosmetic procedures, like Botox and Ultherapy as well as other anti-aging, skin tightening, and skin rejuvenation therapies. These cosmetic procedures are designed to help patients maintain their youthful radiance.

Briones works with two certified medical assistants, both of whom help with everything from interacting with patients to taking vital signs. “Her staff is so helpful,” says Farkas, who believes that everyone at the Medical Weight Loss Center goes out of their way to “act in your best interest and to motivate you to stick with the program.”

Briones encourages everyone to try to be their best self. “Don’t be afraid to make a change in your life. It’s always better to try. Anything is possible.”

My Get Fit Journey

October 21, 2016 by The Inside Press

In time for our ‘Gratitude’ edition, I’d like to mention a journey I’m on at the Saw Mill Club in Mount Kisco. I announced on Facebook recently that I’d gained a lot of weight over the last year. I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to work out twice a week with a wonderfully engaging and pro personal trainer, Sarah Eichorn. She’s making a huge difference in how I feel both physically and mentally in my still kind of new empty nest years.

The changes in how I look and feel are coming in little increments, and I’m embracing Sarah’s belief that a positive journey is as important to my well-being and long term success as any weight loss I experience. I’ll be writing more about this special journey in the next edition, too!

So, tell me. What are you grateful for? Maybe your experience could also be a story in a future edition of Inside Armonk! Please drop me a note any time: editor@insidearmonk.com

Dr. Maria Briones: Transforming Lives One Pound at a Time

April 21, 2016 by The Inside Press

By Miriam Longobardi

Anyone who has ever struggled to lose weight knows how difficult and frustrating it can be, both losing the weight and keeping it off. Those who have significant weight to lose –beyond a few extra pounds after a vacation–face a greater challenge. Enter Dr. Maria Briones, owner of Dr. Briones Medical Weight Loss Center located in Mt. Kisco.

Photo by Carolyn Simpson/Doublevision Photographers

Dr. Briones began her career as an internist in New York City in 1994 and in addition to her weight loss clinic works at Burke Rehabilitation Center in White Plains. During her career she has always been concerned about obesity and its related diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and stroke as well as some cancers. At Burke she also noted that some of her patients who had undergone hip and knee replacements needed the surgery as a result of obesity. “I want to help people before obesity takes a toll on their health and body and possibly avoid surgery and some of the diseases connected to obesity.”

At her weight loss center, Dr. Briones assists patients far beyond helping them develop healthier eating habits to lose weight. Her approach is very personal and addresses the many psychological effects of obesity. “In addition to the effects on the body, being obese changes how people feel about themselves. The most common are loss of self-esteem and depression. As I help them lose weight I didn’t have to use any medication.”

All patients must undergo a health evaluation and obtain medical clearance to participate in the diet plan. After that, patients come for weekly visits to be weighed and spend time being counseled by Dr. Briones. “They need to change the relationship they have with food.” She helps them develop a plan which they must be disciplined enough to follow. Part of her plan involves using Optifast, a meal replacement program that must be medically supervised. “With Optifast patients can see results similar to surgery sometimes in as little as six months,” Briones reports. Depending on the amount of weight to be lost, patients begin with the Optifast meal replacements very strictly for approximately four to six months. “It’s like people that want to quit smoking –they have to really be ready for it and commit to following the program.”

Elysa Belessakos, a patient and one of Dr. Briones’s many success stories, says that working with Dr. Briones changed her life. “The woman is brilliant,” said Belessakos. “She completely devotes herself to her patients and gives us one-on-one personal attention.” While some people relate to group support such as Weight Watchers, Belessakos feels the emotional support she receives from Dr. Briones helped her sort through emotional eating issues that in the past always caused her to gain back weight she had lost. “A lot of people dealing with obesity don’t want to sit in front of a group and talk about their weight loss struggles,” says Belessakos. Through a combination of the Optifast meal replacements, Lipo-Light, which is a machine that burns fat cells in targeted areas of the body, and Dr. Briones teaching her about nutrition and talking her through strategies to avoid emotional eating, Belessakos is down 40 pounds. “I get so many compliments!” she enthusiastically reports.

After sticking closely to the Optifast plan, which also offers nutrition bars and soups in addition to the meal replacement shakes, transitioning back to mainstream food can be challenging. Dr. Briones is considering adding a nutritionist to her staff but Briones helps her patients with meal planning, food shopping and menus to help them keep the weight off and follow up with her for maintenance.

Belessakos says that it is the level of devotion she and the other patients receive from Dr. Briones that gives them the support and encouragement they need to maintain their weight loss. “It’s her personality that sets her apart from other doctors. So much of weight loss is psychological and you get one-hundred percent of her attention. She listens, gives you feedback and is so warm and encouraging that nobody wants to stop seeing her.”

A wife and mother of three children, Dr. Briones continues to learn and explore new medical breakthroughs through professional associations and by attending conferences regularly. She recently added anti-aging and skin care products at her center. Belessakos adds, “She absolutely loves what she does and genuinely cares about each of her patients with compassion.”

Dr. Briones feels that in addition to being healthier physically, one of the greatest accomplishments she sees in her patients is their attitude toward life. “Not only are they active and have more energy but their social and intimate lives improve. It’s amazing the effect weight loss can have on a person’s life.”

For more information, visit http://www.brionesweightloss.com/.

Miriam Longobardi is a freelance writer, fourth grade teacher and single mother of two daughters living in Westchester. A breast cancer survivor, she volunteers for the American Cancer Society, has completed four marathons and travels the world. Follow her on Twitter @writerMimiLong.

Reframing Loss and Gain

October 21, 2015 by The Inside Press

Apple picking with the family in 2014: From left, Timothy Radice, Gabriella Radice, Gavin Radice, Kourtney DeRosa-Radice.

By Kourtney DeRosa-Radice

Not too long ago, I was 85 pounds heavier than I am today. I moved to Westchester, had two children back-to-back and pretty much put my needs and wants on the back burner. I prepared my children organic baby food, dressed them in the cutest little outfits, brought them to those fancy gym classes for little ones and LOVED them beyond words. However, my self-care was another story. I started eating frozen processed foods, traveled around in faded black sweatpants, canceled my gym membership, and pretty much stopped caring for myself. My days of being that women I once was were now gone; this was the new me, the new mom me. My priorities were different and that was okay, or so I told myself.

One day, after getting a glimpse of a picture of my kids with a “stranger,” aka mom, I decided to take action and started a journey down a road that would eventually lead me back to the women I once was, the women I loved and knew so well. Ironically this journey pretty much mirrored all that I had been doing for my children. My days started consisting of eating mostly clean, non-processed foods (similar to what my children had been eating), completing daily workouts (though not at fancy gyms like my kids) and dressing like I was leaving the house (even if I wasn’t).

The result of my efforts was a huge weight loss, which I am congratulated about daily. Each day I hear the words, “Wow, congratulations on your loss…” “Awesome job with your loss…” “You must be so proud of your loss…” Hearing the word loss day after day, used in such a positive manner feels odd. I had been programmed from a young age to think of loss as a negative. I’ve always connected loss to sadness. I’ve connected it to stress and aggravation. I’ve viewed it as loss–not gain.

Then, one day, after being at a Moms Night Out and talking about my loss yet again, I had that “ah hah” moment. You know, those moments when you realize you need to rethink our thinking! Wait, I thought. my weight loss isn’t the only loss in my life that has been positive. I quickly went through the moments in my life where I experienced sadness as a result of loss.

I thought about my husband losing his job on the trading floor when the markets went electronic. I thought about losing a beautiful home in Pleasantville in a bidding war. I thought about losing out on what I thought was my dream teaching position in Westchester. Then I thought about what I gained from each of these experiences. My husband losing his job led me to become a nutrition coach which has allowed me to support hundreds of people with their weight loss. Losing our dream home in Pleasantville encouraged us to expand our search and this led us to finding a home in Armonk. And that dream job–well, had I been offered it, I would have never decided to stay at home part time with my children. This idea that a loss could actually bring you to a happier place, a healthier place, an all around better place was now clear in my mind.

As we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday and I continue to think about this whole idea of loss I can’t help but wonder if everyone already knows what it took me 36 years to figure out. Do people know that loss, though negative in some aspects, can also be positive as well? Do people know that sometimes a loss is actually just a gain in disguise?

This year things will be different at my Thanksgiving table for sure. For one, the food I typically prepare will be getting a facelift. There will be no marshmallows on my sweet potatoes and no cream in my corn. There will be no green bean casserole with cream of mushroom soup and no gravy on my turkey. There will, however, be a revised list of what I am thankful for. This year I am going to take a step back and reflect on all that I have lost. I plan to give thanks for all the loss in my life that has brought me to the place I am today. Sometimes it is hard to see the positives in loss, but, when you put on those special lenses, they begin to jump out at you.

With this I challenge you to go beyond only giving thanks for what you have gained this year and, instead, think about what YOU have lost. Have you experienced a loss this year, which has inadvertently led to a positive in your life? As you sit at your Thanksgiving table and you give thanks for all the gains you have attained, remember to include your losses too. After all they deserve to be thanked as well.

Kourtney DeRosa-Radice is an Armonk mom, public school teacher and Team Beachbody Health and Fitness Coach. When not enjoying her children or teaching her students she devotes her time to assisting clients in reaching their health and fitness goals. Kourtney can be reached at: Kradice@beachbodycoach.com

Why You’ll Feel Your Best with Dr. Maria Briones!

March 7, 2014 by The Inside Press

10. She can help you to decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes.
9. Her patients show a decreased risk of hypertension, osteoarthritis and cancer.
8. You’ll have more energy and find movement easier.
7. Enjoy a better attitude and quality of life.
6. You’ll love wearing cuter clothes!
5. Be less self conscious about your body.
4. Enjoy travelling more.
3. Improve your mood and self esteem.
2. Improve body contouring, skin tightness and reduce cellulite.
1. And, of course, feel younger!

Dr. Maria Briones’ specialty is Internal Medicine and Weight Loss. She is Board Certified in Internal Medicine & holds a Diplomate in Bariatric Medicine. Contact her at (914)241-6249 for an appointment, or visit her website, brionesweightloss.com for further information.