A new weight management center featuring life coaching and personal trainers has been opened by Dr. Jo Lynn Hawthorne, a local obstetrician/gynecologist.

"Weight loss is about more than just food," Dr. Hawthorne said. "It's about developing a healthy self-esteem and mastering positive life skills ...

"In addition to being supervised by an on-site physician, this program looks beyond the food component to ask why our patients overeat in the first place. We offer one-on-one sessions with a life coach as well as weekly group classes, and we address the exercise component with a personal trainer in our exercise studio."

Dr. Hawthorne provides a personalized weight loss program for each patient, starting with either a low-calorie, high protein diet for steady weight loss or a specialized meal replacement plan for more rapid weight loss.

"I created Chrysalis because of an alarming trend I was seeing as a gynecologist," Dr. Hawthorne explained. "Every year I would see the same women, and every year their weight would creep up a little more.

"I would recommend that they lose weight, but I didn't offer any real plan on how to do it.

"As I have gotten older, I also was starting to gain a little more weight each year.

"As a doctor, I knew there were lots of promises of weight loss out there, a lot of so-called magic pills, but none of those programs addressed the real reason for the weight gain."

Dr. Hawthorne said she created the Chrysalis weight loss program to include all the necessary components for permanent weight loss -- a low-calorie diet, a regular exercise plan, behavior modification and a follow-up support system.

"And, I personally supervise all of the weight-loss plans to ensure that they are medically safe," she noted.

Dr. Hawthorne said, "Obesity is a disease, not a personal failure. When a person comes to Chrysalis, we treat them as a patient, just as I would someone with high blood pressure or diabetes."

In addition to the comprehensive weight management plan, Chrysalis also offers safe, FDA-approved prescription medication, such as Phentermine, to control hunger and cravings. At Chrysalis, Phentermine will only be distributed to those who have undergone an EKG, according to a press release.

"The American Society of Bariatric Physicians highly recommends that Phentermine patients be monitored carefully," said Dr. Hawthorne.

"It is highly desirable that all Phentermine recipients receive an EKG and full physical prior to being distributed this medication.

"This degree of medical supervision is just another way our center is addressing weight loss and is unique in our field."

Dr. Hawthorne is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology, and is a member of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians. She received her medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia.

She also is a member of the Tennessee Medical Association and the American Medical Association. She co-owns the Women's Center of Greeneville and the Laser and Skincare Center of Greeneville.

Weight management is not the only service offered at the Chrysalis location. The Laser and Skincare Center of Greeneville is also located in the same space.

"When I decided to create the weight management center, it was just natural that we combine the existing Laser and Skincare Center," Dr. Hawthorne said.

"The space is truly beautiful and offers such a tremendous selection of services that anyone can now come to our center to feel beautiful and healthy."

More recently, Carolyn Sauceman, of the Health Wrap, moved into the space along with two massage therapists, Christy Peavley and Shari Scott.

Sauceman said that, in addition to massages, Health Wrap offers spa beds, body wraps, cellulite treatments, ear candleing, detoxification and toning tables.

"Carolyn's Health Wrap is such a nice complement to the services we offer and having two massage therapists on-site truly make our center unique and special," Hawthorne said.

The center is located at 1021 Coolidge St. beneath the Women's Center of Greeneville on the Takoma Regional Hospital campus. For more information or an appointment, call 798-THIN.