Welcome to the High Metabolic Clinic's

Patient Resources. 

Start Here!


Step-by-Step with the High Metabolic Clinic:


1. LEARN: To effectively treat Obesity and manage your weight longterm, it's important that you have an evidence-based understanding of what Obesity actually is.

To learn more about Obesity and how it should be treated as a medical condition, please listen to Dr. Sasha High's 5-Part Series called Rethinking Obesity on the High on Life Podcast. Listen by clicking the links below:

2. WATCH: Watch the 60-minute video by Dr. High that explains physiology in the brain and the role for obesity medications. The video is found lower down on this webpage.

3. DO BLOODWORK: If your Physician requested bloodwork, please bring your requisition to Lifelabs and get this done promptly before your next appointment. Your physician will review your bloodwork at your next appointment. We do not call to notify you of results outside of your scheduled appointment.

4. START: Consider starting Vitamin D3 2500IU + K2 100mcg supplementation (unless contraindicated) and any other vitamins or supplements that may have been recommended by your physician or Dietitian. Quality vitamins can be purchased from our Fullscript Store by creating an account here.

5. LIVE HEALTHY: For Nutrition & Lifestyle Support, explore our Registered Dietitian packages or join Dr. High’s coaching program for women, Best Weight.

6. CHECK: If you are interested in starting obesity medication, please check your private health insurance coverage for each of the medications outlined below so you know what options are available to you. If Pre-Authorization Paperwork is required for insurance, a $60 fee will be charged to you.

Follow HMC Founder, Dr. Sasha High, on Social

Nutrition

What should I eat?

Do not attempt the latest fad diet - it will produce short term weight loss but longterm fat gain (not what you want!).

Do not restrict whole food groups or go super low cal.

Sustainable weight management is all about nourishing your body, while eating "just enough" (not more than your body needs for fuel) and then learning to do that consistently (ditch the all-or-nothing thinking!).

Here are some nutrition basics:

  1. Aim for 30g of protein with each of your 3 main meals (this can be challenging! You may want to use a Food Tracker to learn more about the protein content of your foods for a few weeks). DOWNLOAD OUR FREE PROTEIN HANDOUT HERE.

  2. Keep starches to 1/4 of your plate.

  3. Fill 1/2 your plate with non-starchy vegetables for fibre and fullness.

  4. Avoid sugar-sweetened drinks (lattés, sports drinks, pop, juices, store-bought smoothies, etc).

  5. Eat regularly throughout the day (every 3 hours) to avoid over-eating in the evening. Aim to stop eating by 8pm.

  6.  The most important piece with any lifestyle changes is to drop the all-or-nothing mindset. Make small changes. Expect setbacks. Recover quickly. Show self-compassion. Set small goals and build confidence. Consistency is built upon imperfect action taken daily (not perfect actions done occasionally).

Need 1:1 nutrition help?

Our Registered Dietitians are experts in individualizing eating plans to make your eating simple, enjoyable and sustainable.

Beyond food, they are also skilled in tools to overcome emotional eating and binge eating, habit change, and the psychology of consistency, resilience and sustainable weight loss.

Vitamins & Supplements

Do I need them?

The goal with any eating plan is to balance your nutrition to avoid any major macro and micronutrient gaps. However, we recognize that some gaps are still possible!

For most people, a multivitamin is relatively ineffective and unnecessary. Instead, work with your Dietitian to understand whether specific Vitamins & Supplements may benefit your particular symptoms or health concerns.

We generally recommend all Canadians, especially those with obesity, fatty liver or Type 2 Diabetes, take Vitamin D3 + K2 supplementation. Dosing will vary but a good starting point is Vitamin D3 2500IU and K2 100mcg daily. Some patients will need much higher doses. Vitamin quality matters - ensure that you are buying from a reputable company.

Other symptom-specific vitamins/supplements:

Constipation - Magnesium Citrate 150-450mg before bed

Poor Sleep - Magnesium bisglycinate before bed

PCOS - Myo-Inositol, NAC

(Our Dietitians can give you further personalized guidance on vitamins and supplements)

Vitamin quality matters. 

We have partnered with Fullscript to ensure that our patients only purchase the highest quality vitamins & supplements. Purchase here and have them shipped to your door.

Physical Activity

What kind of exercise should I do?

First off, we encourage you to separate your thoughts of exercise from the scale.

Exercise is not about weight loss - exercise is about weight maintenance. But even more importantly, exercise is essential for heart health, mental health, happiness, maintaining bone mass, improving sleep, and ensuring you are fit enough to enjoy your latter years!

Here are some recommendations:

  1. If you are currently sedentary, start with walking. Aim for 5-10 minutes daily, and slowly increase until you're able to walk 45-60 minutes at least 3 times per week. Walking is a form of aerobic exercise and the recommended goal is 150-200 minutes weekly.

  2. If you are taking obesity medication, you MUST do strength training exercise to maintain muscle mass! This really is a non-negotiable, otherwise obesity medication may result in significant muscle loss along with fat loss. Muscle loss is NOT beneficial and can in fact be detrimental to your longterm health. Strength training can help prevent muscle loss. Strength training can come in the form of lifting weights, doing body weight exercises, or using resistance bands. Strength training is recommended 2x per week.

  3. Find an accountability and support partner. Exercise is more fun with friends! If you need even more accountability, consider hiring a personal trainer or signing up for classes at a local gym.

  4. Wherever you're at, just start! You don't have to become an athlete overnight (or ever), but your body was made to move and maintaining daily movement becomes more and more important as you age.

Sleep

Is it really that important?

The answer is an emphatic YES!

Studies show that people who sleep less than 7 hours and more than 9 hours are more likely to gain weight.

If you have an erratic sleep schedule, or you tend to stay up very late (past 11pm), this behaviour may be contributing to insulin resistance which leads to metabolic diseases and weight gain.

Inadequate sleep has been irrefutably linked to earlier mortality, cardiovascular disease and many other health problems.

The reality is, most poor sleep is due to behavioural issues - like watching Netflix late at night or "doom scrolling" on social media.

Here are some recommendations:

  1. Keep your phone out of your bedroom. If you need to, buy an alarm clock for your bedside instead of relying on your phone. Keep your phone charger in the kitchen downstairs.

  2. Do not watch TV (Netflix, Youtube, or screens in general) in bed. This behaviour trains your brain to be awake in bed and can contribute to insomnia.

  3. Timing: When within your control, aim to be asleep by 11pm latest and for a total of 7-8 hours of sleep.

  4. If you struggle with insomnia, check out www.decodeinsomnia.com.

  5. Sleep Apnea Testing: If you frequently wake up overnight, feel unrefreshed in the morning, snore and have obesity, you may have sleep apnea. Discuss this with your Family Doctor. Untreated sleep apnea will make weight loss more difficult.

Please watch! The video below explains the physiology behind weight gain and the role of Obesity medications

For specific medication information, click below:

HMC Policies

1. Appointment Rescheduling and Cancellation: We have a strict requirement of 2 business' days for appointment rescheduling or cancellations. Missed appointments or late cancellations will be subject to a Missed Appointment Fee as follows:

  • Medical CONSULTATION $180

  • Medical FOLLOW UP $105

  • Psychotherapy CONSULTATION $250 

  • Psychotherapy FOLLOW UP $165

2. No Shows: if you do not attend your medical appointment, you will be invoiced for the Missed Appointment according to the fees above.

3. Video Appointments: HMC is a telemedicine clinic. All appointments are conducted via video call. We do NOT offer phone appointments. Be sure to log on to your video call 5 minutes before the scheduled time to avoid any connection problems.

4. One-year: Our physicians follow patients for a period of 12 months to ensure stability on obesity treatment. After this time, you will be discharged back to your Family Doctor for ongoing care. 

5. Referral Only: Medical consultations with our specialist physicians are by referral only.

6. Fees for Uninsured Services: 

The following services are not covered by OHIP and therefore subject to a fee. All fees are payable by etransfer:

  • Insurance forms (pre-authorization paperwork required for some obesity medications) $60. 

  • Doctor’s Letters (for travel, or any other purpose) $60.

  • Request for prescription renewal by fax or email $25.

  • Request for us to send you bloodwork or other medical records is $30.

7. Email: Our physicians do not answer any questions by email. Please ask your questions during your appointment.

8. Resources: In joining the High Metabolic Clinic, we ask you to commit to reviewing the podcasts and videos provided on this page. These serve as a launching pad for your successful weight management with our clinic.

9. Lifestyle & Nutrition: For women, Dr. High’s coaching program Best Weight is the best place to create healthy habits through cognitive training, overcome emotional eating, and develop consistency to show up as your best self. In addition, patients are encouraged to work 1:1 with a Registered Dietitian to develop a sustainable eating plan.


Here are the 3 Pillars of Weight Management:

Behavioural & psychological interventions

A great nutrition & exercise plan is only as effective as your ability to implement it. This pillar is all about "how do you stick with it?"

You've probably heard "eat less and exercise more". If only it were that simple. Your healthiest lifestyle is the result of learning behavioural and psychological skills like:

  • - cognitive reframing (to stop self-sabotage)

  • - problem solving (to overcome challenges)

  • - resilience in the face of setbacks

  • - overcoming all-or-nothing thinking

  • - fostering self-compassion

  • - developing intrinsic motivation

  • - building self-efficacy

  • - learning emotional regulation to stop self-soothing or rewarding with food

If you're a woman struggling to implement a healthy lifestyle, Dr. High’s coaching program is the leading brain-based coaching membership in Canada. Check out Best Weight HERE.

Bariatric surgery

Severe obesity may require surgical treatment to reduce longterm health risks and improve health, quality of life and wellbeing.

If bariatric surgery is an option for you, this may be discussed by your Obesity Physician. If you are interested in considering surgical treatment, we will refer you to the Ontario Bariatric Network. Bariatric surgery is covered by OHIP for eligible patients.

There are several different types of Bariatric Surgery available. The specific surgical procedure offered to you will be decided based on clinical decision-making by the Surgeon. Some options include:

  • - Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy

  • - Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass

  • - Duodenal Switch

Medical treatment (obesity medications)

In Ontario, the following medications may be considered by your physician:

  • - Xenical,

  • - Contrave,

  • - Saxenda,

  • - Wegovy/Ozempic,

  • - Mounjaro,

  • - or Metformin.

Medical treatment is always a clinical decision made in collaboration between the physician and the patient.


The High Metabolic Clinic is pleased to provide the medical treatment and supervision that is often required in the management of obesity.

Many patients will need additional behavioural and cognitive counselling.

If you are a woman struggling with emotional eating, all-or-nothing thinking, or a lack of consistency in your health behaviours, join Dr. High’s coaching membership, Best Weight, for all the support you need. Men can access the lessons and resources through our Best Weight Lifestyle Course.

Best Weight

cognitive behavioural weight loss coaching

Best Weight Coaching Membership for Women — $97/month

Exclusively for women who want to overcome emotional eating, mindless snacking, or disordered eating behaviours and level up their health habits. This is where we build the pillars of consistency, sustainability and resilience to lose weight for good.

Join our community for twice weekly live coaching with Sasha & team, a library of over 50+ video lessons, workbook, private podcast, resources, recipe guides, and a supportive community to ask all your questions.

Best Weight is our renowned, science-backed program that addresses the real root of your weight struggles and teaches you the cognitive behavioural tools to be successful.

Best Weight Course — $297 CAD

Available to both men and women. This self-paced course provides everything you need to develop your personalized eating plan, lifestyle goals, and overcome barriers like emotional eating and all-or-nothing thinking.

With 50+ video lessons and the Best Weight Workbook, plus recipe guides and meal plans, this course holds everything we teach inside the Coaching Membership, without the weekly live coaching.

Topics covered include:

  • Building your individualized eating plan

  • Mindset mastery (cognitive reframing)

  • Emotional regulation skills to overcome emotional eating

  • Healing your relationship with food and body

  • so much more…

Best Weight Lifestyle Course

Your complete guide to sustainable weight loss.
Self-paced, 6-month guided video course.

Best Weight Lifestyle Course includes:

  • Module 1: Weight loss basics (Nutrition, hunger and beyond)

  • Module 2: Stop overeating (mindless snacking, compulsive overeating, craving) 

  • Module 3: Overcome Emotional Eating

  • Module 4: Mindset Mastery (ditch diet mentality)

  • Module 5: Body Image (learn to love and honour your body)

  • Module 6: Lock It All In (so the weight loss sticks)

TWO BONUS MODULES!

#1 MEAL PLANS & RECIPES

Does meal planning make you feel overwhelmed? No problem! Take the guess-work out of your diet with meal plans and recipes that have been tested by hundreds of clients inside our Best Weight coaching program.

#2 MINDFULNESS & MINDFUL EATING

Use our audio guides to learn easy mindfulness strategies to become present in the moment (an essential to stop mindless snacking and "screw it" eating!)

If you've tried every diet out there, then perhaps the solution to your weight struggle isn't found in the next fad diet. 

Inside the Best Weight Course, Dr. High teaches you to address the root issues driving your overeating so you can be empowered to lose weight and keep it off for good.

You can have all the nutrition knowledge in the world, but if you don't address the "I'm-so-stressed-I-just-need-to-eat" eating, or the 9pm mindless snacking in front of Netflix, or the boredom eating that happens when you're procrastinating at work... you'll never be able to keep the weight off for good.

Here's the good news though: sustainable behaviour change is possible. With the right tools & skills (not more willpower) you can take small, daily steps toward your health and wellness goals.

 FAQ

  • You'll need to contact your insurance provider to ask about each medication. You will require the DIN number (which is on the medication handouts available above). Insurance provider do NOT cover off-label medications. For example, if you do not have Type 2 Diabetes, but choose to take Ozempic or Mounjaro, you will likely NOT have insurance coverage.

    If you need Pre-Authorization Paperwork filled out by one of our physicians, you will be charged a fee of $40 CAD as this is an uninsured service.

  • Obesity is a chronic medical condition - similar to heart disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis or any other chronic disease. Treatment needs to be longterm.

    Obesity medications will not continue to work if you are not taking them. Just like blood pressure medication will stop working if one is no longer taking it.

    Studies show that patients who stop taking obesity medications will regain the weight they lost.

  • If you had heart disease and your doctor recommended a blood thinner, would you say "that's cheating"?

    No, you'd take the blood thinner!

    The mentality that obesity medications are "cheating" is rooted in weight bias.

    Obesity is a real medical condition. Yes, lifestyle and behaviours are important, but some patients will require medications to treat the underlying physiology causing weight dysregulation and overeating.

  • Absolutely - we are so happy you want to prioritize your healthy lifestyle.

    At the High Metabolic Clinic we offer 2 options for patients wanting to address lifestyle factors:

    1) Best Weight Lifestyle Course: this self-paced video course guides you through everything you need to know from nutrition, to mindset, to how to stop emotional eating. You will have longterm access so you can come back to the material at any time. Purchase the whole course for just $297 CAD. Learn more at www.sashahighmd.com.

    2) Work 1:1 with a Registered Dietitian: Our RDs are experts in nutrition for metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, with additional skills in creating consistency and overcoming barriers to implementation. Tedi and Julie can provide the support and accountability you need to reach your health and wellness goals. Learn more here.