A business that uses high-tech methods to help people to lose weight has celebrated its first birthday.

Body Hubb, which is based in Onchan, gives customers programmes to help them shed the pounds.

It says it uses only proven treatments that have undergone extensive trials and received full approvals from the health althorities in the United States for their effectiveness and safety.

Among the equipment used is a machine that uses lasers to target fat cells.

Another does a 3D scan of people’s bodies to calculate what needs to be targets.

It also has medically-supervised diet plans and protein-rich, low-carb food aimed to help people to lose fat quickly.

That food and the supplements, from a company called Alevere, contains all the nutrients that people need to remain healthy, company proprietor Kevin Amphlett said.

The company also gives advice from nutritionalists and doctors and is a treatment combination that Mr Amphlett says will help people quickly reach their personal health and wellness targets.

The doctors are based in the UK and give online consultations.

‘I’ve always had an interest in health,’ Mr Amphlett said.

‘My family are very prone to carry excess weight. I know what a problem that is and the impact that has on people, both psychologically and physically.

‘My son in particular was a driver for me to look into this sector. He was extremely overweight at the age of 32.

‘He was 24.5 stone (156kg) when he went into this programme on January 16. But July 1 he was 16 stone (102kg).

‘He had tried everything before.’

The high-protein, low-carb diet is designed to make customers feel full up, even when, at stage one, they are consuming only 800 calories a day.

Mr Amphlett said that the treatment was designed to reduce fat and wouldn’t result in muscle wastage.

Alevere has been selling its treatment for 14 years.

‘What we are doing throughout the programme is educating people towards a better way of understanding what food is required to make them feel full without putting all the weight on.

‘So they’re moving away from fast foods and carbs.

‘In addition, Alevere tends to become a lifestyle. For example, I lost nearly two stone at the beginning of last year.

‘I put a couple of pounds back over Christmas but I’ve lost it immediately after Christmas by just having a few days on the Alevere programme.’

Mr Amphlett said that the programme was proven to reverse type two diabetes and cut hypertension.

The clinic is based at the King Edward Bay Golf Club, so it’s off the beaten track.

The Body Hubb’s staff say they offer a discreet and caring service where patients feel at ease when they are undergoing treatment.

When they first visit the Body Hubb clinic, customers have a consultation with a clinician and complete a health questionnaire.

They will be shown the equipment and the clinician will talk them through diet and nutrition helping guide then to the diet plans from the Alevere nutrition programme.

The 3D body scanner tracks customers’ weight loss over the course of the treatment producing a 3D image.

The same technology also performs a biometric scan and is promised to establish that individual’s individual metabolic rate.

With this data customers are then said to be able to predict how many calories per day they can consume to effectively lose weight. The scanner also predicts how much weight they will lose by restricting your calories to below your required amount.

In addition, a cellulite device that has tri-dimensional massage, lymph drainage, intense lipolysis, and skin lifting.

The company says this makes it possible to target and slim specific areas resistant to diet and exercise (arms, back, stomach, waist, thighs) while precisely adapting to the needs of each type of skin.

The treatment also treats cellulite, which affects 90% of women, while firming and lifting the skin.

There is also something called ‘lymphatic drainage’ in which customers wear a special suit which massages the body’s lymph nodes to accelerate the disposal of the toxins released in the weight loss programme and therefore helps speed up the weight loss process.

Some people might see this information and simply say why don’t people just eat better and do a bit more exercise to lose weight?

‘People can if they’ve got some level of discipline,’ Mr Amphlett said. ‘Don’t underestimate the benefit of coming in to a clinical environment and being helped through.

‘Some people have got a really dysfunctional relationship with food and can’t control it like that.

‘The controlled environment, the fact you’re having to come here for a weigh-in, is important.

‘It’s very difficult when you’re cooking everything at home to really know what you’re having.

‘Here it’s controlled. We know exactly what calories are going in, exactly what nutrients.

‘They are being measured by a doctor and you’re being assessed by a doctor who’s an expert in weight loss.

‘They are being given the best chance of losing a substantial amount of weight and then keeping it off.’

Costs vary according to the services chosen.

For the full Alevere Transform Plus programme, aimed at people with three stone (19kg) plus to lose – it is £180 for the initial doctor’s consultation, pre-therapy assessment, body scan and blood tests, Then it is £250 per week thereafter for Alevere nutrition, vitamin and trace element supplements, weekly scan and weekly skin-tightening treatment.

Itshould be noted that the cost of Alevere replaces most of the food customers eat during the programme resulting in a saving.

For those not needing to lose so much weight to reach their goal, then it’s possible to enter the programme without the skin tightening and as much medical supervision and costs reduce significantly.