Real, lasting weight loss can feel out of reach after you have tried everything else. Our GLP-1 medical weight loss program gives you a medically supervised path that works with your body instead of against it. The injections use a peptide that curbs hunger and helps balance insulin, and in clinical use, patients have lost up to 15% of their body weight, often more, within a year. Beyond the medication, Skin Artisans surrounds you with behavioral support to help you change your relationship with food, improve your nutrition, and care for other areas of your wellness, so you are never doing this alone.
Minnetonka: (612) 930-1111
Woodbury: (651) 252-1999
Edina: (952) 767-3163
The same class of GLP-1 medication can be used in various ways. Higher standard doses support active weight loss, while a lower, customized microdose can help you maintain your results or take a gentler approach. Your Skin Artisans provider helps you decide which path fits you.
GLP-1 agonists are a class of medications most often used to manage blood sugar in people with Type 2 diabetes. Some of these medications, including those used in our program, also help treat obesity and reduce stubborn excess body weight. When paired with regular exercise, clean eating, and more consistent daily habits, GLP-1 agonists can lead to significant weight loss.
At Skin Artisans, your program is personalized to your body and your goals and led by Dr. Allison Heimer, who oversees our medical weight loss team across all three of our locations.
To understand how these medications help with weight loss, it helps to know what the natural GLP-1 hormone does. GLP-1 is released by your small intestine after you eat, and it plays a few roles at once. It triggers your pancreas to release insulin, which helps your body turn food into energy and lowers the amount of glucose, or sugar, in your blood. It signals your body to hold back glucagon, the hormone that raises blood sugar. And it slows how quickly food leaves your stomach, so you feel full sooner and stay full longer.
GLP-1 medications work by mimicking that hormone. As your appetite quiets down, most people eat less without the constant hunger that derails so many diets, and they steadily lose weight. When combined with regular movement and balanced meals, patients on the standard program tend to lose about one pound per week. Your experienced provider at Skin Artisans also helps you adjust your food habits and implement lifestyle changes that make the medication work harder for you.
If active weight loss is your main goal, the standard program is the right path, and you can keep reading below to see what the results look like. Microdosing is a different use of the same class of medication, meant for a different goal.
Microdosing means using a smaller, customized dose of a GLP-1 medication than the amount used to drive weight loss. Because your medication is prepared specifically for you, your provider can fine-tune the dose in a way that fixed, off-the-shelf options cannot. On a microdose, you generally will not see significant weight loss. What many patients notice instead is quieter food noise, meaning less constant mental chatter about eating, along with fewer cravings and an easier time maintaining the weight they have already lost. It may also be helpful in losing those last 10 to 15 pesky pounds, making it easier to finally reach your goal weight. The experience is not the same for everyone, which is why we start with a conversation rather than a prescription.
You may be a good candidate for standard GLP-1 weight loss if you are living with a BMI of 30 or higher, have excess weight, or have struggled with your weight and developed related concerns like high blood pressure, pre-Type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol. The program also fits people who want structure and accountability, since it asks you to commit to lifestyle changes alongside the medication.
Candidacy for microdosing works differently and is harder to sum up in a checklist. It tends to suit people who have reached their goal and want to maintain it, or who want a lighter approach from the start. Because it is so individual, the right fit is something Dr. Heimer and our team determine with you at your consultation.
Getting started is the same first few steps whether you are aiming for weight loss or a microdose, and it always begins with a real evaluation, not an online form.
Your first visit is a consultation with a member of our medical weight loss team. You will talk through your history, your goals, and whether GLP-1 therapy is a safe option for you, and you will review any contraindications together. Some lab work may be done at this visit, or you can bring recent values from your last physical.
From there, you receive a plan tailored to your body and goals, along with hands-on instructions on administering your injections. Standard weight loss doses are typically taken once a week, while a microdose may be spaced differently depending on your provider’s prescription. Your medication is prepared specifically for you.
You will inject on a consistent schedule, rotating sites between the abdomen, upper thigh, and the backs of the upper arms to keep your skin comfortable. Some patients notice changes within the first month, though it can take up to 12 weeks of regular use to see the fuller picture, since everyone’s body adapts at its own pace. Early on, you will check in with your provider about once a month so we can track your progress and adjust as needed. As you grow comfortable and learn what to watch for, those visits can be adjusted to a schedule that’s ideal for you.
On the standard program, most patients lose about one pound per week when the medication is paired with healthy habits. You will work closely with your provider to adjust your dose over time, maintain momentum, and overcome the plateaus that stall so many other approaches. In clinical trials, people taking a GLP-1 medication lost, on average, 14.9% of their body weight over 68 weeks, which is part of the deep evidence base behind GLP-1 medications.
Microdosing is typically a maintenance and appetite management tool rather than a weight loss driver. It is not measured the same way, and we can discuss more about what to expect from it during your consultation.
GLP-1 medications are available almost everywhere now, from big telehealth apps to pop-up clinics, and the quality of guidance behind them varies wildly. What sets Skin Artisans apart is the expertise behind the medication.
Our medical weight loss program is led by Dr. Allison Heimer, who sees patients in person across all three of our locations each week. You may also work with Rachel Snyder, APRN, CNP, our Hormone Optimization and Medical Weight Loss Specialist in Edina, and Nicole Putratz, RN, in Woodbury.
Skin Artisans was founded in 1991 by the board-certified plastic surgeons of Edina Plastic Surgery, and that medical foundation still shapes how we practice, with real oversight, careful screening, and honest guidance about what these medications can and cannot do. It is part of why patients keep voting us Best Med Spa in Edina and leaving us hundreds of five-star reviews.
Individualized dosing is where that expertise shows. Your medication is prepared and compounded specifically for you, so your dose can be adjusted to your response instead of forcing you into a preset amount. Because a microdose is generally kept below a full therapeutic level, most microdose patients experience minimal side effects. All of it happens under supervision, which is the real difference between a guided medical program and managing powerful medication on your own.
“Microdosing is never one dose for everyone. The right amount depends on your body, your history, and what you want out of treatment, which is why we start with a conversation instead of a prescription.” — Dr. Allison Heimer
Book your appointment at the location nearest you and talk with our team about which path fits your goals.
Minnetonka: (612) 930-1111
Woodbury: (651) 252-1999
Edina: (952) 767-3163
Yes. You can start at our Edina, Minnetonka, or Woodbury location. Dr. Allison Heimer leads the program in person across all three each week, with Rachel Snyder, APRN, CNP, in Edina and Nicole Putratz, RN, in Woodbury.
Beyond the number on the scale, many patients report lower blood pressure, steadier blood sugar, an improved cholesterol panel, more energy, better sleep, a brighter mood, less joint pain, improved body composition, sharper focus, and a calmer relationship with food. Individual results vary, and your provider can tell you what is realistic for you.
This is where microdosing often comes in. Instead of stopping cold, many patients move to a lower, customized dose to help maintain their results and reduce the risk of regaining weight. Your provider will help you decide when and whether to make that shift.
Often, yes. Many patients pair medical weight loss with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy to address energy, sleep, and other shifts that come with age. You can read more about combining GLP-1 medical weight loss with hormone optimization, and our team will tell you whether it makes sense for you.
A microdose is a smaller amount of the same class of medication, kept below the level used to actively drive weight loss. The goal is different, too. Standard dosing targets weight loss, while microdosing is generally used for maintenance, appetite control, or other aims.
Usually not in a significant way. Microdosing is better understood as a tool for maintaining the weight you have already lost and easing cravings, rather than a way to lose new weight. If active weight loss is your goal, the standard program is the better fit.
Some patients ask about lower-dose GLP-1 therapy for reasons beyond weight, such as appetite and craving control, inflammation, or mental clarity. Research into these uses is still in its early stages, and results vary widely from person to person, so Dr. Heimer and our team will talk through what may be realistic for you at your consultation.
Your provider sets and adjusts your dose based on how your body responds over time, guided by your goals and regular check-ins. It is an individualized process, which is exactly why an in-person program beats trying to figure it out on your own.
Whether you are ready to lose weight or want to maintain the results you have worked for, Skin Artisans gives you a medically supervised program and a real team to guide you. Serving the Twin Cities from Edina, Minnetonka, and Woodbury, we would love to help you find the right approach.
Book your appointment today.
Minnetonka: (612) 930-1111
Woodbury: (651) 252-1999
Edina: (952) 767-3163
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