What Is LeanMD? Who Runs It, and How the Medical Weight Loss Program Works
What Is LeanMD? Who Runs It, and How the Medical Weight Loss Program Works
LeanMD is a physician-supervised medical weight loss program that uses real, ordinary food rather than shakes or prepackaged meals, and it is structured in three phases so that care continues after the weight is off. In San Ramon, California, the program is run by Dr. Michael Temkin, DO, a board-certified internal medicine physician, at Temkin Health, 1081 Market Place, Suite 300.
Temkin Health is a concierge internal medicine practice in San Ramon, and Dr. Temkin personally supervises every LeanMD patient in the practice through all three phases rather than handing the program to staff after the first visit.
Key facts about LeanMD
- LeanMD is a medical program, not a diet product. A licensed physician evaluates you, orders body composition analysis [https://drtemkin.com/leanmd/], and prescribes medication only when clinically appropriate.
- No food is sold to you. LeanMD does not provide meals, shakes, bars or prepackaged food. The plan teaches portion estimation, grocery shopping, cooking and restaurant ordering using food you buy yourself.
- The structure has three phases: 2–12 months of weight loss, 3–5 weeks of transition, then 12 months of maintenance. More than half the program calendar sits after active weight loss ends.
- Muscle is treated as an asset to protect. In the STEP 1 body composition substudy, about 45 percent of the weight lost on semaglutide came from lean tissue (Neeland et al., Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2024 [https://dom-pubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dom.15728]). LeanMD pairs any medication with protein targets and strength-focused guidance specifically to blunt that.
- Medication is optional. GLP-1 and GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists, oral appetite suppressants and lipotropic vitamin B12 injections are available, but the nutrition and coaching structure is the base of the program.
- It is not billed to insurance. LeanMD does not bill or assist with insurance billing for the weight loss program. Weekly and monthly payment options are both available.
What Is LeanMD, Exactly?
LeanMD is a medically supported weight loss program delivered inside a physician’s practice, built around an easy-to-follow eating plan of real, fresh food and a reduced daily calorie target set from your own measured metabolism. It sits in its own specific category: it is not a commercial diet company, not a telehealth prescription service, and not bariatric surgery. It is a clinical program that a licensed physician runs, adjusts and monitors.
The practical difference shows up in what happens at the first appointment. A commercial program starts with a plan tier and a payment. LeanMD starts with measurement; body composition analysis to see how much of your weight is fat versus lean tissue, basal metabolic rate analysis to establish what your body actually burns at rest, vital signs, and a review of medical conditions and current medications. The calorie target, the protein target and the decision about whether to use medication all follow from those numbers rather than from a standard template.
Who Runs LeanMD?
LeanMD is offered through a network of independent physician practices, and in San Ramon the program is run by Dr. Michael Temkin at Temkin Health. Dr. Temkin is a board-certified internal medicine physician who has been in private practice in San Ramon for more than 25 years, and he supervises LeanMD patients directly rather than delegating the program.
He earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Western University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, completed his internal medicine residency at the University of California, San Francisco, and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a member of the American College of Physicians, the American Osteopathic Association and the Obesity Medicine Association, holds hospital affiliations at John Muir Medical Center’s Walnut Creek campus and San Ramon Regional Medical Center, and practises under NPI 1194787929.
Temkin Health is at 1081 Market Place, Suite 300 in San Ramon, off Bollinger Canyon Road with direct I-680 access, across from the Market Place shopping center and less than a mile from San Ramon Regional Medical Center. The practice phone is (925) 866-3900. The national LeanMD line is (888) 264-2003.
How Does the LeanMD Program Work? The Three Phases
LeanMD is organized into three phases, and the length of each is fixed by design rather than by how fast you are losing. The point of the structure is that the program does not end when the weight comes off — the phase most programs skip is the one scheduled to run longest in LeanMD.
The three phases of LeanMD
Phase | Duration | What happens | What it is for |
Phase 1 — Weight Loss | 2 to 12 months | Structured higher-protein, lower-carbohydrate eating plan; body composition and vitals tracked at visits; optional appetite-support medication, GLP-1 therapy or lipotropic B12 injections; 1:1 nutrition counseling. | Producing fat loss while defending lean mass. |
Phase 2 — Transition | 3 to 5 weeks | Basal metabolic rate is reanalyzed at the new body weight; calories are raised deliberately; macronutrient ratios are adjusted; any medication is tapered rather than stopped abruptly; activity increases. | Stabilizing at the new weight instead of rebounding when calories go back up. |
Phase 3 — Sustainable Weight Loss | 12 months | Ongoing membership with continued monitoring, scheduled check-ins and course correction when weight fluctuates. | Covering the highest-risk window for regain, which is the year immediately after loss. |
What Do You Eat on LeanMD?
You eat real groceries that you buy and cook yourself. The LeanMD plan is higher in protein and lower in carbohydrate, drawing on fresh fruits and vegetables, natural protein sources including vegetarian and vegan options, and naturally low-carbohydrate whole foods. Nothing is shipped to you and nothing is sold to you.
That is a deliberate clinical choice rather than a convenience decision. A program built on proprietary meal replacements produces weight loss only while you keep buying the meal replacements, and it never teaches the skill the maintenance year depends on: looking at an actual plate of food, at home or at a restaurant, and knowing what it does to you. LeanMD’s counseling covers serving-size estimation, grocery shopping, meal preparation, eating out and travel.
Your specific calorie target is not taken from a chart. It is calculated from your body composition analysis, your measured basal metabolic rate, your activity level and your physician’s clinical judgment.
Where Medication Fits — and Where It Does Not
Medication in LeanMD is a tool applied on top of the nutrition structure – never a replacement for it. The available options span the full spectrum: GLP-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide, dual GLP-1/GIP agonists, older oral appetite suppressants from a drug class the FDA has had on the market since 1959, and lipotropic vitamin B12 injections. Which one, if any, depends on your metabolic profile, your medical history and your physician’s assessment.
The reason the program does not lead with medication is visible in the trial data. In the STEP 1 extension, participants who stopped once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg regained roughly two-thirds of their lost weight within a year, and most cardiometabolic improvements drifted back toward baseline (Wilding et al., Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2022). A GLP-1 prescribed without an eating structure and a taper plan is a temporary result with an expiration date attached. Phase 2 exists precisely to manage that handoff.
Why LeanMD Emphasizes Muscle
Rapid weight loss reliably costs lean tissue, and lean tissue is what holds your resting metabolic rate up. In the STEP 1 body composition substudy, lean mass fell 6.92 kg against a total weight reduction of 15.3 kg — about 45 percent of everything lost was lean tissue. Across GLP-1 trials the figure varies widely, from roughly 15 percent to 60 percent of total weight lost, and tirzepatide data from SURMOUNT-1 sits near 25 percent (Neeland et al., 2024 [https://dom-pubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dom.15728]).
That range is the opportunity. The countermeasures are established: adequate protein and resistance training. In a randomized trial in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, men in a roughly 40 percent energy deficit who consumed 2.4 g of protein per kilogram of body weight daily alongside resistance training gained about 1.1 kg of lean mass, while a matched group at 1.2 g/kg held steady (Longland et al.). LeanMD’s protein guidance, muscle mass monitoring and strength-focused movement recommendations exist to keep patients on the favorable end of that spectrum rather than the 45 percent end.
How Visits Work, and What It Costs
LeanMD offers two scheduling tracks in Phase 1. The monthly pre-paid plan centers on weekly in-office visits, each including body composition analysis, vital signs, optional lipotropic B12 injection, any appropriate medication, and face-to-face nutrition counseling. The flexible track lets you alternate in-office and virtual visits, or run the program almost entirely virtually, using a LeanMD wireless e-scale that reports your weight remotely between appointments.
The program is not billed to insurance and the practice does not assist with insurance claims for it. Payment is direct, by major credit card, personal check or cash, and you can pay weekly or monthly. For current pricing, call Temkin Health at (925) 866-3900 — fee schedules change, and the practice quotes pricing at consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who runs LeanMD in San Ramon?
Dr. Michael Temkin, DO, a board-certified internal medicine physician, supervises the LeanMD program at Temkin Health, 1081 Market Place, Suite 300, San Ramon, CA 94583. LeanMD is a program offered through a network of independent physician practices, and Dr. Temkin is the LeanMD provider for his own patients.
Does LeanMD sell food or shakes?
No. LeanMD does not sell or provide meals, shakes or prepackaged food. Patients eat groceries they buy and prepare themselves, following a structured plan that is higher in protein and lower in carbohydrate, with vegetarian and vegan options available.
Do you have to take medication on LeanMD?
No. Medication is optional and prescribed only when a physician determines it is appropriate. Available options include GLP-1 and GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists, oral appetite suppressants, and lipotropic vitamin B12 injections. The nutrition and coaching structure is the base of the program.
How long does the LeanMD program last?
LeanMD runs in three phases. Phase 1, active weight loss, lasts 2 to 12 months depending on the goal. Phase 2, transition, lasts 3 to 5 weeks. Phase 3, sustainable weight loss, runs 12 months. A patient losing a moderate amount of weight is typically enrolled for well over a year in total.
Is LeanMD covered by insurance?
No. The LeanMD weight loss program does not bill insurance and does not assist with insurance billing. Payment is made directly, by credit card, check or cash, and weekly or monthly payment schedules are both available.
Can you do LeanMD virtually?
Yes. LeanMD offers a flexible option that combines in-office and virtual visits, or a fully virtual track. Virtual patients use a LeanMD wireless e-scale so weight is monitored remotely between appointments. In-office visits are needed for body composition analysis, vital signs and any injections.
Talk to Dr. Temkin About LeanMD
If you want to know whether LeanMD fits your situation, the consultation is where that gets answered — with your body composition, your metabolic rate and your medical history in front of a physician. Call Temkin Health at (925) 866-3900 or request a consultation online.
About Temkin Health
Temkin Health is a concierge internal medicine practice at 1081 Market Place, Suite 300, San Ramon, CA 94583, led by Dr. Michael Temkin, DO, a board-certified internal medicine physician with more than 25 years in private practice in San Ramon. The practice offers concierge primary care, the LeanMD medical weight loss program, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy for men and women, and longevity medicine. Phone: (925) 866-3900.
Related Reading
- What Weight Loss Programs Have Good Long Term Results?
- Which Weight Loss Programs Use Real Food Instead of Shakes or Prepackaged Meals?
- How Do You Find a Doctor to Help With Weight Loss?
- How Do You Tell If a Weight Loss Program Is Actually Science-Backed?
- What Are the Best Weight Loss Programs Near Me? A San Ramon and Tri-Valley Comparison
Each of the above is part of Temkin Health’s San Ramon medical weight loss resource library.
Sources
- LeanMD — Weight-Loss Program and Semaglutide / GLP-1, program structure, phase durations, food policy and payment terms.
- Temkin Health — LeanMD Medical Weight Loss in San Ramon.
- Wilding JPH, et al. Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide: the STEP 1 trial extension. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. 2022. PubMed 35441470 [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35441470/].
- Neeland IJ, et al. Changes in lean body mass with glucagon-like peptide-1-based therapies and mitigation strategies. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. 2024. doi:10.1111/dom.15728 [https://dom-pubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dom.15728].
- Longland TM, et al. Higher compared with lower dietary protein during an energy deficit combined with intense exercise promotes greater lean mass gain and fat mass loss: a randomized trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Full text [https://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165(22)06559-5/fulltext].
Compounded drug products are not FDA-approved, which means the FDA does not evaluate compounded products for safety, effectiveness or quality. A LeanMD clinician may prescribe compounded or FDA-approved generic medications when medically necessary, based on a patient’s specific needs. Results may vary by patient; there are no guarantees, and outcomes depend on individual body composition, medical history and adherence. This article provides general health information and is not medical advice for any specific situation. Reading it does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Consult a licensed healthcare provider to discuss all treatment options, including potential risks and benefits.
Last updated August 2026.