FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio -- Exactly a year after Greg Infante began looking for his next business opportunity, the Fairview Park resident recently opened a Profile by Sanford location (3071 Westgate mall), which provides nutrition, activity and lifestyle coaching to help members lose weight and keep it off.

In a nutshell, Profile by Sanford bases a diet on a person’s DNA, which may sound like something out of Michael Crichton book, but has made headlines as a science-based weight-loss program.

“What struck me first is they had the backing of Sanford Health,” Infante said. “Secondly, the nutrition and weight-loss protocols that profile users were developed by Sanford physicians and researchers.

“There’s a lot of data and methodology that they employed when developing the protocols. So when you’re looking at the actual program, you can feel comfortable that this thing actually has some merit and will do what it’s supposed to do.”

The Profile Plan is completely personalized to each member and is implemented through one-on-one coaching to deliver sustained results. The company said members actively engaged in the program achieve an average 12 percent weight loss in 12 weeks, with continued success thereafter.

The Fairview Park location will be the first of three Infante projects to open in the Greater Cleveland area.

“Obesity is a national issue, just not unique to Cleveland,” Infante said. “Weight loss is one of the primary health concerns going forward. One thing that’s nice about Sanford from a business model is there’s a need for a product like this.

“You see it constantly -- people are working out like crazy, trying to hone in their diets and they don’t have a lot of success. It’s just frustrating. People just kind of give up or just stay where they’re at and accept maybe being 30 pounds overweight.”

At 2,800 square feet, Fairview Park’s Profile by Sanford boasts five private meeting rooms, as well as a discovery room for workshops, presentations and cooking classes. The front part of the store is the retail component, where branded foods ranging from pastas to shakes can be purchased.

“What stands out with us, against some of the other weight-loss programs out there, is we provide one-on-one coaching,” Infante said. “When you buy a membership, we provide you with a certified health coach -- someone who is going to walk you through the program weekly in a private meeting room.

“And as far as the DNA test is concerned, we’re not doing a background check. Instead, we’re just going to isolate one gene, which will tell us how your body processes carbohydrates. That allows us to hone in on the appropriate levels of carbohydrates a member should be eating to make sure they can process those and keep the weight off.”

Infante said Profile by Sanford provides the foundation for members who are already exercising and dieting on their own to reach their goals.

“We joke around here that we help with the final 15,” Infante said. “You know, people who have been working out and can’t lose those last 15 pounds. They come see us and can get it done very quickly.

“I was probably a little heavier than I should have been. I was a guy who worked out a couple of times a week. Then I went on the program last March, and within three weeks I knocked off 14 pounds," he said.

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