Question about VLCD???

goddesswannabe

Me and my friend were talking about a diet she tried out last month called VLCD, she was well overweight and did a 3 week 'detox' with a Nutrilett, a diet consisting of shakes (supervised by her doctor). My friend lost a good amount and is super happy, and has now continued to eat healthy as a result of the success she had. My question goes out to the people that have tried VLCD, how long did u do it and how much did u loose? I know it varies from person to person, everyone is different. But we were curious to see if other's had been as succesfull

PS: I've seen a lot of trolls on MFP, so please don't comment unless you have an legitimate answer to the question

Thanks!!
:flowerforyou:


PPS: Again, as some of u pointed out to the ppl warning me: I'M not looking to do it. My question was not *Do u think it's a good idea', we just discussed it and wanted to hear from the people that HAVE tried it out,

AbsoluteNG

You should take some potassium supplements if you want to try it and you should lose fast as long as you exercise. Try to get most of your calories from protein. You also need a plan to reintroduce a normal amount of calories when you hit your goal weight.

tapirfrog

VLCD = Very Low Calorie Diet.

They're usually so unhealthy that it's one of the forbidden topics here. This thread might get locked because you brought it up.

Acg67

Me and my friend were talking about a diet she tried out last month called VLCD, she was well overweight and did a 3 week 'detox' with a Nutrilett, a diet consisting of shakes (supervised by her doctor). My friend lost a good amount and is super happy, and has now continued to eat healthy as a result of the success she had. My question goes out to the people that have tried VLCD, how long did u do it and how much did u loose? I know it varies from person to person, everyone is different. But we were curious to see if other's had been as succesfull

PS: I've seen a lot of trolls on MFP, so please don't comment unless you have an legitimate answer to the question

Thanks!!
:flowerforyou:

Why don't you ask your physician if you're undertaking a VLCD, is there any reason you'd go the VLCD route vs a more moderate deficit to start with?

bonitacash08

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cmriverside

You should take some potassium supplements if you want to try it and you should lose fast as long as you exercise. Try to get most of your calories from protein. You also need a plan to reintroduce a normal amount of calories when you hit your goal weight.

Never mind how dangerous a VLCD plan can be - THIS is not the best advice, either. Potassium supplements on top of a nutritional "shake" is not a good plan. Potassium should only be supplemented under a doctor's strict supervision. This is one supplement you don't want to mess with.

sweetzoejane

No, it won't work and will not be sustainable and you will waste a lot of money. That is my legitimate answer.

JAT74

I don't think it's the poster who wants to do this, she was asking for her friend who did it and was successful.

I know someone who lost more than half their body weight following one in the UK called Lighter Life for around 6-8 months. She ended up at around 155lbs and she's quite tall.

From what I remember she told me her doctor recommended it and she stuck to it religiously for the whole time but they also sent her to counselling and to see a nutritionist so that she could change her eating habits when she stopped the diet. As far as I know she's put back around 15lbs of the weight but she re-trained as a fitness instructor so it really helped her for the long-term.

If she hadn't done it she would have been in danger healthwise definitely as she was extremely obese. I suppose it's a good alternative for people who don't want an operation if your very overweight but it's very very restrictive. I guess if you overeat and food is a temptation the idea is to remove food from the equation and only drink a liquid that's been nutritionally balanced to avoid overeating.

girlykate143

What is VLCD to you? Is that very low carbohydrate or very low calorie? If it's low-carb, then you will gain back water weight when you reintroduce starchy carbohydrates. So, eat tons of veggies and lean protein. I would not drink shakes, but i'm not super overweight. Personally I wouldn't pay to drink somebody's shakes when I could make my own smoothies at home.

I did low carb no refined sugar last summer and lost 18 lbs. I wasn't measuring my food back then, it was an elimination food thing where I avoided sugar and starches. Found out I was eating really low calorie by the time I did go to measure it. As for loss, probably 8 -10 pounds was water loss... Took about a month to see progress. I don't advise it as a long term. You have to learn to eat healthy nearly all the time, not just the one month here, two months there thing.

mahanaibu

I did a long-term vlcd for close to a year and lost 94 pounds. It took about 10 months; this was about 13 years ago. I wouldn't do it again, but that's not to say it might not be right for some people. Everyone takes the weight off, everyone is thrilled, and then almost everyone puts all the weight back on and then some. Sure, it was great fun to buy size 6 pants, but those diets don't teach people how to eat properly or to maintain weight. They do try; there's a maintenance component. But because people haven't been practicing different habits throughout their weight loss, they tend to quickly go back to old ways. And in this program, at the very least, there was a continual push to get people to maintain by having at least two shakes a day, or their packaged entrees. Those entrees are terrible! White-flour pastas and processed proteins, no vegetables....this is no way to teach people how to eat.

My understanding is that because the long-term success rate with vlcds is so bad, this program now does a 1,200-calorie-a-day program instead; maybe some people with specific medical needs to lose weight quickly for surgery are still allowed on the shakes-only diet. and it is a terrible 1,200-calorie-a-day diet, too. I eat 1,200 calories, but I eat really yummy, whole, real food.

AbsoluteNG

You should take some potassium supplements if you want to try it and you should lose fast as long as you exercise. Try to get most of your calories from protein. You also need a plan to reintroduce a normal amount of calories when you hit your goal weight.

Never mind how dangerous a VLCD plan can be - THIS is not the best advice, either. Potassium supplements on top of a nutritional "shake" is not a good plan. Potassium should only be supplemented under a doctor's strict supervision. This is one supplement you don't want to mess with.

Potassium is dangerous in both high and low amounts. If you are eating a low amount of food then it would be common sense that you're not getting enough. Over the shelf pills are only 5 percent daily Value and most americans never hit the daily recommended value. It's a pretty large number. VLCD are also recommended to be accompanied with potassium supplements on such a low calorie diet.

Edit for spelling.

bcattoes

VLCD = Very Low Calorie Diet.

They're usually so unhealthy that it's one of the forbidden topics here. This thread might get locked because you brought it up.

But they are not unhealthy when done short term under the care of a physician, as the OP's friend did. For those with a lot to lose it can be a very useful tool when used properly.

laserturkey

I did something like this in high school for several months. Went to college and gained everything back and MUCH MORE.

I'm sorry I did it in the first place. Took my metabolism YEARS to get back to normal.

MyOwnSunshine

Here's the thing with VLCD (which stands for Very Low Calorie Diet), and I'm basing my opinions on my real life observations of all my WLS friends that I have had the pleasure of being friends with for the past few years...

VLCD are not necessarily "dangerous." Most people who have WLS do VLCD for some period of time after their surgery, and they lose weight very quickly.

What I have noticed and experienced is that the people who remained on a VLCD for the longest (the most common number is 800 calories) lost the quickest and reached their goal weights. BUT (and this is a huge BUT!) they also decimated their metabolisms and are now stuck eating 1000-1200 calories to maintain.

The people who gradually bumped their calories up after surgery ended up eating 1200-1500 calories to lose, and lost more slowly, ended up being able to eat a lot more to maintain their weight when they finished losing.

I think if you are considering a VLCD for a short-term (less than a month) attempt at losing, you probably won't harm yourself. If you extend that VLCD for longer, you will damage your metabolism and you will need to eat fewer calories to maintain your new weight than if you had lost with higher calories over a longer period of time which will make it much more likely that you will regain.

My other observation is that most of the people who followed the VLCD post-surgery did not have the energy to work out intensely, which means they probably lost a lot of their lean mass. The people who ate more post-op tended to be people who fell in love with running or strength training and understood that food was fuel for their workouts. They tended to have more strength and endurance, and were more fit at the end of their weight loss.

bcattoes

You should take some potassium supplements if you want to try it and you should lose fast as long as you exercise. Try to get most of your calories from protein. You also need a plan to reintroduce a normal amount of calories when you hit your goal weight.

If you (or your friend) are under the care of a physician only supplements recommended by the physician should be taken.

goddesswannabe

Ok......? thanks for the info...

goddesswannabe

No, it won't work and will not be sustainable and you will waste a lot of money. That is my legitimate answer.

I never asked if it would work or if it was a waste of money. Did u not read the question??

AbsoluteNG

I don't know how much potassium is in your nutritional shake but just check the label to see if you're getting enough.