Who really know what's healthy anymore?

meowmeow4268

Hey community! Just popping in to ask your thoughts on something that has been driving me a little crazy over the years. We are constantly bombarded with information about what's healthy, how to maintain or lose weight, how to bulk up and how to "look hot in our jeans again." Is one of those people who got suckered into weightloss miracle pills and shakes. I've always been an active person up until my recent desk job status, but what I really want to know is what are your experiences with doctors or nutritionists when you tell them you want to lose some weight? I'm not obese, I have a higher BMI but not over weight and lately haven't felt comfortable in my own skin, I've been through some depression episodes, and have felt that if I can lose about 15 pounds, I'd feel like my old self again. When nothing worked and the scale wouldn't budge even though I was limiting calories and going to high intensity personal training sessions, I sought out some help. I hired a very expensive nutritionist, went to some holistic doctors that diagnosed me with low thyroid and prescribed hormones. I went to a obgyn as I hadn't had a period in months, my health was just out of whack! When I got that on track and the weight still wasn't coming off, but going up I panicked and went to a weightloss clinic.

If I told my nutritionist this, she would scold me. When I told her I was limiting my calories, I was scolded. She basically tells me not to worry about food, stop going out to eat, and limit alcohol and everything will balance out on its own. I was denied any help from the first weightloss clinic I visited, as they said that I didn't have enough to lose. I tried another and This weightloss clinic doctor prescribed phentermine, a popular appetite suppressant (I know, bad! But hold on, it's not so bad!) and a restrictive diet of 800 net calories for two weeks, then one week of 1200 calories. For the first time in a long time I feel great. I've had no bad side effects from the phentermine, this is my second week on it, I've been able to make better choices when eating because I'm not starving all the time, and I've been exercising for 30 mins a day without being miserable about it. Obviously won't be on it forever, but with how much I thought about the weight and how uncomfortable I felt, it was nice to have someone listen and understand and try to help. I think weight gain happens quickly and it sneaks up on us when we're younger and I just wanted to keep it in check. Does anyone else have a similar experience with doctors who really didn't care unless they were morbidly obese or extremely over weight?

Some of the things doctors told me:

-Drink more coffee if you feel depressed and tired
-Take birth control to help with depresssion
-you don't need to lose weight, you need a psychiatrist for body image issues

When I asked my current doctor what a healthy weight would be for me to shoot for, he finally told me what I wanted to hear--only I can decide my ideal weight, only I know where I feel good.

Any thoughts?

NorthCascades

When it comes to weight loss or gain or maintenance, it's surprisingly simple. Calories are the only thing that matter for weight/fat.

A lot of people want to make you think it's more complicated than that because they're selling you something. I have this system of getting you to eat less calories without knowing that's what you're doing (say you're not allowed to eat sugar, or whatever else) and you can pay me $100 a month to use it. Of course I want you to think this is really complicated and you can't figure it out for yourself - I want your $100!

Also, most doctors that people go to regularly aren't experts in any one thing. What I mean is you see a general practitioner, somebody who's knowledge is more wide than deep. They can help you if you have a broken bone or if you're depressed or any number of things. But maybe a nutrition specialist is a better resource. On top of that, one thing you need to have in order to be a doctor is "bedside manner," you need to make people feel like you have the answer.

cwolfman13

Actually, I think it's pretty much common sense...See all of those nutritious whole foods in your grocery store...yeah, emphasize those.

not_my_first_rodeo

My most recent physician is the one who told me I needed to lose weight. I already knew I had to, but it helped push me into action. She wanted to know what I intended to do. I told her: use MFP, make sure I burned more calories than I consumed, we discussed a desirable calorie intake. I told her I was going to try to keep my intake of processed foods low, cook more, try to hit recommended amounts of fat, protein, carbs, etc.

I would suggest you seek not a nutritionist, but a registered dietician. If your physician cannot tell you what the weight range should be for someone your age, gender, and height, I think you need to look for a new physician.

Without knowing your age, height, current weight, etc. I don't think anyone here can suggest a BMI range to shoot for.

lemurcat12

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Actually, I think it's pretty much common sense...See all of those nutritious whole foods in your grocery store...yeah, emphasize those.

I agree with this.

OP, you probably wouldn't need a drug to deal with appetite if you weren't trying to go too low, and if you aren't an unhealthy weight it's not a good idea to get into a cutting low/feeling starving kind of pattern, that often ends up with a higher overall weight in the long run. I'd suggest eating normally, logging for a week or two, and then looking over your logs to see how much you are eating and maybe where you can cut back (alcohol often is an easy one, or reducing the amount of some higher cal foods and eating more nutrient dense foods of the sort we all know are good for us, I think).

chocolate_owl

What the what is happening here?

OP, you're on phentermine and an 800 calorie diet to lose 15 lbs. That's ridiculous, especially since I highly doubt you're ensuring adequate nutrition on such low calories. I think you've changed doctors and sought out specialists to validate your feelings rather than address the real issue: you have depression and a bad body image that's probably body dysmorphia, things that should be addressed by a therapist and not by a weight loss clinic that's all too happy to take your hard-earned money. You've also obviously had an irresponsible doctor or two if you've been told to try to fix depression with coffee. I just can't even with all of this, and I'm both mad and very sad that this situation even exists.

But to answer the questions actually posed to us:
1) "Healthy" is eating an appropriate amount for your activity level, achieving and maintaining a weight that puts you at low risk for health complications, not sitting on your butt all the time, and eating a balanced diet that gives you adequate nutrition. Hit your macros with mostly whole foods and your micros will be taken care of. Worrying about if you're eating enough kale or if there's "toxins" building up in your system or if your workout is "blasting" enough fat is unnecessarily and often erroneously complicating things.

2) When I saw the free nutritionist my college offered 6 years ago, she asked me why I (as a 150 lb, 5'5" female) wanted to lose weight, and I said I didn't want to buy bigger jeans. She gave me a daily goal of 1400 calories and some tips on how to get my macros in, and off I went. She understood calories are king, she didn't try to push fad foods on me, she didn't tell me to never eat out, she didn't try to blame my thyroid, and she didn't suggest I try to get medication to lose a few lbs.

French_Peasant

I would say if you are being "bombarded" with something in the media, there's a good chance it's snake oil and won't do much for your health, particularly if there is a buck to be made from it. I'm pretty old school, and like counting my calories, eating my greens (and the rest of the rainbow), hitting my protein macro, and getting my butt into the gym or out in nature.

VeryKatie

The coffee thing and the birth control thing seem really weird to me. Birth control is more known for causing depression, not helping it. And coffee doesn't cure depression either...

Sorry I don't have any experience to comment on the rest.

xmichaelyx

Controlling weight is too easy to bother going to see a doctor about.

1. Figure out how many calories you should be eating to reach your goals. This site will help.
2. Count calories religiously for 3 weeks. This site will help, but you also need a $12 food scale.
3. After 3 weeks, check your weight to see if you're eating too much, too little, or just enough. Adjust as needed.
4. Check your weight every 3-4 weeks and adjust as needed. Eventually you'll hit on the exact amount you should be eating to reach your goals. It will probably take a couple of months.

Most people don't have the discipline to even complete step 2. Then they fail and blame everything except their own lack of self-control, which was the only thing that caused their failure.

If you want it, you can do it, just as thousands of others here have.

Good luck.

VeganRaptor

I find the WHO (World Health Organisation) has the best information as they carry out meta analyses of lots of different health related scientific articles.

Doctors often have VERY little nutritional training.
Nutritionists (in many countries) don't have to have formal nutrition training and can pretty much promote any health information they want, even if it's not evidence based.
Seeing a dietitian is a better choice than seeing a nutritionist, as they have to go through training and usually work from an evidence based perspective.

Having a decent amount of vegetables is one piece of health information that is almost never contended!

Wiggymommy

chocolate_owl wrote: »

What the what is happening here?

OP, you're on phentermine and an 800 calorie diet to lose 15 lbs. That's ridiculous, especially since I highly doubt you're ensuring adequate nutrition on such low calories. I think you've changed doctors and sought out specialists to validate your feelings rather than address the real issue: you have depression and a bad body image that's probably body dysmorphia, things that should be addressed by a therapist and not by a weight loss clinic that's all too happy to take your hard-earned money. You've also obviously had an irresponsible doctor or two if you've been told to try to fix depression with coffee. I just can't even with all of this, and I'm both mad and very sad that this situation even exists.

I fully concur with this! One addition, mental health is just as important as physical. If you're not healthy up top don't expect the body to be healthy. Depression can lead to poor sleeping habits and those habits lead to challenges losing weight. There have been studies backing this up.

That being said, my sister has thyroid issues and the medicine helps but you must be periodically checked then the dosage changed so this could be your issue

marm1962

Irresponsible doctor that's giving out scripts for phentermine when you have so little to lose.

RoxieDawn

Do you feel your best right now cause the weight is coming off? It seriously cannot be due to your current medication and calorie intake.. VLCD with medication seems unwarranted and quite extreme with ONLY 15 pounds to lose.

Doctors will care cause you mention your concerns to them. And if they can't help they should refer to you the appropriate doctor or resource that can.. If they are not listening you keep trying.

Doctors do get perks for the scripts they write from pharmaceutical companies.. Its their job to try and cure with pills.. I think you can do all of this for free using the tools available to you, along side the community here for advice when needed. The forums and Most Helpful Posts provides priceless amounts of information to educate you and help you.. again its free..

I would ditch the doctor personally.

jgnatca

I agree this is a body image issue. The loss of your period was a clue. Your extreme dieting is harming you far more than the fifteen pounds.

What information can you trust? I tell my gullible friends to go to national and international health sites like the WHO, and believe double-blind peer reviewed studies.

The rest is just noise.

sargeca

Listening to opinions on here is like having your friends fix your golf game. Sorry folks, opinions are like a**holes. We all have one, but there is not much in them. You are losing weight, not building a space shuttle. Think about where you want to be and the best and safest way to get there. Then, go there. Good luck. jgnatca is right. A lot of noise.

GottaBurnEmAll

I also agree this is a body image issue.

I also think you have learned nothing about how weight loss works or about calorie management and will put the weight right back on.

Healthy weight loss is achieved every day by people who eat balanced diets with enough calories (certainly more than 800) to give them the nutrients they need and enough energy to fuel their activity. They develop healthy habits and learn behaviors to maintain what weight loss they achieve.

You're not doing that.

WallyAmadeus

What works for me: Listening to my body and my mind. I can lose weight if I restrict calories. However, if that is all I focus on, most of my mind is focused on what I can eat, when I can eat and how much. When I've focused on eating whole foods (minimally processed foods) AND used MFP to track calories I can sustain a weight loss and not have every waking moment focused on food.

As for physicians and weight loss advice: An M.D. degree does not make someone a weight loss expert. Weight loss is a big business...and an easy way to make money. Sure, you'll lose weight on 800 calories a day, but the key is: Can you sustain your weight loss?

canadianlbs

what i'm hearing is irritation at the way the stories keep changing - and at the scoldiness from the people you've consulted. both are pretty valid, but a) i'm 51 and have gotten to where everything is a matter of 'don't like it? wait 6 months and the Received Truth will be something else', and b) unprofessionalism is everywhere. and that's more of an individual-person type thing.

domesticlydiva

Sensibly restricting calories not ridiculously restricting calories. 800 calories is not healthy. That's just common sense. I agree with everyone who mentioned focusing on eating nutrionally dense foods in the proper portion. AS far as depression & "not feeling comfortable in your own skin," sounds like something else going on, but you are focusing on weight instead. Not alot of weight either. Perhaps you need to do some kind things for yourself or something fun...or do something kind for someone else or something fun with someone else.

lemurcat12

xmichaelyx wrote: »

Controlling weight is too easy to bother going to see a doctor about.

1. Figure out how many calories you should be eating to reach your goals. This site will help.
2. Count calories religiously for 3 weeks. This site will help, but you also need a $12 food scale.
3. After 3 weeks, check your weight to see if you're eating too much, too little, or just enough. Adjust as needed.
4. Check your weight every 3-4 weeks and adjust as needed. Eventually you'll hit on the exact amount you should be eating to reach your goals. It will probably take a couple of months.

Most people don't have the discipline to even complete step 2. Then they fail and blame everything except their own lack of self-control, which was the only thing that caused their failure.

If you want it, you can do it, just as thousands of others here have.

Good luck.

I agree with this, but really if you are someone without the patience for it many can do it even without doing (2). Log what you eat (or even just write it down), make cuts and if you can/are willing to add activity, and see how you are doing in about 3 weeks, adjust if necessary.

It never crossed my mind to seek a doctor's help when I lost weight, although my doctor subsequently asked me some questions about what I was doing and said "that's great."

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

chocolate_owl wrote: »

What the what is happening here?

OP, you're on phentermine and an 800 calorie diet to lose 15 lbs. That's ridiculous, especially since I highly doubt you're ensuring adequate nutrition on such low calories. I think you've changed doctors and sought out specialists to validate your feelings rather than address the real issue: you have depression and a bad body image that's probably body dysmorphia, things that should be addressed by a therapist and not by a weight loss clinic that's all too happy to take your hard-earned money. You've also obviously had an irresponsible doctor or two if you've been told to try to fix depression with coffee. I just can't even with all of this, and I'm both mad and very sad that this situation even exists.

But to answer the questions actually posed to us:
1) "Healthy" is eating an appropriate amount for your activity level, achieving and maintaining a weight that puts you at low risk for health complications, not sitting on your butt all the time, and eating a balanced diet that gives you adequate nutrition. Hit your macros with mostly whole foods and your micros will be taken care of. Worrying about if you're eating enough kale or if there's "toxins" building up in your system or if your workout is "blasting" enough fat is unnecessarily and often erroneously complicating things.

2) When I saw the free nutritionist my college offered 6 years ago, she asked me why I (as a 150 lb, 5'5" female) wanted to lose weight, and I said I didn't want to buy bigger jeans. She gave me a daily goal of 1400 calories and some tips on how to get my macros in, and off I went. She understood calories are king, she didn't try to push fad foods on me, she didn't tell me to never eat out, she didn't try to blame my thyroid, and she didn't suggest I try to get medication to lose a few lbs.

So. Much. This.

OP, whoever prescribed you phentermine and put you on an 800 calorie diet is an idiot. You're not getting adequate nutrition and the only reason you "feel great" is because of the freaking amphetamine derived stimulant you are taking.

I can understand worrying about weight sneaking up on you and putting weight on slowly over time without really realizing what was happening; however, going on a VLCD with the help of psychostimulant drugs is not the answer.

Who really knows what's healthy anymore? Well it sure as heck isn't what you're doing right now.