DR BERNSTEIN DIET

ShivaAaliyah

Please don't do Dr. Bernstein. I have done it MANY times. The only reason I continued doing it is because it became a cycle for me. Last year, I joined the program I was about 210 lbs. I lost about 17 lbs, went down to 197, and went off the diet and gained back 50 lbs altogether, ending up at 247. The problem is that it's unsustainable. There are so many restrictions that when you actually finish the program, the weight just comes back ten-fold. Please just stick to a low-calorie diet and incorporate exercise.


Good luck!

marieprimeaumaurice

My experience with this one is a bit mixed. I've just started the Bernstein diet (literally 3 days ago) and I'm taking the attitude that once I lose the weight, I know it will be on me to keep it off. I plan to integrate the diet guidelines and recipes into my normal routine, plus get more activity/exercise in.

I know three other people who have done the diet. Two lost all the weight they wanted and mostly kept it off. I'd say they each gained back about 20-25lbs after losing 75-100lbs. The third person lost the weight she was supposed to (25lbs), but 8 years later she has gained what lools like about 75lbs. It really is about lifestyle.

I think with any of these types of diets, you have to go in with your eyes open knowing what will work for you.

NaRmI10

Not worth it! - I lost about 30 lbs and gained back 35lbs in 9 months!

micyung

I did the " Dr. Bernstein diet " back in 2003 and achieved to loss 32 lbs/8wk. I did not starve myself and I did not gain my weight back until I started to party once again. My average weight gain per year was 5lbs due to drinking beer and eating junk food on a weekend basis. Eating healthy and regular exercise will keep the weight off.

CMB1979

ANY diet where you consume fewer calories than you burn will work - healthy or unhealthy. However, the greater the calorie restriction, the more muscle you'll lose during the diet (along with fat), and the faster the weight will pile on if you quit (since less muscle burns fewer calories).

Stop dieting - in the blah blah Diet sense of the word.

Athijade

I do have to chuckle a bit. The few people who have come on to support this things are always like "OMG it so worked and I lost all this weight... but then I gained it back. But only because of XYZ. But it works!"

NO, it doesn't work if you gain the weight back when you come off of it. A weight loss method that "works" is one that helps you get it off AND keep it off. Stop lying to yourselves.

hookilau

:huh: Am I reading this correctly?
OP, when you referring to 'The Bernstein Diet', are you talking about the book, by 'Dr. Richard K. Bernstein: Diabetes Solution'?

i_am_kamal

i have done the diet and its clean eating nothing fancy just simple foods you should be eating in its natural form and yes its less calories but what is the real reason we gained it back? because we didnt change our habits over the long run. I kept it off for 3 years but I let my emotional ups and downs gain it back. I just started again yesterday and I plan to complete and then do maintenance and eat like I have been for the past 2 years. The last 2 years i have maintained a 45lb weight loss and the reason I am starrtng its i am at a plateau. No matter how much I work out and have had a trainer my body is not budging. Tried every healthy way to do do but its frustrating. so wish me luck : )

amyvigna

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to add to everyones replies without causing trouble, but just sharing my own opinion...

I'm obviously overweight because of the way I eat..I wont blame it on anything else but pure laziness and junk food.

I tried ISAGENIX in January and managed to lose about 25-30lbs.. which was great, but the mintue i was done with the diet, I gained all my weight back..why???? because I ate the same crappy stuff i did before I did the diet... so to everyone who is saying " no dont do it, its such a waste of money...." OF COURSE it's a waste of money if youre going to eat like crap again, dont even bother!

BUT..... if you are someone who cant do it alone, with just diet and exercise because you arent seeing the results you want fast enough, and then you just give up ( like me) and you NEED THE HELP, and you think they can help you...GO FOR IT, BUT don't expect anything from it, if you are not willing to change your life in the process, if you think its a quick fix to lose 50+ pounds and you have ZERO intentions of changing your life afterwards, then save your money hunny, and buy some shoes instead.

My point to this, dont let people tell you its a waste of money and not to do it, if you want to try it, GO FOR IT!!!!! who knows, you might absolutley LOVE the way you feel, and the way you look after you lose all that weight!
and when that happens it will be something that you will work for everyday, if its what you really want!


The older i get, the more i realize you only get one body, and one life, you better take care of it!
Take care, and stay healthy as best as you can!

DebTavares

I heard about someone who did this diet and lost a lot of weight very quickly. She ended up dying of a heart attack. Apparently, the rapid weight loss was too hard on her heart. This was a co-worker's friend.

irina_1725

HI ALL!

I know the original post was from a while ago.. but just wanted to share with everyone my experience on theDr. B diet. This is my opinion and I am not on here to offend anyone! To each their own! I respect everyones view!

I started almost 3 months ago and lost a total of 31 pounds. I started at 170 pounds and I am today 139. I am looking to go down to 125- 130. I would prefer 125.. but I will not force my body to go to 125 if I start looking too skinny. I am close to 5'4 and talking to my regular doctor she advised me that a healthy weight for my height would be between 115- 130.
I started the diet because I really needed a kick start to my weight loss. Previous to starting the diet I had really bad eating habits.. I would eat 1 big meal a day.. or sometimes 3 but I was not paying attention to the oil, extra condiments or the bread I was stuffing myself with that were not good. I had no idea what a healthy eating even meant. I started to work out and eat what I thought was better but I found it very hard to lose weight as my eating still wasn’t right . I thought the working out would help me.. and it did ..but I lost very little. I was doing an intense boot camp 3 times a week for 1 hour and from Jan to may I only lost 7/8 pounds. I could definitely feel myself getting stronger but it was still so hard to finish my classes sometimes because I had so much weight on.
Anyway, when I decided to start the dr. b diet I obviously googled like a mad woman and found all these negative reviews.. I was so skeptical about the diet. Everyone had so many negative things to say.. but what I did notice on a lot of the negative post were people who mentioned "knowing someone who knew someone who did the diet". I just thought that it was so strange to give a negative review if the person posting didn't even try the diet themselves but only heard.. or saw a co-worker 8 years later who gained all the weight back. Hahah. I was scared and worried but I decided to give it a try. I promised myself that if I didn’t like it I would stop and seek another option.

I can only say is that I feel great.. the food isn't bad. Its clean, healthy foods and the diet incorporates starch and sugars. Yes, it was hard to start.. the first week was the hardest because I was missing all my junky food but after the first week I got used to it. The only thing I was not happy with was the amount of protein as I really love meat!! I was excited to see the weight coming off and it wasn’t always consistent. The first 5 weeks of the diet (I purchased a 4 week plan + the week that was included in for the registration) I lost around 18 pounds.. if you divide that in 5 weeks.. that’s 3.6 pounds a week. Yes I was excited that I actually saw that number move .. but I wasn’t too concerned that I was dropping so drastically like some people have mentioned because it wasn’t always consistent and I felt fine. My 2nd month I started to modify the diet a little. I was very strict with certain things.. but sometimes I allowed myself extra protein and sometimes a little more starch.. and I still lost weigh. If one week I only lost 2 pounds.. I was really happy with that. I never felt I was starving and I’ve had no negative side effects. My nails are fine and so is my hair and the water intake really really improved my skin. I've started working out. and even do the boot camp a couple of times.. I also go swimming and go for bike rides and walks. I mentioned this to the nurses at the clinc and no one ever stopped me from trying to work out.. one nurse did tell me that i should always eat before the workout to give me energy.. but I would do that anyway if I wasnt on this diet. I know the diet doesnt call for workouts.. but i dont want to stop as i enjoy it and i want my body to get used to it. I sometimes even eat at restaurants.. I try to stay away from eating out for personal habits but whenever I do I always go with the healthy options. Chicken.. fish, veal, steamed/ grilled veggies or salad.

The other day I was meeting a couple of friends and one of the girls there heard I was doing Dr.B diet. She immediately attacked me and told me how horrible it is and she too had tried it and gained all the weight back + 50 pounds. As she was attacking me she was ordering fries and dipping every fry in mayo. I don’t want to be rude.. I don’t want to judge anyone because I know how hard it is to struggle with weight..but if you are going to attack someone for their choices while not having the evidence to really back up your attack, then why be negative and judge ?

The only think I do have to say.. is that this is a lifestyle change. A whole lifestyle change. I know that once I am done with dr. b I will have to keep eating almost the same things I am eating now and work out consistently. Isn’t that what people who don’t follow dr.b but are trying to live a healthy lifestyle do anyway ?? Dr. B helps you lose weight faster with the help of the injections but it is up to the individual to make sure they are following a healthy lifestyle after. I know I am willing to put in that work. The cost of the program is quite high but I honestly it was the best money I have ever spent. Im not looking to drop weight fast .. thats why i didnt mind going into my 3rd month and maybe even 4th .. i just needed some help getting started. I also don’t want to be that coworker who put on the weight after 8 years .hehehe

I hope this helps anyone who wants to try the diet!
Good luck !

PrimalDaveBain

This diet is a business. No one needs these opportunists involved in their health improvement goals.

There is no path to better health that is NOT debated. These guys are the most secretive because they cannot defend their approach (or lack of actual approach) to helping people transition to a healthy lifestyle.

That said, I would recommend anyone really wanting to lose and keep excess fat off their bodies to make an investment in yourself that will benefit YOU for life, NOT Dr. Bernstein and his "medical experts".

If you REALLY want to change your body, you need to change your life-style...not just starve eating 800 calories in ketosis for a few hundred bucks a month.

Go to Primal Blueprint and you will find an abundance of resources aimed at explaining WHY you have that unwanted fat, and helping you get rid of it.

You do not have to join a cult, you don't have to "buy it" completely, but if you begin to implement the basics, you will see fat begin to melt away just about as dramatically as with Bernstein (I've done Bernstein) without paying hundreds of dollars to get someone to inject vitamim B into your butt or belly.

It requires committment too, but it gains momentum through knowledge and results. That makes it a lot easier to stick with. You begin eating many foods you have been told not to eat, and stop eating a lot of food you have been told to.

Best of luck to you all!!!

MANDILOWTHIANSMITH

A medically supervised weight loss program such as Bernstein has the advantage of slam-dunking a lot of weight very quickly. Sometimes we need to do this for our own health, and possibly as a kick start. There is some merit to it - eating clean, small portions, etc.

The difficulty with this and any diet is sustaining it, and folding the learnings into a non-disciplined world. Habits such as rest and regular exercise need to be incorporated also. These answers come from self discipline and responsibility, which I am still on a learning curve with, but that is my problem, not this program. One way or another it all comes down to what we do with what we have learned.

MANDILOWTHIANSMITH

DebTavares wrote: »

I heard about someone who did this diet and lost a lot of weight very quickly. She ended up dying of a heart attack. Apparently, the rapid weight loss was too hard on her heart. This was a co-worker's friend.

People who gain too much weight put their cardiopulmonary systems at risk. Even a BMI as low as 29% will increase the risk of heart attacks and stroke. People who yo yo diet also run this risk.

She may have had other risk factors such as a genetic predisposition, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and sometimes just plain old bad luck.

We don't know what killed your co-workers' friend, but personally I would feel more confident if I lost significant weight in a medical setting.

Falcon

jillyk89 wrote: »

Some principles of it are good I don't argue that...
It is low calorie but when I'm on it I'm not hungry I have to literally force myself to eat its weird.

When you say low cal, can you give me an idea on what a day would look like?

I lost 40 pounds since April but that's through eating in moderate proportions (cutting out the junk food and pop), exercise and drinking lots of water.

But technically, it's a life style change otherwise you fall back on old habits and have learned nothing by the diet. Just my 2 cents.

threnjen

Necro post!

jvs125

My mom was on it for a while and lost a great deal of weight. Then she had to stop the vitamin injections part because she bought a new house and could no longer afford the whole plan. Her weight loss slowed down, and she got discouraged and then stopped following the eating plan. She gained it all back and more.

I followed the meal plan with her (I didn't have much to lose back then) and lost all I needed to lose, just at a slower pace. I kept it off.

I no longer eat the Bernstein way because I think it's too restrictive, however what it helped me do is to introduce fresh produce and learning how to cook, ideas for lean recipes. It highlighted my gluten intolerance that I didn't know I had prior to following it.

Bottom line is, Bernstein or not, the important thing is to eat healthy foods in reasonable amounts and stick to your plan for the long run. Anything you do and don't stick with, well you're bound to gain all back.

SonicDeathMonkey80