Dr. told me to drop down to 750 calories
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You know what they call the person who finished lowest in their medical class?
A Doctor.
Time for a new one. ASAP.0 -
Let me guess...
Is your Dr called Dr Oz?:bigsmile:0 -
My dad is a doctor and was always hard on me for my weight. Looking back, he would say some of the stupidest things like "there is no such thing as a good fat." I later learned that in med school, most doctors only take one nutrition class IF THAT. So while consulting your doctor about your health as it relates to your weight/diet can be important, many doctors are not capable of giving you solid diet/nutrition advice.
This^^. That's why most MD's refer their patients to Licensed/Registered Dietitians for nutrition counseling/therapy.0 -
o.O WTF, I'm with everyone else, get a new doc! Wow!0
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Okay, so your doctor is probably giving out bad advice and I think that's been covered.
So I'm going to focus on the PCOS stuff and give you some more unsought advice... :laugh:
(1) I looked at your profile and I saw you mentioned that you eat a LOT of carbs. That is probably impeding your progress. Everyone I know with PCOS, me included, has seen far greater success with weight loss and all other PCOS symptoms by keeping their carbs that are high on the glycemic index to a minimum. If you are a vegetarian for ethical reasons, this will be a challenge, but not an insurmountable one. Just focus on making sure that the breads and grains you do eat are whole grains. Try to avoid white potatoes (I don't, but, I also eat tons of meat and my taters are not a sacrifice I'm willing to make!) If you are veggie for health reasons... you are probably shooting yourself in the foot. For PCOSers (and really anyone with risk of type 2), having a higher ratio of protein/fat to carbs is pretty important. I know there is plenty of protein you can eat, especially if you are lacto-ovo, but... it's much easier as a carnivore.
(2) I have been reading a tiny bit about the possibility that women with PCOS actually have BMRs that are 300-400 lower than those of the general population. I find that I lose about .5-1 lb a week whereas my calories in, calories out indicate that I should be losing 2 lbs. I have experimented with eating more calories, and I've just maintained. So I decided I am going to have my BMR tested, just so I know for sure what I am dealing with. It's not a bad idea for anyone who finds that the traditional advice is not working for them.
(3) If you want to confirm your PCOS, see an endocrinologist. They will do a 3 hour glucose tolerance/insulin resistance test on you and run a bunch of blood work, in part to rule out other similar things. Once you know for sure you have it, you could consider taking Metformin, a diabetes drug used off-label. I only took it when I was TTC my first child, but it did straighten out my cycles. Other people have great weight loss success with it. I lost a little, but for me my biggest loss is when I watch my eating (amount and content) and exercise.
(4) This is totally not my area of expertise, but I am confirmed to have PCOS and had borderline gestational diabetes once. My doctor only has me test once a year. My *completely uneducated personal opinion to take with a grain of salt* is that you are probably driving yourself nuts if you are testing at home with any regularity. Those numbers you posted are totally fine. Doctors get nutty about blood sugars. Do the official testing and go from there.
Ugh. So sorry you had to deal with that doctor's barrage of "advice"!
My carbs are usually between 120-170 and protein between 50-70 on a regular day. I know I need to increase protein and I try! Being vegetarian is hard!! I am considering adding chicken to my ovo-lacto diet.
That's interesting about PCOS and metabolic link. I will get metabolic testing done for sure. I just need to find out where to do for that!0 -
I promised myself I would not get caught up in the drama that masquerades as forums here, but I can't help it and know I will be shot down immediately. One person before me gave your doctor the benefit of the doubt in that she knows you better than we do, has the medical training that we don't, and will be following you closely, which we can't. While I see nothing wrong with getting a second opinion, I don't think your doctor is necessarily a quack. You are overweight. You are only 5' tall, and you are in danger of developing diabetes, which means you likely have a bad case of insulin resistance coupled with an extremely slow metabolism. You neglected to tell us if your doctor actually gave you a diet plan outlining how to allot those 750 calories, because the foods you eat, not just the calories contained within them, are what trigger certain physical conditions.
Your doctor was right about one thing: you cannot lose weight by exercise alone; it must be accompanied by consuming fewer calories. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong. If you burn 100 calories taking an hour-long walk, you can eat that back with a half a muffin. If you are 5' tall and your metabolism is slow, you will not lose weight on 1200 calories daily unless you are also doing a lot of aerobic exercise and building up muscle to boost your metabolism. I would listen to your doctor, but I would also ask for clarification. Take her advice, detailed advice, and then ask a nutritionist how best to spend those 750 calories. You may not need to eat that little for very long, just enough time to jump start the weight loss process, to bring down your blood sugar and get you to where you can eat a more normal diet, exercise and lose weight.
None of us is the same. Asking for advice in a place like this is like the three blind men with the elephant.0 -
Get a new doctor!0
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That is frightening. Please follow up with someone else. If she has done some type of metabolism testing to determine that your intake should be that low it is a different story, but jumping to that conclusion without further testing does not seem accurate to me.0
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Are you sure she completed her degree? Wow my brother is in the health field and I showed what you posted and he about died. She ( your doctor) is a nut case and has NO idea what she is talking about. I would find a Dr. that really knows what they are saying. 750 is way low so please do not do it.0
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Doctors do not know everything. This is a fact. At the end of the day, they are only human.
Having said that, parading around such incorrect information is absolutely ridiculous. I told both my parents (both excellent doctors) about the advice in the OP, and they could not believe that a legitimate doctor had said those things. My mother being an OBGYN surgeon cannot stress the importance of exercise and good eating habits in order to lose weight with PCOS, alongside things such as metformin etc. They also said that 750 calories is ridiculously low and you would pretty much be hypoglycaemic ALL the time. Pretty much like anorexics.
Stick to a decent calorie amount each day, don't be afraid to work out, and just use your common sense. Also, change doctors. That one sounds utterly ****.0 -
GET A NEW DR!0
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Time to find a new Doc. I am so sorry.0
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Find a new doctor0
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Horrible advice.. you will lose weight, but you will lose strength, energy, and muscle. I'm just now realizing some mistakes that I made in my weight loss. I have had tons of success losing weight- 75 lbs in 10 months on a low calorie diet ranging from 1100-1500 cals. And, I'm still 32% body fat and I have no more muscle than I did in the beginning-with 3-4 workouts a week. Do yourself a favor now, eat 1500-1800 cals and get active. Your body will turn out a lot better if you do so.0
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i had 750 cals for breakfast... i'm not even kidding.
i don't think that's healthy.
IMO you should get advice from a NUTRITIONIST/DIETITIAN...not your doctor.
^^^ AMEN! I lost 70lbs over 20 years and can tell you there's NO WAY I woulda kept that off if I hadn't exercised! What kind of doctor would tell a patient, with a high risk of type II diabetes no less, that exercise won't do it? It's a TWO PART...nutrition AND exercise!!0 -
your doctor is an idiot.0
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also, exercise helps regulate blood sugar and helps people with pre-diabetes regardless of weight lost!0
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Your doctor is on crack.0
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I'm thinking there is another motive here from the doctor. My gyno blamed EVERYTHING on my weight...you've got fybroids now...that's because of your weight. The price of gas went up in my neighborhood...that's because of your weight. Turns out she started selling that HCG diet with the shots and a 500 calorie a day diet. She harped on how wonderful it was and how the weight just melted away (she has always been stick thin so I don't know where she needed to melt it from). She was a bit ticked off when I told her I wasn't interested. When I went for my yearly this past August, I was down 45 pounds or so and literally the first thing out of her mouth was "what are we going to do about your weight?" I said that I had lost 45 pounds in 6 months and thought I was doing just fine. She couldn't believe that i was doing it just through better food choices and exercise and not her miracle shots. I guess she needs to make everyone feel bad about themselves so they will buy her stuff. Needless to say, I am finding a new gyno...I need support, not a sales pitch.
That being said, in my expert, learned it all through MFP message boards opinion, I can't imagine 750 calories a day being healthy in any way. It certainly isn't sustainable. Just someone spouting stuff out of the area of expertise (sort of like I am doing), but thinking that since he/she is a doctor, everything they say is right.0 -
The one thing that I agree with the dr is that you won't loss any weight by exercising. Its about what you eat.
You should exercise to stay in shape ie toning etc. but doing just cardio won't exactly flatten your tummy.
http://jjsmithonline.com/blog/weight-loss/why-exercise-wont-make-you-thin/0 -
You may be actually having a hard time losing weight because your body is burning that fat and building muscle, too! Muscle weighs more than fat! :flowerforyou: Take measurements .. maybe you're not losing weight.. but losing inches
I forgot to mention I have lowered some body fat % since joining the new gym and exercising regularly. I have lost a little weight too so I am glad it is working! Just need to keep it going.0 -
im sorry but that just sounds crazy!! i would seek another doctor's opinion, or a nutritionist. just doesn't sound healthy!!0
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I don't feel right giving you advice since you have health issues.. but I can say that I am petite, as well. 4'10" and have been steady losing weight averaging 1500-2000 calories along with working out six days a week. I have no clue how many calories I actually burn. I feel like it's more than MFP says, but it hasn't let me down yet. Go to fat2fitradio.com and check out the BMR calculator on there and then it will tell you how many calories you should be eating that corresponds to how active you are. If nothing else, at least eat 1200 calories + your exercise calories. If this is easier for you. If you have a HRM that's great. Start there and after a few weeks make adjustments if you're not losing any weight. The slower the better!0
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Tell your dr to drop the crackpipe and then dump her *kitten*. She clearly knows nothing. If she's that stupid about basic nutrition, she probably knows nothing on everything else.0
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WoW !!! Ur Dr. is nuts...Get a second opinion...0
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Whilst it IS mainly about what you eat, exercise DOES help with weight loss in many ways. Not only that, your general fitness levels will increase as well.0
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Un. Believable.
This doctor has no clue. NONE. And knows absolutely nothing about PCOS, said this PCOS survivor!
First of all, PCOS is a form of pre-diabetes. Gestational is a symptom.
Second, blood sugars of 98-105 are pretty darn normal.
Third, and most important, weight gain is a symptom. It means that your body doesn't process insulin effectively.
See an ENDOCRINOLOGIST and arm yourself with info first. I recommend www.soulcysters.net.
ALL OF THE ABOVE!!! Sorry your Doc sounds like a quack! An endocrinologist sounds like a great place to go if you're worried about diabetes! But fasting sugars of 98-105 are normal.0 -
Two comments:
a) do you know what the call the person in medical who graduates with the worst GPA?
Doctor.. Just because they are an MD does not make them brilliant.
b) They receive virtually no training on diet (much less exercise) in medical school. My doctor happens to be a competitive athlete, so I am more inclined to listen to his advice but he will only give general recommendations ( be more active, watch what you eat). he knows that the chances for success if you just give patients generic diet advice (follow Diet X or Diet Y) are pretty low. Willie Nelson was once told to stop drinking by his doctor.. then willie realized he knew more old drunks than old doctors. LOL0 -
Turns out she started selling that HCG diet with the shots and a 500 calorie a day diet. She harped on how wonderful it was and how the weight just melted away (she has always been stick thin so I don't know where she needed to melt it from). She was a bit ticked off when I told her I wasn't interested.
Your doctor? Are you for real?
That's ridiculous....0 -
Doctors should stick to medicaine and not nutrition. IMO0
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