Anyone doing a VLCD (very low calorie diet)?

I did Medifast for maybe 2 months and I did drop a lot of weight, but I found the meal replacement items to be kind of gross and I got bored with them after a while. I didn't properly transition myself off of the diet and back to normal food so I ended up gaining a lot of the weight back. I find that using this site and keeping track of my calorie intake with normal food is working well for me. It's not a quick fix, but I think that we, as a society, need to get over our need for "instant gratification."

That just sounds . . . . . horrible. I think I would feel like I was starving, and I know I would spend most of my time being "hangry". How do you have the energy to work out?

Best of luck to you.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but I think there are rules on the forum about promoting VLCDs as they are generally not terribly safe or healthy.

3. No Promotion of Unsafe Weight-Loss Techniques or Eating Disorders
a) Posts intended to promote potentially unsafe or controversial weight loss products or procedures, including non-medically prescribed supplements or MLM products will be removed without warning.
b) Profiles, groups, messages, posts, or wall comments that encourage anorexia, bulimia, or very low calorie diets of any kind will be removed, and may be grounds for account deletion. This includes positive references to ana/mia, purging, or self-starving. Our goal is to provide users with the tools to achieve their weight management goals at a steady, sustainable rate. Use of the site to promote, glamorize, or achieve dangerously low levels of eating is not permitted.
c) Photos intended to glamorize extreme thinness will be deleted.
d) Those seeking support in their recovery from eating disorders are welcome at MyFitnessPal

I did Lighter Life which is a VLCD. I lost over 3 stone on the food packs, and then a bit more as I slower introduced food back into my diet. Going through that gradual process is really important as it allows you the time to listen to your body and how it responds to certain foods.
But I didn't keep up all the techniques and let old habits crept back in, I've got about a stone of extra weight to budge.
As Special Sundae said, we don't want to promote anything unhealthy. I would go back to your doctor, ask for more advice on what other food you can eat, and maybe look at some other forums about VLCD.
Good luck!!

This all sounds so miserable. I can't relate to why anyone would choose to endure 800 calorie/day dieting when most women could (and should) eat around twice as much that amount to lose weight....

:noway:

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but I think there are rules on the forum about promoting VLCDs as they are generally not terribly safe or healthy.

3. No Promotion of Unsafe Weight-Loss Techniques or Eating Disorders
a) Posts intended to promote potentially unsafe or controversial weight loss products or procedures, including non-medically prescribed supplements or MLM products will be removed without warning.
b) Profiles, groups, messages, posts, or wall comments that encourage anorexia, bulimia, or very low calorie diets of any kind will be removed, and may be grounds for account deletion. This includes positive references to ana/mia, purging, or self-starving. Our goal is to provide users with the tools to achieve their weight management goals at a steady, sustainable rate. Use of the site to promote, glamorize, or achieve dangerously low levels of eating is not permitted.
c) Photos intended to glamorize extreme thinness will be deleted.
d) Those seeking support in their recovery from eating disorders are welcome at MyFitnessPal

Not a Debbie Downer at all - you are absolutely right. The focus of MFP is sensible eating and, er, fitness. There are other forums for VLCD, which are not advocated by MFP. Far too many people have come to MFP to make the step away from undereating/orthorexia and discussions about VLCD are not helpful.

I am on week 11 and down 37.5 lbs so far. I find doing the VLCD to be really easy! My doctor that I go to has alot of different food choices to select from. So I try to change it up every week.

This would be a typical day:
Breakfast: Protein Shake (Premier Protein Ready to Drink)
Snack: Protein Bar (Usually by Advanced Health Systems or Health Wise)
Lunch: Protein Shake (Mix 1 pack vanilla and 1 chocolate of Advanced Health Systems Pudding & Shake Mix)
Snack: Another Protein Bar or sometimes the Chocolate Chip Cookies by Health Wise
Dinner: 1 cup cottage cheese, non-fat

It is usually around 800 calories, 95 grams protein, 55-60 carbs.

What do you eat? Are you taking Phentermine?

In what universe is this healthy... or sustainable?

Why would anyone willingly eat a VLCD?! This makes me so sad.

Slow weight loss with sustainable eating habits > Starving yourself and losing muscle mass.

I am on week 11 and down 37.5 lbs so far. I find doing the VLCD to be really easy! My doctor that I go to has alot of different food choices to select from. So I try to change it up every week.

This would be a typical day:
Breakfast: Protein Shake (Premier Protein Ready to Drink)
Snack: Protein Bar (Usually by Advanced Health Systems or Health Wise)
Lunch: Protein Shake (Mix 1 pack vanilla and 1 chocolate of Advanced Health Systems Pudding & Shake Mix)
Snack: Another Protein Bar or sometimes the Chocolate Chip Cookies by Health Wise
Dinner: 1 cup cottage cheese, non-fat

It is usually around 800 calories, 95 grams protein, 55-60 carbs.

What do you eat? Are you taking Phentermine?

i'm not attacking...rather just genuinely curious....

are you morbidly obese? Like 100+ pounds to lose or so?

what kind of doctor are you seeing for this? Just a gp?

I'm curious about the VLCD...I have put some on them in instances of extreme urgency...as in "you're 400+ pounds with diabetes and you need to lose weight NOW". But in those instances the diets were VERY VERY micronutrient dense. I mean insanely. Which is the route most doctors go. I'm talking 2+ apples, 4+ cups of spinach or kale, peppers, lemons, fish, just tons and tons of micro-nutrient rich food and lean meat.

I'm having trouble understanding how a doctor would put you on a plan with only processed shakes and bars?




again...NOT attacking you...genuinely curious.

If that is you in the profile picture you don't look like someone who needs to be on a VLCD for emergency weightloss - or is that your "after" pic?

You have said a doctor put you on this diet - a "real" doctor or someone at one of those "lose weight quick "clinics"?

I could literally not exist on such low calories - there would be holes in the carpet where I'd snatched a quick bite. And for those few precious calories to be highly processed mixes rather than real food strikes me as very dangerous - how can you control what is going into your body when you couldn't identify half the ingredients on a shelf or replicate it in your own kitchen? I am also concerend about the lack of fresh fruit and veg - why not fruit instead of the protein bar/chocolate chip cookie? and have some real chocolate as a treat?

If this is your GP, ask for a second opinion.

It is usually around 800 calories, 95 grams protein, 55-60 carbs.

What do you eat? Are you taking Phentermine?

I have been on VLCDs, I have had eating disorders (ana and mia)...I have now taken control of my life, my future and my health by eating and being active. I have lost half a stone in the last 14 days by eating on average 2350 calories and by burning on average 2850 calories daily (I lift heavy, I also cycle, run and swim lots)...I am not afraid of food, calories or challenging my body. Being on such low calories if it is not for some medically very sound reason (most people can lose weight normally eating proper food and good quantities of it whilst being active as well) is a very bad idea. Short term? How short is short term...and why do folks always look for the quick fix? I want my body fat percentage to be lower for life, not just for a short while. I want to be able to eat, drink, be merry and do some amazing things with my properly fuelled body.

End of rant.

Lady, please rethink your strategy. If you don't learn to deal with food and your mental issues around it, you will always have the problem, small calories are not going to fix that. In fact, it can and does slow your metabolism down. You will lose the fat, but you will also lose lean mass, which is important to aesthetics and overall health and well being. Been there and done that and learnt very hard lessons....

I think what has everybody confused is your profile pic. If that is at all close to current, you just don't seem to be at a weight that would justify the use of one of these VLCD plans. I see from a previous post that you are being supervised through a Bariatric surgeon and that would make more sense as I've known a couple of people who were put on one of those plans prior to their surgery.

Maybe you'd get better advice at one of the places designed to support those along that path.

You stopped eating food and replaced it with fake chemical food-like substances....................yea, nothing wrong here at all, nothing at all!