Medically Supervised Diet
bokaba
Posts: 171 Member
While I know many here will not be supportive of my plan to go a medically-supervised diet in order to lose weight. I have not been able to lose any more than two pounds in the last month, which is troubling to me. I have been weighing and measuring my food using the scale I bought on Amazon for almost the last month and cannot break 277 pounds and am now up to 282 and frequently return to my start weight of 283. I am doing the best I can, but still falling significantly short.
I have talked to my doctor and the dietician from the referred weight loss program and we feel that it is necessary for me to at least try their medically-supervised program so that I can lose some of the weight I need to lose and help alleviate some of the medical complications related to my weight. I also think this will be a good time to really hunker down and get to work since my doctoral classes are over until January with the exception of a couple of exams coming up.
The program will last for 8 weeks where meals will consist of shakes, bars, and pre-made entrees that total anywhere from 1000 to 1200 calories a day. We can extend the program at different calories rates after the first two months if needed. It is designed for 3-5 pounds of weight loss per week along with some light to moderate exercise. I am planning to probably go ahead and start in a few days. In preparation, I will be trying to cut my calories down to a strict maximum of 1200 per day for the next few days to see if this is something I can do. I fully expect to be hungry, grumpy, tired, weak, etc., but I hopefully will be losing a lot of weight versus losing no weight and will likely have to give up weight training at least temporarily. I want to try this to save myself from having any weight loss surgery or taking prescription meds.
I know most will probably think this is stupid, unsustainable, and dangerous, but sustainability hasn't gotten me any where yet. Please keep in mind that my weight is likely causing medical complications. Has anyone ever tried medically-supervised diets and did they work, even in the short run?
Thankfully, I will not be wasting my money, only my insurer's money.
I have talked to my doctor and the dietician from the referred weight loss program and we feel that it is necessary for me to at least try their medically-supervised program so that I can lose some of the weight I need to lose and help alleviate some of the medical complications related to my weight. I also think this will be a good time to really hunker down and get to work since my doctoral classes are over until January with the exception of a couple of exams coming up.
The program will last for 8 weeks where meals will consist of shakes, bars, and pre-made entrees that total anywhere from 1000 to 1200 calories a day. We can extend the program at different calories rates after the first two months if needed. It is designed for 3-5 pounds of weight loss per week along with some light to moderate exercise. I am planning to probably go ahead and start in a few days. In preparation, I will be trying to cut my calories down to a strict maximum of 1200 per day for the next few days to see if this is something I can do. I fully expect to be hungry, grumpy, tired, weak, etc., but I hopefully will be losing a lot of weight versus losing no weight and will likely have to give up weight training at least temporarily. I want to try this to save myself from having any weight loss surgery or taking prescription meds.
I know most will probably think this is stupid, unsustainable, and dangerous, but sustainability hasn't gotten me any where yet. Please keep in mind that my weight is likely causing medical complications. Has anyone ever tried medically-supervised diets and did they work, even in the short run?
Thankfully, I will not be wasting my money, only my insurer's money.
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Replies
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Hey, if it's medically supervised then it might be the thing for you to do. Supervision means you're most likely going to get the nutrition your body needs along with the low calorie count. It's the yahoos that decide to put themselves on VLCDs and think celery and raisins will sustain them that are maddening. Good luck! Be sure to keep contact with the dietician - when you come off the diet you need to have a game plan ready complete with portion control and a thorough understanding of nutrition or the weight will just come back. All that effort for naught.
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The difference between holding yourself to 1200 calories and the 1200 calories that you will be consuming on the diet itself is that they will include a lot of fiber and nutrients to help you feel fuller and to keep your body satisfied that it is getting what it needs. In otherwords, a self designed trial won't tell you whether or not you can do this.
On the other hand, you could spend the next couple of days planning how you WILL do this. What will you say to your friends when they invite you out to eat? What will you do about the office holiday party? In some programs, they aren't really optional for grad students. How will you distract yourself when you are feeling deprived? How will you reward yourself when you are successful? How will you remind yourself that it is worth it?
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It's medically supervised, communicate well with your treatment team and you'll be good to go.
What will happen when you go off the diet?0 -
Wishing you luck and much success!!
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For what it's worth, 1000-1200 is not considered a very low calorie diet. It's just a low calorie diet. 800 is the cutoff for very low calorie.
When you eat around 1000-1200, you should be sure that every bite counts. Eat healthy food, not junk food! You don't have the calorie allowance for any junk food. You can stay full by eating lots of fruits and veggies, so that helps, too. If you're seeing a dietitian, they will help you with that.
Lots of people go on low calorie diets and live to tell the tale.
I hope it works for you. Please update this thread as you go, so others can benefit from your experiences, successes and even failures (if you have any).
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I suppose when I go off the diet (if I decide to do it), I will have to do some playing around to find out what maintenance will be. In regard to preparing myself, I don't have much of a social life anyway, so that won't be much of a problem. Most of my colleagues and the administrative staff are aware of my medical problems and I am sure they would understand.0
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Wishing you much luck in the ahead months. Who cares what some people think about your diet strategy. I say good for you recognizing you need more help!!0
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The funny thing is I was the one that had to convince the doctor to refer me to the program. None of the doctors I've had have ever though my weight was a problem. I don't know how a BMI of 40 is not a problem though. In the past year, I've developed acid reflux, diverticulated colon, kidney stones, cysts, hematuria, fatty liver disease, and IBS has intensified. Healthy eating alone has reversed many of these conditions in the past few months thankfully.0
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I went to my Dr. for a medically supervised program. Mine is quite different from the one you are describing but I had worries about being able to do it and was, I guess for a lack of knowing how else to put it, afraid of the suffering, the working out some and the doing without. I was worried the expectations would be to high and I would not be able to do it. I have not lost weight fast but I have been losing steadily. I feel like a changed person who has embraced a healthier lifestyle that includes regular exercise and healthy food choices. It gave me accountability and confidence which as built and built on it's self. Best of luck to you and sometimes you have to jump in with both feet and get some extra help.0
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What was your program like? My TDEE is upwards of 4000 calories a day, so I can probably lose must faster than you. I've probably been suffering much more in the past year than I will from being hungry. I will let the doctor know if there are any serious issues arising (for example, when I've dropped to these calorie levels in the past, I've been too disoriented to drive and went to bed at 6:30).0
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My mom lost almost 100 lbs on a medically supervised diet. It was great for her in that she is now off heart, blood pressure, and cholesterol medications. Sadly, she got to a point where she just couldn't eat one more pre-packaged meal and went off the diet - without a plan. She has gained about 30 back in 5 months. It is a good thing to lose weight, but make sure that you have a plan for transitioning into preparing meals for yourself. I worried about this with my mom. Yes, she lost weight, became more active, and was looking so much more healthy. But she still hasn't learned how to feed her body on her own in a healthy, sustainable way, and she is floundering right now, not sure what to do, yet can't stand the thought of doing the medically supervised pre-packaged meals again. I guess the bottom line is make sure that in this process, you take time to learn good nutrition and have a plan for transitioning from the diet into real-life, rest of your life maintenance.
Good for you for taking this step, and good luck in your journey!
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Best of luck to you! It's the first step in jump-starting your fitness, and it sounds like you are being smart and doing it with a doctor. I wish you all the best!0
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You've posted a few times about plateauing. And in each case we told you that your logging is pretty crap. So really, I don't think you need to go this route: you simply need to log properly.
1) using generic recipes (e.g. "homemade sandwich")
2) not weighing your food or even measuring a lot of it
3) you don't even bother eating to your allotted goal, ever. and overall your intake is inconsistent every day, so how can you know whether your goal is too high/low?
4) The entries you use aren't even all correct. A 200 calorie homemade turkey sandwich does not have 0g of carbs.
ETA: since your first post about plateaus at least a few months ago, none of your logging habits have changed. So... you'd rather subject yourself to eating not at all enough calories and probably be starving than simply log properly and be consistent with intake and monitor progress that way?
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While I know many here will not be supportive of my plan to go a medically-supervised diet in order to lose weight. I have not been able to lose any more than two pounds in the last month, which is troubling to me. I have been weighing and measuring my food using the scale I bought on Amazon for almost the last month and cannot break 277 pounds and am now up to 282 and frequently return to my start weight of 283. I am doing the best I can, but still falling significantly short.
I have talked to my doctor and the dietician from the referred weight loss program and we feel that it is necessary for me to at least try their medically-supervised program so that I can lose some of the weight I need to lose and help alleviate some of the medical complications related to my weight. I also think this will be a good time to really hunker down and get to work since my doctoral classes are over until January with the exception of a couple of exams coming up.
The program will last for 8 weeks where meals will consist of shakes, bars, and pre-made entrees that total anywhere from 1000 to 1200 calories a day. We can extend the program at different calories rates after the first two months if needed. It is designed for 3-5 pounds of weight loss per week along with some light to moderate exercise. I am planning to probably go ahead and start in a few days. In preparation, I will be trying to cut my calories down to a strict maximum of 1200 per day for the next few days to see if this is something I can do. I fully expect to be hungry, grumpy, tired, weak, etc., but I hopefully will be losing a lot of weight versus losing no weight and will likely have to give up weight training at least temporarily. I want to try this to save myself from having any weight loss surgery or taking prescription meds.
I know most will probably think this is stupid, unsustainable, and dangerous, but sustainability hasn't gotten me any where yet. Please keep in mind that my weight is likely causing medical complications. Has anyone ever tried medically-supervised diets and did they work, even in the short run?
Thankfully, I will not be wasting my money, only my insurer's money.
Welcome, Bakoba.
It sounds like the risks of being so overweight are greater than the risk of going on a medically supervised very low calorie diet. I have never tried a medically supervised diet before, so all I can say is good luck. Looking forward to hearing more about your journey.
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For what it's worth, 1000-1200 is not considered a very low calorie diet. It's just a low calorie diet. 800 is the cutoff for very low calorie.
I am not certain, but I would think for someone who is 283 pounds, 1000- 1200 might be considered a very low calorie diet, but the good thing is that it will be medically supervised.
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I think you want the medically supervised diet because you aren't willing to do the work yourself. I am not trying to be hurtful - It's just that I don't believe anything is going to work for you long term until you are willing to get yourself in the game 100% and do all the work it takes to stay on track.
I'm sure not everyone feels this way, but when I found MFP and started logging all my food, I found it the most freeing thing I've ever done. I could actually eat whatever I wanted as long as I stayed at my calorie deficit every day. I'm not saying it's easy; it takes tenacity, obsession, and patients - but it is truly worth every bit of effort.
My hope for you is that you will do well on the medically supervised diet and it will encourage you to do whatever it takes to finish the race.
Best of luck
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What was your program like? My TDEE is upwards of 4000 calories a day, so I can probably lose must faster than you. I've probably been suffering much more in the past year than I will from being hungry. I will let the doctor know if there are any serious issues arising (for example, when I've dropped to these calorie levels in the past, I've been too disoriented to drive and went to bed at 6:30).
A medically supervised program that lowers your caloric intake is fine; but from the symptoms you've described, you may be more prone to getting hypoglycemic (low blood sugar); other symptoms may include anxiety and irritability.
Mention this to your nutritionist and work out a plan where you are spreading out your 1200 calories more evenly throughout your day. The typical 3 small meals (300 Calories each) plus 2-3 snacks (100 Calories each) format works well, as long as you ensure that your snacks contain some form of protein (which helps stabilize blood sugar better than carbohydrates alone would do).
Examples of ~100 Calorie snacks: 1/2 cup low-fat Greek yogurt; 2 tablespoons plain hummus w/ 2 medium carrots; 1/2 tablespoon almond butter spread on half an apple (this one is a bit more, but so yummy!); 1/2 cup cottage cheese w/ cucumber or celery. I'm sure there's lots more ideas on the recipes forum.
And when the 8 week program is over, ensure that you and your nutritionist work out a plan to add calories back in very slowly (~200 Calories every 2-3 days) so your body has time to adjust to the increased energy available.
Good luck! you CAN do this
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Its fine if its medically supervised. Its a shame that you cant do it on your own as that teaches you a skill for life and it really should be just the discipline of maintaining a deficit. Has the Dr said there is a medical reason you arent losing? The normal reason on here is simply a failure to control the deficit i.e people eating more than they think.
The program is only for eight weeks.
I wouldnt bother going down to 1200 as thats too severe for your current weight imo. Your maintenance calories are close to 3000, so you could achieve a theoretical 2lb a week loss on 2000, which is still a reasonable amount of food of your choice. Supplement that with exercise , possibly walking or swimming.
Good luck anyway. I would actually still log into MFP and continue to learn about dieting as at some stage you will need to transition and you need to understand how you will reintegrate yourself on a normal diet.0 -
I was ratehr thinking the same thing, 28, overweight and eating 1000 or less might not be near enough for a male even if trying to lose 2 lbs safely a week. Someone mentioned what happens when you go off the 'pre-made food diet'.For what it's worth, 1000-1200 is not considered a very low calorie diet. It's just a low calorie diet. 800 is the cutoff for very low calorie.
I am not certain, but I would think for someone who is 283 pounds, 1000- 1200 might be considered a very low calorie diet, but the good thing is that it will be medically supervised.
Can you not save the money or as you said it won't be your money you're wasting but your insurance companies by preparing your own healthy meals. Have you tasted this food? You might want to ask around the boards and see if anyone is on this program before you dive into it head first.
Some of the pre-made costly programs food tastes really crappy, some have shared that were on the plans. I don't know if those are the same plan you're on but with a bit of pre-planning you can make your own meals and then be able to do maintenance when you lose the weight you'd like.
If you do premade food and then go off the 'diet' how will your body react, how will you react having someone else put food in a pkg. for you and then you'll have to sooner or later figure it out yourself. That's why some of these VLCD's fail because they aren't habits we create ourselves. They are meant to be quick weight loss to feel good and then sadly many gain it back when they are on their own with no supervision.
Best of luck, hope you do a bit more research and ask other folks that are actually on the plan or have experienced the plan you are looking into.
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A medically supervised diet with pre-made foods/shakes which have adequate nutrition? That isn't stupid at all. With so much weight to lose, it sounds like you're really committed, which is good! As long as your doc and nutritionist keep an eye on the nutrition and ensure you're not creating deficiencies in anything but calories, then rock on! I really hope it works for you!0
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I can only give it a try. If I fail, I fail; not any worse off than before. I'm not planning on losing hundreds of pounds or anything like that. I am only hoping to lose about 50 pounds. I had my body fat measured at the doctor and it was something like 27%, which leaves me at a little over 200 pounds lbm including fluids and other non-fat substances. I would like to achieve this in 6-8 months if possible.0
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I can only give it a try. If I fail, I fail; not any worse off than before. I'm not planning on losing hundreds of pounds or anything like that. I am only hoping to lose about 50 pounds. I had my body fat measured at the doctor and it was something like 27%, which leaves me at a little over 200 pounds lbm including fluids and other non-fat substances. I would like to achieve this in 6-8 months if possible.
Why not try properly logging first instead (as in actually using the advice you've been given about logging int he past which you seem to have completely ignored each time), and thus saving yourself money while not starving yourself?
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Because weight loss has to be very fast and not require mental effort from the dieter, duh! Otherwise it never works0
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Why would people advise against a medically supervised diet?
Seriously?
You're not his primary physician and you've never met him
Personally I think it's a great idea HOWEVER I think when you transition from this diet to normal eating you need to weigh and log everything you consume accurately otherwise it will be another short-term fail - you still need to learn about eating within your calories, portion sizes, good choices of foods for you and how to incorporate treats and foods you love and a social life in your diet
good luck for the next 12 weeks, don't forget the transition counts too0 -
People have the right to try and fail in their own way. In this case, this user will need a little more exploration of what does and does not work.I can only give it a try. If I fail, I fail; not any worse off than before. I'm not planning on losing hundreds of pounds or anything like that. I am only hoping to lose about 50 pounds. I had my body fat measured at the doctor and it was something like 27%, which leaves me at a little over 200 pounds lbm including fluids and other non-fat substances. I would like to achieve this in 6-8 months if possible.
Why not try properly logging first instead (as in actually using the advice you've been given about logging int he past which you seem to have completely ignored each time), and thus saving yourself money while not starving yourself?
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You've posted a few times about plateauing. And in each case we told you that your logging is pretty crap. So really, I don't think you need to go this route: you simply need to log properly.
1) using generic recipes (e.g. "homemade sandwich")
2) not weighing your food or even measuring a lot of it
3) you don't even bother eating to your allotted goal, ever. and overall your intake is inconsistent every day, so how can you know whether your goal is too high/low?
4) The entries you use aren't even all correct. A 200 calorie homemade turkey sandwich does not have 0g of carbs.
ETA: since your first post about plateaus at least a few months ago, none of your logging habits have changed. So... you'd rather subject yourself to eating not at all enough calories and probably be starving than simply log properly and be consistent with intake and monitor progress that way?
QFT. OP, if you decide to go through with this diet, do think about your long-term plan, because you'd be accountable for your own meals and lifestyle in the future. Good luck.0 -
People have the right to try and fail in their own way. In this case, this user will need a little more exploration of what does and does not work.I can only give it a try. If I fail, I fail; not any worse off than before. I'm not planning on losing hundreds of pounds or anything like that. I am only hoping to lose about 50 pounds. I had my body fat measured at the doctor and it was something like 27%, which leaves me at a little over 200 pounds lbm including fluids and other non-fat substances. I would like to achieve this in 6-8 months if possible.
Why not try properly logging first instead (as in actually using the advice you've been given about logging int he past which you seem to have completely ignored each time), and thus saving yourself money while not starving yourself?
My concern here is just that.. he really HASN'T tried all that much. He's posted here frequently asking for help but then completely ignored the given advice, which likely would have helped him figure out how to change his calorie goal and thus would have helped him lose weight.
Clearly nothing wrong with doing this 1200-diet thing in the short term, but based on OP's past I just feel like it really won't do him much good in the long-run, kwim?0 -
People have the right to try and fail in their own way. In this case, this user will need a little more exploration of what does and does not work.I can only give it a try. If I fail, I fail; not any worse off than before. I'm not planning on losing hundreds of pounds or anything like that. I am only hoping to lose about 50 pounds. I had my body fat measured at the doctor and it was something like 27%, which leaves me at a little over 200 pounds lbm including fluids and other non-fat substances. I would like to achieve this in 6-8 months if possible.
Why not try properly logging first instead (as in actually using the advice you've been given about logging int he past which you seem to have completely ignored each time), and thus saving yourself money while not starving yourself?
My concern here is just that.. he really HASN'T tried all that much. He's posted here frequently asking for help but then completely ignored the given advice, which likely would have helped him figure out how to change his calorie goal and thus would have helped him lose weight.
Clearly nothing wrong with doing this 1200-diet thing in the short term, but based on OP's past I just feel like it really won't do him much good in the long-run, kwim?
Lady, is he your kin?1 -
I tried and failed and tried and failed many times before I "got it," and I still haven't "got it" all the time. If I may offer a word of advice...develop a relationship with a therapist or who specializes in eating issues or a nutritionist who understands emotional eating. Read The Beck Diet Solution and do the exercises in the workbook. Otherwise, when you get off this medically supervised diet you won't have the mental and emotional tools to change your eating behavior on your own and you'll go back to your old ways. You seriously don't want to do that -- it's demoralizing, not to mention the toll it will take on your body. Work on your head while the medically supervised diet works on your body.0
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0somuchbetter0 wrote: »I tried and failed and tried and failed many times before I "got it," and I still haven't "got it" all the time. If I may offer a word of advice...develop a relationship with a therapist or who specializes in eating issues or a nutritionist who understands emotional eating. Read The Beck Diet Solution and do the exercises in the workbook. Otherwise, when you get off this medically supervised diet you won't have the mental and emotional tools to change your eating behavior on your own and you'll back to your old ways. You seriously don't want to do that -- it's demoralizing, not to mention the toll it will take on your body. Work on your head while the medically supervised diet works on your body.
^ Yes.0
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