6 weeks is this where I should be?

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heatherandimran
heatherandimran Posts: 26 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Been on very low calorie physician guided weight loss for 8 weeks now. Down 22 pounds which is awesome. Past few weeks weight loss has slowed to 2.5 pounds a week. They said to expect 3 lbs a week. With 72gms of protein, 12 fat and 59 carbs per day at 600 total calories this is obviously not sustainable, nor would they recommend that. After starting to get more educated here, I'm thinking of adding some olive oil or coconut oil daily to up the fat but not carbs. I feel pretty good but not a huge energy rush and I think it's because of the overall Low calorie. I'm hoping adding fat will give me some more fuel. I think if I keep the total calorie addition under 150 a day it really shouldn't impact the weight loss since the overall is still 750 cal per day. Any thoughts?
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Replies

  • myheartsabattleground
    myheartsabattleground Posts: 2,040 Member
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    Fire your "doctor."
  • heatherandimran
    heatherandimran Posts: 26 Member
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    Thanks for the advice.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    myheartsabattleground wrote: »
    Fire your "doctor."
    BOOM! Seriously!
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    If your doctor directed you to follow a very low calorie diet you need to ask them for advice. If my doctor told me to eat 650 calories I'd be finding a new doctor.
  • heatherandimran
    heatherandimran Posts: 26 Member
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    Any constructive feedback would be nice. Thank you anyway.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    heatherandimran wrote: »
    Any constructive feedback would be nice. Thank you anyway.

    Add about 600 calories a day to what you're eating now and you will still lose weight.
    The constructive part WAS to get a new doctor. Why on earth would someone professionally trained promote this?
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    Holy low calorie and that fat...ouch.

    OP, is there a medical reason you need to get weight off quickly? Regardless...this is not good.
  • heatherandimran
    heatherandimran Posts: 26 Member
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    usmcmp wrote: »
    If your doctor directed you to follow a very low calorie diet you need to ask them for advice. If my doctor told me to eat 650 calories I'd be finding a new doctor.

    This is a mandated program that you have to try before you would qualify for a surgical intervention. I'm trying to make the best of it and gain valuable insight from the knowledge members in this forum. My goal is to make this program work by modifying it. And in the end not have a surgical intervention. But thank you anyway.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    heatherandimran wrote: »
    Any constructive feedback would be nice. Thank you anyway.

    Mine is constructive. Very low calorie diets are against the forum rules. Your doctor set you up on it and they are the only person who should give you advice. Very low calorie diets actually set you up for long term failure. Eating at a huge deficit causes you to burn up your lean mass, which means you are going to struggle to keep it off long term. Losing lean mass results in lower metabolism (BMR) and you'll have to lose more weight than you intended. Most people on VLCD find that when they reach their goal their body composition leaves them hating how they look still because their body fat is higher than it should be for how much they weight.
  • heatherandimran
    heatherandimran Posts: 26 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    Holy low calorie and that fat...ouch.

    OP, is there a medical reason you need to get weight off quickly? Regardless...this is not good.

    It's a medically supervised program before you would have a surgical procedure for weight loss. I'm trying to modify it since I have to do it and eliminate anything else later.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    Low carb is probably causing the lack of energy. Can you up your carbs?

    Did they say how long to expect 3 lbs loss a week? You may only be remembering part of the conversation - I do that too.

    8 weeks is a long time, and 2.5 lbs a week is still a lot.

    Talk to your doctor, and let them know that some knowledgeable MFPers are worried about you.

    Could you let us know your stats? Height, weight, age?

    That might help people get a better idea of why your doctor put you on a VLCD.
  • eatgoodeat
    eatgoodeat Posts: 180 Member
    edited July 2015
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    .
  • eatgoodeat
    eatgoodeat Posts: 180 Member
    edited July 2015
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    .
  • heatherandimran
    heatherandimran Posts: 26 Member
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    Orphia wrote: »
    Low carb is probably causing the lack of energy. Can you up your carbs?

    Did they say how long to expect 3 lbs loss a week? You may only be remembering part of the conversation - I do that too.

    8 weeks is a long time, and 2.5 lbs a week is still a lot.

    Talk to your doctor, and let them know that some knowledgeable MFPers are worried about you.

    Could you let us know your stats? Height, weight, age?

    That might help people get a better idea of why your doctor put you on a VLCD.

    They said to continue this until I'm down 40 and then I won't need surgery. They said expect 3 pounds a week till I reach the goal of 40 pounds. I'm 5 foot 4. I started at 198 but have diabetes, sleep apnea and hypertension so I qualified for the program due to those medical conditions. I thought adding carbs would be bad that it would raise hunger but I'm open to suggestions. I'm 43 years old
  • kk_inprogress
    kk_inprogress Posts: 3,077 Member
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    This thread is going to be really hard. A lot of doctors in the field of surgical weight loss promote VLCDs prior to and right after surgery. It's not my expertise, but honestly OP- my advice is to either (1) talk to your doctor if you trust them or (2) find a doctor you trust and get a second opinion. This forum isn't really set up to give advice or thoughts on medical programs that are set up specifically for an individual and it's against policy here to promote a calorie deficit that low.
  • heatherandimran
    heatherandimran Posts: 26 Member
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    usmcmp wrote: »
    heatherandimran wrote: »
    Any constructive feedback would be nice. Thank you anyway.

    Mine is constructive. Very low calorie diets are against the forum rules. Your doctor set you up on it and they are the only person who should give you advice. Very low calorie diets actually set you up for long term failure. Eating at a huge deficit causes you to burn up your lean mass, which means you are going to struggle to keep it off long term. Losing lean mass results in lower metabolism (BMR) and you'll have to lose more weight than you intended. Most people on VLCD find that when they reach their goal their body composition leaves them hating how they look still because their body fat is higher than it should be for how much they weight.

    I didn't know low calorie diets were not part of the forum rules. Since this was low carb diet I thought it would be fine. No worries I'll sign off the group then. I don't want to break any rules or offend anyone. I was looking for help with a low carb lifestyle and didn't know it was so rigid here. Thank you for informing me
  • bmchenry02
    bmchenry02 Posts: 233 Member
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    kkenseth wrote: »
    This thread is going to be really hard. A lot of doctors in the field of surgical weight loss promote VLCDs prior to and right after surgery. It's not my expertise, but honestly OP- my advice is to either (1) talk to your doctor if you trust them or (2) find a doctor you trust and get a second opinion. This forum isn't really set up to give advice or thoughts on medical programs that are set up specifically for an individual and it's against policy here to promote a calorie deficit that low.

    Agree. 2nd opinion. I worry you're causing more harm than good for yourself long term.
  • kk_inprogress
    kk_inprogress Posts: 3,077 Member
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    heatherandimran wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    heatherandimran wrote: »
    Any constructive feedback would be nice. Thank you anyway.

    Mine is constructive. Very low calorie diets are against the forum rules. Your doctor set you up on it and they are the only person who should give you advice. Very low calorie diets actually set you up for long term failure. Eating at a huge deficit causes you to burn up your lean mass, which means you are going to struggle to keep it off long term. Losing lean mass results in lower metabolism (BMR) and you'll have to lose more weight than you intended. Most people on VLCD find that when they reach their goal their body composition leaves them hating how they look still because their body fat is higher than it should be for how much they weight.

    I didn't know low calorie diets were not part of the forum rules. Since this was low carb diet I thought it would be fine. No worries I'll sign off the group then. I don't want to break any rules or offend anyone. I was looking for help with a low carb lifestyle and didn't know it was so rigid here. Thank you for informing me

    No! That's not what I meant. What you're asking isn't wrong at all. It would be wrong for me (or someone else here) to say: "Eating 600 calories a day is exactly what you should do!" Because we aren't physicians and those are only used in very special cases and can be harmful if not under the care of a doctor. I'm saying its a hard one to respond to, that's all! I'm glad you asked the question.
  • heatherandimran
    heatherandimran Posts: 26 Member
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    kkenseth wrote: »
    heatherandimran wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    heatherandimran wrote: »
    Any constructive feedback would be nice. Thank you anyway.

    Mine is constructive. Very low calorie diets are against the forum rules. Your doctor set you up on it and they are the only person who should give you advice. Very low calorie diets actually set you up for long term failure. Eating at a huge deficit causes you to burn up your lean mass, which means you are going to struggle to keep it off long term. Losing lean mass results in lower metabolism (BMR) and you'll have to lose more weight than you intended. Most people on VLCD find that when they reach their goal their body composition leaves them hating how they look still because their body fat is higher than it should be for how much they weight.

    I didn't know low calorie diets were not part of the forum rules. Since this was low carb diet I thought it would be fine. No worries I'll sign off the group then. I don't want to break any rules or offend anyone. I was looking for help with a low carb lifestyle and didn't know it was so rigid here. Thank you for informing me

    No! That's not what I meant. What you're asking isn't wrong at all. It would be wrong for me (or someone else here) to say: "Eating 600 calories a day is exactly what you should do!" Because we aren't physicians and those are only used in very special cases and can be harmful if not under the care of a doctor. I'm saying its a hard one to respond to, that's all! I'm glad you asked the question.
    kkenseth wrote: »
    heatherandimran wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    heatherandimran wrote: »
    Any constructive feedback would be nice. Thank you anyway.

    Mine is constructive. Very low calorie diets are against the forum rules. Your doctor set you up on it and they are the only person who should give you advice. Very low calorie diets actually set you up for long term failure. Eating at a huge deficit causes you to burn up your lean mass, which means you are going to struggle to keep it off long term. Losing lean mass results in lower metabolism (BMR) and you'll have to lose more weight than you intended. Most people on VLCD find that when they reach their goal their body composition leaves them hating how they look still because their body fat is higher than it should be for how much they weight.

    I didn't know low calorie diets were not part of the forum rules. Since this was low carb diet I thought it would be fine. No worries I'll sign off the group then. I don't want to break any rules or offend anyone. I was looking for help with a low carb lifestyle and didn't know it was so rigid here. Thank you for informing me

    No! That's not what I meant. What you're asking isn't wrong at all. It would be wrong for me (or someone else here) to say: "Eating 600 calories a day is exactly what you should do!" Because we aren't physicians and those are only used in very special cases and can be harmful if not under the care of a doctor. I'm saying its a hard one to respond to, that's all! I'm glad you asked the question.

    No worries. Thank you for the advice
  • emeliasmith
    emeliasmith Posts: 4 Member
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    Go up to at minimum 1200 calories so your body will not use your muscles as fuel only your fat and add in the olive and coconut oils. Being on that low calorie of a diet can actually trash your metabolism and eventually you will go into starvation mode and stop losing. Doctor's are not actually taught healthy nutrition anymore so I would say do your homework on your own. Most important I would say eat CLEAN. No artificial anything, if it has over 5 ingredients put it back. Eat a (natural!) rainbow of colors, natural or better yet organic/grass fed meats. What many people don't know is that while some "food" is low calorie it is not healthy and the chemicals they are adding in to make it taste "good" are killing brain cells (excitotoxins like aspartame in diet soda) and making you crave more food (MSG!). Eat real food. From plants and animals not factories. If you already do, then yay you!

    If you are able, exercise! If you really want to net under 1000 calories a day burn them with activity and don't starve. Without eating enough basic nutrients you will be in worse health than when you were overweight. No matter how thin you are, if your organs shut down you won't be enjoying it for long.

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