Quack Doctor giving GF bad advice about weight loss!

mbrown913
mbrown913 Posts: 10 Member
edited July 2016 in Food and Nutrition
My gf just came back from her nutritionist. Who I don't particularity care for. She's been seeing her for about 2-3 years to help her lose weight. She was put on a '3-Year' plan to lose maybe 40-50 pounds. So far I believe she only lose 15, maybe 20 at the most. And the 3 years are almost up.

Anyway, my gf has PCOS, which makes it hard for her to lose weight, so it's understandable why she hasn't lost much. She feels that whether she eats 1500 or 2500 calories a day, the scale won't move. The nutritionist basically told her that calories don't matter and it's all about eating a diet more balanced with protein.

I'm all good with a high protein diet(I thought the optimal diet for PCOS'ers was keto?) but anyway I was livid when she told me this. How can you throw calories out of the window? How can you as a medical professional say that "calories don't matter" if you're trying to lose weight? What PCOS'er has ever been successful on a "eat as much calories as I want" diet? I also researched and found an alternative treatment to help with PCOS, called Inositol...Why the hell I am finding this and telling my gf about this? Why didn't the Dr tell her about this?

Anyway I'm hoping the inositol can help balance her hormones so that she can start loosing weight normally. But I really feel like her Dr is hustling her and just blowing smoke up her *kitten* to keep her coming back to her. I almost want to tell her to see another nutritionist and dump this quack!

Replies

  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
    Nutritionists are not medical professionals. You can become one with minimal training. Pretty sure they have online courses for that. She'd be better off seeing a registered dietician.

    As for her Doctor, there are lots of reasons Dr's don't mention treatments. My SO's GI Dr hasn't mentioned a lot of treatments for crohn's. We have to bring them up to him.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Anyone can become a nutritionist by earning a certificate. Try to help her find a registered dietician, who has been through a complete curriculum and earned a degree. I can't answer anything about the PCOS, though.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    Anyone can become a nutritionist by earning a certificate. Try to help her find a registered dietician, who has been through a complete curriculum and earned a degree. I can't answer anything about the PCOS, though.

    This.

    If you want a funny for the day, read this, then show it to your girlfriend: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/sep/30/badscience.research
  • Kobz27
    Kobz27 Posts: 64 Member
    She can always get a second opinion.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I suggest taking the anger out of it and let life lessons tell the story. It's been almost three years. Ask her if she thinks she got her money's worth? Might it be time to try something else? I suggest using questions rather than declarative statements.
  • Chele_Belle_
    Chele_Belle_ Posts: 65 Member
    "Advice" I have actually received from Doctors....

    1. "When you eat a cookie or something sweet, simply chew it and spit it out. This is all you need to do to lose weight."

    2. "In order to lose weight properly you need to eat only lean meat, and green vegetables. No whole grains, no fruit. If you can commit to this for the rest of your life you will be successful."

    3. While being given a breast exam by a male doctor he stated " you see how your breast feels like a net with fish in it".....it was at this point that I wondered if he had ever felt one before..

    Doctors, nutritionists, dietitians and everyone else in the health field are still just people. Some are highly educated and some are not but all can be capable of poor advice. It sounds like maybe looking for a new person who is more inline with you and your SO goals would be beneficial.
  • lenoresdream
    lenoresdream Posts: 522 Member
    michelekrystasmith wrote: »
    3. While being given a breast exam by a male doctor he stated " you see how your breast feels like a net with fish in it".....it was at this point that I wondered if he had ever felt one before

    HAHA :D
  • MrSimmers
    MrSimmers Posts: 32 Member
    Calories don't matter? Tell her to run a mile!
  • tryett
    tryett Posts: 530 Member
    Ideal diet for pcos varies. Most recommend and do well be watching carbs (low carb) or Keto ( under 20 g carbs). You have to find your sweet spot. My pcos is pretty severe but I can lose weigh by keeping the carbs between 50-100g a day. Of course I still watch calories to maintain a deficit also.

    My advice is to dump the nutritionist and get a registered dietician. One who works with diabetics.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Is the nutritionist a doctor? Like and M.D. or D.O.? Or even PhD? Most certified nutritionists are RD (registered Dietician) though doctors may specialize in nutrition.

    Saying 'calories don't matter' isn't the same as saying 'eat all you want'. She may have simply meant focus on content and portions rather than calories.

    Also, this medication you say you found. Is it prescription or OTC?

    This nutritionist does seem a little suspect but to be frank I doubt you are any more qualified. I would suggest trying to convince your GF to get a second opinion from a real Dr. or a RD.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    there is a lot of bad advice out there

    my GP told me not to eat carbs because carbs are bad :frowning:
  • bellaa_x0
    bellaa_x0 Posts: 1,062 Member
    mbrown913 wrote: »
    My gf just came back from her nutritionist. Who I don't particularity care for. She's been seeing her for about 2-3 years to help her lose weight. She was put on a '3-Year' plan to lose maybe 40-50 pounds. So far I believe she only lose 15, maybe 20 at the most. And the 3 years are almost up.

    Anyway, my gf has PCOS, which makes it hard for her to lose weight, so it's understandable why she hasn't lost much. She feels that whether she eats 1500 or 2500 calories a day, the scale won't move. The nutritionist basically told her that calories don't matter and it's all about eating a diet more balanced with protein.

    I'm all good with a high protein diet(I thought the optimal diet for PCOS'ers was keto?) but anyway I was livid when she told me this. How can you throw calories out of the window? How can you as a medical professional say that "calories don't matter" if you're trying to lose weight? What PCOS'er has ever been successful on a "eat as much calories as I want" diet? I also researched and found an alternative treatment to help with PCOS, called Inositol...Why the hell I am finding this and telling my gf about this? Why didn't the Dr tell her about this?

    Anyway I'm hoping the inositol can help balance her hormones so that she can start loosing weight normally. But I really feel like her Dr is hustling her and just blowing smoke up her *kitten* to keep her coming back to her. I almost want to tell her to see another nutritionist and dump this quack!

    what has her endocrinologist said about her PCOS? they haven't prescribed her anything like Metformin? dump the "nutritionist" and get a second opinion. I have PCOS and hypothyroidism and have lost 25+ lbs merely from switching to an endocrinologist who actually knows what she is doing.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    I suggest taking the anger out of it and let life lessons tell the story. It's been almost three years. Ask her if she thinks she got her money's worth? Might it be time to try something else? I suggest using questions rather than declarative statements.

    I agree with this. It's also important to remember that you weren't in the room, and are hearing this secondhand. It's possible that your GF's retelling of the appointment is leaving out statements or context that could make a very competent medical professional look like an idiot. If she doesn't feel like she is getting value out of the sessions, then perhaps encourage her to seek another opinion.

    Someone else mentioned medication for PCOS - if her meds are not at the proper levels, then the nutritionist could be telling her to do everything right and she still might not see results, or very, very slow results. So perhaps a comprehensive review of the situation is needed before accusing people of being quacks due to a lack of movement on the scale.
  • tryett
    tryett Posts: 530 Member
    I have pcos and don't take any meds, just watch my calories and carbs. Metforin is prescribed for some with pcos but not all, it is a medicine for diabetics which does help some pcos sufferers lose weight but they still have to watch their calories and their carb intake.
  • tryett
    tryett Posts: 530 Member
    Inositol is over the counter, vitamin B8. The studies conducted were small and not conclusive. Has she had her vitamin d levels tested. If not she might want to consider doing so.
  • aeb09
    aeb09 Posts: 424 Member
    I highly recommend keto for anyone with PCOS, from personal experience. But ultimately at the end of the day, she needs to follow CICO at the same time.

Categories