I have a few friends who have done this sort of thing with medical supervision, using shakes (MediFast, maybe? I don't remember the exact type...). I have a sibling who had bariatric surgery and was prescribed a vlcd for recovery/retraining.

It's like any other diet, OP: it will work, as long as you're on it. Eventually you'll slip up, or fall off the wagon, or decide that you'd like to have something other than a chalky shake. Odds are you'll rebound and gain more than you lost, partially because you've still got the same mentality about food/eating, and partially because you've messed up your metabolism in a big way.

You didn't get this big in a matter of months. You can't expect to shrink dramatically in a matter of months either, at least not in a sustainable way.

Keep a food journal. Exercise, including lifting heavy. Make healthy food substitutions that help you create a calorie deficit that's manageable and even enjoyable. Treat your body with kindness and respect.

And FTLOG, get a second opinion, or just fire this quack and get a new doc altogether.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know conventional wisdom says you can't lose 4 lbs in a week but IT IS possible. I've done it.

How did you do it?

The people on Biggest Loser do that (and more)....I know, completely different than the real world.

OP, you need to eat healthy and exercise.

Don't do shakes. Do weight watchers and stick to it. Don't cheat. You are overweight because you have poor eating habits.

Start exercising gradually. Take a morning walk--challenge yourself to walk fast and move your arms. Take a walk at lunchtime. Take a walk after dinner. Start with speed walking and build your stamina. Work up to real cardio.

Drink a ton of water. Chew gum if you have the urge to snack.

Anonymous wrote:A weight loss center/clinic Dr.

I was referred by my PCP.

I'm 5'5 220lbs. And at risk for diabetes, infertility (no longer get periods) , ect..

He saidbthe goal is to lose 4-5lbs a week to get back into a safe weight zone. Then gradually work back up.

Read the article about the long term effects on the folks on The Biggest Loser. The people who lost the most weight permanently destroyed their metabolism. As in, they couldn't eat more than 800 calories (or some such amount) or they would gain weight.

I used to do this when I was in the throes of an eating disorder, and I kept it up for years. I was very, very sick, but I was very thin. It wasn't worth it. OP, you CAN lose weight doing this, but you won't look good because your hair will be dry, brittle, and will thin, your skin will be dry and hideous, and your breath will stink. Plus, you will be tired and will soon think constantly of food, plotting ways to cut calories, assessing and critiquing other people's bodies/weight, and fighting your own hunger. You might think that you can do this kind of thing short-term to be ready for a special event, but this kind of regime changes the way you think and view yourself and the world around you, and the danger is that you will not be able to just stop when you want to stop.

I'd rather be dead than go back to that. If I hadn't gotten help and learned to eat healthily and exercise to keep my body strong, I WOULD be dead.

But you do you. I look at some celebrities and see in their eyes what I went through, but presumably it is worth it to them. You can do it and you will lose weight, but think long and hard about whether or not it will be worth it.

Anonymous wrote:I know conventional wisdom says you can't lose 4 lbs in a week but IT IS possible. I've done it.

How did you do it?

Anonymous wrote:Yes. With dr. Arthur frank at the gw weight management clinic in 2003. I lost 20 lbs in three weeks and gave up. I was not obese when I started though - was in the high overweight category and the weight loss brought me down to the low overweight category. It was hard!

What plan were you on?

Yes. With dr. Arthur frank at the gw weight management clinic in 2003. I lost 20 lbs in three weeks and gave up. I was not obese when I started though - was in the high overweight category and the weight loss brought me down to the low overweight category. It was hard!

Anonymous wrote:I know conventional wisdom says you can't lose 4 lbs in a week but IT IS possible. I've done it.

Are you under five feet fivr and female and did you do it for several months straight? I actually lost 5 pounds this week, but I'm a 6'3 male who burns literally twice as many calories as OP. The math does not work on her specifically losing 4-5 pounds a week over a several week period unless she stops eating entirely and spends the entire day at the gym.

I know conventional wisdom says you can't lose 4 lbs in a week but IT IS possible. I've done it.

I have heard of a VLCD-- very low calorie diet, but it's usage is limited to rather extreme cases involving emergencies or surgery-related recovery. It is not a long term solution and needs to be carried out with close medical supervision. Most general doctors / nutritionists would be hesitant to recommend even 2 lbs a week.

Note: there is not much evidence of long term weight loss from such a diet.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/very-low-calorie-diets.aspx

Anonymous wrote:It would under Dr supervision. The Dr wants to prescribe "shakes" but has said people have done it without the supplements. I am wondering if anyone else has undergone a diet plan like this? What foods were OK?

Weight Loss surgery patients follow this kind of diet after surgery usually for a couple years. Focus on very high protein foods

Anonymous wrote:OP, I don't like to second guess doctors, but this one really sounds like a quack.

First of all, almost every doctor will suggest that an aggressive weight loss goal is around 2 lbs per week. I get why you want to lose weight fast, but there's a reasonable limit. If you actually lost 2 lbs per week, you'd be back to a healthy BMI in around 8 months, which is a stellar turn-around.

Second, BMI isn't as important as body fat percentage, and if you lose weight that fast you're going to lose absurd amounts of muscle and keep fat around your midsection (not good if you are at risk for diabetes), which will cause rebounding and not improve your health. Going slower and adding strength training to keep muscle seems like a much better idea.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly: Its highly likely what the doctor is suggesting is literally impossible. A pound of fat has 3500 calories in it, and, at your height, your caloric needs are likely only 1800 calories per day. Work out the math on that. If you literally stop eating, you won't lose 4 lbs in a week (over a sustained period; you would the first week due to water loss).

I would get a second opinion.

Sorry, just to add, the high end of the range (800 calories) is significantly less crazy than the low end (500), and you'll ultimately need to be around there to keep up 2 lbs per week. But a 300 calorie difference is a huge difference when you're talking that big of a deficit.

OP, I don't like to second guess doctors, but this one really sounds like a quack.

First of all, almost every doctor will suggest that an aggressive weight loss goal is around 2 lbs per week. I get why you want to lose weight fast, but there's a reasonable limit. If you actually lost 2 lbs per week, you'd be back to a healthy BMI in around 8 months, which is a stellar turn-around.

Second, BMI isn't as important as body fat percentage, and if you lose weight that fast you're going to lose absurd amounts of muscle and keep fat around your midsection (not good if you are at risk for diabetes), which will cause rebounding and not improve your health. Going slower and adding strength training to keep muscle seems like a much better idea.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly: Its highly likely what the doctor is suggesting is literally impossible. A pound of fat has 3500 calories in it, and, at your height, your caloric needs are likely only 1800 calories per day. Work out the math on that. If you literally stop eating, you won't lose 4 lbs in a week (over a sustained period; you would the first week due to water loss).

I would get a second opinion.

OP, can you do a combination of shakes for part or all of some days and non-shake meals for other meals or days? The shakes are very straightforward and balanced, taking the mental work out of the equation. Having meals some of the time could help the boredom of shakes all the time.