Haff

A month or so ago I got sick and tired of being too damn big, and since I have failed in my own endeavors to lose weight I thought it was time to go see a professional. Problem is, everywhere I looked every bariatric clinic in the area focused only on surgical methods, and I do not want to go that route. Then the missus found an ad in a local paper advertising a local office of a weight loss chain (I wont mention who). So I called them, and sure enough, they do not do the surgical stuff. so I set up an appointment and went in to see them.

After the initial consultation the doc and I agreed on a plan (pretty much the only real plan they offer), which involves taking in a very low calorie level in liquid form and a small bar, and at least at first staving off hunger with Phentermine. I am well aware of the potential negatives of phentermine, but I feel the positives outweigh them, as long as I don't stay on it long term. Initially, she set me up on a 1500 calorie diet to start.

Well, at the end of the first week it was obvious, there was no way I was going to take in 9 fricken shakes each and every day, especially since they taste horrible. The only way to make them edible is to blend them with ice and drink quickly. The most I could muster was 6 shakes a day, plus 2 bars. Thats just north of 1000 calories. When I saw the doc next she said that 1000 was perfectly fine since I was clearly able to go about my daily living. I've been at that level since.

So now to the good and bad. The good is, I'm down over 30 pounds in 4 weeks.
The bad is: the loss each week is slowly quickly. the first weeks loss was immense, the next less, and so on, so last week it was only 3.8 lbs. Normally 3.8 in a week would be great, but given the previous rates I'm concerned that my metabolism is slowing. Also, my ability to do lots of exercise is shot. Just prior to this diet I was able to ride 50 miles without killing myself. Now, I can reach 30, but not 35. I just don't seem to have the short term stored energy. This also means my training for doing a century at the end of the month is ruined. I'll have to set a new date for my first century. And the last of the bad, there is a near continual bad taste in my mouth. Its from my body transitioning from metabolism to catabolism in order to get its energy. This is kinda the point of dieting (burn your own body for energy), but the taste is nasty.

Now, Its a staged diet, where the first six weeks are like this then there is a transition to eating real food again. I'll probably finish the six weeks, then try to transition quickly in order to save money.

Oh yeah, thats another of the bad. Those shakes are expensive. And the program gives the doc advice for free as long as you buy the shakes.

Which brings me to the unfortunate, and the reason I haven't mentioned the brand. I don't actually think the doctor knows what she is doing. Each week I as her a few questions, and her answers keep showing her ignorance of how a human body actually works, or how the tools she employs actually work. The reason I am still going to her is because even though she doesn't know why, she is still doing what I had planned to do when I researched it on my own. So basically I'm seeing her because she can write a prescription. As soon as I come off that, I'm done going to see her. Then I have to be very careful not to backslide and put the weight back.

But to repeat the upside... I'm down over 30 pounds!

I_like_cereal

The down side. Rapid weight loss can cause heart arrhythmia, sickness, and potential injury.

The upside. Go get a real MRP (meal replacement) shake from MHP, MetRx, or another sports nutrition company.

The really down side. Muscle can and will be used as food if you starve your body. I am all for caloric restriction, but this, to me, is extreme. I respect the no surgery approach, but why the rush? If you have a wedding or other life event maybe I could agree, but any registered dietitian, which may be available through your health insurer, would do a better job that this hack.

I wish you luck on your quest. I hope that get a second opinion and take a multivitamin. It will help with energy levels.

sstorkel

Enjoy it while it lasts. Invariably, these crash diets seem to lead to rapid weight loss... followed almost as quickly by rapid weight gain. In the end you'll likely end up right back where you started, with only a large hole in your wallet to show for your time spent on what sounds like a horrible diet. You may end up being the exception to the rule... but the odds are stacked against you.

Ultimately, I found that gradual weight loss was the only thing that worked for me: I restricted my calorie intake slightly, improved what I ate slightly, and started riding the bike 4-5 days/week. I shot for the often-recommended 2 pounds/week loss and was very successful at losing weight and keeping it off.

Haff

I am fully aware of what happens to most people that take this approach, and I aim to be the exception. I needed to find a way to kickstart out of my old habits. I've spent 10 years trying to lose weight, largely unsuccessfully. Each time I tried the smart approach, decrease food, increase diet in the proper amounts, aimfor the slow loss, etc, etc. Each time my willpower failed me. So I'm giving my mind and body a time away from all the old habits and temptations. In the process I have built the confidence that I can avoid and limit my food properly. After all, once I've gone through this crap doing the proper thing will be less of an ordeal. In two more weeks I transition back to real food, and back to a much slower and safer method.

In the meantime, I take impedance measurements daily to monitor fat%, muscle% bone% etc. While these measurement are pretty inaccurate, any trending is visible over time. The trending I am seeing is a steady loss of fat%, a slight loss of water%, and a gain of muscle%. According to these trends I have actually lost over 40 lbs of fat, and gained a little over 10 lbs of muscle. And even though my stamina has gone done, my muscles are tighter and I think a little stronger. I think the reason my muscle% has actually increased is because I am doing a lot of lumberjack type stuff in my yard to clear a new area for the kids to sled this winter. I'm doing everything by hand to maximize the exercise.

Believe me. I know the risks you guys mentioned, and more. But after a decade of failing on many of the more reasonable approaches my choices were to stay fat (lots of risks), get surgery (lots of risks), or do a short term crash diet and try to break out of my habit zone (some risks).

oh, and as for getting a better meal replacement. I looked long and hard at these shakes before taking them. They are actually very well balanced and have more then enough vitamins and plenty of protein in them. Other then possibly having more calories, I don't think there is much better out there (except for taste)

goldfinch

Good post Haff. I think short term ultra low energy diets are fine as long as people realize that they are a jump start, not an end point. You clearly understand that.

Mithrandir

When I first started my weight loss I attempted a 1500 calorie diet. My doctor yelled at me and said that was far too low; at 460 pounds I should have been eating upwards of 2500 calories to maintain my weight. Since the goal was loss, we compromised at 2000, and that was good for around 3 pounds per week, which is about the most weight you can safely lose, and even then it's pushing it. Anything lower than 2000 calories at my highest weight would have been counterproductive because the body will go into starvation mode, keep the fat, and destroy the muscle. So starving yourself is never a good thing, even if it's short term to "kick start" weight loss.

Over time 2000 calories seem to have made me reach a sort of equilibrium. Instead of losing 3 pounds a week, I'm doing one pound every 3 weeks. My doctor now recommends dropping to 1800, but that was before I started cycling 10-15 hours a week, and assumed 5-6 hours of cardio, so that is still too low.


Slow and steady does the trick. Diets don't last. You need to alter your entire lifestyle, or you'll just gain the weight right back.

CliftonGK1

Haff - Good on you for the 30 pounds, and here's my positive notes for you in keeping it off because I have done something very similar for myself this year...

I ended last year on an injury that put me off the bike and on corticosteroids and pain meds for nearly 3 months. I ballooned up to 262 pounds from my season weight of 235.
When I was able to start exercising again in earnest (not just the 5 - 10 minutes I was doing during my first stage recovery), I got serious about losing not only the weight I gained post-surgery, but also the 30 pounds I shouldn't have been carting around during last season. I didn't go with a medical based program, but I did go with a supplement based program I was familiar with from many years ago, and I started back on an ECA stack and reduced calorie intake. I've never been keen on counting everything I eat, so I stuck to a few very basic things that I could tally up simply with ballpark figures. My weight loss started slowly in the first couple weeks, and then rocketed. 4 - 5 pounds/week was an average for almost 2 straight months before tapering off to a more reasonable 2 - 3 pounds, and gradually subsiding to the 1 - 2 pounds range. Now that I'm down under 15.5% total bodyfat and probably hovering there for the rest of CX racing season, I don't do any supplement rotation any more and I haven't noticed any cravings or my old desire for overindulgence coming back. It's not that my metabolism has slowed down, it's that eventually your body becomes more efficient in utilizing the fuel you give it. Consistently feed the machine fewer calories but push the limits of what you can safely do for your exercise, and the body adapts. You stop feeling like you need as much food. You stop wanting so much food (the supplements help to modify that behaviour.)
I'm down more than 50 pounds in about 7 months time and I don't see any future concerns about yo-yo-ing back to (or above) where I was previously at my peak of 260+, or even my last season average of mid 230s.
Keep a watch on things like your hydration and electrolytes, nutritional balance even with drastically reduced calories, vitamins/minerals, and pay attention to what your body is telling you. Don't push the same program if you're feeling persistently woozy, tired, lightheaded or weak. Find out what you need to change, because even when you're losing a bunch of weight you shouldn't feel like crap.

NOTE: I'm not a doctor, physiologist, pharmacist, or anything of the sort. Just a guy who rides a whole crapton and decided to lose a bunch of weight to do better this season on the racing circuit.