I'm actually following a ketogenic diet right now - also called a medically-supplemented fast. This has to be done under a specialist doctor's supervision (look for Bariatric Physician in your yellow pages, and cross your fingers). Yes, so I've been told, after the first few days, fasting takes out as much muscle as fat, and a person on water-only fast is in danger of generalized organ failure after 40 to 50 days. The medical supplements that keep it safe include double (or more) of the usual vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids daily, potassium salts to the tune of 1 1/2 to 2 grams (not milligrams) per day, roughage to keep your system moving, and enough protein to maintain muscle and organs for your ideal weight, based on height, bone structure, age, and gender. You also need to drink 2 to 3 litres of non-diuretic liquids daily, because while your liver is producing glucagon instead of insulin, the kidneys work overtime dealing with the biproducts of fat and muscle tissue breakdown. Certain medical conditions preclude this kind of diet, and you need a full electrolyte work-up to start, and also after every 40-ish lbs lost. If you lose too many electrolytes, you are at risk for heart attack, among other things. This is why you don't get any encouragement for doing this on your own, without a metabolic-specialist doctor's supervision!
So, why am I doing this? I've had a number of very frustrating tries at weight loss, with very limited success. The usual "calories in minus calories expended" model for weight change does not fit me very well, my body has broken the rules at both ends of the spectrum. I can't exercise like I did in my 20's, too much joint damage, exercise-induced asthma that won't respond well, and I've been a borderline diabetic for a long while. Doing rather strict forms of low-carb dieting, weight and aerobic training, timed mini-meals, stress management, proper rest, etc. allow me to maintain my weight, but not to lose any fat. To lose all the weight I really needed to, after trying my regular doctor's references for several "normal" medically-supervised programs which didn't work the way they were supposed to, I finally got the Bariatric specialist referral. That was 3 years ago, and at that time I lost 87 lbs in 26 weeks. However, I went on the "maintenance" program religiously, and gained a pound a week for a whole year, until finding a book on prediabetic insulin management, and discovered a real maintenance plan.
For 2 years I've held my own, but that's all. It's taken me this long to resolve to go through with the ketogenic diet again; I've lost net 10 lbs since last Christmas in a 2 week "test" stint, and in the last 18 days, another 15 lbs so far. This time I'll go for the full 100+ lbs, as we're going backpacking around Europe, end of August. (I expect to gain 5 lbs back when I finish fasting and return to maintenance.) I am still quite obese, but probably not for much longer!
Hopefully all these personal details might help you understand if such an approach might be relevant, or not, to your situations. Again, fasting is very dangerous! But - if you're morbidly obese, can't lose weight, and CAN find someone local who really knows their stuff and can reliably tailor a diet for your particular body, a proper ketogenic diet may unlock the weight loss necessary for your future health.
Sorry, I'm new to this forum, and I still don't know how to change the weightloss scale at the bottom of my posts. It should read, 39 lb. lost. 69 lb to go.
I don't think many studies have ever been done on those of us losing more than 100 pounds without surgery. We're the orphans of the medical and research communities. So we're doing the research here ourselves ... and if the researchers are smart, someday they'll come to US for answers!
I can't imagine why. Are we that small a population? There are so many people here at 3FC who have done and are doing it. Obviously there are tons more elsewhere. I would love to get a hold of the "researchers" and show them a thing or 2. Research THIS baby.
Robin, I think the number of people who have lost over 100 pounds and kept it off for any length of time is - sadly - small. Maintaining the loss is the hard part. Most of us are very good at losing weight but struggle with keeping it off.
The National Weight Control Registry is a study group of people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least a year. You don't have to be at goal to join and I urge anyone who qualifies to join. I'm a member and so are lots of others here. In the NWCR, we're actually the ones making the news -- there have been at least 11 papers published about the results of the annual NWCR surveys. Have you read articles about how successful losers eat breakfast and weigh themselves regularly? Those both come from the NWCR.
I also think part of the problem is that we aren't medically supervised. Is there any doctor program where you go in and say "Hey I'm going to lose 100 lbs this year" and then they tell you "great, lets take your measurements, body fat composition and weight on a weekly/biweekly/monthly basis and I'll be able to submit it into our huge scientific database for people like you". Unfortunately, weight loss isn't in the hands of doctors any more, its in our own hands. For those that have WLS, their data is able to be collected and calculated but then they are a different bunch because of the nature of WLS.
I recently heard that when you are morbidly obese, it doesn't really matter how fast you lose it, as long as you lose it. The health benefits are so great at that point.
Meg, I understand that it is a miniscule portion of the population that actually succeeds at first losing and then keeping it off. But it's got to be a bigger portion that NEEDS to lose it and keep it off. For me it really is irrelevant, I was never one who listened to "studies" much pertaining to weightloss, at least most of them. But I know there are many that do. I can't help but think if it were out there more, that people can and ARE succeeding, that it would at least spur on a few people to actually tackle it and do it and of course succeed themselves.
Yes, you've mentioned the NCWR to me before. I have looked into it and rest assured I WILL be part of it. I think you know me well enough by now, (haha, how funny is that?), to know that I WON'T EVER be regaining my pounds. I know it sounds a little, all right a lot cocky, but I have never, ever been surer of anything else in my whole 43 years on this earth.
Nelie, I certainly agree. Weightloss is not in the doctor's hands. It is most definitely in ours and ours alone. But that's okay, I trust myself more then any doctor I've bumped into in my life (unfortunately). I wish I'd bump into Dr. Oz one day. Hmmm, he's one doctor I would trust.
We posted at the same time Sandi. It's not only that, it's that since we have soooo much to lose and we were OVEREATING so much in the first place, that naturally when you start eating a healthy/normal amount of calories and adding exercise, of course it's going to come off quicker. When I cut back to 1600 calories and say 150 pound person cut down to the same 1600 calories, I was eliminating much more calories then them, so naturally my deficit will be greater, hence I will lose quicker. Who knows how many calories I was eating, 3000? 3500? more? The 150 lb person, maybe they were eating 2000 calories a day? Like I said, it's a whole other matter for the morbidly obese. The 1 -2 lb per week ratio is for overweight/obese people, not MORBIDLY obese people.
I also agree that you shouldn't aim to lose 2 lbs per week, but if that is what you are losing that is good. If you eat a healthy diet (1200+ calories), exercise and lose more than 2 lbs per week, then you are doing good. If you are starving yourself in hopes of losing more than 2 lbs per week, then I'd be worried.
