I'm posting this info for anyone that might not know what it is. I take it that it is similar to Optifast?
Quote:
New Direction
• Approach/Method: New Direction facilities have been helping patients lose weight for over ten years. Our New Direction and OutLook Programs focus upon wellness and life long weight management rather than weight loss. You progress through three phases: reducing, adapting and sustaining. New Direction is a medically supervised very low-calorie diet, utilizing 3 to 4 servings of nutritional beverages totaling 600 to 800 calories per day. OutLook is a multidisciplinary moderate calorie weight-control program ranging between 1,000 to 1,400 calories daily where patients replace two meals daily with the nutritionally complete beverage, and eat at least one balanced meal of grocery type foods. This is to begin reshaping eating habits gradually. All education materials and patient learning modules are included within each program.
• Clients: To be eligible for the New Direction program, women must have forty pounds to lose and men have fifty pounds. Patients must also pass a medical and behavioral screening. Candidates for the OutLook program will need to lose between fifteen to forty pounds, or be unwilling to give up regular food, or have previously lost weight, and gained it back.
• Staff: Each center is staffed with experienced dietitians/behaviorists/exercise physiologists/nurses and physicians who will help you through each phase of your program.
• Expected Weight Loss/Length of Program: The New Direction program average weight loss is approximately three to five pounds per week. The length of program participation is dependent upon the amount of weight loss determined by the patient. Weight loss (reducing) is typically 12 to 16 weeks; Transition back to traditional food (adapting), is 5 to 6 weeks and finally maintenance (sustaining), lasts a minimum 6 to 12 months. In OutLook the average weight loss is one and a half to two pounds per week. The length of the program is dependent upon the weight loss needed.
• Cost: Program cost varies with the amount of weight the patient needs to lose. The cost for New Direction during the weight-loss and adapting phases is approximately $25-$45 per week for program fees which includes medical monitoring, counseling and lab tests and $40-$50 per week for product (beverage). Most programs offer free maintenance. The use of beverages is not mandatory during maintenance, but is encouraged if needed. The cost for Outlook is approximately $15-$30 per week for program fees which includes classes and $25-$35 per week for product (beverage). Most centers offer free maintenance. The use of product (beverage) is not mandatory during maintenance, but participants are encouraged to use it when needed.
• Healthy Lifestyle Component: Each New Direction center offers fun, informative, useful activities and educational materials to help you develop the healthy lifestyle skills that promote long-term weight management.
• Comments: The New Direction Programs have been designed to utilize drug therapy (for appropriate patients) along with our behavioral, nutritional and exercise components to promote healthy weight loss and long term maintenance.
• Headquarters: Robard Corporation-Medical Nutrition Division, Mt Laurel, NJ 1-800-222-9201.
Copied from shapeup.org
It sounds like the weight lost is not anymore than would be expected with a higher calorie regular food diet. These types of diets are usually hard to stick to, and most people regain the weight quickly.
We have an article on site at
http://www.3fatchicks.com/diet-toolb...rie-diets.html which gives some info on very low calorie diets.
But if there is anyone else here following this program under medical supervision, we don't have any problem with you discussing it -- As long as it isn't an MLM product. I'm honestly having problems finding any info on it online, so I can't really classify it.
Suzanne 3FC , 10-15-2003 11:16 PM