Dr. Who? - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

Kati · 09-12-2007, 06:53 PM

Well, now I understand the "consult your doctor before beginning any weightloss or exercise program" comment.

I had a complete blood work-up not to long ago. My heart is great no arterial damage, yet. I figured okay let's get this program rolling.

WRONG!

Me: So Dr. I need to lose 100 pounds. I am eating 1850 calories a day or there about and I am trying for a half hour twice a day on the treadmill. Does that sound good to you?

Dr: No. You kill yourself! (spoken in a thick bubbly Phillipino accent)

Me: What? I thought I was taking it nice and slow.

Dr: No, you kill yourself! Look at you, you can't walk you groan to pick up your bag. You kill yourself dummy!

Me: Then what do you suggest?

Dr: I suggest you talk to me.

Me: Um, that is what I am doing. (pulling at my collar now, knowing that beady little look of consternation)

Dr: Yeah, now you talk to me. You hurt don't you? Course you do. No more treadmill, you kill yourself! Go for walks in the moonlight and stop eating so much. You learn to not eat then you learn to lose weight. No more.

Me: Doc, don't those go hand in hand? (I am really confused at this point not to mention on the verge of tears from holding in my laughter of being yelled at with that accent. No matter how she tries to look and sound mean, she looks and sounds like a popple.)

Dr: No, you learn one thing at time. First you learn to eat right, then you learn not to eat so much, then you learn to lose weight, and then you learn to keep it off. Stop being dummy head, one thing at time!

Okay, so maybe she didn't actually call me a dummyhead, but you know, I am sure she was thinking it. Anyway, I am now on a 1200 calories a day, (yes I am going to starve to death, sign up here if you wanna be left in the will), and 15 minutes stroll on the treadmill.

See, she has a nifty little chart there reminding her that I fell out of a my semi not to long ago, pulling liagments in my ankle, hyperextending my knee, and wrenching the **** out of my shoulder. All of this on one side mind you.

Sigh, yeah go talk to your doctor, but duck when you tell him/her that you already started.

hellokitty81668 · 09-12-2007, 07:09 PM

I could never live on 1200 calories a day, yikes. Does your health insurance cover for a nutrionist? I think that is who you need to see, because your doctor is giving you advice from years and years ago.
Good luck with whatever you do,but personally I would get a second opinion.
cheryl

BattleAx · 09-12-2007, 07:24 PM

1200 calories a day at your weight? No way! I wouldn't last more than a couple of days on that. Your doctor may be well-intentioned, but she is not giving you up-to-date research-based advice.

Sheila53 · 09-12-2007, 08:01 PM

Doctors get very little training in nutrition. If you can, see a nutritionist or registered dietician. As the others have said, 1200 calories just isn't enough. Start higher, then as your weight loss stalls, reduce the number of calories. If I took this doctor's advice, I'm positive I would never have stuck it out for the long haul, which is what you want.

If you look at all the successful people (and to me successful means losing AND keeping it off) here at 3FC with your similar stats, I'm betting none of them started their weight loss journey eating 1200 calories a day.

Robin41 · 09-12-2007, 08:56 PM

I live on 1200 calories a day and do just fine. I also exercise 60 minutes a day at least 5 times a week. If you concentrate on lean protein and veggies, you can be perfectly satisfied on 1200. I started at 292 lbs. and I've been doing it since the end of May and haven't had any trouble at all. It's not for everybody but I've lost 66 pounds without even the hint of a plateau, my blood pressure is down to normal and my fasting glucose is now in the mid 90's.

Frankly I think your doctor is a bit of a moron. Twice a day on the treadmill at a reasonable pace isn't going to aggravate any of your injuries. It certainly is a lot safer than taking a walk in the "moonlight" where you can't see the rough spots and the holes in the sidewalk. And there certainly is no reason why you can't handle changing your eating habits and getting some exercise all at the same time. You're an adult for goodness sake; I'll bet you handle more than one thing at a time constantly.

She really sounds kind of patronizing and not that well-informed.

melsfolly · 09-12-2007, 09:01 PM

I agree with the others... I would think you need to start at a higher calorie range and then decrease it as you lose weight along with adding exercise (gradually of course). Most data I've read indicates that a healthy diet should include a minimum of 1200 calories per day (unless of course they're following a medically supervised diet that incorporates B6 (or B12??) shots, etc.). You want to start out with enough calories to allow you to decrease it the smaller you get. So if you don't want to consume 1850 calories, try dropping it down to 1750 or 1700.

As far as exercise - well, she is a doctor but I have to say that I don't agree with her view on exercise either. If I were just starting out, I would think that walking on the treadmill would be a lot safer than walking in the pitch dark with only the moonlight to guide me around the potholes, cracks in the sidewalk and/or stressed out workers driving home half asleep after putting in 12 hours of work. But then I am accident prone, so what do I know???

P.S. There's nothing wrong with 1200 calories if that's what you want. You can eat a lot of very healthy foods in that range. I just personally think it's best to work your way down until you find a calorie range you can live with.

Goddess Jessica · 09-12-2007, 09:03 PM

I feel the board is not being very supportive! I think the doctor gave you some great advice! (And since I'm not looking at her chart, the history of her injuries, I'm going to trust the doctor may know she's talking about)

Learning one thing at a time is a great plan because so many people go into with the all or nothing mindset and when "ALL" doesn't work, they fail.

I think 1200 calories with a sedentary lifestyle (and your 15 minute walk) can certainly be acheived with the right choices - you may want to see a nutrionist to help you with these choices. But if you feel deprived after giving it a whirl, you may want to increase your calories and check back in with your doctor. In the meantime, I recommend keeping a food journal so that when you do go back you can talk intelligently about your current eating.

I'd also like to gentle remind people that just because your plan worked for you doesn't mean that it works for everyone.

Kati · 09-12-2007, 09:18 PM

Boy, and again my idea of being a famous comedian has been splatted. Da post was posed to be funny peeps:P

My doctor is a certified nutritionist, and she does know what she is talking about. But alas that was not the point of this post, it was meant to put a smile on your faces. So, again, backto the drawingboard. No wonder I am fat I spend all my time coming up with not so funny funny stuff.

:P my DH thought it was funny

kaplods · 09-12-2007, 09:29 PM

I think most doctors see two extremes with overweight patients who want to lose weight. One who doesn't want to change any of their habits, but still want weight to just fall off (hey, doc couldn't you just give me a pill or something?) and those at the other extreme who go gung ho with an overly ambitious program with an unrealistic diet and exercise regime. They don't succeed either because their expectations are too great, and they get frustrated, or injured and give up.

Your doctor doesn't have any reason to believe you're not like every other person she's seen who has tried what you're trying. Her response, to start with small changes that are doable and comfortable, and then move on as you're able to achieve the smaller goals is very reasonable advice. I think one of the reasons weight loss has such a dismal "success" rate is that expectations are set so high that "failure" is inevitable. Very few people are able to stick to a regime that includes an hour on the treadmill every day, from the very start. Reducing your calories even further to 1200 calories is also a drastic change that most people cannot jump right into and have long-term success with.

That doesn't mean you might not be one of the elite few who are able to do so, but it would mean that you're in the smallest minority (less than 1/2 of 1 percent, likely). You may not like her advice, and you certainly don't have to follow it, but it is sound advice, and if you find that you can't sustain the pace you've set for yourself, you might consider trying it.

thistoo · 09-12-2007, 09:30 PM

I thought it was funny. Your doctor sounds adorable. Though I eat tried the 1200 calories a day thing for awhile and it was just too low. Now I'm at 1450 average (Wendie Plan) and it's much easier to maintain. I work out pretty hard, though, so there's that.

kaplods · 09-12-2007, 09:31 PM

Mmm, I missed your post as I was posting. I have to admit that if the post was supposed to be funny, I didn't get it.

dek6 · 09-12-2007, 09:31 PM

I can not believe that she told you to eat 1250 pounds. That is crazy. First you will starve your body and then you will not lose because your body will think that it has to keep all its fat, kinda like anorexia. 2nd I am really surprised that she didnt suggest you talk to a nutritionist. You should stay at 1800 and call the dr and ask them to recommend a nutritionist. I can understand the tredmill especially if you already hurt yourself. That is crazy.

BattleAx · 09-12-2007, 10:16 PM

Sorry, I don't get the joke. Did your doctor say those things to you, or not?

If she did....I still feel that 1200 is a *very* extreme change, and most people with 100 lbs to lose would not be able to manage that starting out. Sure, a small minority can, we have a couple of members here who are doing just that, but going back to the success stories that another poster pointed out, from what I know, the majority of successful members who have lost *and kept the weight off* did not start out at 1200 calories. 1850 is totally reasonable.

I can understand cautioning you to ease into exercising, especially given your injuries.

The best advice I've received is to see what works for you. That is what the successful members have done. They've created plans that work for them with their bodies and way of living. Myself, I am eating between 1600-2000 calories a day and am losing weight. I have gradually increased my exercise level over time. I'm pretty much at the max exercise level for the time I have to devote to it, in the scheme of my other responsibilities. It would be laughably low for some, and admirable for others.

Kati · 09-12-2007, 11:18 PM

*sigh*

Yes she told me these things, but the way I presented it was posed to be funny. I trust her and I doubt I can do it, but oh well.

Robin41 · 09-12-2007, 11:37 PM

Don't worry, I'm sure that many people would have totally gotten the joke but apparently they are all skinny people and don't hang out here.

As I said above, do what works for you. Just don't be afraid to try new stuff. 1200 could work great for you, as it does for me. Or it could be impossible. You don't know until you try it. A few weeks to see how it goes is not going to destroy your metabolism despite what some think.

If you go fairly low, use Fitday or something like it to track your nutritional values. I actually enjoy the challenge of getting the nutrition I need on a limited number of calories but I'm very careful I get everything I need to stay healthy.