Sorry - but talking to a doctor is not the same thing as being under doctors supervision. Plus many family physicians themselves have little training on weightloss.

Pay attention to the obvious. How many roles models and success stories can name that were on a VLCD? Compare that to individuals that lost it by eating sensibly which includes (Jenny Craig, Calorie Counting, Weight Watchers, South Beach etc.)

The fact that it is not as easy to keep your weight in check is you have gotten older and had children is just normal. Your metabolism slows as you get older but that by itself does not mean you take drastic measures to lose the weight.

I encourage you to read the boards at 3FC and you wil find the real success stories lost the weight sensibly.

There's also growing evidence that repeated calorie restricted diets, especially the VLCDs lower metabolism. Even when you look at WLS bypass patients, considering that often a good deal of the gastro-intestinal tract is removed or bypassed, in theory (if their metabolism was not affected) it should be impossible to relapse to their original weight except by eating MUCH more than they did presurgery, but this is not the case. 60% (possibly less with the most modern techniques) do return to their presurgery rates or higher (and not by eating more than when they started).

It seems prudent to eat the maximum amount of calories that will allow you to lose no more than 1/2 to 1% of your body weight per week, unless there are special circumstances.

I don't thinking I'm burning many calories, I live a very sedentary life at the current time, I have no car, can't go to the gym and live in a small apartment. I have a running stroller and can't use it, it's burning hot out side when it's not raining. In central FL, I can't have the little one cook in the sun or get soaked in the cold rain, he is only one. Therefore I believe this will work for me until I reach a BMI under 30.

I try to make my lunch the biggest meal possible and my dinner as light as possible my nutrition teacher said it's not good to eat a heavy meal right before bed.

If you've found the inner strength and will to survive on so few calories you surely have the will to lose weight in a sensible and sustainable manner! You can rock this!

One of many the problems with so few calories is that when your goal is in sight you'll be at such a low calorie rate your metabolism may be damaged at that point and to up your calories would mean rapid weight gains. No one wants that gain! More so if they've suffered along the way.

I know how awful it feels to carry extra weight and the anxiety to get it done as soon as possible. That was my reaction when I first came to my senses and realized I'd better do something about my weight. I had to calm myself and remind myself that this will take time.

I've said before on the forums that I wouldn't want to wake up tomorrow at goal weight because I would have learned nothing from my journey to maintain. There are very important lessons in weight loss, lessons we use later on when the hard job comes, the maintenance. And the odds of maintaining are against all of us, look at the stats on regaining. Why up those odds against your favor?

It's easy to focus on the loss, and a speedy rate when you are just beginning a weight loss regime and forget that while the actual loss is important - the maintenance is critical. Maintenance on a VLCD would be next to impossible and unhealthy.

No one's rate of loss is predictable, it varies widely from person to person - but I've lost my weight in 6 months. I have some more to go, but 6 months is nothing! It's been virtually painless (with the exception of this one time on my stationary bike ) and hunger free, the time has passed easily.

You can find something that works for you in a healthy manner and reach your goal healthily! I look forward to 'seeing' you around on the boards.


~ETA- I wanted to add that I love reading goal stories and cannot recall even one where I've read of the victor reaching goal weight through an extreme diet.

PinkStarz, if you were doing VLCD the "right" way, you wouldn't be looking for help--because you would be under medical supervision that would include weekly check-ups. IMHO, your doctor was rather irresponsible to just set you loose with some multivitamins and a diet drug.

You can lose weight without doing such drastic things to your body! We all want the fat to disappear tomorrow, but that doesn't happen. The best way to lose weight is to find a plan that allows you to eat enough food to maintain your nutrition, while creating a deficit in calories that stimulates fat burning. Many programs are out there--other posters have named some of them.

1200 calories is as low as someone should go without being under medical supervision as I've described. Oh, it's OK to drop below that now and then, but for long term weight loss, eating under 1200 just makes your body think you're starving to death, so your metabolism slows down to try to keep you alive. It can actually make it harder to lose weight.

And that's not even talking about how hungry you could get! A good program never makes you feel like you're starving, and most have some strategies for not getting overly hungry.

Please look around at some of the established methods that aren't so potentially dangerous! We want to see you succeed, not become ill.

Edited to add: I'm in central Fla., so I hear you about exercise outdoors. Did you know that public libraries sometimes have exercise videos you can check out? Walk Away The Pounds is a good one to start with...

Jay

There is a middle ground between broccoli and a heavy meal. . . like adding a grilled chicken breast to the broccoli. I just can't believe that any sort of nutrition teacher would support this weight loss plan. Good luck to you though.

My basal metabolic rate (basically what I burn if I don't ever get out of bed) is almost 1800 calories per day. Including my day-to-day activities (without any intense exercise) my calorie needs are well over 2000. I eat about 1800 calories per day and lose about 6-10 pounds per month.

Do you think you can maintain your VLCD for months? Years? The rest of your life? Because to lose weight and keep it off, you'll have to do this long-term. When you reach your goal you'll be able to bump up your calorie intake a little bit, but by then your metabolism may be shot and you might have to stay really low-cal forever. And if that's the case, what about nutrition? Your body needs more nutrients than 900 calories can provide.

I really have a hard time understanding why people choose to restrict their calorie intake so much when they can eat a lot more and still lose weight

what RD or nutritionist would advocate at 753 calorie per day diet? with the only protein coming from 4 ounces of turkey and 1 ounce of cheese? no wonder you can't stop thinking about food...you are starving!

you are setting yourself up for losing muscle, not fat. You are better off to get moving (how about indoors while the baby is asleep) and double the calories. split them throughout the day, eating every 2-3 hours. it's easier to burn the fat then starve the fat.

Pinzstarz - I think your figures are off, which means you're eating fewer calories than you think you are.

A large banana has 90 cals.
And there's NO WAY 4 oz of turkey is 240 cals. 4 oz of deli sliced turkey has *at the most* 200 cals, and that's estimating high. Even turkey thigh or drumstick meat (off the bird, not deli sliced) is only 200 cals for 3.5 ounces.
And broccoli and rice for dinner is simply not a meal.

Based on your numbers, you're only eating 777 cals a day.
Based on what I calculate, you're actually eating less than 700.

I don't care WHO recommended it, that is NOT a healthy diet for anyone unless you're under the very strict care of a doctor or a nutritionist.

What you're doing is very dangerous for your body. It's no wonder you can't stop thinking about food - you're starving yourself.

Please reconsider what you're doing.

.

Every one has made really good comments and points.

I just want to add how can this possibly "work" if you can't stick with it? How? Nevermind all the valid reasons everyone's already mentioned. You're starving? So how much longer do you think you can go on like that for, until you bust - and "break" your diet?

A major factor in losing weight, permenantly that is, is by finding something that you can indeed stick with. A diet such as this, just doesn't seem to have much of a stickability factor. And if you can't stick with it, well then........

Find foods that you love. Eat enough of them. Make sustainable changes, ones that can last a lifetime. THAT'S how it's done.

Oh, I understand it perfectly - I lived it. I always thought, if I could cut calories and lose some weight, I could cut MORE calories and lose MORE weight - FASTER.

I have been desperate enough to try diets like this and I can say - they always worked AT FIRST. But my body's will to survive always roared up and made me eat. The binges were ugly and made me feel hopeless, sick and out of control.

I could lose some weight eating very low calorie, I NEVER EVER kept ONE POUND of that weight off - and I tried this off and on for 20 years.

Like Kaplods, I managed to "diet" my way from 140 lbs to 200 lbs eating very low calorie.

It's such a personal journey, if someone had tired to tell me 20 years ago that I was doing it wrong, that dieting didn't have to be punishment I would have thought they were crazy and that I KNEW exactly what I was doing, it was WORKING.

I had to be so sick of failing that I had to really really look at my "diet history" and honestly and openly analyze why I could lose weight and never keep it off. It always came down to "stopped dieting." I eventually realized I needed a diet I would never stop.

That meant - eating foods I liked, not being hungry. Took a lot more work - because really, another attractive aspect of very low calorie diets is the food is easy. Cooking, shopping, eating in restaurants as part of a healthy lifestyle - now that's hard.

Guess what? Worked GREAT. Lost 70+ lbs, kept it off for 3+ years, I'm a happy, slender size 6 with a closet full of gorgeous clothes and I'm brimming with good health.

I don't know if Pinkstarz is ready to hear this yet, I hope so. I sure wish I could have saved myself 20 years of heartache and self hatred.

To the OP, your question is how to stay full. The only way to stay full on low calories is to fill up with vegetables.

One thing that might be of interest to you -- I was doing 800-1000 calories a day for two months. Then I upped it to 1400-1500. My weight loss did not slow at all when I upped calories. When I upped the calories, I also stopped doing a ton of cardio and started doing some strength training.

Just sharing this in hopes you might find it useful.

Now I know why bugs are thin.

American cheese?

That's not food. That's a food PRODUCT. The bugs would run from that as well.

Okay... so I'm being cynical here. But really! Does no one cook any more?

Tilapia is serious fish, high in protein, practically fat-free, at about 93 calories for four ounces. Shrimp and salmon are in the same category. Slap those babies on the grill, with a little lemon and pepper, a side of mixed vegetables dressed in olive oil (yes.... olive oil! It releases the phytochemicals in the vegetables) and there you have a meal that beats the socks off broccoli and American cheese.

Get yourself fat free yogurt and throw in wheat germ for about 185 calories per cup. Three cups of romaine lettuce with red, yellow, and green peppers and a chicken breast straight from the grill makes for a slammin' lunch free of fat and cholesterol and all that other stuff that keeps the bugs around.

Cool Whip? I didn't think they made that anymore, but if you MUST, go with sugar free pudding made with skim milk and eat all you want.

Freeze Crystal Light and make popsicles.

Brown rice is better with garbanzos on the side. No way you're going to be hungry for three days after eating rice and garbanzos.

If Latin food is what you need, get a plantain (platano), boil it, mash it, add two tablespoons of olive oil, half an avocado, and you've got mangu!

Pork tenderloin is low in fat, high in protein, and packs a punch when you season it with basil or sage or whatever you like.

It's grill season. Make use of it.

And get rid of that American Cheese. If time is the problem, just know that it doesn't take more than 20 minutes to make any of the stuff listed above, with the exception of brown rice, in which case I would make three cups, eat what I need, and freeze the rest.

If this sounds harsh, I don't mean it to be. But man oh man.... your doctor could have told you all this and kept you off the Phentramine which is nothing more than over-the-counter speed. I have no idea how old your baby is, but can you put her in a buggy and go for a good, hard walk?

I'm sorry. The more I read, the worst it gets.

I understand about the baby. Florida is a tough nut to crack in the warm weather. But I don't know how that will change when your BMI is below 30.

Your nutritionist is whacked if he really told you that you shouldn't eat a heavy meal before bed. Calories in vs. calories out, and they don't discriminate based on the time of day.

The Spaniards eat three hour dinners starting at 8 PM. See them lately?

It's not when you eat. It's what you eat. It's how you eat. It's how you move.

I just can't believe I'm really reading this.