Has anyone had any experience with this? A very low calorie/ liquid diet plan?
I have lost 50 lbs in the last year, from an all time high of 333 this time last year.. actually March 15 last year. But my weight loss has stalled very badly, as in ive lost the same 3-4 pounds since ohhh.. Febuary!
I have been talking to my doctor (whom i deal with a lot outside of an office setting) and he reccommended i do this, with counseling and nutritionist visits in the duration and after, to help re-introduce food into my diet.
He did state that this will slow down my metabolism to begin with, but that keeping an excercise program will help with that. He advised me that this may be what i need to go on ahead and get my body over the hump and cleanse it of toxins.. etc..

He says that occasionally he has to do this for heart patients, or people who need to lose a lot of weight, and need to do it semi-quickly. He is always very quick to point out that without severe behavior modification, changing my habits, that as soon as im done ill gain it all back..

Just wondering if anyone had done this/heard of this.. and what everyone thinks about the benefits/cons of it. The few people i have spoke with either think its a good deal.... or that im certain to die.. ..

Im kinda down with the whole resetting my body, re-learning how to make nutritious choices. I am really enjoying my visits with the counselor, nothing too soul searching yet.. but im still learning to open up.

any input greatly appreciated..

Hi - I've been on HMR (medically supervised liquid fast) in 2003 for 12 weeks which allowed me to lose about 45 lbs. I did gain most of it back, and I got fed up with gaining/losing the same weight over and over again, I decided to have a gastric bypass in Aug 2004.

My husband was 365 on January 1 of this year and he has been on HMR since that time. He is now down to 285. He is going to classes, but I still think he has a long road ahead of him. I will have to teach him how to eat correctly, even though he is taking classes once a week.

Your best bet is to learn as much as you can about the foods you want to eat - how many calories they contain, fats, carbs and proteins. You will have to be very diligent about your diet after the liquid fast is over with. Keeping a diary about your foods that you eat will help you a lot.

And of course exercise is mandatory - it's simply not a take it or leave it situation.

I hope that it works for you...the very best of luck!

My last diet was about 7 years ago, and at that time I also did HMR. I went from around 250 down to 172 in roughly 7 months. I worked in the hospital, so it was easy to get to the meetings and weigh ins. For the first 8 weeks (I think it was 8 weeks, could have been 10...it's been so long now!) I only drank 5 shakes a day. 5 shakes = 800 calories a day. I felt OK, a little lightheaded and extra *****y for the first couple weeks. After the initial liquid fast period, I added 5 servings of fruit and veggies into my diet and then, after a few months added their meals in place of some shakes. Exercise is a big part of the plan - I remember burning between 800-1000 calories a day. The meetings were really good. I actually still have some of the reading materials. The plan works, as you would expect it to, but I stopped "working" it. I was trying to lose weight for my wedding and got to 172 (goal was 150), went on my honeymoon and to this day I remember consciously letting go of all my good intentions as I ordered unhealthy meals, one right after the other. I spent 1,000's of dollars on HMR. I was too embarrased to ever total it all up. I don't believe being on a VLCD for a short time damanged my metabolism. I'm having no problems losing weight this time. I'm just sorry it took over 7 years to get ready to do it again. Personally I will not spend $ on a plan or go to meetings again. I'd say it's a good plan if you have a health condition and need to see immediate weight loss. It does work and there's a lot of support and help available. As with all weight loss plans - it's all about getting to goal weight and then maintaining. Not quitting, like I did. Good luck, whatever you decide.

Well, today was my first day. Im happy to report that ive survived and in fact, not doing too badly at all.. im finding that im really really craving the whole.. *chewing/crunching* thing a little.. which is surprising to me. I did not think that i recieved any oral satisfaction from the process of eating. Im an avid gum chewer, and im thinking this habit is gonna intensify.

Thanks for all the input/advice.. it really does help that other people have done this also. Actually, it helps to *talk* to people who actually know what it is..lol

Hey SuperNurse,

I'm on Medifast and know exactly what your going through. The diet gets much easier after your body adjusts to ketosis. Feel free to direct any questions my way.

There are some other ladies here who 'started' their weight loss this way. Maybe check the Maintainers forum. I'd be lying if I guessed which ladies.

I don't think a very low calorie liquid diet ruins your metabolism but it may end up costing you muscle. Muscle helps increase your metabolism, loss of muscle will decrease your metabolism. Your body does try to hold onto its fat when it believes you are starving as a survival mechanism. The result is that your body will shed fat and muscle at the same time. One thing you should try to work on is incorporating weights into your exercise plan to try to maintain as much muscle as possible. Also when you switch back to normal foods, I'd recommend continuing with weights.

I did a very low calorie diet not the liquid but I did 800 cal/day and was under the supervision of a nutritionist. It does slow your metabolism BUT if you keep up and even increase your exercise activity, you won't lose a lot of muscle. I did very well on 800 cal. In 7 months I lost about 83 lbs. I've gained it back, but I got pregnant, and decided not to maintain my good eating habits.. However, I could live and maintain a 1000 cal diet. I could find plenty of good, wholesome food to fill my tummy. That's actually my plan this time around also, although, I won't be doing 800 cal, I've upped it to 1100 per day. With limited time for exercise I don't want to lose muscle and slow my metabolism. I do recommend a vitamin supplement. I know the liquid diet may contain the nutrients and vitamins you will need but it doesn't hurt to add a multi-vitamin into the mix. This was something my dietician was very adamant about. Good luck to you!

Hi...Just came across this post and I thought I would check in on how you are doing. I am also on a VLCD/Liquid Diet and have been for about 3 weeks now. I have lost 17 pounds and while I have my ups and downs its been really great so far.

Hope you are doing well.

I believe it's MrsJim who started on a liquid diet. It might help to find her story to help you prepare for "after" the program.

Yep, Sandi's right - our MrsJim is the one who started her weight loss with Optifast through a study at Stanford's Medical School. She wrote about her experiences here.