Very Low Calorie Diet, My 2c

docians on 28/06/2019 - 11:00
Last edited 28/06/2019 - 12:04 by 1 other user

A month ago, a passing comment in our staff room someone suggested Optifast shakes to lose weight I had heard of VLCD (very low calorie diet) in passing, but I decided to look into it

Always struggled with my weight, and for the past 12 months a combination of eating healthy and exercise did not produce any significant results

I watched this BBC documentary called the Crash Diet Experiment, where they put a team of volunteers on calorie restriction to 800Cal, under supervision. There were GPs, Emergency Physicians, Cardiologists, Endocrinologists, Diabetic Specialists and they all concurred that the previously held belief of >1-2kg weight loss in a week being unhealthy was no longer true. Currently reading 5:2 diet and fast 800 as well

I knew ALDI had shakes as well, so I did some digging and found it cheaper and highly rated compared to Optifast and other similar products

(It does have a higher percentage of sugar, but thus-far it has been effective)

So I decided to try calorie restriction to 800 Cal per day
4 shakes at 9am/1pm/5pm and 9pm (costing me $8 per day)
atleast 2 litres of water a day (mostly in the form of green tea/ herbal tea)
one multivitamin tablet a day ($8 for bottle of 200)

This has resulted in a weight loss of 13.5kg over 5 weeks, a BP drop from 180/100 on meds to 140/80 off meds (surprising my doctor!)

I will have to stay on calorie restriction for a total of 12 weeks following which I will probably switch to the 5:2 for maintenance

Anyone have an experience with VLCD/intermittent fasting?
Tips to share?

Health & Beauty Diet

Comments

  • brad1-8tsi on 28/06/2019 - 11:12
    +9

    I've done VLCD, 5/2, Pritican and other diets.

    While they get the weight off, they aren't sustainable as a lifestyle.

    A change of long term eating and exercise habits are the only thing that will maintain your weight loss over the long term. Pay particular attention to getting your 5 servings of vegetables a day, cutting back on red meat, increasing the intake of fatty fish and doing 8000+ steps a day.

    Good luck. It's an enduro, not a sprint

  • [Deactivated] on 28/06/2019 - 11:54
    +4

    If you can stick to it you will lose weight on VLCD (or pretty much any diet).
    But if you go back to your old ways you will put it back on. I've dropped 30 kgs but I only put 20 back so kinda good I guess.

  • chalks1971 on 28/06/2019 - 11:56

    Optifast has been my goto for weight loss over the years, an east way to shed 5-10 kgs in fairly quick fashion. Last year I did the same, but I found that it didnt work any longer. I joined the gym & after 12 months am down 10kgs & increased my muscle.

    This isnt one of those, VLCD are bad, hard work is the only option posts. If I could have stuck to having 1 month on optifast, 11 months doing what Id like, I would still be doing it.

    • Diji1 on 28/06/2019 - 16:20
      -2

      hard work is the only option

      As bad as diets are people have even less success with exercise because it's very unpleasant to exercise at the levels required to lose weight.

      As some people are saying the long term solution is to get off the processed garbage diet that the Government and Big Food recommends, because it's simply engineered to cause over consumption for profit, and start eating whole foods.

  • Heaps for Cheaps on 28/06/2019 - 11:59

    I have done VLCD and although they certainly do work, the hard part is always going to be maintaining the weight…

    The one thing with VLCD is that the weight comes off quickly and so motivation is kept a lot easier… I did however add some supplements like l-glutamine and other BCAA's to help keep lean muscle loss as low as possible.

  • TheBilly on 28/06/2019 - 12:31
    -1

    The best solution is to get your calorie deficit from high intensity excercise. For example if your body required 2000 to maintain weight. Then consume a healthy 2000 then excercise to burn 500. If your body requires 2000 and you deficit 500 this will change your metabloism and effectively reduce your threshold.

    • crashloaded on 29/06/2019 - 14:06

      Yep, and also, you will build more muscle mass which helps metabolism even more.

      Losing fat is easy by restricting calories but it's not sustainable. You need to build muscle as well or you will just put the fat back on if you stop calorie restriction.

  • orangetrain on 28/06/2019 - 12:52
    +1

    I stopped trying to eat everything I get served. Avoid any drink that's not pure water. It sucks but once weight drops to your preference, you can try eating/drinking more again and see how much you can eat/drink before weight balloons.

    Hunger doesn't mean starvation by the way.

    To avoid malnutrition; look out for empty calories (ie sugar) on ingredients.

    That said, I avoid these health drinks/foods because there's no regulations and none of the products seem to stick around after a couple years.

  • uncompressed on 28/06/2019 - 13:02

    I agree with most of the posters here. It's a quick stop gap to drop weight quickly but in the meantime, we should also build up healthy habits as you want to be drinking meal replacement shakes your whole lift.

  • mubd1234 on 28/06/2019 - 13:11

    I concur with most people here. Totally fine to do, but a lifestyle change must follow for the weight to stay off and for the health benefits to remain long-term.

    The problem with these VLCD diets is that people follow them for however many weeks, but long-term habits don't stick and they're back to eating their fair share of the Sizzler salad bar in no time.

    Also, it's advisable to consume a multivitamin or something while on a VLCD diet.

    By the way, Optifast is probably the most effective VLCD as it has less sugar than stuff like Optislim or the Aldi shakes (hence it kicks ketosis into action very quickly). I think they also have the correct amount of nutrients in them.

  • carlJack on 28/06/2019 - 13:12

    13.5 Kilos in 5 weeks is damn good. Be Aware that the faster you lose weight, faster you will gain weight. Count the calories, Concentrate on eating healthy nutritious meal. Read the nutrition labels. Drinking shakes for longtime may not be healthy for your guts where you need solid food and fibres. Good luck Op. You are in the right direction. The trick is in maintaining weight.

  • docians on 28/06/2019 - 13:31

    thank you for your replies guys
    like I have mentioned in my original post, I plan to continue on the VLCD for a total of 12 weeks, and then switch to 5:2, where I would be eating normal food (and hopefully not binging) for 5 days, and then down to 800 calories for the other two days of the week

    has anyone here tried the 5:2 diet or intermittent fasting long term?

    I find when I am on VLCD it is easy to stick to just the shakes
    so the plan will be eat normally 5 days
    VLCD 2 days; my two VLCD days should not be a struggle as I know normal food is only a day away
    and hopefully that will be sufficient in maintaining the weight loss
    I certainly do not want to go back on those BP meds

  • [Deactivated] on 28/06/2019 - 14:09
    +3

    I did VLCD, about 1200 calories, to try and drop my body fat to <8%. Not for health reasons but curiosity. I couldn't possibly go lower calorie as I would be in serious deficit.

    I found that on VLCD I plateaued after a couple of months. Initially, I got a few points of a percentage without any change to my exercise routine. After 6-7 weeks, my exercise routine got sloppier and I started losing weight and fat % stayed the same.

    After I got off the VLCD and back to proper training, my fat % went up higher than pre VLCD (about 2% higher) and didn't come down to the baseline for another few months.

    VLCD was an interesting experiment with disastrous results.
    1. It was difficult to maintain and this is coming from someone who can eat the same tasteless meal without rotation for months.
    2. It reduced my metabolism after only a few weeks.
    3. Everytime after I eat, I felt very lethargic, likely caused by an insulin spike.
    4. I lost muscle weight only.
    5. The weight that goes on post diet was worse than baseline.

    I did a 3000 calorie per day (meals no more than 3 hours apart) diet after that, with cheat day being >8000 calories (verging on forced feeding). It gave me more energy to do more intensive interval training. My resting HR was lower, fat % still in sub 10, increased muscle mass, and I was more fun at parties.

    Ps. Dad bod now. Not terrible but suboptimal.

    • ngengerous on 28/06/2019 - 14:21

      Seconding those results you had with fasting - especially the losing muscle part. Unless you're using your muscles (training, even low intensity helps), your body will eat away at them almost as much as the fat you might be trying to lose.

    • Gronk on 28/06/2019 - 16:24

      Yeah similar experience here, I've tried a bunch of different approaches to weight control and by far the best results were acheved on high calorie / high intensity routines, although I don't really do cheat days.

  • ngengerous on 28/06/2019 - 14:19

    I have only done intermittent fasting for a short period of time, but I water-fasted for 32 days last year. Both methods seemed to work pretty damn well for losing weight, but like commenters above have said, returning to a normal diet after a period of fasting/VLCD will jet you right back to where you left off.

    I did find the one major benefit after fasting was that I needed much less food to keep me full and happy, but after one or two days of big meals, I became used to eating a fairly large amount, and that then became my new norm. So if you have the ability to fast for a few days/weeks, it can help you eat less in the future. (Disclaimer: this is just my personal experience and isn't necessarily backed by science)

  • askme69 on 28/06/2019 - 15:45

    What was your Body Fat % when you started.

  • 23Marc23 on 28/06/2019 - 16:15
    +4

    Ive been a health, fitness, and wellness instructor 14 years, appeared on tv, in Women's Health & Fitness Magazine, Good Health and others. Based in Adelaide

    There's a lot of rubbish talk in this industry. The biggest one is probably supps. Supps are a billion dollar scam industry. The stuff that does work eg shakes and protein are just food. The only reason you should have this stuff is for convenience eg you work a hectic lifestyle, 4 kids, no time to cook etc

    The OP mentioned he was on 800 calories a day. Wow that is low. You are starving yourself and thats why you're losing weight. It's also why anyone on such low calories can't sustain it for years.

    I'm 6 foot and 82kgs. I really, really struggle and am hungry all the time on anything less than 1800 calories a day. Thats a big struggle for me even when i exercise.

    800 calories i wouldn't even recommend for a 5 foot, 40kg female. It's unhealthy to be eating that low calories.

    You can work out what you should be eating to maintain your weight easily enough now on the web or with an app. Eg for me to maintain my current weight at a healthy level its around 3200 calories for a 6 foot, 80kg, 35 year old guy.

    To lose 1kg of bodyfat- science, and medicine say you need a deficit of 7000 calories.

    All diets work, therefore. They just create different levels of deficits and therefore some work quicker than others. Obviously the bigger deficit the the more you lose quicker but it's harder, you'll eat less, have less energy and be more uncomfortable experience.

    What I've found in over 14 years of working in the industry is that most people fail because they think about it more than actually doing it. "what diet, is that diet better, shall i try keto, the soup diet, intermittent fasting, etc". As ive stated - all diets work if you stick to them long enough if they create a calorie deficit. Therefore choose the one that creates for you the least interruption to your daily life.

    When you make an easy question complex you are sabotaging yourself and setting yourself up for failure.

    Keep things as simple as you can. KISS - keep it safe, simple. I'll help you out. Guys eat 1800-2000 calories a day, girls you should eat 1200-1400. You can eat anything you like as long as its healthy and as long as its under your calorie limit. Train your entire body 3 or 4 times a week, go for walks as much as you can and you'll lose half a kg to 1kg a week.

  • Changskies on 28/06/2019 - 17:57

    Hey mate, my 2 cents - VLCD is good as a kicker (faster result) - but hard to sustain. I did 750 calories from Dec-April, May-June 1500. I mixed with constant exercise (12000 a day + Pull up / Lats) defs working. Make sure you check your liver health CONSTANTLY

    • docians on 29/06/2019 - 12:05

      Could I ask how much weight you lost from Dec to June?

  • subywagon on 28/06/2019 - 19:11

    Marc D has some excellent advice. The problem with most diets are that they are not sustainable. You might lose a heap of weight rapidly but you will eventually put it on again because you can't stick to strict unsatisfying meal plans. You'll eventually snap and binge and fall into a bad cycle again. You need to find healthy meals that you actually like and don't feel like you are missing out or punishing yourself with and then ensure you don't over eat. If you get your nutrition right you don't even need to exercise to see results, but you still should for your general well being.

    I follow a lot of Jeff Cavaliere's advice from Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ0QXCTqjUs

  • ihbh on 29/06/2019 - 12:19

    Very Low Calorie Diet

    My recommendation is to shift your focus from just a Very Low Calorie Diet to a High Nutrition Diet.

    That is, shift as much to a Whole Food Plant Based diet as possible (see Michael Greger and other doctors specializing in this field - Campbell, Esselstyn, etc.). All the unhealthy markers will drop off. When I eat I just focus on high nutrition and the plants are mostly low calorie so it takes care of the low calorie bit and am in the best shape of my life (even better than the year I was training in a sport for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week). This gradual diet shift occurred over 1 year - I didn't go cold turkey. Note you need to also incorporate daily movement and some form of strength training (e.g. I do body weight).

    I have also tried a bit of fasting, so far 2 days, but will build this up, based on the Fast Mimicking Diet to generate repair. See Valter Longo's book for more info.

  • virginiagrant on 06/07/2019 - 18:06

    I don't have own experience of VLCD/intermittent fasting, but about Intermittent vs continuous VLCD information, there may be interest of:https://docsbay.net/intermittent-vs-continuous-vlcd-therapy-in-obesity-treatment

  • ColonialBoy on 08/07/2019 - 21:52

    VLCDs have been around for 30+ years. Some people died from them at the start, because they used gelatin as the protein source and they were nutritionally deficient.

    I do a cheap one myself - 1 litre milk, lots of low calorie density veges, and a vitamin pill. Costs $2 per day.

    The real issue is how to sustain long term weight loss.

  • docians on 16/08/2019 - 13:09

    Just thought I would post an update
    I must start by stating that I mean no disrespect to anyone who has commented before

    At 12 weeks, I have lost 22kg, so another 8 kg since when I had first started
    my BP has remained normal and I have stayed off medication

    Luckily I have not had loose abdominal folds yet and I hope it stays that way

    As the 800 Cal per day has become a habit, it is now quite easy

    wrt energy levels, at the start a 30 min walk with the dog, would leave me puffed out esp walking uphill
    I now am able to walk briskly uphill, without losing my breath

    I now walk 45min, 7 days a week
    For five days a week, in addition I run on the treadmill at incline 11 (gradually aiming for 20)
    I am currently running 1.8 km on the treadmill (increasing 100 metres per week)

    Following that I also exercise with free weights, currently on 10kg dumbbells, and plan to slowly increase

    I'm 6 foot and 82kgs. I really, really struggle and am hungry all the time on anything less than 1800 calories a day. Thats a big struggle for me even when i exercise.

    With all due respect, everyone of us is different
    12 weeks ago on normal food, a 30 min walk for me was hard
    Now on 800Cal per day, I walk 45 min, follow it up with a run on the treadmill, incline 11, speed 6, 1.8km
    I follow this up with working with free weights
    I am certainly not lacking in energy, infact I seem to have more energy now than I did when I was eating normally

    as everyone of us is different, just because you seem to struggle on 1800 Cal per day, it does not mean that others wont do well on 800 Cal per day

    Ive been a health, fitness, and wellness instructor 14 years, appeared on tv, in Women's Health & Fitness Magazine, Good Health and others. Based in Adelaide

    again with all due respect, have you kept yourself updated with the latest studies?
    perhaps things have changed in the last 14 years?

    eg the Direct Study published in the Lancet in 2018
    this study recruited 298 people who were divided into two groups, and followed up for atleast one year
    the study took four years to complete
    group 1 800Cal per day + behavioural support
    group 2 conventional diet + exercise (control group)

    the results

    Those on the 800-calorie diet had lost an average of 10kg, compared to 1kg in the control group.
    • A quarter of those on the 800-calorie diet had lost more than 15kg. None of those in the control group managed this.
    • Nearly half of the 800-calorie group managed to bring their blood sugars back down to normal, despite coming off all their diabetes drugs

    DROPLET TRIAL
    Run by Susan Jebb, Professor of Diet and Aging, Oxford University

    278 obese adults were either assigned to a regimen where
    they got 800 calories a day in the form of meal replacement soups and shakes, or
    put on a standard slow and steady diet programme.

    results
    At the end of a year the group on the rapid weight loss diet had lost an average of 10.7kg, while those in the standard dieting group had lost 3kg

    Infact the good professor went on to say, and I quote

    Weight loss at four weeks, certainly at 12 weeks, is a really good predictor of what will happen later. In a previous study we showed that weight loss at 12 weeks predicted weight loss at two years

    this is directly opposite to what has been commented here

    The problem with most diets are that they are not sustainable. You might lose a heap of weight rapidly but you will eventually put it on again because you can't stick to strict unsatisfying meal plans

    Be Aware that the faster you lose weight, faster you will gain weight

    remember people were followed up for atleast 12 months

    or here is another comment from Professor Mike Lean, head of nutrition at Glasgow University

    ‘Losing weight slowly is torture. The people who do it rapidly see better results in the long run. Contrary to the belief of dieticians, people who lose weight more quickly,more emphatically, are more likely to keep it off in the long term.

    Closer to home, how about this study done by South Australia's Sansom Institute of Health Research and compared the 5:2 diet to normal dieting. This study was conducted over three years and the results were published in 2018

    The results
    The people who had been allocated to the 5:2 diet had lost over 12 months, and kept off, an average of 7.1kg. Which was 2.1kg more than the standard dieters.They also lost more fat and saw significant improvements in their blood sugar

    Guys eat 1800-2000 calories a day, girls you should eat 1200-1400. You can eat anything you like as long as its healthy and as long as its under your calorie limit. Train your entire body 3 or 4 times a week, go for walks as much as you can and you'll lose half a kg to 1kg a week.

    Lets say I did follow your advice and lose 0.5kg per week
    22 kg would take me almost a year
    and for the whole year my body would have to bear the brunt of a high blood pressure, and also my joints would have to deal with brunt of body weight
    My heart would have continued to struggle to pump effectively, and eventually I might have developed heart failure.
    By losing weight rapidly I have managed to reduce high BP, and reduce my diabetes
    There are many ways to skin a cat. Presently I will keep faith in the good professors and their recent studies in the last three years, and hopefully keep up the good work

    TL: DR version
    recent studies done in the last 3-4 years and published in the last 1- 2 years in respected journals have shown

    • Rapid weight loss is safe and effective in achieving long term weight loss
    • 5:2 diet is safe and effective in long term weight loss
    • the faster you lose weight, the longer you keep it off (provided ofcourse that you are sensible after losing that weight)
    • DKZ370 on 26/06/2020 - 11:44

      Just curious - any further updates since then?

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