Get Brief Reports Obesity Wars: A Pilot Study Of Very Low Calorie Diets In Obese Patients In General

“A VLCD may allow a patient who is moderately to extremely obese to lose about 3 to 5 pounds per week, for an average total weight loss of 44 pounds over 12 weeks. Such a weight loss can rapidly improve obesity-related conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

To lose weight and maintain health, NYU Langone doctors recommend a diet that includes a variety of foods, such as vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy products, lean meats and other sources of protein, and whole grains. Dietitians recommend limiting or avoiding foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients.

A VLCD is only recommended for adults who have obesity and need to lose weight for health reasons. These diets are often used before weight-loss surgery. You should only use a VLCD with the help of your provider. Most experts do not recommend using a VLCD for more than 12 weeks.

There are many reasons why some people have trouble losing weight. Often, obesity results from inherited, physiological and environmental factors, combined with diet, physical activity and exercise choices. The good news is that even modest weight loss can improve or prevent the health problems associated with obesity.

Very-low-calorie diets (VLCDs) are defined as providing 800 kcals per day or fewer [1], in contrast to “low-calorie diets,” which include energy intake up to 1200 kcals, or “calorie-controlled diets,” which merely aim to restrict calories below the total daily energy expenditure of the individual, hence inducing a ...

Although the total number of calories can vary from diet to diet, eating fewer than 1200 calories is risky. When you limit your diet and eat fewer than 1200 calories per day, you usually do not get enough nutrients. You are not getting enough carbohydrates, proteins or fats.

You and your health care professional can decide how many calories you need to take in each day to lose weight. A typical amount is 1,200 to 1,500 calories for women and 1,500 to 1,800 for men.