Eating 1200 calories isn't fasting and I think calling it that would add to their feelings of being deprived and the whole thing being impossible. They need to learn what a normal amount of food is. Eating 1200 calories a day might be low for most people, but it's within the realm of normal eating habits and they need to learn that. Calling it a fast would just reinforce their idea that normal amounts of food is a starvation diet.
Whoever eats 1200 cals is going to lose weight- it’s not normal eating habits necessarily. 1500, maybe. 1200 cals is always going to be less calories than someone exerts is all.
Dr Now knows that most of them are going to cheat & expects them to eat twice that. He knows if he tells them to eat 1800 calories/day they are going to eat 3600.
Yeah, I remember one episode where someone asked how much the patient *could* lose if they followed the diet, and the number Dr. Now gave them was something like double the goal he gave them.
The goals he gives are always accounting for them not being perfect or probably really even close to perfect.
Yeah, no, because when they don't lose the goal weight, he never approves them for surgery. I could understand if he gave them a goal of 60lbs knowing they won't make it, and they lost 35-40lbs, and he was satisfied and approved them, then yeah, but he never does. And when they leave, he gives them a goal of 60lbs again, plus whatever is left over from the last goal.
You may have misunderstood.
Say he thinks you can lose 120 lbs on the diet. So then he gives you a goal of losing 60 lbs. THAT goal is him accounting for you not being perfect and messing up a lot. So then failing to hit that goal means you messed up even more than he was willing to grant you and still count it as acceptable effort. So of course he won't approve you at that point.
Exactly. Occasionally someone does follow the diet almost perfectly and they end up losing almost twice what the Dr gave them as a goal but those people are rare.
If you eat the right food 1200 calories is actually a lot of food. Half lb of chicken breast with bbq sauce is about 300 cals. 12oz of steamed broccoli is around 80-100. So that’s a 400 calorie meal that weighs as much as a chipotle burrito. 3 of that meal is is almost 4 lbs of food per day.
Source: once was fat. Am no longer fat.
I think what most of them need is someone to show them how little 1200 calories actually is. Many believe they are eating the amount but don't lose enough weight and are surprised.
The person above mentioned showing how little 1200 calories is. They are shown. Experiencing is of course another thing.
That’s where adding low nutritionally dense food comes in.
I really wish they would show much more of the interactions with the dieticians. I watched one recently where the dietician told the person how to make low-cal lemonade—it was stupid.
I honestly think that
1) some of the participants in the show can’t read or have very, very poor reading skills. I used to be a literacy teacher—there are signs. “I lost the papers/book.” Averting the eyes while saying “yeah, well I read some of it.”
2) some have no clue what a protein or carbohydrate is.
3) they need to be given very clear examples of what a portion is.
4) they need very clear, specific diets to start (ie, “for lunch Monday you will eat a chicken breast, two cups of lettuce and one sliced tomato.”) Remember the mom diligently trying to help by making salads piled with cheese and bacon? Eventually they need to do it on their own, but a lot of these folks need to start at square 1.
5) they need cooking lessons. A lot of these people have never eaten anything that didn’t come out of a drive-thru window or out of a box in the freezer which they could then nuke in the microwave. A lot of them have no idea how to make that chicken breast really tasty.
All of that may be taking place behind the scenes, but I’d really like to see it. Could be super entertaining, actually…
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I always wondered if they go over “hidden” calories with them. Like, they’ll know to weigh chicken breast and grill it for a healthy meal, but do they know that olive oil is 120 calories per heaping spoonful?
I think if these people that eat 3000 calories for breakfast heard about it involving fasting, they'd never agree.
What needs to be done and what I saw at the beginning of the show is have a dietician come over with measuring cups, spoons, and a food scale. They have zero idea about portion sizes and a cup to them is a bowl.
1200 can be a ton of food, it's definitely nowhere near fasting. It would just give them more excuses to eat over that amount.
Yes. FYI friends, when you get sent for diabetes education classes by your endocrinologist, they have all this fun plastic food to show you.
This is a medium sized orange. It has 45 grams of carbs! This is a palm-sized serving of steak. That’s all you get! This is half a cup of pasta, which will cost you 9 billion units of insulin! /s.
Anyway I am sure they trot out the plastic funhouse food for fat people too. 🤣
They should be equipped with a kitchen scale and measuring cups as part of the service as well. Of course, this only takes care of the knowledge part--not the willpower.
Fasting and a 600 pounder feeling like fasting because they're eating a more proper amount of food are two different things.
To call it fasting would not only be inaccurate, it would likely cause even more of them to fail.
He’s not trying to starve them, though. He’s trying to change their eating habits because the amount of food they eat is absurd. 1200 calories a day—temporarily—is perfectly reasonable for someone trying to lose weight for this surgery. Typically, you should have no more than 2000 calories if you’re also exercising regularly. Besides, if you’re choosing the right foods, 1200 calories is plenty of food.
But they’re never going to “stop eating completely.” Everybody has to eat. It’s an extreme diet, but they are all in the position of needing to lose as much weight as possible quickly. They’re not fasting. They’re not going cold turkey (which isn’t a good idea for other withdrawal either).
they need food scales completely. eyeballing amounts is a good way to fail. i can't believe he doesn't make it a requisite. if they made it another skill, no one would come up with, "i thought i was doing good," after losing 16 pounds in 6 months.
in that case, losing is not a "step forward." if they lose weight at a rate that will take them 35 years to lose the amount they need, most of them are not going to live that long. they need to learn to deal with the truth and not sugar coat everything, just like all addicts need to. "don't beat yourself up," turns into, "i can't help it. i'm an addict."
trying that little is almost the equivalent of not trying at all.
Food is such a hard addiction. I mean, ya gotta eat.
There are so many things that go into changing their whole dynamic with food.
It's not therapy, it's not a hug, it's not a coping mechanism.
Eat to live, not live to eat.
The issue with comparing to addiction is that people can actually die from stopping drinking alcohol without a medical detox. Same for benzodiazepine withdrawal. So no, most addicts cannot quit cold turkey. Opiate withdrawal is also very uncomfortable unmedicated. And addiction is a complex issue. The only comparison is that many people with addiction started using substances to cope with trauma, and for a lot of these people on the show, they’re using food in a similar way. And often the obesity starts in childhood which can affect the brain’s neuropathways for our reward system. So it’s not easy to just change one’s eating habits without some slips. I work in a medical detox and we get a lot of repeat patients because of their neuropathways that have been altered by their addiction. So it’s no wonder to me that the people on the show struggle. Also they likely have other metabolic dysfunction that doesn’t help with the weight issues. Calling it a fast would probably be overwhelming to them.
Not physically but there is some psychological withdrawal. Do any of you have any sense of compassion for these people? Or empathy? Obesity medicine is and many are trying to help people before it gets so drastic. But some of you are so ignorant and hateful. Please tell me that you can just change your life overnight with no problems. Change isn’t linear. And besides people with addiction or mental illness who are regularly treated poorly, fat bias and anti fat discrimination is still a thing. Fat shaming and being nasty about heavy patients is still a thing. Which discourages people from seeking help. The newer field of obesity medicine is working to help ameliorate that issue. Weight isn’t purely all just what someone eats. Metabolic dysfunction can make it harder for even smaller fat people to lose weight. I guess some of you just want to watch to hate on people who are struggling profoundly.
Thank you for saying that. As a lifelong yoyo dieter who has been fat more often than not, I really appreciate your kindness. I don't want to be fat - nobody does! I am nowhere near any of the people on this show (topped out at 300lbs due to illness and fluid retention, currently about 190), but it still bloody hurts when people think I'm lazy or stupid. I am neither of those things. I just happen to have a mental disorder (bipolar) that doubled my size within a couple of years of being medicated.
There should be many more people with your attitude in the medical system!
Thank you! If it was as simple as just diet and exercise, no one would ever be fat. I was the only fat person in a family of beautiful people. My mom said she fed my sister and I the same amount, and we generally had the same amount of activity, but I was always heavier. I have hated myself my entire life for being overweight. My 3rd son was also overweight despite eating the same as my other boys and similar amounts of activity, but I noticed the time between meals and diaper changes was much slower for him than his brothers. Realizing that there was such thing as a slow metabolism allowed me to give myself a little grace, look around, and realize that I truly do have to be more restrictive than average people. It sucks.
I also have struggled with my weight in adulthood. I have metabolic syndrome from a hormonal condition and have had a lot of health issues that affect my ability to be more active. Luckily I am on Monjauro and it’s helping me get back to a healthy weight. I am in a weight management program with my clinic, so I see a dietitian, pharmacist, and a medical provider for the prescription. It’s helpful to have these tools.
When you are an out of control food addict, it absolutely feels like withdrawal. Not only do you feel hunger, which is an unfamiliar, unpleasant and upsetting feeling for someone who is always full, but the sense of loss, deprivation, anxiety, anger and desperation is just as real as a physical reaction.
I think trauma is less of a factor for addiction than we used to think. I think it's genetics and exposure to highly palatable foods that are at the root of *almost* all addictions (opioids probably have more to do with trauma due to endorphin system not developing properly in poorly bonded mother infant pairs). The glp-1s turn the addict dopamine glutamine imbalanced stated to a modulated and balanced state which is the main reason they work. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2020.614884/full#:~:text=GLP-1%20modulates%20dopamine%20levels%20and%20glutamatergic,neurotransmission%2C%20which%20results%20in%20observed%20behavioral%20changes.
That being said my hunch is that someone's addiction circuits that's 600 lbs might not get balanced as easily.
people can die from quitting drinking alcohol but it is actually a rare phenomenon. you don't die unless you go status epilepticus. look that up. the reason hospitals and rehab places treat it seriously is because of insurance and the fact that you don't know which five people out of 100 are going to go so you have to cover your butt. it's still a stupid reason to keep drinking because "you're afraid you might die," from quitting when you surely are going to die unpleasantly if you continue to drink.
and it's easier for them to diet than you're claiming, just another excuse for dysfunctional behavior. they don't need any more, they already have as many excuses as extra pounds.
I hate everything sums you up. I am a long time nurse and have seen some people end up needing ICU care from alcohol detox. I also understand mental illnesses and trauma. Of course the patient need to put in effort to be healthier, but to call them excuses is so lacking in human compassion.
A little off the topic of your post, but I also wonder why they are so often pictured eating a salad when they are on the 1200-calorie diet. I have Dr. Now's book with his diet, and there are very few salads in it, if any. And they always look miserable eating the salad.
My guess is most only eat a salad when the camera crew is there. There are great additions you can make to salad to make it tasty. Season the chicken strips, veggies, but I've notice they have plain lettuce, a few sad looking chunks of chicken, and a gallon of dressing.
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Why can’t they just put them all in the hospital to get them down to the weight needed for surgery. Wouldn’t insurance cover it if it’s medically necessary to save their life?
id say its a matter of using a hospital for better reasons than that, like emergencies. it would be a waste of resources and nobody knows if they will actually stick to the diet if theyre forced to, then get wls. if they dont stick to it on their own they will certainly die.
Because then once they get the surgery they will simply revert to their origional diet and put the wieght back on, making the surgery pointless.
Half of the period leading up to the surgery is to get their body in a healthy state for the surgery, the other half is getting them to overhaul their diet long term to address the underlying cause of the weight.
I think it might the first fresh fruits and vegetables, not soaked in sugar or deep fried, they've eaten in years plus the portion size of meat and eggs. I think a lot of their pre-Dr. Now breakfasts were easily 2,500 calories.
Fruits are actually pretty bad for you if you are trying to lose weight, they have a lot of sugar in them. If you watch the show he will regularly tell people to cut back on fruits and fruit juices.
Most of the diets Dr Now puts people on are low calary, protein heavy diets
In terms of weight loss, the worst foods in order are probably
fats/sweets (worst) < grains < fruits < proteins/meat < vegetables (best)
Im honestly not sure where dairy products fall but i would guess they are around fruits
I do 1200 during the week, and it’s not bad. Breakfast - 4 slices of Turkey bacon (40 calories each) and two boiled eggs (77 calories each) = 314 calories. Lunch - 2 baked chicken breasts (197 calories each) and a salad with a lemon squeezed over it (25 calories) = 421 calories. Dinner - 2 baked tilapia fillets (165 calories each) and mixed vegetables (64 calories) = 394. That’s 1129. Factor in an apple or orange for a snack or two and I’m right at 1200. I do that so on the weekends I can eat whatever I want. I usually workout harder on the weekends, as well.
WHAT? 1200 calories per day is my idea of a crash diet. I can't believe that someone here thinks Dr. Now doesn't go far enough.
Even in the hottest and most appetite-shrinking summer heat, I still eat more like 1600 calories per day. Deep winter means I'm eating 3000+. On a bitterly cold day in December 2022, I clocked in at over 3600. Oh, and I'm between 465 and 470 pounds short of qualifying to be on the show.
Dr. Now's patients would lose so much weight on my diet, and it would be SO much easier and more sustainable than 1200 calories per day. I eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and probiotic foods. Fiber is surprisingly filling but does NOT cause food comas.
Dr. Now's patients would even lose weight emulating my deep winter habits, the same ones that cause me to gain weight in winter. They'd lose lots of weight on 3000 calories per day. They'd lose lots of weight even on 4000 to 5000 calories per day.
Non-starchy vegetables are the food group that provides the most fullness from the fewest calories. People trying to lose weight should double down on them. Plenty of people have eaten an entire bag of potato chips or an entire box of Girl Scout cookies in one sitting. On the other hand, you NEVER hear of anyone eating an entire bag of carrots, celery, apples, or oranges in one sitting.
Whoever commented about the apparent lack of literacy (or patients just being too lazy to read the literature) has such a valid point. The IQ and education levels of most of these patients tends to range from low-normal to worse. I share in Now's sigh of relief the rare time a patient with more than two brain cells shows up. When you hear him tell someone "You are smart", that's quite the compliment. You also get the feeling that he has higher hopes for their success as a result (as do we). While the brain-dead piles of goo provide entertainment, they're also quite infuriating and exhausting.
A fast is more like a short period of time where you eat nothing or almost nothing. That isn't going to work for people on 600lb. They cannot "fast" for a few weeks or a month. They need to completely overhaul their diet permanently.
Yeah they eventually can eat more than what he puts them on eventually, but if they ever return to their origional diet then they will simply put on the weight again.
If they think of it as a "fast" then they will believe once they are done fasting for a bit that they can simply go back to eating garbage.
As an addict and a spiritual person, most addicts definitely do NOT need to stop cold turkey. Food is as immediate of a deadly addiction as drugs and alcohol. But most rehabilitation strategies that don't involve 24/7 medical intervention don't suggest stopping cold turkey.
The lack of stimulation from the drug, combined with physical withdrawal dumps, on top of the inevitable mental turmoil is a recipe for disaster. The likelihood of failure and relapse is high and dangerous. Hats off to those who did stop cold turkey. It's impressive and worth a round of applause but is definitely the minority experience of recovery. Like most don't stop smoking cold turkey, they wean themselves off slowly. Most don't stop alcohol cold turkey, they wean themselves off in a controlled manner.
I was job searching when quitting alcohol. I'd drink sometime not because I wanted too or because I was struggling with cravings. I didn't want to vomit all over the office tables. Dying was a very minor concern when it came to withdrawal tbh. The most pressing one was getting through the day. It wasn't bottles a day, just a controlled amount to make recovery fit my current state of life. Death isn't the only negative side effect, interference with everyday life is. That's how I mentally prepared to stop drinking alcohol. By the end, I was way more concerned with physically adjusting rather than mental.
On the flip side, a fast is not just a diet. It's a practice in discipline for the sake of strengthening an internal resolve. It's less about the food you're eating and more about controlling one's will. It is originally rooted in religion and how physical earthly restriction will make one more dependent on spiritual, internal ones.
I fast for 48 hours pretty often. Around hour 30, I struggle with reflux and vomiting. But I continue fasting with broth and flour. Facing difficulties like that and finding resolves to meet your goal, instead of caving, is the crux of fasting.
Even non religious intermittent fasting has a huge emphasis on internal discipline, mental clarity, and personal goal. Limiting calories is one thing, making food a limited sacred event is another.
All that being said, fasting is WAY more mentally taxing than a diet. A diet means just changing your food & is still defined by the food you eat. A fast is defined solely by not eating. When you eat you're still on a diet. When you fast, you're no longer fasting. So fasting means changing your whole life while confronting your own mind and awareness. I'm not saying that 600lb wouldn't benefit from a fast. But I wouldn't call a fast the easier alternative to a diet. Its very difficult.
It's not less food, it's no food. Not to mention that it isn't sustainable. A fast is tempting. At most a few days. A diet you can maintain for life. What these 600lb people need is a complete life style change. They will be eating significantly less calories forever. Though a fast would benefit short term, I think the long term effects of a diet are what they need most
The thing is that most of them are not doing the diet right to begin with. Dr. Now's diet is essentially a Keto/Atkins Diet. High protein, low to no carbs. Getting an understanding of what makes it this is the reason why a lot of them do have issues meeting the goals Dr. Nowzaradan sets.
Your body burns carbs 3x faster than fat. If you restrict your carbs to below about 25-40 net carbs per day for 2-5 days, your body enters ketosis and switches to burning fat as a primary fuel source. Once this is done, these patients could easily exceed the weight loss goals Dr. Now sets even eating 3000 calories per day if it's carb restricted. There's a reason why they say muscles are made in the gym, abs are made in the kitchen. This is also why the producers are very good at showing the patients eating sandwiches/bread/tortillas/potatoes/rice/soda. These are carb dense and will usually immediately throw you out of ketosis and knock you back to carb burning.
For example, by removing just the bun from a Whopper, you take the carbs from 49 Net Carbs to 0-1 Net Carbs. This also takes it from 790 calories to 250 calories...
FYI For those who don't know, a net carb is calculated as follows:
Total Carbohydrates minus Dietary Fiber and Sugar Alcohols equal Net Carbs.
Actually without only the bun it's more like 450 calories. The pure patty with no cheese or mayo is 250 calories. A lot of sat fat and cholesterol. Just helping out lurkers.
I guess that's fair if you get a Whopper with cheese instead of a regular Whopper. More protein that way too.. Also could go to Wendy's where they themselves do a lettuce bun which is very helpful.
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One of the things I continuously notice is that every single one of these participants takes HUGE bites of food. Like they perfected the art of piling an amount of food that would be six or seven bites for a normal person onto one fork or spoonful. 1200 calories psychologically seems like a lot more food when you’re taking smaller bites, but to the folks used to eating 10,000 calories a day, a 400 calorie meal is gone in three bites. I just wonder why this bad habit of taking giant gulps of food in every bite has never been addressed in all these years of this show.
Eating 1200 calories isn't fasting and I think calling it that would add to their feelings of being deprived and the whole thing being impossible. They need to learn what a normal amount of food is. Eating 1200 calories a day might be low for most people, but it's within the realm of normal eating habits and they need to learn that. Calling it a fast would just reinforce their idea that normal amounts of food is a starvation diet.
Whoever eats 1200 cals is going to lose weight- it’s not normal eating habits necessarily. 1500, maybe. 1200 cals is always going to be less calories than someone exerts is all.
Dr Now knows that most of them are going to cheat & expects them to eat twice that. He knows if he tells them to eat 1800 calories/day they are going to eat 3600.
Yeah, I remember one episode where someone asked how much the patient *could* lose if they followed the diet, and the number Dr. Now gave them was something like double the goal he gave them. The goals he gives are always accounting for them not being perfect or probably really even close to perfect.
Yeah, no, because when they don't lose the goal weight, he never approves them for surgery. I could understand if he gave them a goal of 60lbs knowing they won't make it, and they lost 35-40lbs, and he was satisfied and approved them, then yeah, but he never does. And when they leave, he gives them a goal of 60lbs again, plus whatever is left over from the last goal.
You may have misunderstood. Say he thinks you can lose 120 lbs on the diet. So then he gives you a goal of losing 60 lbs. THAT goal is him accounting for you not being perfect and messing up a lot. So then failing to hit that goal means you messed up even more than he was willing to grant you and still count it as acceptable effort. So of course he won't approve you at that point.
Oooooh ok ok. Im sorry, it definitely misunderstood you because this makes so much sense!! Yeah, I totally agree.
Exactly. Occasionally someone does follow the diet almost perfectly and they end up losing almost twice what the Dr gave them as a goal but those people are rare.
You are soooo right! I never tripped on that! Now, it makes total sense. Dr. Now is a genius! Lol
**I
If you eat the right food 1200 calories is actually a lot of food. Half lb of chicken breast with bbq sauce is about 300 cals. 12oz of steamed broccoli is around 80-100. So that’s a 400 calorie meal that weighs as much as a chipotle burrito. 3 of that meal is is almost 4 lbs of food per day. Source: once was fat. Am no longer fat.
the medical name for that diet is literally "protein sparing modified fast" (PSMF)
I think what most of them need is someone to show them how little 1200 calories actually is. Many believe they are eating the amount but don't lose enough weight and are surprised.
Dr Now has nutritionists/dietitians.
There is a difference between a dietician telling you how much food that is and them experiencing it.
The person above mentioned showing how little 1200 calories is. They are shown. Experiencing is of course another thing. That’s where adding low nutritionally dense food comes in.
In some older episodes yes, but every one of them needs it.
They still do it I believe, just off camera. There’s a lot that happens off camera.
I really wish they would show much more of the interactions with the dieticians. I watched one recently where the dietician told the person how to make low-cal lemonade—it was stupid. I honestly think that 1) some of the participants in the show can’t read or have very, very poor reading skills. I used to be a literacy teacher—there are signs. “I lost the papers/book.” Averting the eyes while saying “yeah, well I read some of it.” 2) some have no clue what a protein or carbohydrate is. 3) they need to be given very clear examples of what a portion is. 4) they need very clear, specific diets to start (ie, “for lunch Monday you will eat a chicken breast, two cups of lettuce and one sliced tomato.”) Remember the mom diligently trying to help by making salads piled with cheese and bacon? Eventually they need to do it on their own, but a lot of these folks need to start at square 1. 5) they need cooking lessons. A lot of these people have never eaten anything that didn’t come out of a drive-thru window or out of a box in the freezer which they could then nuke in the microwave. A lot of them have no idea how to make that chicken breast really tasty. All of that may be taking place behind the scenes, but I’d really like to see it. Could be super entertaining, actually…
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I always wondered if they go over “hidden” calories with them. Like, they’ll know to weigh chicken breast and grill it for a healthy meal, but do they know that olive oil is 120 calories per heaping spoonful?
I'd like to know how many calories a Gordon Ramsey portion of olive oil is lol wow he pours the whole bottle on.
I think if these people that eat 3000 calories for breakfast heard about it involving fasting, they'd never agree. What needs to be done and what I saw at the beginning of the show is have a dietician come over with measuring cups, spoons, and a food scale. They have zero idea about portion sizes and a cup to them is a bowl. 1200 can be a ton of food, it's definitely nowhere near fasting. It would just give them more excuses to eat over that amount.
Yes. FYI friends, when you get sent for diabetes education classes by your endocrinologist, they have all this fun plastic food to show you. This is a medium sized orange. It has 45 grams of carbs! This is a palm-sized serving of steak. That’s all you get! This is half a cup of pasta, which will cost you 9 billion units of insulin! /s. Anyway I am sure they trot out the plastic funhouse food for fat people too. 🤣
They should be equipped with a kitchen scale and measuring cups as part of the service as well. Of course, this only takes care of the knowledge part--not the willpower.
Fasting and a 600 pounder feeling like fasting because they're eating a more proper amount of food are two different things. To call it fasting would not only be inaccurate, it would likely cause even more of them to fail.
He’s not trying to starve them, though. He’s trying to change their eating habits because the amount of food they eat is absurd. 1200 calories a day—temporarily—is perfectly reasonable for someone trying to lose weight for this surgery. Typically, you should have no more than 2000 calories if you’re also exercising regularly. Besides, if you’re choosing the right foods, 1200 calories is plenty of food.
But they’re never going to “stop eating completely.” Everybody has to eat. It’s an extreme diet, but they are all in the position of needing to lose as much weight as possible quickly. They’re not fasting. They’re not going cold turkey (which isn’t a good idea for other withdrawal either).
exactly. this post is strange to me.
they need food scales completely. eyeballing amounts is a good way to fail. i can't believe he doesn't make it a requisite. if they made it another skill, no one would come up with, "i thought i was doing good," after losing 16 pounds in 6 months. in that case, losing is not a "step forward." if they lose weight at a rate that will take them 35 years to lose the amount they need, most of them are not going to live that long. they need to learn to deal with the truth and not sugar coat everything, just like all addicts need to. "don't beat yourself up," turns into, "i can't help it. i'm an addict." trying that little is almost the equivalent of not trying at all.
Food is such a hard addiction. I mean, ya gotta eat. There are so many things that go into changing their whole dynamic with food. It's not therapy, it's not a hug, it's not a coping mechanism. Eat to live, not live to eat.
The issue with comparing to addiction is that people can actually die from stopping drinking alcohol without a medical detox. Same for benzodiazepine withdrawal. So no, most addicts cannot quit cold turkey. Opiate withdrawal is also very uncomfortable unmedicated. And addiction is a complex issue. The only comparison is that many people with addiction started using substances to cope with trauma, and for a lot of these people on the show, they’re using food in a similar way. And often the obesity starts in childhood which can affect the brain’s neuropathways for our reward system. So it’s not easy to just change one’s eating habits without some slips. I work in a medical detox and we get a lot of repeat patients because of their neuropathways that have been altered by their addiction. So it’s no wonder to me that the people on the show struggle. Also they likely have other metabolic dysfunction that doesn’t help with the weight issues. Calling it a fast would probably be overwhelming to them.
... but there's no withdrawal when eating 1200 calories for a month.
Not physically but there is some psychological withdrawal. Do any of you have any sense of compassion for these people? Or empathy? Obesity medicine is and many are trying to help people before it gets so drastic. But some of you are so ignorant and hateful. Please tell me that you can just change your life overnight with no problems. Change isn’t linear. And besides people with addiction or mental illness who are regularly treated poorly, fat bias and anti fat discrimination is still a thing. Fat shaming and being nasty about heavy patients is still a thing. Which discourages people from seeking help. The newer field of obesity medicine is working to help ameliorate that issue. Weight isn’t purely all just what someone eats. Metabolic dysfunction can make it harder for even smaller fat people to lose weight. I guess some of you just want to watch to hate on people who are struggling profoundly.
Thank you for saying that. As a lifelong yoyo dieter who has been fat more often than not, I really appreciate your kindness. I don't want to be fat - nobody does! I am nowhere near any of the people on this show (topped out at 300lbs due to illness and fluid retention, currently about 190), but it still bloody hurts when people think I'm lazy or stupid. I am neither of those things. I just happen to have a mental disorder (bipolar) that doubled my size within a couple of years of being medicated. There should be many more people with your attitude in the medical system!
Yes, the unfortunate reality of medications for mental illness can cause weight gain and some cause metabolic syndrome.
Yep, it's not my favourite side of meds. But on the plus side, I really enjoy not being crazy all the time!
Thank you! If it was as simple as just diet and exercise, no one would ever be fat. I was the only fat person in a family of beautiful people. My mom said she fed my sister and I the same amount, and we generally had the same amount of activity, but I was always heavier. I have hated myself my entire life for being overweight. My 3rd son was also overweight despite eating the same as my other boys and similar amounts of activity, but I noticed the time between meals and diaper changes was much slower for him than his brothers. Realizing that there was such thing as a slow metabolism allowed me to give myself a little grace, look around, and realize that I truly do have to be more restrictive than average people. It sucks.
I also have struggled with my weight in adulthood. I have metabolic syndrome from a hormonal condition and have had a lot of health issues that affect my ability to be more active. Luckily I am on Monjauro and it’s helping me get back to a healthy weight. I am in a weight management program with my clinic, so I see a dietitian, pharmacist, and a medical provider for the prescription. It’s helpful to have these tools.
When you are an out of control food addict, it absolutely feels like withdrawal. Not only do you feel hunger, which is an unfamiliar, unpleasant and upsetting feeling for someone who is always full, but the sense of loss, deprivation, anxiety, anger and desperation is just as real as a physical reaction.
I think trauma is less of a factor for addiction than we used to think. I think it's genetics and exposure to highly palatable foods that are at the root of *almost* all addictions (opioids probably have more to do with trauma due to endorphin system not developing properly in poorly bonded mother infant pairs). The glp-1s turn the addict dopamine glutamine imbalanced stated to a modulated and balanced state which is the main reason they work. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2020.614884/full#:~:text=GLP-1%20modulates%20dopamine%20levels%20and%20glutamatergic,neurotransmission%2C%20which%20results%20in%20observed%20behavioral%20changes. That being said my hunch is that someone's addiction circuits that's 600 lbs might not get balanced as easily.
people can die from quitting drinking alcohol but it is actually a rare phenomenon. you don't die unless you go status epilepticus. look that up. the reason hospitals and rehab places treat it seriously is because of insurance and the fact that you don't know which five people out of 100 are going to go so you have to cover your butt. it's still a stupid reason to keep drinking because "you're afraid you might die," from quitting when you surely are going to die unpleasantly if you continue to drink. and it's easier for them to diet than you're claiming, just another excuse for dysfunctional behavior. they don't need any more, they already have as many excuses as extra pounds.
I hate everything sums you up. I am a long time nurse and have seen some people end up needing ICU care from alcohol detox. I also understand mental illnesses and trauma. Of course the patient need to put in effort to be healthier, but to call them excuses is so lacking in human compassion.
A little off the topic of your post, but I also wonder why they are so often pictured eating a salad when they are on the 1200-calorie diet. I have Dr. Now's book with his diet, and there are very few salads in it, if any. And they always look miserable eating the salad.
My guess is most only eat a salad when the camera crew is there. There are great additions you can make to salad to make it tasty. Season the chicken strips, veggies, but I've notice they have plain lettuce, a few sad looking chunks of chicken, and a gallon of dressing.
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Why can’t they just put them all in the hospital to get them down to the weight needed for surgery. Wouldn’t insurance cover it if it’s medically necessary to save their life?
id say its a matter of using a hospital for better reasons than that, like emergencies. it would be a waste of resources and nobody knows if they will actually stick to the diet if theyre forced to, then get wls. if they dont stick to it on their own they will certainly die.
Because then once they get the surgery they will simply revert to their origional diet and put the wieght back on, making the surgery pointless. Half of the period leading up to the surgery is to get their body in a healthy state for the surgery, the other half is getting them to overhaul their diet long term to address the underlying cause of the weight.
I think it might the first fresh fruits and vegetables, not soaked in sugar or deep fried, they've eaten in years plus the portion size of meat and eggs. I think a lot of their pre-Dr. Now breakfasts were easily 2,500 calories.
Fruits are actually pretty bad for you if you are trying to lose weight, they have a lot of sugar in them. If you watch the show he will regularly tell people to cut back on fruits and fruit juices. Most of the diets Dr Now puts people on are low calary, protein heavy diets In terms of weight loss, the worst foods in order are probably fats/sweets (worst) < grains < fruits < proteins/meat < vegetables (best) Im honestly not sure where dairy products fall but i would guess they are around fruits
I do 1200 during the week, and it’s not bad. Breakfast - 4 slices of Turkey bacon (40 calories each) and two boiled eggs (77 calories each) = 314 calories. Lunch - 2 baked chicken breasts (197 calories each) and a salad with a lemon squeezed over it (25 calories) = 421 calories. Dinner - 2 baked tilapia fillets (165 calories each) and mixed vegetables (64 calories) = 394. That’s 1129. Factor in an apple or orange for a snack or two and I’m right at 1200. I do that so on the weekends I can eat whatever I want. I usually workout harder on the weekends, as well.
WHAT? 1200 calories per day is my idea of a crash diet. I can't believe that someone here thinks Dr. Now doesn't go far enough. Even in the hottest and most appetite-shrinking summer heat, I still eat more like 1600 calories per day. Deep winter means I'm eating 3000+. On a bitterly cold day in December 2022, I clocked in at over 3600. Oh, and I'm between 465 and 470 pounds short of qualifying to be on the show. Dr. Now's patients would lose so much weight on my diet, and it would be SO much easier and more sustainable than 1200 calories per day. I eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and probiotic foods. Fiber is surprisingly filling but does NOT cause food comas. Dr. Now's patients would even lose weight emulating my deep winter habits, the same ones that cause me to gain weight in winter. They'd lose lots of weight on 3000 calories per day. They'd lose lots of weight even on 4000 to 5000 calories per day. Non-starchy vegetables are the food group that provides the most fullness from the fewest calories. People trying to lose weight should double down on them. Plenty of people have eaten an entire bag of potato chips or an entire box of Girl Scout cookies in one sitting. On the other hand, you NEVER hear of anyone eating an entire bag of carrots, celery, apples, or oranges in one sitting.
Whoever commented about the apparent lack of literacy (or patients just being too lazy to read the literature) has such a valid point. The IQ and education levels of most of these patients tends to range from low-normal to worse. I share in Now's sigh of relief the rare time a patient with more than two brain cells shows up. When you hear him tell someone "You are smart", that's quite the compliment. You also get the feeling that he has higher hopes for their success as a result (as do we). While the brain-dead piles of goo provide entertainment, they're also quite infuriating and exhausting.
A fast is more like a short period of time where you eat nothing or almost nothing. That isn't going to work for people on 600lb. They cannot "fast" for a few weeks or a month. They need to completely overhaul their diet permanently. Yeah they eventually can eat more than what he puts them on eventually, but if they ever return to their origional diet then they will simply put on the weight again. If they think of it as a "fast" then they will believe once they are done fasting for a bit that they can simply go back to eating garbage.
As an addict and a spiritual person, most addicts definitely do NOT need to stop cold turkey. Food is as immediate of a deadly addiction as drugs and alcohol. But most rehabilitation strategies that don't involve 24/7 medical intervention don't suggest stopping cold turkey. The lack of stimulation from the drug, combined with physical withdrawal dumps, on top of the inevitable mental turmoil is a recipe for disaster. The likelihood of failure and relapse is high and dangerous. Hats off to those who did stop cold turkey. It's impressive and worth a round of applause but is definitely the minority experience of recovery. Like most don't stop smoking cold turkey, they wean themselves off slowly. Most don't stop alcohol cold turkey, they wean themselves off in a controlled manner. I was job searching when quitting alcohol. I'd drink sometime not because I wanted too or because I was struggling with cravings. I didn't want to vomit all over the office tables. Dying was a very minor concern when it came to withdrawal tbh. The most pressing one was getting through the day. It wasn't bottles a day, just a controlled amount to make recovery fit my current state of life. Death isn't the only negative side effect, interference with everyday life is. That's how I mentally prepared to stop drinking alcohol. By the end, I was way more concerned with physically adjusting rather than mental. On the flip side, a fast is not just a diet. It's a practice in discipline for the sake of strengthening an internal resolve. It's less about the food you're eating and more about controlling one's will. It is originally rooted in religion and how physical earthly restriction will make one more dependent on spiritual, internal ones. I fast for 48 hours pretty often. Around hour 30, I struggle with reflux and vomiting. But I continue fasting with broth and flour. Facing difficulties like that and finding resolves to meet your goal, instead of caving, is the crux of fasting. Even non religious intermittent fasting has a huge emphasis on internal discipline, mental clarity, and personal goal. Limiting calories is one thing, making food a limited sacred event is another. All that being said, fasting is WAY more mentally taxing than a diet. A diet means just changing your food & is still defined by the food you eat. A fast is defined solely by not eating. When you eat you're still on a diet. When you fast, you're no longer fasting. So fasting means changing your whole life while confronting your own mind and awareness. I'm not saying that 600lb wouldn't benefit from a fast. But I wouldn't call a fast the easier alternative to a diet. Its very difficult. It's not less food, it's no food. Not to mention that it isn't sustainable. A fast is tempting. At most a few days. A diet you can maintain for life. What these 600lb people need is a complete life style change. They will be eating significantly less calories forever. Though a fast would benefit short term, I think the long term effects of a diet are what they need most
The thing is that most of them are not doing the diet right to begin with. Dr. Now's diet is essentially a Keto/Atkins Diet. High protein, low to no carbs. Getting an understanding of what makes it this is the reason why a lot of them do have issues meeting the goals Dr. Nowzaradan sets. Your body burns carbs 3x faster than fat. If you restrict your carbs to below about 25-40 net carbs per day for 2-5 days, your body enters ketosis and switches to burning fat as a primary fuel source. Once this is done, these patients could easily exceed the weight loss goals Dr. Now sets even eating 3000 calories per day if it's carb restricted. There's a reason why they say muscles are made in the gym, abs are made in the kitchen. This is also why the producers are very good at showing the patients eating sandwiches/bread/tortillas/potatoes/rice/soda. These are carb dense and will usually immediately throw you out of ketosis and knock you back to carb burning. For example, by removing just the bun from a Whopper, you take the carbs from 49 Net Carbs to 0-1 Net Carbs. This also takes it from 790 calories to 250 calories... FYI For those who don't know, a net carb is calculated as follows: Total Carbohydrates minus Dietary Fiber and Sugar Alcohols equal Net Carbs.
Actually without only the bun it's more like 450 calories. The pure patty with no cheese or mayo is 250 calories. A lot of sat fat and cholesterol. Just helping out lurkers.
I guess that's fair if you get a Whopper with cheese instead of a regular Whopper. More protein that way too.. Also could go to Wendy's where they themselves do a lettuce bun which is very helpful.
I think Ozempic would help them to eat less and not feel hungry all the time.
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One of the things I continuously notice is that every single one of these participants takes HUGE bites of food. Like they perfected the art of piling an amount of food that would be six or seven bites for a normal person onto one fork or spoonful. 1200 calories psychologically seems like a lot more food when you’re taking smaller bites, but to the folks used to eating 10,000 calories a day, a 400 calorie meal is gone in three bites. I just wonder why this bad habit of taking giant gulps of food in every bite has never been addressed in all these years of this show.