Physician Supervised Starvation Diet
Oh Lord! I thought VLCD (very low calorie diets) were bad enough. I just read this sad story on CNN about a young woman who died while on one.
I think it's atrocious for doctors to promote actual freaking starvation as a legit treatment for obesity. Even if it's effective, it's torturous. I understand there are times when a person's health would be improved by a quick, large weight loss and surgery's not an option for whatever reason, but why not do meal replacements a la Medifast, or a soup diet or something involving some sort of food?
I feel like this is the type of program that could easily turn a chronic dieter or a relatively healthy obese person into an incredibly disordered eater. I am sure ketosis kicks in and kills some of the hunger but we live in a world full of food billboards, radio ads, TV ads, restaurants, stores, and people eating! It's like asking someone not to breathe.
If my doc had suggested this to me, I'd have been out the door in a flash.
on 12/22/09 9:42 am
When I agreed to do this, I was so desperate to get the weight off, I would have agreed to run down the freeway totally naked if it would make me lose weight! Of course, I know better now, but I have done some pretty stupid things (in retrospect) that were medically supervised, like Rx amphetemines. Holy Cow!
