Very Low Calorie Diets

 Short Term Weight Loss Is Possible With These Diets But Long Term Solution Is Preferable

 Obesity affects up to one-fourth of adult Americans, increasing risk of death from diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Traditional weight loss methods include low-calorie diets between 800 to 1,500 calories a day and regular exercise. An alternative method sometimes considered for bringing about significant short-term weight loss in moderately to severely obese people are very low-calorie diets (VLCD).

 VLCDs are commercially prepared formulas of 800 calories or less that replace all usual food intake. These diets are not the same as over-the-counter meal replacements, which are meant to be substituted for one or two meals a day. VLCDs, when used under proper medical supervision, effectively produce significant short-term weight loss in moderately to severely obese patients.

For most obese individuals, obesity is a long-term condition that requires a lifetime of attention even after a formal weight loss treatment ends. Although very low-calorie diets are efficient for short-term weight loss, these diets are no more effective than other dietary treatments in the long-term maintenance of reduced weight. Therefore, obese patients should be encouraged to commit to a long-term treatment program that includes permanent lifestyle changes of healthier eating, regular physical activity, and an improved outlook about food because without a long-term commitment, their body weights will drift back up the scale