Discussion Board

A few weeks ago, desperate to lose weight, I went and signed up at the Metabolic Research Center. The boast that they can help a person lose weight by addressing the hormone imbalance.
After signing up and starting the diet I discovered that it is a very high protein diet. Approximately 100 grams + each day. Min of 45 grams just through the liquid supplements. The diet does not allow potatoes, rice or pasta and only 40 calorie bread.
Initially I dropped 14 pounds very quickly and now nothing. On friday at the weight loss clinic they took my blood pressure at is was 149/89 I have never had high blood pressure before. I am constipated and have constant headaches. I feel depressed.
The funny thing is that I knew better. I could hear Dr. McDougall saying in my head that high protein diets are dangerous.. but I signed up anyways.
What should I do? I am 150 pounds overweight and have invested at least $500 in the last few weeks on supplements and vitamins. I am doing this with my daughter who also needs to drop 100 pounds. (I know my daughter will not McDougall with me.) I don't want to let her down.
Should I pretend to be on the diet and change to the McDougall Plan and continue to go to the clinic twice a week?
I feel so defeated and depressed.
Any advice?

Too bad. Sounds like they took advantage if you. If I was you I'd not go back not take the supplements and hit the McDougall trail with or without your relative. You would be so better off. Going back while on the McDougall plan may give them a false sense that their program works. They should be ashamed of themselves. Lesson learned for you. Say no to them and hit the right trail. Giddy up.

You knew it was wrong before and you knew it's wrong now. Follow that inner voice and say goodbye. You know where to go for health! More than they!

I say cut your loses and RUN as quickly as you can away from that clinic. You know perfectly well what works. Keep HEALTH NOT WEIGHT number one in your priorities. Your daughter needs a role model. You won't let her down by turning away from an unhealthy and dangerous diet. On the contrary, you'll teach her a valuable - if expensive - lesson. Being thin and sick is NOT preferrable to a slow, steady weight-loss that reverses disease and restores health. Any change that you make in your diet has to be permanent and sustainable - FOR LIFE. Not a temporary 'diet' that you intend to follow until some magical day that never comes. You say she won't McDougall. Be that as it may. You have to be responsible for your health, not hers. Don't send mixed signals. If she sees you vacilate, so will she. Be strong in your committment to permanent HEALTH and she may eventually come around. If not, you will at least be well enough to care for HER in your old age.
Kate

I agree with what everyone else is saying. For you to have high BP readings so quickly - imagine what the diet is doing to your body! Were they at all concerned about this at the diet center? How did they explain it?

I would stop right away if I were you. Avoid any further damage and go toward something you know is healthy.

High protein diets are touted as weight-loss only - no one actually treats disease with them, and this is why. They can cause serious problems. I think the hope with them is that the weight loss will kick in fast enough to offset the fear at what the diet might be doing.

Dr. McDougall talks in one lecture about how you can get certain stats to improve even with a person doing chemo (weight loss, lipid profile can improve, etc), but that doesn't mean they're actually any healthier!

Okay, you fell for it.....but no reason to keep going, knowing full well that this is harming you.
If I would be in your situation, I would stop this immediately and go the McDougall way.
You would be a better rolemodel for your daughter too, especially if you explain that you made a mistake (kids love to hear that from their parents ) and that you will do the right thing from now on......then let her decide if she wants to follow your way of eating.

When good parents think doing something for themselves
And their child they look at what logically is better for them
Doesnt matter if the child doesnt like it. Who cares what
Your daughter thinks now.
Maybe i misunderstood your message, correct me if Im wrong.
Are you thinking of pretending to be on high protein but going to
Keep your daughter on it without telling her it could KILL HER?
I dont get the logic. You love her she needs the truth.

Show your McDougall way of eating and be proud of it. Let her see
How successful she can be by the results you get on mcDougall.
Your daughter can gradually come to a starch based diet.
Very slowly. I can help you myself on a slow transition. Just pm
Me.
I would rather your daughter stay on current SAD than on low protein.

I'm sorry to hear you got caught up in this. It happens. Time to move on. We've all done it.

So, you know the right thing to do. If you can return the vitamins and supplements, do so. If they won't give you your money back, I'd leave them there.

Tell your daughter the current plan isn't working for you and you need make a change to something that will work, is less taxing on the body and healthier (aka McDougalling ) Hopefully she'll see you leading by example (losing weight, feeling better, more $$ in your pocket) and will want to hop on board.

I agree with everyone else -- cur your losses and get out.

But maybe here's a way you could turn it into a "win-win.". Why not challenge your daughter to see who can show the most progress (perhaps a combination of percent excess pounds lost and percent decrease in cholesterol or blood pressure)? You could go with her to the clinic for weigh-ins and any measurements, since you've already paid for it, but you follow the McDougall plan while she follows theirs.

At the least, you will both lose some weight. And if you show a lot more improvement than her, you may open up her eyes to this WOE so that she might try it herself some point in the future.

I appreciate the encouragement. I am not authorized to reply to private messages yet..

Adam, you meant high protein. "I would rather your daughter stay on current SAD than on low protein"

Radish, it is important for the study that they know you have dropped out if you have dropped out. Otherwise, they may attribute your improving health to their diet, encouraging anyone who reads about the study to go on their unhealthy diet. Adding another dropout point to their dropout statistics is another point for good sense!

Sounds like Medifast or Optifast to me. I have done Medifast as well as other high protein/low carb diets and the same thing happened to me each time. I lost some weight, then got severely constipated and my weight loss stopped. I also got high blood pressure. It is a dangerous game they are playing. So glad I finally quit playing that game and comitted to McDougalling.

I appreciate everyone's reply.
Through many tears I told my daughter who is 27, that my body can't tolerate the MRC diet. She really didn't say anything but I know she understands.
I had a very difficult time eating yesterday..I certainly didn't want any of the "forbidden" foods so I am giving my body time to readjust.

I have been a believer in McDougalling for 15 + years. I know the right thing to do, I have all his DVD, books, cookbooks and I have read the China Study 2 times.

I think it is time to put all this "belief" to work.. I am open for suggestions on how to start..

Again, thanks everybody for the encouragement and understanding..

I feel your pain. I first read about the McDougall plan 12 years ago, right in the middle of the Atkin's Diet revival. So I ignored McDougall in favor of high protein/low carb diets. I tried Atkins at least 3 times, despite the fact it made me sick. But the advertising was so slick and it was everywhere. I even got a catalog of Atkins diet food. Wow--in addition to the shakes and bars, it had donuts and cake mixes and pudding and frozen dinners. Then Akins died and all that stopped. His company was sold and went back to just making the bars and shakes. I went on to the Paleo Diet and it urged people to eat wild game, bison and even ostrich meat. Like I can buy that in my local supermarket. Besides like I said in my other post it all gummed up my insides like crazy. Finally I knew what I had to do. I got on this message board 6 yrs. ago and made a half-hearted attempt at McDougalling, but because of family pressures and other things, didn't really commit to it until last year. Still it has taken me almost another year to really get the hang of it and fully embrace it, but I am hanging in there still trying my best. Some people can just "do it" but others of us feel like we need to pacify our family members or we are just stuck in our ways and find it hard to change. Both of those apply to me. But honestly, we can't change others--we can only change ourselves. I've given up on trying to get other family members to go along with me. It's a road I must walk alone, but it's a road that leads to better health. Just re-read the book and re-watch the videos you have and tell yourself that no one else is going to do this for you. You CAN do it! Many of us who have tried and failed in the past but still returned to this way of eating are proof that it is possible. I encourage you to start again and don't give up!

"I have been a believer in McDougalling for 15 + years. I know the right thing to do, I have all his DVD, books, cookbooks and I have read the China Study 2 times.

I think it is time to put all this "belief" to work.. I am open for suggestions on how to start.."

Looks like you answered your own question. You have been aware of the tenets of McDougalling for 15+ years and you are asking how to start? It works like this....Throw out the garbage food. Replace with only health giving items, then eat. Don't overthink this. Three times a day you have the chance to start fresh. Pick a meal and don't look back.
f1jim