I hope it is okay to post this here. On my MWL quest, I find myself frequenting sites of guest speakers to Dr. McDougall's program. Also, I hope I haven't infringed on any copyright laws. If I have, I will immediately delete this. But, this was quite helpful to me to read, it might be to you as well. I left Weight Watchers about a month ago. I just couldn't get with the program. Too crazy and unrealistic. You can only lose 1-2 lbs. a week and no more or you will have health problems. One reason I had to go. Then upon reading this below I felt much better. As of today I am keeping up to about a one pound a day weight loss because I am eating like the doc has suggested.
I hope this will help someone as it has helped me.
Question:
This is my first question to you, so forgive me if this question has already been asked. I have always been told, and read in many books, that a safe amount of weight loss would be 1-2 pounds a week. I know in your book you mentioned that many people lose a pound a day at first with Eat to Live. I am about 9 days into my 6 week trial and so far, I have lost about 8 pounds, so I am very happy about that. I hope it will continue because I have a lot to lose, and I know your main goal is to get people healthy (which is my goal in doing this too), so can you calm my fears about the weight loss being so fast?
Answer:
What is funny is that I just had a patient in my office this week that lost 50 pounds in the last two months and I am not exaggerating. She went from 377 to 324. The point is that you or I did not control the amount of weight she lost, her body did it on its own, just from eating healthy for the first time in her life, and with eating as much as she desired. Crash dieting has a bad rep, because people maintain a diet that is unhealthy and that they can’t sustain long-term and it has a dismal tract record for maintaining long-term weight loss. My approach is the opposite of a unbalanced crash diet, like a pink drink or semi-fast. For example, this individual lost lots of weight fast, but she lost the weight in the context of a healthy diet with all the nutrients she needs for superior health. She is educated so she knows healthy eating is a lifetime commitment. Would the advocates of slow weight loss recommend I tell this person to eat more candy bars and Ring Dings to slow it down? The bottom line is that when you eat in a healthy manner, your body does what is best. You cannot lose weight or heal too fast. You cannot save a person's life too quickly. We must remove life-threatening habits and eating patterns fully if we want to make sure someone does not die needlessly. How many of those compromised portion control diets like weight watchers have people drop dead of heart attacks or strokes continuing to eat the death-causing American diet, but just a little less of it. Let them remove their risks gradually, for me; I want to assure people they are eating in an ideal way to maximally protect themselves from a medical tragedy. By the way, look on the front of the home page click on articles and read the last article on “Why lose it fast.” In summary, I do not advocate fast or slow weight loss, rather I advocate eating in the healthiest manner possible. When you do that, your body will naturally move to a healthier weight, at the speed it chooses, not some predetermined rate set by someone’s opinion.
"I advocate eating in the healthiest manner possible. Your body will naturally move to a healthier weight, at the speed it chooses, not some predetermined rate set by someone’s opinion." Dr. Joel Fuhrman, MD
by Faith in DC » Tue Aug 07, 2007 1:10 pm 
