Dr. Bernstein diet and weight loss clinics

moomies · January 17th, 2006, 04:40 AM

Has anyone heard of his diet clinics?
A couple of my hubby's coworkers have been going to Dr. Bernstein's and they've had some DRASTIC and I repeat DRASTIC weight loss. One of them that's completed the program had lost about 80lb a MONTH!!!
He looked all sickly though when I met him. From what I heard, you have to go in everyday to get a shot and are put on a very strict diet.
I don't know what's in the shots or what kind of diet ppl are put on but I don't think it is a healthy way to lose excessive weight. One thing my hubby says he noticed is though that his boss doesn't seem to look all saggy like Star Jones with flabby skin despite rapid weight loss.

Barbara · January 17th, 2006, 04:58 AM

80lb in a month is completely and utterly insane

Did he eat anything??? Does some exercise go with it?

moomies · January 17th, 2006, 05:19 AM

My hubby says he never sees them eat at work, like during break or at lunch. I don't know if any exercise is involved in the program. His boss told him that it costs about 2-3 grand and they gurantee weight loss. I think you can't just be midly overweight though...like if I lost 80lb a month I'll be skin and bones. According to my dh, one of his coworkers was as big as Doug Heffernen (from King of Queens).

Barbara · January 17th, 2006, 05:40 AM

I'm sure weight loss is guaranteed... but I wonder how much weight you put back on when you stop that particular diet? Coz unfortunately that's what the diet business is all about

misskris · January 17th, 2006, 01:35 PM

i have a friend that did this when she was in high school. it seemed like a great idea but apparently the diet portion is difficult to follow especially for someone who is young and lives an active life. the shots encourage weight loss because you are theoretically getting all your vitamines and minerals through said shot and thusly you should theoretically be able to consume only the minimum to stay alive. my friend is really not that overweight (although i didn't know her in high school). she gave up because the nurses were berating her and making her feel miserable.

missbazilb · January 20th, 2006, 02:27 PM

I know several people that did this - a co-worker, my boss's wife, and my dental hygienist. It costs at least $500/month, and you eat next to nothing. One half a chicken breast with some vegetables, tons of water, not much else. You have to get vitamin shots to make up for not eating. My co-worker lost A LOT of weight, too much, I thought. Then she said they told her she still needed to lost another 30 pounds! If she had lost the 30 pounds, she would have looked like Nicole Richie! I don't know what else they do there, but it's pretty much just an extremely calorie-reduced diet. My dental hygienist was pretty positive about it, except that she didn't like not being allowed to drink milk. Sounds extreme and not healthy, even if it is doctor-supervised. I'm sure they make you sign a waiver that absolves the doctor from any wrongdoing anyway.

smurfette · January 21st, 2006, 10:56 AM

My mother in law is on this diet. She is spending $580 a month to be on it.
It is very restrictive in terms of food choices. They tell you what you can and can't have. For example she is not allowed to have any fruit except for Jello Lite - WTF?? She eats about 700-800 calories a day. She has lost 60 pounds in 4.5 months. She looks good, but she misses a lot of food that she is not allowed to have. Now when when she gets to her goal weight, she has to go on the maintenance diet which starts off at 1200 calories a day and is still very expensive. All in all, I think it's not very healthy and it's a huge cash grab for Dr. Bernstein. I would like to know the statistics for keeping the weight off. I'm sure a lot of these people put the weight back on, when they go back to their regular lifestyle,

Smilla · January 29th, 2006, 08:16 AM

As far as I know, Bernstein's diet is a very restrictive low-carb regime.

limey · February 3rd, 2006, 10:18 PM

I've known 2 people on this diet. A friend recently and a co-worker about 15 years ago. I thought my co-worker was crazy for getting into it. She would go every day for a shot at $9/shot. On Fridays she would get 2 shots to get her through Saturday, and then practically starve herself on Sunday because she had missed one. She consumed between 6-700 calories a day, and she would lose about 1/4 - 1/2 lb. a day. But, if she ate anything not on her list of approved foods, she would gain 1-2 lbs. a day back. She even had to wear gloves when she prepared chicken because if the oils/grease from the chicken went into her pores, it would make her gain weight! I thought it was a total scam. She told me that someone at the clinic told her that the magic ingredient in the shot was sheep placenta which sped up her metabolism (not sure of the truth in that). She lost about 70 lbs., but as soon as she stopped, bam, she gained even more back.

UndercoverGator · February 4th, 2006, 01:15 PM

That type of weight loss is so hard on your system. You really shouldn't be trying to lose more than 2 pounds a week in order to make it easy enough on your body and increase your chances or regaining.

3 years ago I went on Meridia for four months. I lost a lot of weight, something like 60 lbs and after 3 years I've only regained 10 of those 60 pounds. But the odds of regaining after loss on Merida was 94% of all Meridia patients had regained the weight within a year! I personally think it's because it's so hard and stressful on your body and throws it into some sort of survival mode because your body believes you are being starved. Better for your all around health to stick to a balanced diet where you aim for slow gradual loss and you work out. Restrictive diets just set you up to fail anyway.

A*O · February 4th, 2006, 04:07 PM

If you have the willpower, you'd do just as well taking a broad-spectrum vitamin/mineral supplement every day and semi-starving yourself. But as everyone says, it's only a quick fix and when you return to 'normal' eating the weight will pile back on, especially if your idea of 'normal' eating is what made you obese in the first place.

There is an alternative rapid weightloss product here called Optifast. It may have a different brand name elsewhere. Basically you make a 'shake' of water and Optifast powder which has all the vitamins and nutrients you need, but contains only 150cals per serve, thats 450cals per day. Overweight people awaiting surgery are often told to go in this diet as it DOES promote very rapid weightloss. But it's not the answer if you are hoping for a long term solution.