You lose weight after a gastric bypass surgery because you’re restricted to a very low calorie diet (VLCD). Does that mean Can a VLCD be used as an alternative to surgery?
After gastric bypass, you can only eat tiny portions because your stomach is much smaller. Some high-calorie foods high in sugar and fat cannot be eaten because they cause nausea and vomiting, and part of the digestive tract is bypassed, which reduces the absorption of nutrients and calories. The gastric bypass diet is essentially a VLCD, and the surgery itself reduces absorption of nutrients even further.
If you’re looking for a safer alternative to gastric bypass, you may be tempted to consider a doctor-supervised VLCD, without the surgery. VLCDs have been shown to result in weight loss of up to 15 to 20 percent of the patient’s initial weight in three to six months — but there’s a downside. Almost everyone regains the weight – and more – after the diet is over. The reason for the weight gain is biological – it has nothing to do with your will-power. Gastric bypass works because the surgery will not allow you to fall off the VLCD, as almost everyone does when they try the diet on their own.
Risks of VLCD
Patients on a very low calorie diet may experience fatigue, constipation, nausea or diarrhea. These symptoms are usually temporary. Depression and mood swings may take much longer to resolve, even after the diet is over.
The ultra-fast weight loss can also trigger one of the major complications associated with gastric bypass surgery – gallstones or gallbladder infection. Medication is available to reduce this risk, but it is important to become aware of the symptoms of gallstones and seek immediate treatment if the symptoms appear.
Because a VLCD has so few calories and the risks are sometimes life-threatening, doctors often require hospitalization or a stay in a treatment center so your physician can monitor your progress and health. One should never attempt a VLCD without medical supervision. Unfortunately, some fad diets fall into the low-calorie level of a VLCD but they don’t include the nutritional supplements or medical advice, which can make them dangerous for anyone who is able to stay on one of them for more than a few days.
What is a VLCD, exactly?
A doctor-monitored VLCD usually consists of liquid shakes or bars that have been specially formulated to include all the vitamins and minerals the patient needs. Using the pre-made shakes and bars makes it easy to regulate the number of calories. You cannot find these shakes at your local supermarket because they are specifically made to completely replace all the nutrients usually eaten with meals.
A new five-year study financed by a large BlueCross BlueShield insurance plan is designed to find out if a VLCD, with or without weight loss medication, is as effective in treating obesity as the more expensive and dangerous weight loss surgeries. The investigators hope that those who stay on the very-low-calorie diet and receive medication plus behavioral counseling will achieve the best results, but the results of the study are not yet in.
Insurance policies and VLCD
At this time, many group insurance policies do not cover any treatment associated with obesity, but the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure is being added as a benefit to some plans. Policies sometimes cover gastric bypass but will not cover any kind of diet, including a doctor-monitored VLCD, or any weight loss medication or counseling.
Obesity treatment was scourged from most policies after the diet pill scams of the 80’s and 90’s, but some insurance companies are discovering that the costs of obesity are extremely high. If weight loss treatment, either surgery or doctor-monitored VLCD, can reduce the incidence of diabetes and heart disease that accompany obesity, the reduction in these chronic illnesses would more than pay for the additional costs of covering weight loss treatment. If the BlueCross BlueShield study proves that a VLCD results in long-term weight loss, this treatment may be added as a benefit to some policies.
VLCD results
A VLCD diet contains around 800 calories a day and the typical patient can lose up to 44 pounds in three months. In past studies it has been found that most obese patients who reduce their weight through a doctor-supervised diet will regain much of the lost weight unless they receive ongoing behavioral therapy and nutritional counseling. The failure rate is around 95% – a somewhat discouraging statistic.
Also read this article to read more about the research about complications and dangers of VLCD.
, about her personal experiences with sugar addiction.
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Good point. You have to treat the “cause”as well.