Reducing your daily caloric intake by several hundred calories per day can help you lose weight. However, sometimes even quicker weight loss is necessary. When excess body fat poses a health risk, such as heart disease or diabetes, it may be necessary to take a more drastic weight loss approach. In these cases, a doctor-supervised diet called a Very Low Calorie Diet, or VLCD, is the quickest way to lose weight fast.
Background
According to the Weight-Control Information Network, WIN, a division of the National Institutes of Health, a VLCD is a physician-supervised diet consisting of about 800 calories per day. It is designed to help obese individuals lose weight fast for health reasons. This diet consists primarily of prescribed meal replacement foods, liquids and some low-calorie whole foods such as fish and chicken.
Ideal Candidate
A VLCD is prescribed primarily to obese individuals. If your body mass index BMI is 30 or above, you would fall into this category. According to WIN, some doctors may also prescribe a VLCD for people with BMIs between 27 and 30, which would put them into the "at risk" category for becoming obese. If you're physically active every day, such as if you have a physical job, you may require more than 800 calories per day. Your doctor will prescribe an exact daily calorie goal.
Potential
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, suggests that the average person lose weight at a pace not exceeding 2 lbs. per week. However, a VLCD diet plan can help you lose weight at an average rate of 3 lbs. to 5 lbs. per week, according to WIN. It also states that over 12 weeks, the average weight loss on a VLCD plan comes out to about 44 lbs., total.
Risks
There are some health risks associated with VLCDs, which is the reason it must only be prescribed by a doctor or dietitian and monitored on a weekly basis. Some of the side effects include fatigue, diarrhea, nausea and possible gallstones. Rapid weight loss can lead to increased levels of cholesterol in the gall bladder, which is how gallstones are formed. All of these symptoms will either go away within a period of weeks or are treatable with medication.
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