Does My Program Work? A Look at the Evidence

Last June I began to focus on healthy, sustainable weight loss as a way to combat diabetes, heart disease and other ills associated with high-carb diets and sedentary living.  I had lost about 15 pounds following the Ideal Proteins plan offered by a local MD.  I think Ideal is great for short-term weight and fat loss as it makes eating low-carb and low-cal easy.  Long-term gets a lot trickier as most of those who start with Ideal become dependent on their prepared meals and can’t bridge over to real food.

Having lost the weight and about 5% of my body fat I consulted with colleagues to see what was working in their practices.  I incorporated many of these ideas and much of the wisdom in The Primal Blueprint to offer a program which I believed would work for most people.

My program was and is based on these principles:

 

  • permanent lifestyle change, not dieting
  • food has to be satisfying and delicious
  • no one will do anything perfectly; you have to be able to mess up and keep going
  • evidence speaks louder than opinion — science has to back it up
  • I need to know when this doesn’t fit the patient — one size does not fit all
  • daily accountability is essential to long-term success
  • you need to know your true metabolic rate to intelligently determine how much you can eat
  • strength training is key to maintaining long-term weight loss
  • having a doctor as a health coach is feasible and even desirable for some

 

Now, a year out, what do the numbers show?  A total of 667 pounds lost, an average of 8.9 pounds per person, and an average length on the program of 3.95 months.  The most weight lost has been 59 pounds ( and counting), and the least has been a gain of six pounds.
How do these numbers compare?

 

WEIGHT LOSS PLAN TIME FRAME WEIGHT LOST TIME FRAME 2 WEIGHT LOST2
Weight Watchers 6 months 14 pounds Two years 5.5 pounds
Jenny Craig 1 year 0.11
Nutrisystem 16 weeks 21 pounds
South Beach 1 week 8-12 pounds
Medi Weight Loss 1 Week 6.4 pounds 1 month 14 pounds
Dr. Goodman 1 year 8.9


You may draw your own conclusions.  I will be compiling data on changes in resting metabolic rate (RMR) and body fat percentage and sharing that in the near future.

My program is not the best for everyone, and may not be the best for you.  If you want the personal attention of a doctor well-trained in nutrition who walks the talk, and want that doctor to help you monitor your other health concerns, I think you will find me a good fit.