The Dr. Now Food plan is a extremely restrictive low-calorie, low-carbohydrate weight-reduction plan that was developed by Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, who is thought for conducting surgical procedure on sufferers with weight problems on the TLC actuality present “My 600-Lb. Life.” This system follows sufferers who weigh greater than 600 kilos earlier than, after which after, weight-loss surgical procedure.
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Nowzaradan has sufferers adhere to the Dr. Now weight-reduction plan to assist them put together for bariatric surgical procedure. Nowzaradan is the writer of the guide “The Scale Does Not Lie, Folks Do.”
Bariatric Surgical procedure
There are a number of kinds of bariatric surgical procedure, together with:
- Gastric bypass. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, usually merely referred to as gastric bypass, reduces the dimensions of your abdomen. Surgeons create a small pouch utilizing the highest a part of your abdomen. The bypass entails connecting a small portion of your small gut, or jejunum, to a gap on this new pouch, permitting meals to journey from the pouch straight to your small gut. This reduces the quantity of meals you may devour and means that you can take in fewer energy.
- Sleeve gastrectomy. One of these surgical procedure entails the removing of about three-quarters of your abdomen. What stays is a tube- or sleeve-shaped part, which might solely include a fraction of the meals it used to. This process is everlasting, says Dr. Xiaoxi Feng, a bariatric surgeon on the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
- Duodenal change. With a duodenal change, your abdomen absorbs much less meals. Formally often called biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal change, this strategy combines some options of sleeve gastrectomy and bypass. Throughout the duodenal change process, bariatric surgeons take away a part of the abdomen and do a extra in depth model of gastric bypass surgical procedure, Feng says.
- Lap-band. Laparoscopic gastric banding, a process also referred to as an adjustable gastric band, entails the position of a gentle implant that features an expandable balloon across the high of your abdomen. This divides the abdomen into two sections, and you may solely eat sufficient meals to fill the highest half.
Bariatric surgeons and their sufferers take into account an array of things in deciding which possibility is greatest for which affected person, says Dr. Erik P. Dutson, surgical director of the Heart for Weight problems and Metabolic Well being at UCLA in Westwood, California.
“Most bariatric surgical procedure practices within the U.S. carry out both gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy, and the choice is one which needs to be mutually determined upon by the surgeon and affected person collectively,” he says. “The overwhelming variety of sufferers will do nicely with both operation, nonetheless, a smaller variety of sufferers mustn’t get one or the opposite primarily based on medical situations. For instance, we all know that bigger sufferers, sufferers with diabetes in additional superior phases, and sufferers with GERD (a dysfunction the place abdomen contents come again up via the decrease esophageal sphincter, which is the decrease valve of the esophagus) are likely to do higher with the gastric bypass.”
Sufferers with important medical points corresponding to immune suppression (as an illustration, organ transplant sufferers) are likely to do higher with sleeve gastrectomy.
Sufferers must also be comfy with the surgical procedure choice, however usually sure medical situations will drive the collection of the process, says Dr. Judy Chen-Meekin, a surgeon and a bariatric specialist on the College of Washington Faculty of Drugs.
The Dr. Now weight-reduction plan “is designed to advertise fast weight reduction previous to weight-loss surgical procedure to assist cut back post-surgical problems in these affected by morbid weight problems,” says Erin Palinski-Wade, a registered dietitian primarily based in Sparta, New Jersey. She’s the writer of the guide “2 Day Diabetes Food plan: Simply 2 Days a Week and Dodge Kind 2 Diabetes.”
Observe the Dr. Now Food plan
Adherents of the Dr. Now weight-reduction plan observe three major ideas: frequency, quantity and sort, that are recognized by the acronym FAT, Palinski-Wade says.
Here’s a breakdown of how FAT works:
Frequency: Devour solely two to 3 meals a day, with no snacks in between.
Quantity: Energy are restricted to 1,200 a day. They are often consumed in two 600-calorie meals or three 400-calorie meals.
The Dr. Now weight-reduction plan requires the consumption of some primary kinds of meals, says Lisa D. Ellis, a registered dietitian in personal observe in Manhattan and White Plains, New York. She’s additionally an authorized consuming dysfunction registered dietitian and a licensed scientific social employee.
Folks on the Dr. Now weight-reduction plan can devour:
- Chia seeds.
- Flax seeds.
- Lean protein sources (together with egg whites, lean fish, chicken and skinless rooster, and chicken and skinless turkey).
- Low-carb condiments, like mustard, with added sugar for flavoring.
- Non-starchy greens (corresponding to broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and spinach).
- Non-fat dairy (skim milk or non-fat yogurt).
The Dr. Now weight-reduction plan prohibits sure meals due to their high-calorie content material. Listed below are some meals to keep away from on the Dr. Now weight-reduction plan:
- Almonds.
- Bacon.
- Battered and fried meats (fried rooster and chicken-fried steak).
- Cashews.
- Sure carbs (crackers, snack chips, popcorn, white rice, brown rice, pancakes, waffles and pasta).
- Fruits excessive in pure or added sugar (bananas, cantaloupe, mangos, watermelon and fruit canned in syrup).
- Full fats and sweetened dairy (chocolate milk, full-fat cheese, sweetened yogurt, ice cream and milkshakes).
- Honey.
- Potatoes (together with French fries).
- Sausage.
Advantages of the Dr. Now Food plan
Proponents of the Dr. Now weight-reduction plan say that weight reduction earlier than bariatric surgical procedure may help cut back the danger of post-surgical problems.
Analysis on this matter is combined. For instance, a 2020 examine printed by JAMA Community Open discovered that even modest weight reduction earlier than bariatric surgical procedure was related to a decrease 30-day danger of mortality.
Nevertheless, analysis printed in 2020 within the Cureus Journal of Medical Science (also referred to as Cureus) discovered that many bariatric facilities “observe the requirement of making certain pre-specified weight reduction earlier than receiving surgical procedure; nonetheless, lots of the current high-quality evaluations usually are not conclusive of the proof supporting this observe.”
Downsides of the Dr. Now Food plan
“Following a restrictive weight-reduction plan like this long run can improve the danger of nutrient deficiencies in addition to result in disordered consuming patterns,” Palinski-Wade says. “It is a medically supervised weight reduction plan and shouldn’t be tried by people on their very own with out steering of a doctor and dietitian.”
The Dr. Now weight-reduction plan is a dangerous strategy for attaining fast weight reduction for folks with weight problems, says Kaylee Jacks, a registered dietitian with Texas Well being Sports activities Drugs in Dallas. It is not beneficial until a affected person is out of choices and has a life-threatening weight difficulty, she provides.
Every day Dr. Now Food plan Meal Plan
Right here is how a typical day of consuming could look on the Dr. Now weight-reduction plan, with three meals that present about 400 energy every:
- Breakfast: 1 cup of skim milk; two items of turkey bacon; 1 cup of plain non-fat yogurt; ½ cup of blueberries or blackberries.
- Lunch: 1 cup of tuna salad made with non-fat Greek yogurt as an alternative of mayonnaise; whole-grain pita bread, celery and carrots.
- Dinner: A aspect salad with 1 tablespoon of French dressing dressing and a pair of cups of low-fat rooster and vegetable soup.
How Nutritious Is the Dr. Now Food plan?
Total, the Dr. Now weight-reduction plan permits for the consumption of many wholesome, nutrient-dense meals, Jacks says.
“It emphasizes lean protein and greens and contains high-quality whole-grain carbohydrates, fruits, nonfat dairy and wholesome fat,” she says. “The meals which are prevented are principally energy-dense and better in saturated fats, corresponding to easy sugars, fried meals and baked items. This weight-reduction plan does remove some healthful meals corresponding to potatoes, some fruits and most nuts and seeds.”
Is the Dr. Now Food plan Efficient or Sustainable for Weight Loss?
The Dr. Now weight-reduction plan is designed “for fast, efficient weight reduction, most notably to help overweight sufferers to drop weight previous to weight-loss surgical procedure,” says Michelle Smallidge, lecturer and director of the B.S. Train Science Program from the Faculty of Well being Sciences on the College of New Haven in West Haven, Connecticut.
Nevertheless, the Dr. Now weight-reduction plan is probably not sustainable for lengthy. “Restrictive diets may be tough to maintain over lengthy durations of time,” she says.
“It is a very restrictive meal plan that’s not designed to be adopted for prolonged durations of time or by those that usually are not present process weight reduction surgical procedure,” Palinski-Wade provides.
