Very-Low-Calorie Protein Diets

Many obese subjects find it difficult to lose weight on dietary regimens containing more than 800 kcal per day. A variety of adaptive mechanisms (lessened diuresis, decreased protein catabolism, reduced metabolic rate) markedly curtail the rate of weight loss after the initial one to two weeks, and this may result in loss of the patient's motivation. To achieve the more rapid and sustained rate of weight reduction associated with complete starvation while avoiding the inherent risks, a number of very-low-calorie diets (<500 kcal per day) were introduced in the late 1960s and early 1970s.1 2 3 4 5 These regimens involve the administration of . . .