bettyandbob Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 My young coworker told me yesterday that his doctor put him on a 500 calorie/day diet. This young man is 21, fit and muscular. Not skinny, but no one would say he needed to lose weight. He wears fitted clothing so this point is clear. The reason a doctor might have said to lose weight is upcoming surgery. I think it's plausible, but the low calorie count sounds extreme, both for his age and lack of weight to lose. He has an active work day so he needs some calories. I had a "mom" conversation with him about this. But I was wondering if any of you know about recommendations for low calorie diets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 If the surgery will be in the area of his liver, it could be to shrink the liver down. As a bariatric patient I had to do a very low calorie diet before surgery to make it easier to get past the liver. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 How long is it for? If it's for a short period to shrink his liver, it's reasonable -- a short crash diet won't harm a normal person although it will make them feel pretty crappy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share Posted November 3, 2017 Interesting. I'm not going to ask him more than he's told me, but I had not known the approach with regard to the liver. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 My first thought was liver too. There's also brief low-calorie things that are used for pancreatitis and annual re-tests for a history of colon cancer. I've also heard of people using doctors as an excuse for whatever intermittent fasting diet they want to try - and 500 calories would definitely be in the range of intermittent fasting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City Mouse Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 I was thinking liver issues too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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