Are very low-calorie diets effective for weight loss?

Low-calorie diets can be tricky business, which is why they're often not effective. Nutrition and weight management specialist Caroline Apovian, MD, talks about common mistakes people make -- and how to avoid them.

Transcript

00:00

So the problem with people who are trying to lose weight and they can't seem to do it on a low-calorie diet-- there are several problems.

00:07

Number one is you may be actually underestimating what you're actually eating. [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:18

So I hear that problem many times, that I'm on a low-calorie diet. I've been on a low-calorie diet forever,

00:26

and I only eat 1,200 calories a day, I only eat 800 calories a day. Why can't I lose weight?

00:32

There must be something wrong with my metabolism. Very rarely is there something wrong with your metabolism

00:39

when you're trying to lose weight, and you can't seem to do it. We do pick up cases once in a while of hypothyroidism, which

00:47

means that your thyroid is underactive, and you do need a medication to boost that metabolism.

00:54

Many times, however, we check a Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, TSH, and we don't find it to be abnormal.

01:03

So the problem with people who are trying to lose weight and they can't seem to do it on a low-calorie diet-- there are several problems.

01:09

Number one is you may be actually underestimating what you're actually eating. Many people do that.

01:15

Most people do it. You think, oh, oh, that dinner I had last night, maybe that was 500 calories, when actually it

01:23

was 1,000 calories. And studies have shown that people who need to lose weight

01:30

underestimate their caloric intake by 50%. And so the most important problem

01:38

is that you're underestimating your calorie needs, and you're underestimating what you're eating.

01:45

And so that's why food logs are so important. If you actually write everything down with the quantity

01:52

and try to calculate from there your caloric intake, you may find that actually you're eating a little bit more