This is one way to get weight loss. Clinics in the United States and now starting here in the UK are offering a radical form of weight loss.  A naso-gastric tube, normally used to feed critically malnourished patients to help weight gain is being used for weight loss. Patients are fitted with the tube for 10 day periods where they are fed just 130kcal of protein based feed, putting the body into a ketotic state, giving rapid weight loss.

VERY LOW CALORIE DIETS (VLCD)

Diets less than 800kcal are termed very low calorie diets. They typically use liquid drinks and should be supervised by a medical team and only for patients with significant weight to loose, with a BMI greater than 30kg/m2. Key issues with these diets is that risks of problems are increased if there is underlying heart disease, or if they are used for long periods severed vitamin and mineral deficiencies may occur, and increased risk of gall stones and most typically, muscle loss.

Muscle loss is a key concern as loss impacts key muscles affecting lung function, heart muscles and mobility muscles, with an impact on the immune system and infections. But even more relevant to weight loss, any drops in muscle tissue lead to drops in the metabolic rate of the body, a measure of the turnover of chemical reactions in the body, which means the body does not need as much food calories in and weight loss slows down. This is one reason why people who return to eating normal amounts of food rapidly put weight back on. This weight rebound is common after following a radical diet plan.

The recommendation for any VLCD use is to keep protein intake adequate to help minimize the inevitable muscle loss, typically 1g protein for every kilogram ideal body weight for height.

NASO-GASTRIC FEEDING (NG)

This addition to the rapid weight loss arena uses the VLCD but delivers it through a tube through the nose rather than by drinking shakes or special meals. Use of an NG tube is a medical intervention and thus requires medical supervision as it is not without risks.

The feed may be a protein feed without carbohydrates, putting the body into a state of ketosis. This means that instead of burning carbohydrates, which the brain and nervous system need, the liver uses fat to make energy, converting it to ketoacids for the body to use.

Low carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins diet have been around for some time. They are also found to have a particularly high weight rebound when the diet is stopped, meaning that people regain weight rapidly afterwards, possibly exceeding the weight they started at.

ON BALANCE

For a weight loss plan to work it must have three key components:

Effective – achieving the loss that is needed.

Sustainable – you must be able to keep it up in the long term, which means it’s got to be practical and enjoyable.

Healthy – it must provide all your body needs in terms of vitamins, minerals and nutrients for long term health.

A quick fix plan without an effective follow on will not fit these conditions and the weight will come back on quickly.

If you’ve money to spend on expensive interventions, a personal trainer along with a good enjoyable healthy and calculated food plan will give you results that should last you a lot longer than the quick fix.