Some posters recently discussed very low-calorie diets, particularly
the liquid ones (like Optifast) administered by physicians.

I am in the tenth week of such a diet.  The cooking.net">food product is called
MediBase, and I am prescribed 700 calories of it a day. It comes in
four flavors: vanilla (marginal), strawberry (surprisingly palatable,
especially since I'm not overly fond of berries), chocolate (OK if made
with additional water), and, incongruously, chicken soup.  

I must attend weekly perfunctory sessions with a dietician to "learn
new eating habits".  The doctor, an internist specializing in weight
control and treatment of diabetes, sees me twice a month.  He has a
special {*filter*} panel on file at the local hospital, and I get punctured
every other week.

I started the regimen on November 11, 1989, at a clothes-on weight of
385 pounds.  An electrical body fat assay showed a lean body mass of
191 pounds, for a body fat percentage of something like 48-49%.  My
target weight, according to the doctor, should be in the region of 220-230
pounds.  (But this does not take into account loss of lean mass, which I
understand to be [typically] 15-20%; when this is figured in, a 12% body fat
figure will be less.)  For my part, when I get into a swimming pool and
sink, I'll be thin enough.

So far I have lost more than 58 pounds.  This translates to six inches
off my waist and some other amounts elsewhere.  The graph of the loss
is nearly a straight 45-degree line, with a consistant loss of 4-7
pounds a week.  In the last six{*filter*} days of December I lost a pound a
day.  Plotted as a percentage of mass lost, I am losing a consistent
1.3 - 1.5% per week.

{*filter*} tests remain remarkably stable.  My cholesterol count was around 180
when I started and is now around 150.  Several weeks ago ther was a mild blip
in liver functions, but I attribute this to low liquid intake.  My uric acid
level is slightly elevated, but I have a genetic disposition to gout (both
parents) and it's less than 10% above normal.  All else is fine.

Subjectively I was as sick as a dog for the first six days, and I drank
prodigious amounts of water.  My log for the third day shows that I drank
over 6 liters of liquid, and my bladder filled to bursting 11 times.  Nor was
I passing clear water; the urine had considerable viscosity and color.

On the sixth day the ordeal lifted and I have been enjoying the euphoria of
ketosis ever since.  

If you have any questions, feel free to send email or post here.

Michael Sloan MacLeod  (amdahl!drivax!macleod)

That's great!  While not recommended for people who only have moderate
amounts of weight to lose, these diets are probably not a bad idea
for folks like you.  Congratulations on your progress.  I'm sure
your doc has told you that you won't lose at that rate forever.  The
rate of loss will decline slowly as you lose.  By the time you get
to 220, probably it will be down to 2-3 lbs/wk.  At that point, he
may put you on a more balanced diet to finish the job more slowly
and safely.  The swimming pool is indeed a good way to tell when
you are done, as is the mirror.  
Take it from someone who has lost almost as much as you are going to
and  don't belittle learning new eating habits.  Right now
you are confident and euphoric, but you can't stay on your diet
forever and if you don't learn new habits, the weight will come
back again, and you will be on the roller coaster that I've been
on for 20 years.  I never got back over 250 again (my max was 335), but
how much more pleasant would it have been for me if I could have
maintained 180 rather than oscillating up to 230 four or five times
before going on a diet again?  It's taken me 20 years to realize
that I am going to have to submit to behavi{*filter*}therapy (I start
next month) in order to break my bad eating patterns (I'm a classic
night eater).  But even so, oscillations are better than 335 and
going up, which was what it was before starting my dieting.  

Good luck!