Too Far? Popular New Diet Has Participants Using Feeding Tube for Ten Days
- Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:01pm by
Erica Ritz
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(Photo: Barbara Fernandez for the New York Times)
The K-E Diet is gaining momentum in the United States, having recently been profiled by the New York Times, Good Morning America, and the Daily Mail.
What does the crash diet entail? A bit more intense than your average “no carb” craze: participants are fed a patented combination of protein and fat through a plastic tube in their nose for ten days. They carry the diet solution with them everywhere they go, in a bag designed to look like a handbag or purse.
“The pump is very light and extremely quiet,” a doctor who facilitates the treatment remarked. “And my patients report people helping them with their bags — they often think they have cancer and are under medical treatment.”
At $1,500 a session the diet is no light undertaking, but advocates say the results speak for themselves. One woman lost ten pounds in eight days, but it’s not unheard of to lose twenty.
“The heavier you are, the more weight you lose, so patients shed, on average, between four to nine per cent of total body weight in ten days,” Dr Shidrawi explained. “Without carbohydrates, two things happen…First, you don’t feel hungry. Second, your body starts to burn fat stores at a huge rate. When the diet is administered steadily over 24 hours, the body remains in a fat-burning mode.”
But some find the latest fad off-putting.
“It shocks me that people are willing to have naso-gastric (NG) tubes inserted in order to lose weight. Can you imagine walking into a meeting with an NG tube in your nose?” Helen Bond, a registered dietician, remarked.
“You will, of course, lose weight rapidly on such restricted calories — but no one should slim that quickly,” she continued. “We recommend losing 1lb to 2lb per week, over a long period, during which time you learn how to manage your food and drink intake. The psychological and emotional reasons for over-eating also need to be addressed, which this plan fails to do.”
But Dr. Shidrawi thinks the no-food diet may be the future of weight-loss.
Data compiled on 1,800 patients who undertook the diet showed that 85% of them kept the weight off, and because patients are monitored by medical professionals throughout the ten days, Shidrawi maintains that there are few uncontrollable health risks.
“If diets worked, if healthy food worked, we wouldn’t have obesity,” he remarked.
“People try and fail, so what do we do, look at obesity and just let that happen? I will not do that.”
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Southerner01
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:54amWhy not just drink the same protein shakes without a feeding tube? This just seems like a stupid gimmick so people can walk around with a tube hanging out of their nose, givign them the opportunity to brag about their diet.
Report Post »Cftaber
Posted on April 17, 2012 at 2:53amFrom what I understand Soylent Green is a much better way to maintain health and lose those unwanted pounds…
Report Post »Chris2
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 11:02pmBRB making cheezeburger in protest of this crazy.
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 8:45pmSome people just do not think God can do anything right. Well, there are rerpercutions when you mess with your individual design. We will just have to let some be guinni pigs. Whatever floats their boat, you know? Something like this may be alright in order to save a life here and there, but for a food fad? This is a bit sick.
Report Post »dmerwin
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 8:38pmAt the end of the day if you take in fewer calories then you expend you lose weight. The real issue is having the will power to do so, I know. This bilks people of a large sum of money and gives them a 1500 dollar motivation not to cheat. That’s all.
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 5:42pmThis is what happens when you have obsessive compulsive Liberals trying to convince the masses this is the ideal way to lose weight. Liberals are so obsessed with body image, they will kill themselves to look good.
Look, yes I could lose a few pounds, but I am not going to starve myself, purge, put a tube up my nose or anything else to do so. When I die, I want to say, I ate what I wanted and died happy.
Report Post »Bronco II
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 6:15pmI second that.I guess we could say THEIR DIEING TO LOOK GOOD. lol
Report Post »3monkeysmomma
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 7:48pmI could save every body 1,500 dollars: Drink nothing but 3 measuring cups of skim milk plus one measuring cup of juice for 15 days and get the same effect.
…of course…you will be hungry….
Report Post »dmerwin
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 8:39pm3monkeysmomma
Report Post »bingo.
Teabunny
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 5:03pmI think this is one of the most sad things I’ve ever heard/seen. First of all, she IS NOT FAT! who told her this????? come on! who decided looking like death warmed over is pretty? Has anyone ever looked at classic art work??? Notice the size of the women (people for that fact!) at one time, it was considered a sign of prosperity! In other parts of the world, it still is! Peasants are sticks! secondly, Has she never heard of a corset? I mean okay its uncomfortable…for 1 day! compared to a feeding tube in your nose for almost 2 weeks! does anyone know how that hurts? has anyone thought about the discomfort and redness around the area of entry, from the rubbing??? have any of you experienced this??? It gets red, chaffed and raw! really!??? try a corset dear (but you really don’t need it! you know, the cut of the dress can do alot to disguise, like a deep v around the abdomen. it makes the hips look fuller disguising the belly, or a sashed waist. seriously. that is such a sad statement of self esteem. perhaps she should call off the wedding. She is not secure enough with herself, to belong to someone else! If she is going through this over one day and a dress…what will she go through if she is cheated on? or gets pregnant? or finds she can’t lose the baby weight? Poor girl. My prayers for her, and what she will do to her marriage!
Report Post »Teabunny
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 5:12pm…and if the guy she’s marrying approves of this…He doesn’t love her! I would jump all over my to be spouse/love for this ! the risk of infection! the damage to their esophagus and nasal passage, the discomfort, the psychological factor, the fact they cannot enjoy their food, (the “lack of fiber” issues!) I would care too much to allow this to happen! No way!
Report Post »JoeKing
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 5:02pmThis is awesome. Women should always strive to look their best instead of walking around with that big fat ass, saying “weight doesn’t matter, we’re all beautiful in our own way.” B.S., girls…get skinny and stay hot!
Report Post »Teabunny
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 5:08pmnothing sexier than a feeding tube! you got some taste their sport! I hear they have a mock prom at the old folks home tonight…maybe you can find a girl with a colostomy bag !
Report Post »TheSoundOf Truth
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 5:11pmLet’s hope you are joking.
If not, then you are retarded.
Report Post »Teabunny
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 5:15pmThe word I was thinking was …shall we say…a bit stronger!
Report Post »JoeKing
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 5:34pmStay in your house for 10 days as an ugly fat caterpillar, then emerge as a beautiful skinny butterfly! What’s not to like?
Report Post »Itsjusttim
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:49pmIsn‘t it great living in a nation where everyone counts everyone else’s time? Americans should be called “Time keepers.”
Report Post »MittensKittens
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 5:00pmWe’re doomed, this country has lasted past the expiration date to begin with…it’s just a matter of time!
Report Post »Itsjusttim
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:46pmPeople lose weight really fast when they decay.
Report Post »Eric_The_Red_State
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:45pmThe problem is –
A hamburger costs $1
A Salad costs $5
And – if they can make an extra 2c off of food if they process it – then you will get PROCESSED food.
AND – they make it almost IMPOSSIBLE to sell “Organic” food in the stores due to all the REGULATIONS.
People – we have met the enemy – and the enemy is us.
Report Post »Locked
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:57pm“A hamburger costs $1
A Salad costs $5″
Buy one/get one free last week on $3.99 bags of salad; I stocked up :-)
Report Post »Southerner01
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:53amA salad only costs $5 if you go out to a restaurant and buy one.
A whole tomatoe costs around $0.70 cents. A bag of baby carrots is $2. A whole head of lettuce (Romaine, iceberg is worthless) is about $1-2.
That makes salads for a week.
Besides, at McDonalds you can buy a healthy yogurt parfait for that same dollar the hamburger cost. You can get apples instead of french fries.
Bad food isn’t cheaper, people just like it better. A can of chunk light tuna is around $0.80 and makes a fine lunch, paired with a $0.50 apple and a handful of baby carrots that cost $0.40 from that $2 bag. All together, cheaper than the happy meal from the fast food joint.
Report Post »FloridaFarmGirl
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:45pmWhatever happened to just excercising and pushing yourself away from the table before you put on all the pounds? This world is getting crazier and crazier with all this I want it and I want it now stuff. We need to get back to working on things over time instead of all this quick fix nonsense. Also, where are people getting an extra $1500 for this? Mommy and Daddy??
Report Post »dmerwin
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 8:41pmExactly the $1500 dollars is the motivational factor that they do not possess.
Report Post »Itsjusttim
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:44pmNo that’s not too far. When they are walking around with a mobile liposuction machine, or pulling their intestines out then they’ve gone too far….well maybe.
Report Post »scuba13
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:55pmHow do you walk around without a brain?
Report Post »TheSoundOf Truth
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 5:12pmI don’t know, ask the entire white house how they walk around with no brain….
Report Post »mycomet123
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:33pmAny doctor that advocates this needs to see a psychiatrist!
Report Post »Locked
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:30pm… I’ll just stick with something easy and cheap, like limiting processed foods, avoiding sugar-loaded carbs (white bread, white rice, etc), and only getting lean cuts of meat. Simple to do, tasty to eat, and helps your weight and your heart!
Oh, and not to mention you don’t look like a cancer patient or pay thousands of dollars.
Report Post »Mark0331
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:27pmPT Barnum was right, here is the proof…
Report Post »dmerwin
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 8:41pmMost Excellent
Report Post »hi
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:25pmThat is so gross. Just cut out sugar and you will be golden. Remember you can’t outrun the fork.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:20pmSo are they too stupid to drink a protein drink for two weeks .. I saw this on tv .. they have to mix up the protein and then “load” it into the container that is attached .. my God .. I would drink it before I would go around with a tube in my nose and carrying a bag.
Disgusting. Looks like spoiled brats who will go for anything that is the “latest” thing.
Report Post »TheSoundOf Truth
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:16pm“If diets worked, if healthy food worked, we wouldn’t have obesity,”
Why bother eating? Food doesn’t work, so let’s rely on the failed medical establishment to “fix” us even more than they already have.
We have obesity in this country because of the federal government’s interference in health care and food, and because of the medical establishment‘s false belief that what one east actually has an affect on one’s health.
Many medications cause one to put on weight; see: SSRIs
SNAP participants are almost always overweight.
The government creates these inane “nutritional guidelines” based on 2,000 Kcal/day diets, when all Nutritionists and intelligent health practitioners understand that a diet of 1,800 kcal/day is sufficient for the average American; The government also pushes wheat and low-fat/no fat dairy, which are notoriously linked to weight gain.
It’s not that “healthy food” doesn’t work, it’s that the Federal government have way too much control over our food supply, and that the conventional medical establishment has failed every American that ever paid for health insurance.
If you want to lose weight by being fed through a feeding tube like in The Matrix, then go to an eating disorder clinic for anorexia.
But if you want to actually heal your body and lose weight in the proper way, see a doctor or clinician who practices “Functional Medicine”.
Report Post »dmerwin
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 8:43pmThe North Koreans believe that about 1000 kcal should do it. They are now enlisting 4′7″ males.
Report Post »marine249
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:12pmthe mug shot of the woman ingreen
Report Post »looks like she has had the sh+t beat
out of her.
Mark0331
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:29pmThinking the same thing…
Report Post »Lemonade Grandma
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:11pmI am an RN. Having a NG tube inserted in a very uncomfortable procedure, it’s my least favorite thing to do. I can’t believe the lady in the photo is sitting there with a smile on her face. What will they come up with next?
Report Post »InfiniteSolutions
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:11pmOh look, not only are we too stupid to pick the right things to eat, to learn how to eat better but we pick a diet to show how stupid we really are. Let not forget how much more stupid we are since we’ll pary for it too. Oh ya, can’t wait to see people at work running around with tubes advertising the stupidity. We will never become an intelligent and highly evolved species at this rate. God we are so stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Report Post »Ravings of a lunatic planet
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:07pmHey I go to Weight Watchers………..I might consider that if they can shove a Steak in that efing tube! give me a break…………………………Oh and can’t wait to see how much additional weight they gain after the stupid a@@ tube is removed………
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:29pmI agree. I watched my brother lose over 100 lbs. while on a diet. He strictly controlled his consumption and was limited to about 500 calories a day and took hormone supplements to keep him from losing muscle. The same hormone that pregnant women produce to ensure the same effect so that their fat reserves can be utilized before their muscle which might weaken them during pregnancy when they need the muscle. While he did have medical help, he had to do all the work regulating his own food consumption and changing his relationship with food entirely. And I myself have had experience in weight loss. During the months prior to and during boot camp, I lost ~60 pounds. Dropping from 220 to an all time low of 160, all through proper eating habits and a ton of exercise and hard work.
Report Post »dmerwin
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 8:55pmSgtB
Report Post »Basic training is the ultimate diet and exercise regime, Skinny kids gain weight, fat kids loose weight and all can run several miles at the end and walk 15+ miles in 3-4 hours with weapon and field gear.
bassist237
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:06pmWhat happened to good old, get off your ass walk, jog, run, do physical activity. Do diets that actually benefit you, like counting your carbs, or just plain don’t eat as big of a portion.. Good god, spread your eating times out and don’t eat all at once in 3 big ass meals, make your plates smaller, hell get a green light for your fridge.. Cmon. But boy do I love america, for the fact that if you want to choose to do that, you certainly can.
Report Post »bassist237
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 4:16pmSorry I am not an English major, I do tend to ramble.
Report Post »dmerwin
Posted on April 16, 2012 at 8:56pmYou may not be an English major but it sounds as if you taught my college nutrition course.
Report Post »