Dr. Bernstein Diet

Image by keltickelton via Flickr

I can still remember the day. We ladies, kibitzing in the boardroom eating our lunches and engaging in random thoughts of the day and opinions on this or that. When to my surprise we started chatting about weight loss. My dreaded topic. I was peaking at 207 lbs - the equivalent from my highest weight during the pregnancy of my second child. However, the problem was, she came into the world three years ago and I still couldn't shed the weight.

This success photo of another patient shows roughly what I started at, and where I'm progressing to.

Somewhere between the rum & cokes, Mike's Hard Lemonade, red wine and rich foods, I lost my figure and sense of self. I tried to lose it the usual way; reduce portions, load up veggies and even hired a private in-home trainer to whip my ever-expanding ass into shape. Nothing worked.

So my curiosity peaked when a colleague talked about Dr. Bernstein. Everyone else knew about the weight loss clinic and raved about people they knew who had lost pounds and pounds of weight quickly and kept it off.

That was it for me. Quick weight loss? I mean, stories about a hundred pounds and rapid visible results. That's what I needed. That's what I wanted. I needed to see results to do it.

I had tried other methods - other groups, such as Weight Watchers. It may work for some, but for me, I didn't need a cheering squad or a coach, like an AA sponsor, that I could call to talk me away from the fridge; talk me down from the precipice of chocolate cupcake sugar suicide. I needed to completely rethink my relationship with food and drink, and get back to basics.

No, I liked the thought of medically-supervised serious results. After all, I'm a public servant. I like results. I believe in quick, fast, meaningful investments to get tangible results.

I work that way.

I live my life that way.

I had to give it a try.

So, I did some research. You should never embark on anything without checking a few sources. For a good balanced article see the following link.

I made a call and I was booked for my consultation on the Tuesday morning. It's $150 for your consultation at our Ottawa, ON clinics. I didn't mind - I was set to commit to the program.

I read and filled in the background documents and was really excited to go in and get started.

I was really impressed by the professionalism and medical seriousness of the program. I like having my urine scrutinized; the thrice-weekly inquiry into the state of my health. Perhaps I'm egocentric that way, but I like the medical establishment giving a damn about how I'm doing. particularly when I'm paying a hefty price for the priviledge.

For those looking to join be prepared for the financial commitment. The program is $150 per week, which covers the cost of the 3x weekly injections, medical support and bi-weekly physician's consultation. If you know you will be on the program 8 weeks or more, it's better to just pay upfront to get the discounted price. In April 2009, the 8-week fee with tax was $1,100, with an additional $26 for your daily vitamins and food scale. Your potassium prescription is another $30-40 per month, depending on what you need.

When I went back over our bank statements to see how much I spent on restaurants/take-out orders, wine/beer for weekends and entertaining, and lunches at work, we easily spent that amount from our family income on crappy, fattening, sugar and grease-laden food.

Was it a difficult choice for me to redirect what I was already spending into something healthful and beneficial for me? For my health? For my sanity? Hell no!

I know my husband agrees that it's an investment in the right direction. After all, he's had to live with the depression, anger, buying ever-expanding clothes to cover my expanding girth, only to see that by supporting the financial decision to lose the weight, benefits my health and wellness to the benefit of everyone. However, for me, the financial investment to finally rid myself of the pounds is an investment (and charge on my Visa) that I am gladly making.

To me it's a reinvestment in my health.

Plus I'm an equal breadwinner in the home - I can also decide where the funds go. Yes, I'm being selfish, and you know what, I'm worth it! That's my personal and feminist rant for this blog....! However, beware that I am prone to express an opinion or two...

Back to the program cost.

You're not required to stay with the program if it doesn't work for you, and you don't need to purchase the vitamins or scale through the clinic, but they do have them at a cheaper price than even Walmart, so why not?

As for food? It's just regular grocery store food - just carefully selected - and costs no more than what goes into the regular weekly family shopping cart.

Beware though, that 4-5 people who reach their goal weight and DO NOT continue in the maintenance program (which is $150 per month with once weekly injections and medical consultations) regain the weight back.

I'm fully prepared to stay on Maintenance, to be sure I'm reintroducing the right foods back into my diet and monitored to find my body's right balance. I got myself into the original mess - I know I'll need the help to stay on course. They recommend 2-3 months on Maintenance to keep you on track. I'm planning on the $750 per year (the equivalent of the cost a gym membership) for annual Maintenance. Considering how many times I've signed up for a full year membership to a gym at that cost - went 2-3 times - and just never went back, I KNOW I'll get more benefit from the Maintenance program.

It's a financial choice and one that luckily I'm able to make right now.

If you're thinking of doing it, do some research. There are various options and some work better for others. Check out this video though and buyer beware. While Dr. Bernstein Clinics have been around for 30 years and operate around North Amercia, check what will work best for you and get some advice from your physician.

I'm so glad I heard about Dr. Bernstein Clinic - over lunch, of all things.