Do You Think A Doctor Should Guarantee Weight Loss?

Ever since the Atkins rage several years ago, low carb diet plans have become extremely popular. For many people they work wonders, if the folks actually stick with it. But the same is true for almost any healthy diet plan. With proper nutrition, smaller portions, a good helping of exercise, and mostly persistence, losing weight is virtually inevitable.

But one sad truth about weight loss is that many diets just plain fail — mainly because it’s so hard to stick to it. Well a few months ago I ran across an ad that really intrigued me. A doctor had put together his own weight loss plan, and he was guaranteeing success. Is that possible? Is it even ethical?

Well, I’d like to give a review of his plan and let you be the judge of that.

The man behind this weight loss plan is Dr. Jonny Bowden. He’s a nutritionist, personal trainer, and psychologist, and his plan is called the Diet Boot Camp. I’ve got to admit that his claims sounded to me like a bunch of sales hype: look fitter, feel happier, and be more productive in 8 weeks … guaranteed. But after following him for some time now, reading his articles and watching his videos, I’m beginning to think that just maybe he’s onto something.

The hook here is his expertise in psychology. As a nutritionist and personal trainer he certainly is an expert when it comes to diet and exercise. But what makes his plan special is his background in psychology. He knows how to motivate people and keep them focused.

For example, the first part of his 8-week system is a journal full of probing questions. Some folks might be put off by this approach. They may want to just jump into the diet and exercise right away. But Dr. Bowden is a strong believer in the mind-body connection. He insists on taking the time to prepare the dieter for the weight loss journey ahead.

Dr. Bowden says that weight loss is like a three-legged stool, and the diet itself is really only one leg of that stool. The other two legs are a person’s thoughts and emotions. That’s why he focuses so much on how you think and feel throughout the whole program. And that’s what he says leads to greater success in the long run.

As far as diet and exercise go, the Diet Boot Camp system is basically a low carb, high protein diet plan, with plenty of exercise too. But the layout of the plan looks pretty flexible. The way it is set up, you start at your own fitness level and eating habits, and work up from there. He works with you gradually to improve both your diet and your fitness level.

There are a few areas that concern me about this plan. For one thing, Dr. Bowden makes no claims about how much weight you will lose. Frankly, I think that’s a good thing, since weight loss can vary so much from person to person. But it does concern me about how quickly the weight will come off. On the other hand, though, if I could look a little fitter, actually feel happier, and be able to get more done in just 8 weeks, I’d be pretty happy with just that, even if I hadn’t lost all the weight by then.

The other aspect of this plan that concerns me is how much you have to eat with this plan. Dr. Bowden says you need to eat every 3 hours for his system to work. I know that eating frequent meals does wonders for weight loss, but how do you fit that into a busy schedule? I would hope that the plan includes recommendations for eating this much in the real world.

And the final positive point in this review is that this plan comes with an online community for support. Exercise buddies are best for me, but one of the next best things is an online weight loss buddy. Accountability is key in any weight loss journey, and I’m glad to see that Jonny Bowden has made that part of his program.

So all in all, the Diet Boot Camp looks promising. Dr. Bowden sounds like the real deal. And if you check out his pictures and videos, he certainly looks like living proof that his plan really works. Maybe he actually can guarantee weight loss.