Wood Dale Cardiac Surgeon Supervises Pound-A-Day Weight Loss Diet!

Cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Dominic Tolitano isn't surprised when his patients lose a pound a day on the Ideal Protein diet. He lost a pound a day himself.

"I'd been trying to lose weight for a decade," he says. "I'd tried everything, Atkins, high-fibre, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers. Then I read about this new diet. I lost over 20 pounds in the first four weeks."

Now the Wood Dale surgeon who's done thousands of open heart procedures believes the diet can play a key role in reversing heart disease, hypertension, and the growing epidemic of diabetes.

"Some diabetes patients have completely eliminated their insulin shots," he says. "I've never seen anything like it." Doctor Tolitano is one of the first cardiovascular surgeons certified to distribute the physician-supervised diet to patients. The surgeon is located in Chicago, Wooddale, and LaGrange.

The Ideal Protein Diet was developed by a Harvard researcher. Patients consume two prepackaged meals, one homemade meal and several snacks each day. The 72 different prepackaged products include shakes, juices, soups, chili, pancakes, oatmeal, spaghetti and many gourmet snacks. Patients also take daily supplements.

The meals are almost completely high-quality protein and total only 1000 calories a day.

"This is not a high-protein Atkins-type diet," says Dr. Tolitano. "Patients don't eat a high amount of protein, they eat a minimal amount, just enough to spare muscle loss."

The result is massive weight loss. For two days the body feeds off its remaining glycogen stores...then it starts burning off up to a pound of fat a day.

Yet through it all, patients report feeling only mild hunger. Sabrina Garcia of LaGrange Park gained thirty pounds after having two children. Now she's lost 15 pounds after just three weeks on the diet. The 36-year-old says, "I'm honestly not hungry. When you eat lots of sugar, you're hungry for more sugar. But when you stop eating sugar, you don't yearn for it. And you have a lot more energy." She intends to shed ten more pounds before weaning herself off the diet.

But is it dangerous to lose weight that quickly? Dr. Tolitano says no. "We supervise patients with weekly visits and I've never seen any complications caused by rapid weight loss," he says. However, at the beginning of their diets patients are specifically told to avoid exercise to avoid putting additional stress on the body.

The surgeon says most patients ultimately stick to the diet because of its simplicity and delicious gourmet-quality meals. The diet plan very specifically lists what to eat each day. In addition, studies show patients eating packaged meals are more likely to continue their diets. However, the surgeon adds the goal isn't to lose the pounds, but to keep them off.

That's why we spare muscle during weight loss," he says. "Muscles burn calories and maintaining them is essential to maintaining any weight loss. In addition, going without carbs literally retrains the pancreas. It's now producing far less fat-producing insulin."

These biological changes help patients keep the pounds off during the diet's "maintenance" phase. Patients are taken off prepackaged foods and small amounts of carbohydrates are gradually added to their diets. During this phase patients continue to see their coach once a week and even sign a "contract" with their doctor, increasing their obligation to keep the weight off.

As for the cost, the surgeon says patients pay a one-time $325 fee that includes a consult, supplements, and one week's worth of food. After that patients pay an average of about $100 per week for their prepackaged meals and snacks. "But that's it," says Dr. Tolitano. "There's no buying anything else except some lean meats and vegetables for homemade meals. Many patients say since they don't buy other food, and don't eat out, they break even financially." The cardiovascular surgeon adds, "And any cost is far less than the cost of obesity."

Sabrina Garcia says, "I lost weight quickly and I don't feel hungry. I don't know what more you could ask for?"

For more information you can contact Dr. Tolitano's office at 630-860-0035 or visit www.veinclinicillinois.com/