While I offer various weight loss programs, when a patient has 30 pounds or more to lose, I recommended the most aggressive which involves a low calorie diet, supplements, light exercise, and a prescription medication available in my clinic. After several 30 day cycles (alternated with a higher calorie 30 day maintenance diet and exercise regime), one of my patients no longer has diabetes. She has lost 90 pounds and feels a tremendous sense of energy and vitality. Her elevated cholesterol levels have normalized and the arthritis of her knees is gone.
Dr. Simeons certainly made a great contribution to society with his research on this prescription combined with a low calorie diet. However, we must realize this diet is over 40 years old and much has changed in our understanding of physiology and nutrition. Over the years I have modernized this program in various ways as follows:
The use of this prescription and a low calorie diet for weight loss has an interesting history. It starts with a British born medical doctor by the name of A.T.W. Simeons. Trained at a German medical school, he practiced in India from 1931 until 1949, working on conventional treatments for the testing and treatment of malaria. For his research against malaria, Dr. Simeons was awarded an “Order of Merit” by the Red Cross. In 1949, he transitioned to the Salvador Mundi International Hospital in Rome, where he focused on the treatment of obesity. His time in India actually provided the basis for his new weight loss protocol. While in India he noticed that “fat boys” with undescended testicles, when given daily injections of this drug, noticed that not only their testicles descended but that there was a “distinct decrease in the circumference of the hips.” He observed that it mobilized fat from the hips and deposited it into more normal fat deposit areas of the body. In addition, he theorized it worked to normalize the brain’s set point for metabolism. Dr Simeons’ original protocol is available to download for free. Dr. Simeons’ next step was to use daily injections along with a very low calorie diet (500 calories per day) in overweight patients. He found that patients experienced significant weight loss without hunger problems. (I should note his patients were in a hospital setting. My program involves medical supervision in an outpatient clinic setting with mandatory weekly office visits.)