Effects of a Three-Month Low Calorie Diet Weight Loss Intervention on Knee Replacement Outcomes

Exclusion Criteria

• •Uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, defined as HbA1c \> 9%
• •If smokes cigarettes, must go through a 6 week cessation program first
• •Type 1 diabetes
• •Whey protein allergies
• •Soy allergies
• •Anyone in whom rapid weight loss is not indicated (e.g., ESRD or cirrhosis, metabolic cancer, abnormal 3 times UL liver enzyme labs)
• •Current untreated or uncontrolled eating disorder (e.g., binge eating, bulimia)
• •Rheumatoid arthritis
• •In case a previous knee replacement surgery was done, the participant should wait at least 1 year from previous date of surgery
• •Undergoing simultaneous bilateral knee replacement
• •Enrolled in a formal weight loss program
• •Taking anti-obesity medications
• •Coexisting psychotic conditions requiring hospitalization or more intense treatment (e.g., bipolar mood disorder, severe depression)
• •Abnormal CBC, and uric acid, must be treated prior to start of intervention
• •Higher than 5.5 mU/L or lower than 0.3 mU/L TSH must be treated prior to start of LCD intervention