Bernstein Diet

Dr. Stanley Bernstein is a Canadian physician who specializes in medically-supervised weight loss programs. Dr Bernstein’s weight loss practice began in 1974 – and has now grown to over 50 clinics in Canada alone. Dr. Bernstein’s program is clinic-based only – and there are currently clinics in Canada and the USA.

What is the Bernstein Diet?


The Bernstein Diet aims to lose 4-5 pounds per week and involves 3 visits to the clinic each week during the program.
The Bernstein diet program is a combination of low calorie diet (regular grocery
store foods), behavior modification, education and vitamin and mineral supplements. The daily calorie intake could be anywhere between
800 — 1350 calories per day – it is a case-by-case situation.

The diet claims that only fat tissue is lost during this rapid weight loss phase, and all other tissue (muscle, electrolytes, fluid) is retained. One of the major features of the diet is the vitamin and mineral supplementation – this is achieved by vitamin injections.
Updated:Patients receive a Vitamin B complex injection.

Dr. Bernstein has a number of phases on the diet – a Weight Loss phase, a maintenance phase and also the “tune-up” diet for small amounts of weight loss.

Foods on the Bernstein Diet

Here is a sample of the kind of foods found on the Doctor Bernstein Diet.

Protein

veal cutlet
chicken livers
small steak
chicken breasts
shrimp
tuna
white fish

Fruit and Vegetables

celery
mushrooms
tomatoes
lettuce
bean sprouts
cabbage

tomato sauce
apples
lemons
oranges
green, orange, red and yellow peppers

Bread Substitutes

triscuits
melba toast

Spices and Seasonings
bay leaves
dried herbs
caraway seeds

soya sauce

Beverages and Miscellaneous
liquid Sweetener
Hermasetas/Equal
Jello Light
herbal tea

decaffeinated coffee
club soda

The Bernstein diet also has a number of other foods allowed.

More low calorie recipes can be found here.

See Also

DrBdiet – Official site.

User Comments

  • October 28th, 2009Angel 4

    Hi I am going back to Dr.B. can’t seem to do it on my own. Maybe after a month I will.

  • October 26th, 2009nadia

    hi sylvia, i lost 6 pounds so far, so my weightloss has been going pretty slow- only because i have not been following the strict diet (had too many major cheat days). i recently bought the vitamin b6 so iam mixing about .35ml along with .35 vit b12. today is monday so iam back into the strict diet program- i will let u know my progress by friday.

  • October 25th, 2009Sylvia

    I send this out to Nadia — back in Sept you wrote that all you were doing is the B12 and had lost 3lbs. Just wondering how you are doing?

  • October 16th, 2009sally

    posted on Gail’s earlier-sorry, gail loves them, me not so much!

    neo bex is available to order from any pharmacy-Loblaws pharmacies all carry it-Make sure you get INTRA-muscular syringes and also make sure you get B12 seperately.
    Neobex is the B1-6 comp and B12 is needed for energy and also because your immune system will be seriously affected on the diet.
    Take a multi vitamin and potassium supplement to make sure your body functions well while doing this.
    tablet forms of B vitamins are Water soluble-you pee them out-that is why Injections are the way they get your body to keep them. They give you 2mcg of Bcomp or the 12&comp-depending on allergies, and it goes straight into your bloodstream.

    If you have insurance, take the injections to your naturopath and they will do it for you so you can see it done first.
    intramuscular needles will not harm you-they are made like an Epi Pen surface injection.

  • October 16th, 2009gail

    I have the food list from 2007-email if you want it -add salmon twice a week now though-
    I lost 80 pounds in 10 months.
    gained back 110 even faster.
    i went on this diet and they refused to put me on maintenance though I had been 3 pounds away from goal for over 4 months. they do not guarantee anything. They lie and yell at you constantly. YES, I lost 80 pounds really fast, but once they refused to put me on maintenance and I had already spent over $6000. They make rules as they go along.
    it is harder to lose once you are smaller, and I was at 122 pounds and they refused unless I hit the Maximum for my height which was 119. I got letters from my doctor to say I could not lose more etc but they did not honour their commitment at all.
    Anyway, after I started eating regular food, without their Maintenance and (I was working as a personal trainer and getting loads of exercise) I gained back 30 pounds in a month, 110 in total, diabetes and a bunch of other fun things including an eating disorder from having yoyo’d with them for 2 years-
    Diets are the only industry where the more we fail the more they make.
    My Doctor says many people gain back an extra 20-30% above where they started after they stop if not given maintenance for at least a year-that costs extra. I loved the diet as it was easy for me to follow-no exercise though, I passed out on the treadmill once and broke my nose.Most people regain 10 pounds the first week off.

    That said, anyone out there who knows they will do maintenance is welcome to the food list-I have it but cannot post it here(will not allow cut and paste).

    Chin up-Take your B12 and Neo Bex injections, make sure they do your blood tests Right as soon as you start, and good luck. DO not focus on size-I did , and now I am grummpy and in an eating disorders program to earn how to eat without dieting.
    Sally

    PS
    the staff at the Toronto Clinic at the Allen Expressway need a talking to. the nurse who loved to yell at me was over 350 pounds.

  • October 13th, 2009starr

    could any one give me the food list for the drbd…. want to try the diet already got the b12 waiting on b6 complex tomorrow or next day,… would really appriecate diet info this site im hoping will save me a thousanddollars woooo
    thank you to anyone who can help

  • October 12th, 2009Sarah

    Hi

    i just started this diet and am planning on going into the clinic for two weeks, to get the hang of it, then start injecting myself. I just want to clarify a couple things:

    1) Is there three different vitamins to purchase : Neo-bex, B12, and B6?

    2) What are the DIN #’s, how much of each, and how frequently for each?

    3) In Vancouver where is the best place to purchase all

    I know this seems like the same questions as previous posts on the forum but trying to peice it all together from different answers is kinda confusing!

  • October 5th, 2009Melissa

    I have been following the posts on this website for a long time and have found it soooo very helpful. I just have one question. I have the neobex, B12 and BDII 12.7mm needles but I have no idea what amount I am taking in “CC”’s. Can anyone please let me know.
    Thanks to everyone on this site. I’m super excited to start this.

  • October 5th, 2009Jenn

    Update: My doctor said she didn’t know enough about the side effects of injecting B vitamins on a regular basis, and refused on that basis to prescribe it for me.
    .
    However, she did say she would research it and when I come in next, if she’s satisfied it won’t do me any harm, she will do so.
    .
    I respect that – she’s an excellent GP, and I know she always has my welfare in mind, rather than a bottom line.

  • October 3rd, 2009nadia

    jenn- i went to my family doctor the other day to ask her if its safe to inject myself with vitamin b12, she said its fine since its a water soluble vitamin ( so is b6) but she also warned that i do not inject myself too deep into my organs b/c it may cause irritations and infections, so you do not need a long needle, but since you are using that, make sure u inject your self on the subcutaneous fat which means u have to inject on a slant – perhaps on a 30 degree angle. so whatever you guys do, don’t inject straight into your stomach. otherwise the upper thigh area is okay as well.
    Lina – most drug stores say they don’t carry b6, but they can easily order it for you (you just have to ask them about it) the sobeys i went to is located at 10th line and thomas in mississauga.

  • October 1st, 2009Jenn

    Sylvia – the one at Ridgeway/Dundas in Mississauga is the one I usually go to. Weird that they’d have different pricing! I wish they had the Neo-Bex though :(

    I don’t know of any Sobeys around here – will have to look for one!

  • October 1st, 2009Jenn

    Krystina – the B12 (Cyanocobalamin – DIN 00521515) is a cheap over the counter vitamin – you don’t need an Rx for it. The other one you’re looking at is B6 or Neo-Bex and I don’t know the DIN on that one. I’m trying B12 first, but haven’t really noticed much of anything happening with that.

    Mixing in the same needle just means you take one, then the other, making sure you don’t get any of one into the other bottle. Easy enough to do if you introduce some air into the needle before taking from the second bottle, then once you have it, make sure you tap out all air bubbles. I believe the dosage for both is .35cc but I’ve been using .50cc of the B12 so far. Start low, given the cost of the B6, and see what happens.

    Nadia – thanks for the needle info. I ended up getting BD 3ml 25 gauge at Walmart (25¢ ea) to try, and they seem fine. I hardly feel it at all in fact. They’re a 16mm needle – not sure if an 8mm would go deep enough to be affective?

    Going to see if my doctor will give me an Rx for the B6 so I can claim it on my insurance. Would be nice if I could!

  • September 30th, 2009Sylvia

    Jenn – which Costco did you go to? I purchased 10ml in Burl yesterday and they charged me $4.99.

    Has anyone had success in ordering Neo-Bex at Shoppers?

    Once again please if someone could confirm the right mix?

    Thanks everyone for all the info. It looks invaluable.

  • September 30th, 2009Lina

    Hello !

    Amazing that you found B6. I’ve been looking for it everywhere !!! Which Sobyes was this at?

    Also, please everyone, make sure that when you are doing the injestions that you take potassium. You can get potassium at any pharmacy. The cheapes is Walmart it’s around $18.








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Last modified: July 19, 2009