Rush Limbaugh Defends His Quick Weight Loss Center Diet

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Rush Limbaugh says it's mind boggling how everyone is all worked up about his Quick Weight Loss Center diet. He and his rapid slim-down (80 pounds in five months) were "trashed" today on The View and Good Morning America, says the radio host and conservative political commentator on his website. Dr. Marie Savard told GMA host Robin Roberts that Limbaugh is starving himself, which is not safe. Hundreds of That's Fit readers have been weighing in too.

Skeptics say Limbaugh is losing weight too fast and he'll gain it back. But he reports he's eating 1,500 calories, and while he doesn't know the exact details of the diet, it's the first one that has not left him feeling deprived. The 58-year-old says his eating is probably the healthiest it's been in years.

And maybe, despite the quick weight loss, it is.

"Fifteen-hundred well-chosen calories could make for a pretty damn good diet," says Jonny Bowden, Ph.D, board-certified nutrition specialist and That's Fit contributor. "The concept of a balanced and lower-calorie diet is hard to argue with," he says. "You can get a lot of food if you take out the starches and focus on lots of vegetables, protein, fat, fiber and nuts."

The problem is, we know very little about what he's eating. And what's out there is not based on scientific evidence. Limbaugh says he cannot have two proteins at one meal, for example. But "there are no studies to support the claim that you can't combine proteins," says nutritionist Tanya Zuckerbrot, author of "The F-Factor Diet" and That's Fit contributor. "Even if you eat more than two proteins, your body is going to break it down."

Then there are the supplements Limbaugh is reportedly taking. "You should be able to lose weight effectively with foods alone," Zuckerbrot says. "Supplements are used to fill holes in a diet."

The speed at which Limbaugh is losing weight is also a concern. It's possible to lose 80 pounds in five months, says Bowden, but if it is true (in his clinical and anecdotal experience, people are remarkably bad judges of how much they've lost), it's about twice what conventional wisdom would say is a healthy, sustainable amount of weight to lose. "The more dramatic the weight loss," Bowden says, "the less chance there is of keeping it off." Losing anything more than one to two pounds per week is too much, says Zuckerbrot. "When it comes to weight loss, it's not a sprint, it's a marathon."

So, is Limbaugh's diet dangerous or not? It's hard to tell, and that seems to be the issue. Search any trusted diet plan out there and you'll find exactly how it works, says Bowden. Check out the Quick Weight Loss Center website, and that same information is lacking -- well, unless you want to "call today for your free consultation."