Optifast dieter in need of support

I'm not on the optifast diet but I'd be happy to be a cheerleader for you. Best of luck. Patty

Concordancia, I love food too, which is why I told the doctor that I would not do well on this diet if I had to only consume Optifast foods for the entire day. Do you have any other diets you could suggest? My whole goal is to simply find something that will work and will stay off.

To get started, I read the South Beach Diet, but I only followed it closely for the first week or so to help adjust away from lots of breads and baked goods. Now veggies and lean proteins form the base of my diet, with some fruit and whole grains.

I used Optifast for a 4 month period to start a medically supervised diet 2 years ago. I slowly transitioned to eating all healthy food. I lost over 70 pounds and have kept it off. For me, it was a way to re-set my eating habits. My doctor is awesome- We combined working with a nutritionist , adding in exercise, and learning how to eat only when hungry. I still log daily and learned that this has to be a life-style change. I am 57, healthier and stronger than I have ever been.

Good luck on your journey.

Hello - so glad I found this board - I started on Optifast this past Friday (3/15). Nothing else seemed to work so far so I thought I would give this a try. It is expensive - but thankfully I can afford it as a short term plan.
I am on an Optitrim plan where I have 4 Optifast products a day and one meal - to a total of 1000 -1200 calories a day. My doctor told me I can eat as much raw vegetables as I want.
So far its been good - I was really really hungry and had headaches on Friday and Saturday, but have been much better after that.

I started Optifast yesterday. I needed change and I feel that this is the best thing for me to relearn healthy eating and portion control. I struggle with Hashimotos and a few other autoimmune issues so giving this a try first and then eventually going organic and raw is my goal. Day 2 and I am learning that Strawberry shakes and Yogurt Bars are nasty )) I cannot stand the taste of vitamins. I am trying to still get to my goal of 1 gallon of water a day but that is really hard. I need support as well.

Hi there, my name is Brenda. I live in Canada. The Optifast program in Canada doesn't have the variety of the USA programs. We have vanilla shakes and chocolate shakes. I've entered the program twice this past year. I started at 404 lbs and am down over 130lbs. In 6 months with less than 20 people in my group we lost a total of 1019.8 lbs. The program works people, you just have to be dedicated to it. My program included 16 weeks of shakes alone and then 6 weeks of transition from shakes to food ( healthy menus provided to follow ), then a stabilization period. Every week included a doctors visit, a one hour class on diet or behavior modification, and a one hour exercise program. I have tried everything out there and Optifast is a winner. Unfortunately, the Dr who has directed the program since 1986 is retiring, so it will no longer be available in its current form. I formed an Optifast Alberta Patient Initiative to encourage our Primary Care Network to continue the program. We could sure use your support. We have a Petition going that you can sign if you'd like to help us(after signing a request for donation pops up for iPetitions but is not required, just close at that point unless you wish to donate). Please help us! We also ave a Facebook page that we're trying to build into a forum for Optifast support and discussion. I'll put the links in this post. We'd sure appreciate your support.

"Optifast Alberta Patient Initiative"
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/optifast-alberta-patient-initiative/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=system&utm_campaign=Send+to+Friend

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Optifast-Alberta-Patient-Initiative/632776946748843?ref=ts&fref=ts

On January 22, 2013 I turned 58 years old, I weighed 280 at 5'3" and shrinking. I made a decision to love longer than my parents and to do that I needed to lose weight. I started on an Optifast plan January 28th and so far I've lost about 40 pounds. I've cheated, binged and clawed my way back to sanity and 1200 calories per day. At first I just lost inches, no pounds and then Wham! a big chunk of pounds dropped off...then inches, then a few pounds...all the way to 40. I have a total of 115 pounds to lose, 40 gone and 75 to go. I just try to focus on 10 lb chunks, that makes it easier. When I hit 240 my goal was to get to 231, just small 9 or 10 pound chunks. Slow but steady.

Lately something odd has happened. When a person asks me to go out to lunch and I decide to stay in and drink my Optifast...I get this very unusual euphoric feeling that is similar to runner's high. I really like that feeling! What I really like is buying new clothes that are two sizes smaller, and putting darts into my old jeans so they won't fall off, and punching another hole in my belt. I love the Optifast chocolate high protein shake and drink that each day around 3pm to get me through the evening.

I try to log into this site every day...and I record every solitary thing I eat -- even the bad stuff. I wear a pedometer and keep track of my steps each day. Exercise has never been a priority in my life however it is moving up the ladder.

To stop from obsessing on food I read stuff on this website, take the dog for a walk, call friends and if necessary just go to bed really early. Drinking water when I feel hungry has helped. Saying the serenity prayer helps too. Good luck to you!

Hi, I lost over 40 pounds in less than three months last winter. Over the last 1.5 years, I have gained back 30. I'm trying again (a modified version) with other shakes, foods, etc. The toughest part for me was the transition off of "only shakes". I found myself getting compulsive again....
I don't want to go back to the clinic (their schedule is VERY inconvenient for me), so I'm hoping to build a support group through this website. Anyone else in my shoes?

Hi, congratulations on starting the program. I, like some others before me have mentioned, had the Optifast for three weeks prior to having gastric sleeve surgery on 17 April 2013. In Australia we get the coffee, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavours, and also lemon and chocolate dessert. For my 'meals' I ate a medley of roast vegetables. Whatever vegetables I had (usually cauliflower, broccoli, carrot, zucchini, capsicum, punnet of grape tomatoes, garlic cloves, onion), drizzled with some garlic flavoured olive oil, baked in the oven for 30-40 minutes, then put some balsamic vinegar on them, bake for another 10 minutes. Can I tell you it is divine!!! Even after my surgery I did this and pureed it all. Now that I am on soft food, I still eat it. I think it has to be one of my favourite things to eat. I did not have potatoes or corn or other vegies that are high in carbohydrates.

Give that a go if you like. I love it!!!