I am a returning optifast user (1993). I am doing the modified program. I am trying to decrease hunger by adding 1/4 teas xanthum gum and 1/8 teas guar gum to my morning shake to add fiber and decrease hunger. I had good success before on the full program but gained most of it back -- I didn't realize I was gluten intolerant!

Hi I am new here as well. I have been on Opitfast for a while now. I know that you have to drink 100 Oz of water a day, I thought I would never get it in. I took me two weeks to get it all in. But then I started losing a lot of weight. One week I lost 6.9 lbs. I did have a lot of potty breaks. It is so worth the drinking the water; I also started to be less hungry. I have learned that there is two types of hunger 1) HEAD Hunger, this is you telling yourself you are hungry when you really are not; 2) PHYSICAL Hunger, this is
went no mater what you do, you are hungry. Learning this distinction has really helped me. Now, I ask myself, Am I really hungry or not??? I drink more water and in ten minutes I ask myself am I hungry again. Usually I have gotten busy and I am not hungry any more. As you are on the program you get less hungry and you do not think about when to eat either. I have to set a timer to remind me; because I get so busy I forget to eat the Product. Maybe you would like the Bars. I have them in my purse for when something comes up and I can't make my shake. Hope this helps a little.

Hi, How is the 1/4 teas xanthum gum and 1/8 teas guar gum added to you shake doing. I have been adding benefiber. It can be very expensive after a while.

Hi All,
I started Optifast on January 6th and its been going great. Strangely enough I love getting on the scale now and seeing the weight drop off. It is a great motivator for when I get those cravings when I smell something I love, or during big family Sunday dinners when I see the food I used to eat. I am not hungry doing the program but my brain sometimes has different ideas on what it wants. Luckily for me my stomach tells it you are not hungry and to forget about it. A few minutes later and I am on to something else and happier that I passed on the temptation.
My entire family has been great in motivating me and helping me stick to my goals. My mom even has plans to go to an informational meeting in March to see about joining! I told her I would go with her for support because everyone needs someone in their corner. My husband's aunt who I think of like a mom went through Optifast and she is my inspiration. She checks in on me, sends me motivational thoughts, and sent me tons of recipes for when I get bored. Right now I am doing ok but am looking forward to using some of them later.
I am glad I found this site as working with others can be a real motivator or support when times get tough. Those were weeks 3 and 4 for me. I keep telling myself that it took time to pack on and it will take time to loose. Also that I am human and one mistake does not derail me from my overall goal. That last one is a hard one for me!
In the end, I have been on the program for a month and a half now and I am already down 28lbs so all is good for now. I hope you all find support in your program and know that we are all in the same boat. This journey will be one rollercoaster ride but once you get off it, you will love the results!
Take Care,
Rachael:drinker:

Sharing some thoughts today:
Head Hunger vs. level of felling full
For me this has been a real struggle. I have never really had a handle on this felling full. I use to eat and eat till I couldn't eat no more; which is really bad for you. Now, I am getting comfortable with it. I am learning to do several thing. I am sure you have heard that it takes 20 minutes for your stomach and the rest of your digestive system to give you a signal that you get to you brain to say you are full. I never paid any attention to it. Now I am trying to listen to my body and do some things first before listening to my stomach instead of my brain. I first try to pause and drink some water. Then I drink so more water. Then I do a rating of the hunger on a scale. The moderator of my group gave us a packet called "Mindful eating" inside is a scale to rate your huger and satiety. 1-10 scale. At first I just read this and put it away. The next week everyone wanted to discuss this and we did. Some of the group were using this everyday. So, I gave it a shot. I have a copy of the scale in my Daytimer and I look at it when I need to.

Question to everyone:

Have you read this and how is it working for you??

it works well to control Head hunger, allowing me to get to true physical hunger, allowing Me time tro make good choices.. It is gluten free so I actually had them ion my cupboard for baking already. They seem to be able to pull garbage out of the intestional track allowing for soft stools even on low calorie diet.

I use 1/2 teas xantham gum and 1/4 teas guar gum split over 2 shakes.

Unfortunately I am reacting to gluten ..soy protein..or titanium dioxide in my progresso soup from Sat night, so for the next 3 days weight loss is unlikely as my system takes its nap. So it's on to miralax and amitiza to try to jump start my digestive system.

I hate these food allergies.

You are doing so very very very good. Experimenting is the key to keeping you going. I like cinnamon in my chocolate Shake. When I need energy I use nutmage. Maybe it is in my head but, it works. Keep up the good work.

Another trick I did was I took a bar of soap and had a friend do my out line on the mirror. I used the full length one in my bedroom. Only I can look at it and see how i am doing. I held my arms up to get the outline of my arms and kind of spread my legs out too. My outline is changing each month. It is really helpful to see how much your upper body changes before the lower part does. I also take measurements of my upper arms, chest, waist,hip, thights and wrists. My rings are getting so loose that I have to have them resized by the jeweler. Small Steps at a time really helps! Let me know how the potatoes go for you. When I did it I only got three isles before putting them back LOL!!

Hi Everyone today is Monday, I go tomorrow for weigh-in. I am not looking forward to it because I had a very hard weekend. We had ice and sleet followed by snow. No going out to the gym and I just wasn't in the mood to do anything at home. I am reading the Book "Solutions" which is on the reading list from Opitfast Welcome packet. This really addressed the FEELINGS issue. I am learning to ask three questions: 1)What am I feeling? 2)What do I need? and 3) Do I need support? Most of the time I keep coming up with Anger. That is when I want to eat things crunchy so I tear things up LOL!!! It stays for a while and then goes away. But in the time I am experiencing it - it seems like a very long time. So, of course I ate some things I am not suppose to eat. But, at least this time I did not beat myself up and I wrote somethings in my journal. Writing really helps a lot!!