optifast dieters

You've "tried just about everything"?

Are you sure about that? What about the Logging All Your Food to Ensure You're Eating At a Reasonable Deficit diet? It works wonders, and the best part is, it's free, and doesn't include any deprivations of food groups. Give it a shot, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

This.

Do you own a food scale? If so, do you weigh EVERYTHING?

Read these:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here?hl=so+you're+new+here

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

I did Optifast last year. As long as you're doing it through a legitimate, doctor-monitored program, then I'd say it's a good way for someone who has a lot of weight to lose to get started. The number one thing to keep in mind when it comes to any meal replacement program is that the purpose of it is to get a motivating chunk of weight off the body to start one's long term weight loss and maintenance. The good part about doing this through a clinic (which is required in Canada at least, the shakes are by prescription only) is the class environment, where you, along with others who are dealing with their obesity and related health problems can check in every week, and have informative sessions with dieticians, behaviourists, and exercise specialists. Those are all positive things, and the emphasis is on *how you are going to eat once you transition back into real food.* Unlike other meal replacement things, it isn't about hooking people on the product for life, but an emergency measure to drop some weight combined with required classes to help one learn how to eat for the rest of one's life (which is based on a healthy balanced diet, similar to a diabetic exchange diet or old school food exchange diet).

Now, with *any* diet, the point is that no matter which one you choose, there is going to be a calorie deficit. So in that respect, all "diets" work. What matters is what you do once you reach your goal. So many people, optifast users included, get to a certain goal and then turn around and begin overeating and slipping back into their old habits again. Over the last year I've watched other folks do this over the months. Some of them catch it early and try to curb that tendency early on, and I think these are the people who will manage to keep at least some of that weight loss. Others-- not so much. There is an all-or-nothing mentality amongst many of us who are overweight and obese- where we can do weight loss in the short term, but long term maintenance is our achilles heel. Once any weight comes back on, many just immediately give up and slide back into our old eating ways. Part of it is very much a behaviour thing, and part of it is influenced by our bodies, which have been trained for so long to maintain a certain baseline of weight that it *wants* to get back to that original, overweight number.

Good luck on your journey. Be sure you're doing this through a doctor and that you *qualify* to be an optifast patient. Don't do a "I bought this crap off of amazon" thing, PLEASE. Make sure to take your metamucil pills and drink a LOT of water like the doctor will say, otherwise you'll have some serious issues as those shakes do not really have fiber in them. Don't drink less shakes than recommended, or again, you'll be sorry, and possibly end up in the hospital. Don't think of Optifast as a panacea, it's just a jump start to your long-term weight loss goals, which will be had through eating a balanced diet and adding in exercise, if you are physically able to do so.

Princess- I don't know about in the US, but in Canada, you *have* to be obese (usually morbidly so), *and* have medical issues related to or influenced by your weight in order to get into the programs. The emphasis is that it's a short-term boost for those needing to lose large amounts of weight. I'll agree that it's not for someone who needs to lose 20-40 lbs, etc.

Most folks who "graduate" from Optifast and continue with their weight loss are doing precisely what the naysayers on this thread are suggesting-- they eat a reasonable caloric deficit that is well-balanced, and add in exercise. Optifast isn't meant to be a lifelong thing, not even remotely.

You need support to do it (you won't get it on MFP because they ascribe to completely different philosophy - ultimately a long-term, healthy one than meal-replacements!). So make sure you are seeing a nutritionist or GP. The program will mess with your guts and its been known to trigger gall bladder attacks.

Yep. Gallstones are actually a side effect of rapid weight loss, so yeah it does happen to some folks who are on optifast, especially morbidly obese, older women --the risk factors for gallstones are the five f's-- forty, fat,fertile(had children), female, and fair (caucasians get them more). Ironically, I lost a lot of weight when pregnant with my second child (I was eating a lot, but something about my daughter's metabolism was somehow "eating me up" during that time. To this day, this child eats like a horse and doesn't gain an ounce of weight), which caused gallstones, so my gallbladder was gone a long time ago.

But yeah, doctor monitoring is essential. Following doctor's orders is essential. reporting any problems is essential. Sometimes the doctors will tweak the program for people who have different nutritional needs- the bigger men in our program last year were also told to eat more protein in the form of low fat meat along with leafy greens during that time because just the shakes were nowhere near enough for them. There was also someone in the group who was borderline little person height and stature, and was actually having a bit less than everyone else. If you're not in a program that's controlled and doctor monitored and you're just taking the meal replacements because it seems "easier" to do, then there's going to be problems for sure...