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Bigdog214
Bigdog214 Posts: 6 Member
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Hi. I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Ken and I'm 57 yo from Florida. I'm 426 lbs and started Optifast yesterday. I've lost 100 lbs 3x in my life and 200 once but can never seem to keep it off. Not to sound dramatic, but at 57 I have to do something now. I don't see many people in their 60's walking around @ 400 lbs.

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  • HLaR79
    HLaR79 Posts: 1,519 Member
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    Welcome Bigdog, i hope you find the right recipie for your life this time around.
  • asrai50
    asrai50 Posts: 937 Member
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    Welcome Ken. Best of luck and I have confidence you can do this! Curious, how long do you stay on Optifast and do they have a plan for working back into a healthy diet from there? I am not super familiar with that plan.
  • Bigdog214
    Bigdog214 Posts: 6 Member
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    The plan is 16 weeks. Somewhere around week 12 they start re-introducing food as part of the "transitioning" process. Its physician supervised. I check in every week with them and there is also a weekly support meeting. In addition its also encouraged to see an outside therapist that deals with food issues they can provide a list of names.
  • MissBecca145
    MissBecca145 Posts: 149 Member
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    Welcome Ken! My dad had a lot of success with Optifast in the past - I'm sure you'll smash it.
    I'm on shakes at the moment too. Not Optifast - vegan pea protein (I'm not vegan, I just find vegan shakes agree with me more). 2 shakes and a meal baby!
    And I second completely the Optifast recommendation of seeing a therapist. I find it helping me immensely.
    Becca
  • asrai50
    asrai50 Posts: 937 Member
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    Do you like the pea protein? I wanted to maybe add a protein shake as an after workout snack since I really need to boost my protein intake. I have had issues before finding a protein powder that was palatable to me.
  • Italian_Buju
    Italian_Buju Posts: 8,030 Member
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    Things like meal replacement make me a bit twitchy.....that is not something you can keep up for life, so won't you just gain weight back once you start eating real food again?
    I like Quest bars for a protein boost, but not as a meal replacement. I eat them as either part of a meal, or as a snack. I do not like any kind of shake or smoothie cuz the texture makes me cringe, so bars are the way to go for extra protein for me.
  • HLaR79
    HLaR79 Posts: 1,519 Member
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    Asrai: my dietician told me just to use skim milk powder to up protien in things... If your making your own shakes that may be something you can add
  • MissBecca145
    MissBecca145 Posts: 149 Member
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    asrai50 wrote: »
    Do you like the pea protein? I wanted to maybe add a protein shake as an after workout snack since I really need to boost my protein intake. I have had issues before finding a protein powder that was palatable to me.

    The pea protein has been the most palatable I've had yet. I'm currently using the Arbonne one (don't worry - I'm not selling it, just a sucker who bought it from a friend) and it's really good. I also really like the Amazonia Raw Protein Isolate, but that one is pretty pricey.

    Before I found pea proteins I liked I was making my own:
    1 cup milk of your choice
    1 egg
    Dash of cinnamon
    1 tbsp of Great Lakes Gelatin Hydrolysate (look it up - basically pure collagen, great protein, great for joints and bowel health)
    Honey to taste
  • MissBecca145
    MissBecca145 Posts: 149 Member
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    Italian_Buju wrote: »
    Things like meal replacement make me a bit twitchy.....that is not something you can keep up for life, so won't you just gain weight back once you start eating real food again?
    I like Quest bars for a protein boost, but not as a meal replacement. I eat them as either part of a meal, or as a snack. I do not like any kind of shake or smoothie cuz the texture makes me cringe, so bars are the way to go for extra protein for me.

    I'm only on replacements for the next month, then you transition in to meals (or not, if you prefer to keep going with a shake or two a day). I do the '2 shakes and a meal' a couple of times a year, just to really focus in on what I'm putting in my body.

    At the moment, it works for me to have a shake. My old M.O. was to not eat all day then totally binge out at night. Forcing myself to have shakes during the day leads me to making better choices in the evening, and helps me learn when I'm really hungry and when I'm not.

    Plus I add healthy fats/vegies to my shakes anyway, they hit out at about 300 cals or so. Same as my usual brekky of scrambled eggs. Trust me: I'd never endorse being on meal replacement shakes forever. I like eating too much :wink:

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