Well today I am back after being out of town since Wednesday for a stressful conference. There were lots of celebrations and pressures to eat and drink. I am happy to say when I weighed myself on my home scale I was EXACTLY the same weight as Wednesday morning. I had planned on one night of splurging and had hoped to be able to get a walk in 3 times. I splurged twice, walked once (although I ended up getting 10,000 steps 3 days) and had 3 more glasses of wine than planned. I also ate some cake, brownies and ice cream but I ate nothing but salad when I had to eat out with others, and stuck to the shakes for breakfast, snacks and a couple of dinners. I also bought blueberries to snack on in the hotel room. So it is possible to travel and stay on track (somewhat). I hate to think what the scale would have said this morning if I weren't doing Optifast and had kept my previous mindset of it being a special occasion, and thus a green light to eat everything and anything. So back to the routine and hopefully another weight loss by the end of the week!

Oooh nice work Kojoshogirl!! I think travel is super hard, but Optifast has been making it a little easier. Glad to hear you too!

Newbie to OPTIFAST!
 

Hello all - I've just joined this site so not entirely sure whether I have the hang of things yet or not? I just searched Optifast on the threads and this is where I ended up (feel free to give me any tips I need to know to participate). So, I'm into Day 15 of Optifast 900 in Ontario (4 shakes only per day + water). The first week, following just the shakes/water, I was down 4.5 pounds and although a little disappointed (really don't know what I was expecting but I'm sure that's reasonable), I've stuck with it to date. From the beginning, I didn't have any headaches and haven't been really hungry as long as I have my shake every 4 hours so with that, I am happy! I have had a few really bad mental days where I'm almost trying to justify to myself that "I will always be the same person inside, what does it matter that I'm fat - let's go get pizza" however, I've managed to overcome those days with the "I will just get through this day with shakes" attitude - so far, so good :) My problem is that when I go to our weekly clinic (hospital) visits, we only get weighed in every 2 weeks with a health check. This coming Tuesday won't be a weigh-in for me but I've told myself, it doesn't really matter - as long as I'm just doing shakes/water, I'll lose and the following week should be a good surprise. So I sabotaged myself by weighing myself at home the other day (which I told myself I was not going to do) and sure enough, my digital scale showed I was only down 1 pound (from Tuesday evening weigh-in until Friday night). I must say this was VERY demotivating - wtf - I'm only taking the shakes and water!? I'm also not entirely sure that I'm in Ketosis? I know I'm supposed to be but I don't think (nor does my husband think) that I have that really awful breath I'm supposed to have. Is it possible that I'm not in Ketosis - ugghh :( ? They don't actually check for ketosis when I do my hospital visits - has anyone had any luck with the urine kits from the drug store (I've heard they're not entirely reliable)? Thanks peeps! ;)

Sue,
A couple of thoughts. I weigh myself at home just about the same time every day as an accountability and motivation method. I know it is not going to be the same number I see when I go to the clinic. I use it to see if I'm going up or down, not for the actual number. So if you are going to weigh yourself at home, do it consistently.
As far as the keratosis, I don't think I am experiencing it either, but if you stick with it, you will lose. I too lost about 4.5 lbs. my first week, then a slow and steady rate of about 1 - 2 lbs per week.
It's ok to splurge once in a while. This past weekend I went to an Outback Steakhouse for dinner. I got the smallest, leanest cut of meat, and 2 veggies for sides, 1 slice of the bread. I cut the meat in half and put it away. I felt satisfied and my craving for a steak was taken care of. I counted the calories when I got home and I was within my budgeted calories.
If you're craving pizza, go somewhere where you can order just one slice and a big salad (with dressing on the side!) and see if that doesn't satisfy you. Good luck on your journey!!

Sue FWIW, I did a program last year similar to Optifast, just a different brand. My doctor said that the OTC ketosis strips you can get at a drug store are not necesarily reliable for this type of ketosis and are really designed for diabetics to use to prevent getting into a dangerous diabetic ketosis range. Everyone's experience is different, but for me, the only thing that kept me going was to not stray at all because I knew I wouldn't be able to keep on track afterwards. To stay in ketosis you have to keep at the specific prescribed levels and even things like adding too much lemon to your water can up the overall carb count. Some people lose in "steps," so very little some weeks and then a big drop later- you might be one of those people. You are still in the early stages...good luck and stick with it! One piece of advice that helped me was that to do a diet like this you had to make it your main priority in your life. If you have to distract yourself from wanting to eat with for example watching crappy TV or going shoe shopping- do it, guilt free in the name of diet! :carrot:

feeling lost
 

Dear all,
I am new to this site. I have been on optifast for 6 weeks, I did not cheat once. I lost 45 pounds (weighed 247 at start of diet). I have been in "ketosis" for the past 2 weeks at least. it is real. It is when you stop getting hungry for food, may initially get a bit lethargic, weak, no appetite, struggle to even get up in the morning, etc. I also found out that I had very low sodium levels (I was gearing up for hernia surgery that was just cancelled yesterday due to the harmful low level of sodium in my system). It is true that being on shake only diet (with only broccoli, cucumbers, celery and/or salad allowed in 2 cups per day total - no salt, no sugars, no dressings, just vinegar and lemon) does allow you to understand your pratfalls that allow you to overeat that you may not have realized ie. when I would make my daughter's breakfasts, lunches or dinners, I would always wipe off the spoon I was using to prepare them by sticking it in my mouth, as well as any uneaten food. I realized this only when I wasn't eating and was about to stick a fork of rice in my mouth to clean it off and though "whoa!" and stopped. I had to do this a few times but I realized how many other bad habits had formed over the years to subconsciously overfeed myself and/or comfort myself with food. In this respect, the diet is a great identifier of those bad habits. It also is a cleansing of sugar toxins in the body. The negative is that when you are not hungry anymore, and you just think, who cares if I don't have that last shake, I don't need it. I did this for times here and there, to the point that I had leftover shakes after 4 wks, when there shouldnt have been any. this resulted in hyponaetremia (not sure if I spelled that right, but it is very low sodium). this can be dangerous and resulted in my surgery being cancelled because I could have seizures. I am not saying to go off the diet, but the limitations it presents on the other side of the spectrum (people not having enough shakes after ketosis) can be very dangerous and rarely mentioned by dr's that give it to you (they assume you will either stick to it or at worst - cheat - which means more sodium/potassium/sugar, not less). If you feel weak after the initial 2 week "H-angry" stage, that is NOT GOOD and you should check that your sodium/potassium and electrolites are at their appropriate levels. this is a dr supervised diet for a reason, which needs weekly supervision by drs which I did not receive. Also, the diet, is just that, a diet. It has a beginning and an end. Once it ends, you have to be extremely confident that you can stick to the new way of eating you have fashioned for yourself - that means, without shakes. That is the scary part for me. I am trying to figure out how long I have to stay on this diet to form NEW GOOD habits enough to minimize the BAD ones, as well as shedding my life-long addiction to carbs and starchy foods, and of course, eating 3 plates of everything instead of 3/4 plate.

waiting to get tested again on monday to ensure my sodium levels are up enough to finally have my surgery on wednesday. I had chicken soup for the first time yesterday and a gatorade (dr's orders, of course - 1 gatorade a day, cut my water intake by half and add salt to my meals, and I thought to tell him - "what MEALS??? There are no MEALS?!?!?!?") and felt like I had put a tablespoon of salt in my mouth - yuk!, but I drank it because the last few days leading up to the surgery date, I was feeling so weak I couldn't breathe well outdoors (it is summer humidity now) and I was having chest pain and couldn't walk for more than a few meters without getting weak and needing to sit. it was bad. not to mention the headaches, forgetting stuff and nausea. terrible feeling.
So, I gladly took the gatorade and gulped it down, then later had some clear homemade chicken soup for saltiness because I was too weak to cut up a salad just to have salt. I went to bed feeling much better.... then I woke up in the middle of the night with my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth - severe dehydration. yay.
I woke up in the morning and was unsure of what to eat, what if I consume too much sodium? what would that do? And what about all the sugar in gatorade? I worked hard to lose 45 lbs, just to put sugar back in my body so that I get hungry ghrelins in my body that screams "food! food! food!" as soon as it starts working on my seritonin levels??
So, I am afraid to eat, but I know I need to to feel better. So I have more chicken broth with some chicken in it (no fat, of course). Still leaves very salty film on my tongue hours after I have eaten it. everything else tastes minerally because of this salty film on my tongue. and my mouth is dry. but at least I am not panting for air and too weak to walk.

yes, I have lost 45 pounds in 6 wks, but it won't make much of a difference if I don't feel healthy enough to enjoy how I look. This is where I am at. Sorry, I'm little bummed out here and feel like I have just lost my best friend....food.

Sincerely,

Missbehavin13

Anyone still here?
 

Hello? Is anyone still out there?
I just finished reading this WHOLE thread!!!!! I loved seeing all of the successes and challenges of the program.
I am starting on Optifast through Kaiser's Medical Weight Management Program (that's a mouthful, no?) on 10/04/16. It's our first actual meeting and then we start product on 10/11/16. I've been reading and studying and preparing myself since I was accepted into the October group at the beginning of the month. The group was "full" when inquired which had bummed me out because I AM READY TO CHANGE. And then, someone decided not to start in October and I GOT IN!!!!
I feel like all of this is happening for a reason and I am in with both feet and ready to make lasting changes to my life.
I found this website today and I can't even begin to describe how I feel. I know support is huge and I am grateful to find somewhere where everyone has the same goal in mind: Lose weight and be healthy.
If anyone out there is still going through the program, please say hello and add me as a friend. I would love to increase the net of support that I have behind me!!
So excited to do this with all of you!!! :carrot:

Yay!
 

I know exactly how you feel. Once I decided to go this route, I wanted to get going. It took 3 weeks to get an appointment to go to initial seminar. Then first available appointment was November. They called me today and had a cancellation for this Thursday. I'm so excited and scared!! I want this soooo bad. It's my time. I have read everything I could get my hands on and feel I can do this. So glad I will be able to blog with you. I won't feel alone!!!

You are most definitely not alone!! I'm here for you. I started a blog to document everything about this journey. I've been brutally honest on there which has been very hard because I had to reveal things that I wanted to keep a secret. For instance, how much I weighed. But, my whole purpose for the blog was to have support so I wanted to be fully up front with everyone. Then, they can see how far I have come.
I also have been reading so much.
We can do this. We totally got this.

I'm so glad I decided to blog. I've never done it before. We can be here for each other and others! My co-workers are very supportive and we started taste testing on the 3 different flavor so if shakes. Tried strawberry today.....,.,,not for me. Will try the others next 2 days. If anyone has secret to keep the shakes tasty would love to hear them! My appointment is in 2 days and I think it will be very enlightening with the psychologist and the doctor 😬😬😬😬. I'll keep you posted and will do this TOGETHER!

Optifast
 

Hiiii,

I went for my first appointment Monday and here in UAE my insurance covers the price of everything even the shakes so the doctor gave me 5 shakes sample to try to chose which ones I prefer for the program... We didn't discuss everything yet I will go back on Monday and will start then ! My weight is 113 kg (249lbs) and 170 (5.6ft). I am happy I found this thread, read it all and was amazed with the different experiences. My first target it's to lose 27 kg (59.5 lbs) to be under Obesity 30. Then I would like to lose another 13-15 kg! We can do it if they all did it!! Actually we must do it because tomorrow never comes!

Shakes
 

I read other threads where they advised to mix it with cold/iced water so I did so and it was amazing!! Some other mixed it with 0 sugar syrup but I don't have that so didn't try! I don't know which taste do you have in your country but I tried the lemon wafer dessert and it's amaziiiiing

Hi ladies!
 

I lost a solid 10 lbs since July. That doesn't sound like much, but I started out at 170 and I'm now down to 160 lbs. I kind of took a hiatus from the program while I was writing my first paper for my grad school in mid-September and I am having a tough time getting back into it. It's actually a small victory for me because before I would have backslid entirely instead of maintaining.
All I can say is I see now how it is so easy to get addicted to sugar. I also started jogging again so I find for the first week or two after starting exercise again there is no movement on the scale. My goal is to lose another 10lbs., up to 15 lbs. I am 5'4" and my mom has severe arthritis and is extremely overweight, and I know I don't want to be in that situation even though my genes are against me.
For the shakes, besides the sugar free syrups (Torani, usually found in the coffee aisle in your supermarket) I like to put 1 tablespoon of powdered peanut butter called PB2 in the chocolate powder. It's worth the few extra calories for the taste and extra protein boost.

Hello
 

Hello nikkinicole

I'm new here too. Can't wait to lose the rest of this weight!

Well I am obese (was 282lb at the start of this) and have been thinking of losing it via optifast for a while after seeing how much a family member lost, but I didn't start the program until I got the flu and had to have antibiotics for a secondary infection which stuffed up my guts and I got such severe reflux that I couldn't eat at all and was struggling to keep water down. After losing 15lb in 7 days I figured I had better find something that I could keep down and that would remove visceral fat without making me lose what little muscle I have. So I went with the optifast as it's balanced, very little food ( can't have big meals) and I still needed to lose weight so why not do it without starving? Anyway I've just completed my 8th week and I have lost 48.5lb already. That is despite the fact that I had to have rehydrate several times daily to prevent dehydration as the optifast gave me diarea and I was struggling to drink enough already. So technically I didn't go into ketosis for most of my optifast journey, but still lost heaps of weight. I am actually quite amazed truthfully. I can't do much of any exercise due to pain still, but I can walk S so I got a Fitbit and I am walking 10000+ steps a day. I have to otherwise the reflux makes my life ****, so I guess my tummy kind of put me on a diet here. I have simply done it and informed my Doctor just recently and she is happy for me to keep this up, but will be doing blood tests soon as I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and am a type 2 diabetic so my medication might need to be adjusted. I am hoping to go off a few of these medications once I have lost my weight as I was never really overweight until an accident a few years ago when I was put on medication for the pain that just made me hungry 24/7 - and I never had any of these health issues (including reflux) until I picked up so much weight. I am sure it will be hard to keep it off after all this so I am going to stick to the optifast plan absolutely, including the different phases to make sure I don't fall off the wagon. Worst for me right now is the fact that I love the mouth feel of food and miss it like nobody's business. I'm not hungry but oh my word, that crunchy bread.....I've kind of resolved the issue by chewing a tiny piece then spitting it out if I feel it gets too hard to bear. It makes it kind of pointless so it totally ruins the experience for me, which is kind of the idea I guess lol. I love food and love to cook and most of the time it isn't an issue as (a) I'm in ketosis so not hungry plus yucky mouth taste and (b) being around food and preparing it is almost as much fun as eating it. On the plus side my family have been losing weight too as I'm practicing preparing healthy meals for when I'm back to eating normally. I'm having 2 shakes a day plus the chocolate desert for dinner as I can't eat the vegetable soups or bars due to some additives they have and I need to have some sort of mouth feel to my food at dinner time or I will crack 😂 I'm also having a cup of carrots and a cup of baby spinach stir friend in 2tbsp of olive oil and then cooked and puréed as my digestion is not yet up to eating whole lumps of food yet. Are you guys doing the 2+ cups of non-starchy vegs with 2Tbsp of oil per day too? Any advice for me her? You ladies seem to have so many great ideas.