[floralshorts]

Originally Posted by StarlightMintz

floralshorts
Fantastic that you got some good news and get to start on Monday (*turns a pretty shade of green 'cause I want to get started too*)

You will start soon! I dunno why but I'm just REALLY nervous about starting! I think it's because I'm anxious to see if this will actually work or not. I mean, I know it will as long as I don't cheat, but I'm really anxious-excited about this whole process!

[StarlightMintz]

foralshorts

It's a big step to take and an expensive one too but it's gonna be sooo worth it! You're gonna do great!!

[nibog]

Floralshorts I get butterflies in my stomach every time I go to weigh in. I know it is silly as I have no cheated once but it still is a "what if my luck ran out and I didn't lose and am going to stay fat forever" panic for about 5 min as I am about to head in.

Ridiculous? Yes. Improbable? Very likely. Still happens? Every damn time.

[Carla127]

Excited to see everyone's progress. Good job and keep up the hard work!

I started Optifast on 4/20 and have lost 9 lbs! (Currently at 177!) I feel incredible and love the changes that just 9 lbs will make. Excited to keep going. I definitely find that if I start the day with shakes, save my food allowance until later in the day, and get in all my water that I am not hungry at all. If I eat food early and just have shakes left I tend to get hungry and have an extra fruit or veggies.

My worry is with Spring comes a few parties which will have food and alcohol. I know I will have no problem saying no to alcohol as I'm not a big drinker but with a baptism, wedding, and 1st birthday all this month it is going to be hard to stick to healthy eating.

Any tips for these occasions?

186/177/163

[nibog]

Just remember...alcohol is forbidden on the diet! Our livers are already working over time processing all the fat we are squeezing out of our bodies - add alcohol into our system and you risk doing a lot more damage than a hang over. You will also take your self out of ketosis....have a few days where you are STARVING as your body adjusts and can mess with your weeks weight loss.

Doesn't sound like its worth it to me! Have some tonic water and keep a bunch of veggies at your finger tips - - you will feel 1000 times better for it.

[StarlightMintz]

Hi Carla127
I have yet to start the Optifast program so I can't really give advice, but I wanted to say howdy and give you a pat on the back for the -9!

[nibog]

Love this program..... I am 0.4lbs away from 20lbs lost.... Lost another 3.6lbs this week

[StarlightMintz]

Originally Posted by nibog

Love this program..... I am 0.4lbs away from 20lbs lost.... Lost another 3.6lbs this week

You are doing wonderfully! Keep going ... We are watching you! lol

[fah.chief]

Well this is pretty awesome innit?

Hi everyone I am new to the forum and I'm pretty stoked to have found this discussion board on optifast. I'm excited because I am starting tomorrow and my goal is to lose 22 kgs to be exact. I have done optifast before and have been successful but I did not follow through with it. I'm really convinced that this programme works. I understand that a lot of people think of optifast as a fad diet because it only consists of shakes, but I put that down to lack of information. My last journey with optifast was almost like a re-introduction to having a proper relationship with food. Obviously people will gain the weight they've lost if they're not committed to the programme so it's not so much the programme that's a failure but one's commitment to it.

Anyway, I'm so excited because this time it's not just me doing it. A lot of people at work are doing it as well so that's definitely a bonus. Plus being here in the forum is already a motivation. Just reading all your stories gets me all pumped up and ready to go for tomorrow. So nice to be here.

[StarlightMintz]

Originally Posted by fah.chief

Well this is pretty awesome innit?

Hi everyone I am new to the forum and I'm pretty stoked to have found this discussion board on optifast. I'm excited because I am starting tomorrow and my goal is to lose 22 kgs to be exact. I have done optifast before and have been successful but I did not follow through with it. I'm really convinced that this programme works. I understand that a lot of people think of optifast as a fad diet because it only consists of shakes, but I put that down to lack of information. My last journey with optifast was almost like a re-introduction to having a proper relationship with food. Obviously people will gain the weight they've lost if they're not committed to the programme so it's not so much the programme that's a failure but one's commitment to it.

Anyway, I'm so excited because this time it's not just me doing it. A lot of people at work are doing it as well so that's definitely a bonus. Plus being here in the forum is already a motivation. Just reading all your stories gets me all pumped up and ready to go for tomorrow. So nice to be here.

Hi there
Good for you for taking charge of your health and weight! Optifast is a good program and I particularly like the medical supervision aspect. Wednesday I find out when I get to start and in the meantime I'm counting calories.
Good luck and keep posting!

[Darwin503]

OP here. Wow! Can't believe this thread is still going. I'm glad so many people are getting support here.

A quick update on my progress: I'm still at 170 lbs. and feeling great. I just had my excess skin removed surgically, and I'm thrilled with the results. I feel like my transformation is complete.

As for the perception of Optifast being a fad, I think it is a combination of lack of information, and the fact that most "diets" are fads. Once you understand the complex process, and the effort (no magic bullet here) required it becomes clear it is anything but a fad.

Good luck on your journeys, and I promise to check in more often.

[nibog]

Hey OP!!! Glad to see your success!! I hope to be in your shoes soon!! I have already considered what to do if I can tone my under arm area....I have always had large underarms and I am terrified of losing weight and having flabby "wings"
I was thinking of having it "tightened/trimmed" if it became an issue but was nervous about it.

What was your experience/recovery like if you don't mind me asking...

[Darwin503]

Originally Posted by nibog

Hey OP!!! Glad to see your success!! I hope to be in your shoes soon!! I have already considered what to do if I can tone my under arm area....I have always had large underarms and I am terrified of losing weight and having flabby "wings"
I was thinking of having it "tightened/trimmed" if it became an issue but was nervous about it.

What was your experience/recovery like if you don't mind me asking...

First of all, congratulations on your success thus far. As I got deeper intoy fast, and it became apparent to everyone in my group who made it that far that there was going to be a skin issue, some people expressed real anxiety over it. Some even wondered if they should bother continuing to lose weight.

Our group leader helped us shift our thinking. Weight loss is about health, and feeling well. A side effect of losing weight is looking slimmer, and a side effect of being heavy is the excess skin. Once we stopped blaming our weight loss for the skin, we were able to cope with it.

Now to answer the question you asked Everyones skin situation will be different. I am a man, and have a decent amount of muscle in my arms. I have a slight bit of skin near my arm pit, but it doesn't bother me. My problem area was my stomach and chest. I had a tummy tick that removed 3 pounds of fat and skin, and liposuction on my chest.

Recovery took 3 weeks, and I would say it was more constant discomfort as opposed to pain. I was off the pain killers day 3. I had a hard time with the drainage tubes, and had to have 1 removed early. Once it came out around day 10, my healing occurred rapidly. I would do it all over again without hesitation.

[Fawks]

Hey All
WOW Great to see other Optifaster's on here!!!! I'm in the Optifast program in Canada and I believe it's slightly different then the states. We don't have bars or soups or anything like that.. just the shakes.

I attend weekly meetings at the hospital, and in those meetings the province pays for the nutritionist, behavior modification therapist, personal trainer, and nurses + doctor. This is my 5th week on program, and I've just hit over the 20 lbs gone mark!!

I miss food... A LOT... but they reasoning they have behind the shakes is that by cutting us off from ALL food for 12 weeks, it allows us to re-set our old habits, and we're learning new ones in class. I feel confident that this time I will reach my goal thanks to Optifast (I've tried other diets in the past and never seen much success)

[fah.chief]

WEEK 1 ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT

Hey everyone! Ah, Monday. My weigh in day. So I have just completed my first week of Optifast. My goal was just basically to complete week 1 strictly following the recommended programme (for AU & NZ, it's 3 Optifast products + two cups of low starch veggies + >2L water + a tsp of vegetable oil /day). I will say that I did cheat one day as I ate this Indian smashed pumpkin thing (I don't know what it is called) which was not allowed. But apart from that I followed it throughout the entire week. I didn't do actual exercises yet because I wanted to focus on just allowing myself to adjust with the diet first. The first day was the toughest!!! I totally felt hunger pangs the entire day so I jest kept on drinking water. The second day wasn't too bad. By day 3, I was fine. I suppose doing some weight loss hypnosis every night helped me with my food cravings too

So for week 1 I have lost...3.5 kgs (7.7 lbs)! so 14.7 kgs more to go

For week 2, my focus is to basically stick with the programme and start exercising for an hour or so. The only activity I had last week was basically walking at work and I do about 15000 steps on a 9 hour shift (I work in the operating theatre of a hospital). The challenge this week is that I will be working four 10-night shifts so I have to alter my optifast schedule and I haven't figured that out yet. But I am excited and ready. Bring on week 2!

I hope you guys are all doing fantastic!

Originally Posted by StarlightMintz

Hi there
Good for you for taking charge of your health and weight! Optifast is a good program and I particularly like the medical supervision aspect. Wednesday I find out when I get to start and in the meantime I'm counting calories.
Good luck and keep posting!

Thanks heaps!