Starting Optifast...tips/suggestions welcome!
 

Hi all, I am going to orientation in a few days (finally! has been long awaited!)

Anyone else who is going through the program know is you are started on shakes the same night as orientation or do you have to wait for a follow up appointment?

How are things going?
 

I see that it's been a few days since you've posted. How are you doing? :wave:

Doing well so far - I haven't started yet because I have to go through all of the appointments but I should be in the program as of the first week of April - The earliest they could schedule my evaluations were on March 31st and April 4th so now I am just counting the days!

Good for you
 

I'm into week two and it's not that bad. I had a couple of rough days but that was about it. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

Thanks! I am mentally preparing myself as I have heard that the first week is the toughest but I am so eager to begin the program I hope my willpower keeps me going strong!

Optifast beginner
 

Hello there,
So glad I found you here. I just started the program yesterday. I am completing my 2nd day. I have to say, I am really hungry but I just keep trying to visualize what I would look like 30-40 pounds lighter. The past few days I have been reading through various sites to hear of other people's successes. So far it help makes it a little easier. I wish you both the best of luck. I hope that we can share this journey to reach our goals.:) Keep posting, helps keep me motivated.

Thank you! I go for my physical tomorrow (the last appointment I need before starting).
Hopefully I can get into the meeting tomorrow if there is enough time after my appointment. I am dying to start the program and the next full fast meeting I can attend around my work schedule is not until Wed evenings...I don't want to wait another week! lol

I start my program tomorrow!!!! am SO excited!

Congratulations. I wish you all the best. Just know that you are going to get hungry whether its the first day or a few days down the road. Stay positive and think of all the positives you will receive once you lose weight.

Thanks. I am starting it while having a couple days off so that while I am adjusting I am not snapping at and scaring my co-workers!

So how is your optifast diet going? You should be finished with your first month by now. What is your weight loss? I am finished with 2 weeks and down 10 LBs. Added exercise this week and we'll see what happens at the next weigh in.

It is going well! Today will be my third weigh in. At my second weigh in last week I was down exactly 10.00lbs. It is a great starting point and definitely a motivation. I haven't cheated nor have I wanted to cheat. I have a goal and no amount of food will taste as good as losing weight is feeling.

cost?
 

I've been considering this program, but I heard it's expensive....it sounds like it works, can I ask how much you've invested so far and what you're expected to do to stay on the program?

Thank you!!

Hi, looking at the program, it does seem expensive. When I added up the amount I spend at Dunkin Donuts in the mornings, going out/ordering in for lunch, dining out at restaurants some nights or ordering Pizza with the hubby....wine/alcohol etc...and the fact that none of that would be happening on the Optifast program, it is really not a lot out of pocket in comparison.

In my area it is a $295 program fee (one time fee). $100 for the psych eval (another one time fee) (neither covered by insurance). There is also a monthly $125 fee for the program (most are 4/5 month programs (20-22 weeks usually) and then you can continue on afterwards with out the monthly fee - in my area at least!)

Two main programs - 1) Full fast - all shakes, no food. Eventually (after 12+ weeks usually) you are weaned onto the Modified program 2) Modified - some shakes, 1 "lean and green" meal. Eventually you are weaned onto more and more food.

Both programs have weekly meetings that you have to attend (also where you buy your shakes/bars/soups). You have access to an exercise coach, nutritionist etc.

I am doing full fast, which for my weight means 5 shakes a day - an 800 calorie diet total. Eventually I can have an Optifast Soup a day but I am not there yet. I can't have the bars until I am weaned onto Modified.
The shakes are $3.75 each premade/drink box ones, around $3 for the powdered that you shake with fluid. I have to meet weekly with the doctor (a full fast requirement, I think it is every few weeks for modified). My weekly co-pay is $30, the actual doctors visit is covered by my insurance.

If I average the costs of the shakes, co-pay and monthly fee, I am spending about $190 a week.

Before the program I was spending $35 a week at Dunkin Donuts ALONE. Lunch usually averaged about $10-12 a week....never mind dinner/drinks/snacks/sharing a bottle of wine at dinner or ordering a $10 martini....

When you compare what you ARE NOT paying for, paying for the program really doesn't seem as extreme.


I hope this was helpful!!!

Third weigh in last night, another 3.3LBs lost - - total of 13.3LBs in 19 days!

So happy. I was able to start on soups also. For the first week I can substitute one shake with one soup every other day. Next week I can do one soup to replace a shake once a day.

Alarkin - just to help each soup is about $3.20

This thread is so encouraging! Where's the "like" button? :D
...and thanks again, nibog for the tips

Thanks Starlight!!! I am glad it helped!

Woo-hoo! Lost a total of 16.00lb in 26 days!!! Officially out of the 250s forever! I have not weighed in under 250 in over 3 years! Doing my happy dance! :carrot:

Yay nibog! :cp:

That's completely awesome! Congratulations! :bravo:

Thank you Mintz!!!

nibog,
How are you doing? :)

Anyone else? :)

4 more days till the informational meeting and the start of my Optifast program. I'm so ready and so far I have been able to resist the urge to eat like a pig before I start the program. :D

Doing good! Today marks one month on the program. Can't wait for my weight in on Wednesday. I have a strict rule about not weighing myself at home, otherwise I'll become obsessed with it lol

nibog
Happy Anniversary!!
One month down is a big deal! :)

My first official day is tomorrow... very nervous but SO excited!

Hooray, you finally get to start!! Go girl go! :cheer:

Still waiting my turn :p
2 more days till orientation

Thanks. I had the chocolate flavor this morning (of the Optifast 70 variety). It... was not good. I put in 3 packets of Splenda and still had issues getting it down. Might try blending it with ice and some diet root beer or something later today.

Uh oh, sorry to hear you don't like the taste of the chocolate. :p Poking around the 'net, I have seen that people seem to like vanilla the best. I guess the vanilla is easier to flavor.

Yeah, that's what I discovered at "lunch" just now (I use quotation marks since I'm drinking something and not actually eating, haha). I mixed the vanilla with some diet orange soda. It was a lot easier to drink than the chocolate this morning. It still tastes odd - almost a fish oil aftertaste IMO - but considering it's an 80 calorie shake, that's sort of to be expected. :) Heh.

Sorry for the double post, but wanted to give a bit of an update.

Played around with the vanilla Optifast 70 today. Tried it with diet orange soda (not bad), fruit punch Crystal Light (pretty good), iced coffee (coffee + vanilla Optifast 70 + bit of Splenda, blended thoroughly in blender). The iced coffee rendition is my favorite so far I think.

Anyway, It's 10PM, and I'm sitting here watching TV. I'm pretty sure this time of day will be the hardest part. I even caught myself thinking, "well, I'm hungry now, but at least tomorrow I can have actual fo-- wait, no, I can't."

I'm really looking forward to the first couple days being over, because I've heard those are the worst while your body adjusts to ketosis.

To be continued...!

Hang in there floralshorts! I go for orientation tomorrow and I'm hoping to get my appts done quickly so I can get started ASAP!

Thanks for posting things that do and don't work for ya ... I'm taking notes. ;)

Have fun at your orientation tomorrow. :D When is your start date? Do you have one yet? Are you planning on doing Optifast 70 too?

I had better luck today with the chocolate Optifast 70, thank god! I mixed it with coffee, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and a little Splenda. The cinnamon TOTALLY cut out the nasty aftertaste of the chocolate. It was so good I felt like I was cheating while drinking it.

Other news: I was pretty irritable today. I will attribute that to my body not being in ketosis yet/me being hungry at random times in the day. I can't wait until I'm in ketosis so that I don't feel hungry. D:

TMI news: I use the birth control Nexplanon (implant in arm) and have been for about four years now. While on Nexplanon, I don't get a period, which is awesome. When I tried low-carb/keto eating earlier this year, I would have random breakthrough bleeding, which was annoying. Well, today that started happening again. I was curious why this only seems to happen when I'm eating low carb, so I poked around on the internet for a bit. Apparently the reason is that because estrogen is stored in fat, when you lose fat rapidly it gets released into your system, flooding your body with excess hormones, which can sometimes cause breakthrough bleeding or irregular periods. Interesting.

floralshorts
At the meeting today I will find out the dates for my physical and psych evaluation and also my fasting start date. I'm just celebrating one step closer with today's orientation. :) I'll be doing full fast for 12 weeks with Optifast 800. :)

About your TMI... I guess the bright side is that you are indeed burning fat? :shrug:

Chocolate... with coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, splenda... got it, thanks! :)

Hang in there... everyone says the first week is killer but you can do it!! :cheer:

I recommend this program for anyone serious about losing weight.... I am down another 3.6lbs this week.... A total of 19.6lbs since April 4th....

If you are doing Optifast 800 you might not have as many "yuck" issues with the flavor of the shakes. When I met with my dietician last week she made me a complimentary chocolate shake with the 800 formula and it was pretty decent. All she added was water. :)

Congrats nibog! That's an impressive loss! I hope my results are as awesome as yours. :D

Floral shorts - - I was on Implanon (a type of birth control stick in the arm) for 5 years...Started it at 19, had it replaced at 22 as it has a 3 year life cycle, removed it at 24 (about 2 weeks before turning 25) when we decided to start trying for a family.

I gained a LOT of weight with the second insertion of Implanon, I didn't have my period more than a half dozen times during those 5 years. Now I have an unbelieveably messed up cycle (have gone up to 18 weeks in between periods! - They hope I will regulate after losing weight - they think the irregular periods and my ocular migraines are both a result of high estrogen levels which is a result of high fat percentage in the body (like you pointed out).

Life is so much fun, isn't it?

Omg, crazy! Implanon doesn't have the weight gain effect on me for whatever reason, but I made up for that by being depressed and eating my life away haha. I really like it though, other than the random bleeding that I'm getting now... blah.

And... I'VE OFFICIALLY LOST 11.8 POUNDS! When I went to the clinic last week, I weighed in at 245.8. I'm not going to be able to go to my clinic to get officially weighed until next Tuesday, 3/13, so I figured "what the heck" and weighed myself at home this morning. It said 234! I was in a happy shock. And this is only my fourth full day on Optifast 70. Wow is all I can say. Really happy over here. :)

Since I don't have enough posts yet to get a weight countdown in my signature, here's where I stand right now:

SW: 245.8
CW: 234
GW 1: 175
UGW: 160

Wow, you guys are quickly disappearing! :D ;)

I'm waiting for a call to see when I get to start. The center I'm going to only takes 3 new people a week but I got my paperwork in ASAP so I'm hoping I'm near the top of the list!!

I. hate. waiting. :p

I hope you are at the top of the list too! It is annoying to wait on something you know is going to change your life, haha. Spend your waiting time getting in all of your favorite foods! ;)

Today is day five of Optifast 70 for me. Yesterday went much better than the first three days. I have some Ketostix which test your urine to see if you're in ketosis - as of yesterday and today, I am definitely in ketosis. I am also getting a lot less hungry. I try to drink a shake every three hours.

My only problem so far is cravings! I know I won't cheat, but goodness, I am sure craving some pizza. I unfollowed a few food blogs on Tumblr because all of their posts were making me hungry, haha!

I know I have the will power to not cheat but the mental cravings are still there. I just keep reminding myself that cheating is not worth it. Which would I rather have... a slice of grease laden pizza, or a sexy figure? I think I'll go with the latter. ;)

You are lucky! The next orientation for me is May 22 and the program doesn't start till july! JULY? What! Now, I'm trying to figure out what to do till then!!
Any suggestions??? I really don't want to gain more wight to loose in July! Oy~

Oh and FANTASTIC job! You are doing GREAT! I look forward to seeing your success!!