[wannabesomebody]

I am having trouble wrapping my mind around this. optifast is just non fat milk with a 20% strength multivitamin a long with possible cocoa and sugar. As are most diet shakes.

Why can't I just drink 4 glasses of non fat milk a day with a whole mulitivitamins and a green meal?

[BlueMountain]

We all do what works for us.

Be a cynic somewhere else. This is not supportive.

[wannabesomebody]

it's 100% supportive, intellectual and discussion worthy. 50 cents for a glass of milk or a $3 non fat dried milk mixed with water?

[Sally Pineapple]

I agree with you. I do a vitamin and Pure Protein shakes when I want to drop weight quickly and it is cheaper.

[miamimelting]

I don't think a glass of milk and a vitamin is going to do the same thing for you. I wish it were that simple. I just started the Optifast Program on Nov. 20th through my local hospital. It is medically supervised. I have a physician, a nutritionist and an addiction therapist. Most of us who get this weight have not gotten here because we just went on a 90 day bender and now need to lose the weight. We got here because we have a bad relationship with food and need to hit the restart button. It is the support that you pay for. I need to lose the weight, I need a clean slate. I need to start from the very beginning with food. I can't have choices. I can't make a good choice between an apple and a candy bar. I know what the right choice is, but I can't do it. I need help - I need to reset my relationship with food and start over. Add food back into my life, add choices back into my and do it with supervision, instruction and education. That is what Optifast is about. You get the fastest results, you learn about your body, your mind, your spirit and you come out on the other side a different person. A total and ultimate reset. I am paying $2700 for a 16 week program. I am not rich, I just found a way to invest in myself for once. I deserve this!

Like many addictions, you have to hit rock bottom before you are ready and willing to invest the time, energy and often money it takes to make a change that will last a lifetime. You have to admit you can't do it on your own and you have to be willing to take the journey. It is not for everyone and may not be for you if you are comparing a glass of milk and a vitamin to the program. You can go out there and buy and into any program, you can get the nutri system shakes pretty cheap...its not about the product - it is about the system. Find one that works for you!

I wish you the best of luck! Losing weight is not easy. Food addiction is real, and just as difficult to give up as smoking, or any other addition out there. The sooner we treat it as an addiction the easier it is to overcome it.

[BlueMountain]

Originally Posted by wannabesomebody

it's 100% supportive, intellectual and discussion worthy. 50 cents for a glass of milk or a $3 non fat dried milk mixed with water?

Sorry if I overreacted. I know there are plenty of nay sayers who say the only way is their way. I have a very personal experience along those lines, so I am a bit touchy.

For me, it's not the same, and I am not that cheap. I know its all highly processed powders and mostly whey based product. However, I choose to stick with the program, and try as best I can to believe there is some flavor like they say on the packet. Lately I have been supplementing with Medifast I buy from Amazon, and flavoring both with a number of jars of chutneys, pasts, and sauces I have found from my local Indian food market. Tasty.

Just to follow-on, even though I know the product is mostly whey, I can't imagine only drinking milk every day, five times a day, then two liters of water. Psychologically having that little variety helps me not feel too deprived.