Kaiser Weight Management Program
 

Has anyone else here done the 30 week weight management program through Kaiser? I just finished out my first week and am cautiously optimistic. The program consists of eating 960 calories a day for the first 15 weeks and only eating/drinking the Optifast shakes/bars/soups that they provide you. The next 15 weeks consists of eating/drinking the Optifast products and incorporating a meal a day or so of regular food for about 1100 calories a day. I am feeling very determined to complete this program as I have been stress eating like crazy since the beginning of the pandemic and am the heaviest I've ever been but I also have a terribly unhealthy relationship with food and eat for comfort and have never been able to stick with a program longer than a couple of months. I'm hoping that because this is medically supervised that I will be more motivated to stick with it.

Honestly though? I know I'm only on the first week but it really hasn't been that hard. Usually starting a diet is the hardest part for me. I really thought I'd be starving or having sugar and carb withdrawals. Yet, I truly haven't felt hungry at all. In fact I usually have to force myself to drink that final shake at the end of the day. I haven't been craving sweets or any other kind of food for the most part. Last night I did have a weak moment when I saw an Olive Garden commercial and realized that I wouldn't be having pasta for at least half a year but it didn't make me go on a food run. I'm down 14 pounds in one week which is mostly water, especially considering I was on my period last week, but I still already feel better having lost that bloated feeling. So far the only side effects from the dramatic drop in calories is a low grade headache the first few days and I've been EXTREMELY tired this week. I was told this was to be expected and hope that it will go away in the next few weeks.

My main concern with this program is that by day 2 I was already thinking to myself "All I get to eat for the next few months is this?!". The same exact food every day. No variety. For months on end. And the shakes and bars don't taste terrible but they aren't exactly great either. I worry that this will get old fast. So I would love to hear from anyone who has done this program or something similar. How did you get though it?

Pros:
1. No meal prep.
2. No counting calories or worrying about portion sizes.
3. No tracking.
4. No grocery shopping.
5. I've found that without cooking meals I've gained quite a bit more free time.
6. Faster weight loss than other traditional programs.

Cons:
1. The food is boring and repetitive.
2. You can't eat out at restaurants with friends/family. There is absolutely no wriggle room for "cheat meals". I guess that's one bright side of the pandemic. Eating out is not so much even an option right now where I'm at.
3. Makes family gatherings/meals a lot more difficult (I have no idea how I will handle Thanksgiving)

Week 1:
Starting weight: 276.4
Ending weight: 262.1

Sounds good

It worths giving a trial

Sounds very good

Week 2
 

So I think I had such an easy time week 1 because I was gung ho about starting the program. Apparently, I was overly optimistic. This week has been ROUGH. I will say again that I have not been hungry. That's the good part of this. You're eating/drinking 6 times a day and drinking a gallon of water a day which keep you feeling full. Where I'm really struggling is having to only have shakes and bars every single day with no change.There are only a limited number of flavors to choose from and the monotony gets old REAL FAST. And it wasn't even that I was craving sweets or carbs. There was a point one night where just a boneless skinless chicken breast or even some celery sounded like nirvana. It doesn't help that I'm pre-menstrual this week either. There was a point mid-week where I literally almost cried at the thought of having to stick to this another 13 weeks. Plus my son's birthday is this month and the holidays are coming up which will be a real killer.

On the plus side, it's working. As miserable as it is I can see the results. I've also gotten some tips on how to get at least a little variety by the Kaiser group who are doing this with me. We discovered the Mio flavor pods for our water that are no calories and no sugar. One of the women in the group found zero calorie zero sugar flavor syrups on Amazon to add to the shakes which helps some. I also keep telling myself that 3 months sounds like a long time but it really isn't. Then I can slowly start to incorporate real food back into my diet for the remaining 3 months of the program.

So long story short, this sucks but it's a necessary evil. It's one of life's great cruelties that it's so fun and easy to gain weight and so arduous and lengthy to lose it.

Week 2:
Starting Weight: 262.1
Ending Weight: 255.8

So this week was easier in some ways but harder in others. The desperation to have some kind of real solid food has started to wear off and I'm beginning to resent the shakes less and less. I've incorporated regular exercise this week which I've found has increased my appetite so where before I was feeling quite full I have been getting some hunger pangs this week. I suppose that is to be expected. I still feel kind of deflated by how long of a road I have to get anywhere near my weight loss goal but I just keep telling myself that if I really stick to this and commit that by this time next year I'll feel like a brand new person.

I did have one technical slip-up this week. It was my son's birthday on the 14th and his grandparents insisted on coming to town to take us out to dinner. I explained to them that I was on a very restrictive diet and that I would attend the meal but wouldn't be able to eat with them and while they were fairly understanding I could tell that they were a bit hurt so I decided to eat with them. I didn't splurge. I had meat, salad and water. That's it. However, any food other than the Optifast is technically a cheat so I did have some regret afterwards. That said, I was still down 3 pounds this week so I'll chalk it up to one bad night and move on.

Week 3:
Starting Weight: 255.8
Ending Weight: 252.8

The weight loss seems to be settling in at about 3 to 4 pounds a week, which is great. I’m still not all that hungry and have no issues turning down sweets but I’m still craving protein like crazy and have given in and had some chicken once and a hard boiled egg another time but I still lost 3.8 lbs this week so it didn’t seem to hurt anything. Now that my body has adjusted to the dramatic drop in calorie intake I find that the fatigue that plagued me the first few weeks is going away and I’ve been trying to incorporate more exercise in my routine per Kaiser’s instructions. I’ve been hiking on the weekends and trying to do one of my Beachbody videos during the week but I’ll admit that weekdays are harder to motivate myself to be active. I work long hours and commute so I usually like some down time in the evenings so I need to work on getting my butt in gear. I feel heartened by the fact that I’ve made it this far since several people from my Kaiser group have already left the program. I still have moments where I want to cry at the thought of 12 more weeks of shakes and bars but I’m seeing results and that keeps me going. So far so good.

Week 4:
Starting Weight: 252.8
Ending Weight: 249

hello,i have lost 33 pounds (15kg) and trust me these exercise work!
Also it is important to eat healthy and stick to your diet

i also had difficult times to really get strict on a diet but i tried my best
and its very important to not think on other food or drinks and maybe sometimes to not overthing all the stuff

im tracking like u all the stuff am i doing just trackin calories and that helps a lot

Week 5
 

This week I had a really hard time sticking to the meal replacements and I only worked out once. I let the craziness of work kind of get to me and I ended up getting Chipotle with my son a few days ago and had some protein items here and there during the week. This week my goal is to stick 100% to the meal replacements and to try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise at least 5 days a week, I still lost 2.8 lbs despite the setbacks so I’m trying not to beat myself up but I also don’t want to use that as permission to cheat occasionally. I’ve got 10 weeks left of just the meal replacement and this is supposed to be the active weight loss stage where the majority of the weight is lost and I want to get the most out of this stage as I can.

Week 5:
Starting Weight: 249
Ending Weight: 247.2

Week 6
 

This week was really tough. I completely cheated on the program over the weekend. A margarita and carnitas with my friends on Halloween and Chinese food
on Sunday. Eating real food pretty much opened the flood gates and all I could think about was food. I managed to finish out the week strong and lost 3.5 lbs this week somehow, even with the terrible weekend. I don’t even know how that’s possible but I’ll take it. I really really need to stick to this, not only because it’s working, but because in order for this weight loss to stick I need to get over my unhealthy compulsions with food. I also need to start exercising. I’ve been lax in that department.

Week 6:
Starting Weight: 247.2
Ending Weight: 243.7

Week 7
 

This week was not great. I'm really struggling to try to finish this out. It's not even so much that I'm hungry per se, though I have had days where I did get some hunger pangs, it's more that I am just so sick to death of shakes. I really struggle with having another 8 weeks of this to go. I did cheat again this week but only with minor protein items like chicken or turkey lunch meat. This is the first week of this that I craved sweets, I think mostly because it was that time of the month, and managed to resist. The weight loss has slowed down a lot and I know that I need to start exercising on a regular basis but I'm just so tired all of the time. I think I may discuss that with my phone appointment with my doctor this week. He did say that most people are fatigued the first few weeks of the program but I feel like I shouldn't still be this tired 2 months in. I'm wondering if I need to add in another shake per day or need to start taking a supplement.

There is also Thanksgiving coming up. There's no way I will be able to only drink shakes on Thanksgiving. It will be easier to not go overboard this year though due to the Covid. There will be no traveling or large family get together this year. Each household in the family is just doing their own thing from home. I though about not doing Thanksgiving at all this year but it wouldn't be fair to my son who loves it and there's no way I'll be able to smell turkey cooking all day and not have any. I will forgo making dessert this year though. No pumpkin or pecan pie. My son doesn't care much for sweets so I feel no guilt in not making any this year. I will also skip the dinner rolls. Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving though without turkey, homemade mashed potatoes with turkey dripping gravy, stuffing and green bean casserole. I will limit the portions, especially on the carbs, and try to fill up on proteins and see how it goes. Honestly though? I have decided not to stress out over it too much. I feel like taking one day off is not so terrible in the grand scheme of things. As long as I get right back on program the next day I don't see how it will cause much damage.

Week 7:
Starting Weight: 243.7
Ending Weight: 243