16 Weeks on OPTIFAST ! Can I do this ?

wow.... I don't know what the heck I got myself into. I have 16 weeks of OPTIFAST before my Dec. 18th surgery date. Did I go insane or does this get better? I'm singing that song.... "Whatever it is I think I see, becomes a tootsie roll to me"..... haha..... But really at this point.... I'm hungry and my cat looks good enough to eat. Ok, I vented. Thanks for listening .... Oh, and does anyone by chance have any good OPTIFAST tips to make my life easier for the next 16 weeks?

Deb 16 weeks Yikes !! i had to do 4 weeks .. altho i have to say i think it really helped prepare me better for life as a postop ... are you a coffee drinkker? i loved my morning mixed with cold coffee and ice blended in my magic bullet it was like a frappacinno and i would mix the vanilla with diet rootbeer orange or diet rite raspberry made them taste like creamsicles ... hope this helps ... best of luck to you and if ya need anything a pep talk need to vent whatever feel free to email ... Missy

Back in the late 70's I did optifast for 6 months. When I got sick of drinking the stuff I started mixing it with just a little liquid I forget if it was water or milk, then I fried it in a non stick skillet till it got kind of crunchy. That was actually my favorite way to ingest it. Good luck you can do it. After the first week or 2 you won't even miss food. Oh, I lost a hundred pounds in those 6 months. It took me about 6 years to gain it all back and another 15 to add another hundred and fifty to that. But now I know my weight is under control from all I have learned during this process. Julie

Wow! I start my 2 week MediFast on Sept. 8 for surgery on Sept/22. Am already dreading it. Good luck! Judy

Deb, You're not the only one. I've got to complete a 12 week supervised weight loss program. And, I don't even have a date for surgery. I haven't even been accepted by the program yet. I've got all of these hoops to jump through first. Let's hope after I finish this wl program everything else will fall into place. Good luck, Peggy

I had to do a 6 month diet supervised by a dr. I was devasted. But I did what I had to do. My surgery was appoved right after I finished the diet. The 6 months went by fast. I gained and lost the same 5 pounds. Never lost nothing. I dont know why they do that. Just hoping you will give up. That you cannot do. I am one year out on the 21s of sept. I am below goal. and feel like a young woman. I Look 10 years younger. Just hand in there. Barb

Deb, I did it for 12 weeks prior to my surgery in April 05. Here is what worked for me: I tried all the flavors in the little drink boxes, and I tried the supplement bars. I never used the mixable powders. I decided I preferred the chocolate in both and bought nothing but chocolate the entire time. I kept them in the fridge, including the choc bars. I scheduled meal times and scheduled snack (bar) times, and just took it like medicine. I didn't love it, but tolerated it very well. I didn't dawdle over it, or try to make it a meal. I just sucked those little boxes down in about 30 seconds. For my dinner meal, I used the chicken broth mixes. I tried adding some spices and settled on curry, my absolute favorite spice. Every night for the entire twelve weeks, I sat down at the table with my family and drank my broth with a spoon of curry powder stirred in. I actually liked it. When I was done I left the table. Also, I don't have children, but do have DH and an adult DD who lives at home. They took over all food shopping and prep so that I didn't have to cook stuff I couldn't eat. That helped tremendously. Occasionally, I would still cook, but most of the time, I didn't. I also had to give up watching the food network!! I did slip up a time or two and gave in to a craving, but tried to keep that to a minimum. I lost 39 lbs in those twelve weeks, which put me one pound under the max my hospital would allow! It wasn't always easy, but I knew if I didn't do it, my surgery would be postponed until I did, so I just stuck with it. I REALLY think it helped prepare me for surgery though. I got all that head hunger out of the way and my post op adjustment to the new way of eating was a snap. Now, since my first consult, I have lost 205--look what you have to look forward to!! Just hang in there; it will be soooooo worth it. If you need support or encouragement, please feel free to email me--been there, done that, bought the t-shirt!!