Does anyone know of a cheaper alternative to Opti-Fast?

I've asked this a few different times in different places on this site & I really haven't gotten many helpful answers. Maybe someone here can help me. My surgeon wants me to go on the Opti-Fast diet for a month prior to surgery. That's all well & good, but that's going to cost about $600. I don't mind spending a little bit of money, but $600 for 1 month's worth of food is a little bit out of my price range. I talked to the nurse at my surgeon's office & she named some things that I could use instead, but then my nutritionist said that Opti-Fast is my only option. This is really getting me depressed because I want to do everything by the book, but I don't want to go broke!!

My doc had me on liquids for two weeks preop. Clear liquids for two days prior.

Other people had other regimens -- Carnation instant breakfast, protein shakes, shakes plus veggies... They are all over the place.

Nurses are wise people. Maybe you can talk to her and see if she knows of anyone's surgery getting cancelled because they didn't do the Opti-Fast.

Good luck.

I'm not familiar with Opti-Fast, but I've done Medifast's 5 & 1 (5 of their "meals" and one Lean & Green (lean protein and a non-starch veggie).  I think the Medifast runs around $16-18 per 7 meal quantity.  Let's say $2.50 each, as that makes the math easier.

5 meals/day x $2.50 = 12.50 x 30 = $375

Add in 30 meals of Lean & Green - $10 ea (probably less) = $300

So if Opti-Fast if all you eat, it's not out of line with Medifast. Can you get it "prescribed" and have your ins company pay for it?

Also, depending on your doc & nutritionist's recommendation, many WLS patients include shakes and other protein rich even after the surgery. Don't stock up on alot of product, as your tastes will likely change, but many outlets allow you to buy sample packets to try various flavors - Vitalady here on OH is one who does that.

I did really well on Medifast for about 3 months and then started cheating.

I believe the optifast are liquid "meal" replacements right?  I would calculate the cals/carbs etc, the try to stay within those limits by using a combo of "real" food and protein drinks and vitamins.  If you use lets say 1 protein shake35 grms prot. 150 cals,  1 cup plain greek yogurt 15-20 grms prot. 110 cal,  blend it in a blender with SF flavors of you choice & ice that is a healthy high prot.  low cal/carb  breakfast that will fill you up at... 260 cals 50-55 grms protein   10-11 carbs!  and at  about 3-4 bucks not bad!  make sure to take vitamins and calcium to supplement what you might not be getting from "real"  food  (good practice for when you do have surgery!)  good luck!

I'm in the same boat... I have to do 4 weeks of Opti-fast and pay a program fee of $1800. Belt tightening is still leaving me so stressed about not being able to afford it. good luck

Yikes that seems a little ridiculous to me!   There are so many great WL products out there right now.  Why can't they just give you a strict diet and you can pick what you want??  Maybe you can get them to compromise.  I would suggest that you make a meal plan for a week and keep a food journal documenting calories and protein to show them that you can manage.    If I were in your shows I would be really upset about that it almost seems like your Drs are getting a little piece of the pie by making you do optifast.