Optifast?

I fellow wls penpal recently started Optifast to rev up the rate of wl and lost more than 20 lb in a month.  I remember Optifast form the mid-80's as consisteing of 5 100 cal. protein shakes per day and nothing else.  I looked at the website and see that protein shakes are the main "meal" but they have added a few real foods too. Has anyone recently used this program and if so what were your experiences?  It sems to me that if I could just do 5 high protein bariatric shakes per day, I would save beaucoup $ and really be doing the same thing as Optifast.  Right or dead wrong?  I would love your comments. 

From what I understand, Optifast and Medifast are two programs for doing medically monitored weight loss by using nutrition/protein shakes.  I believe both programs require regular (either every 2 weeks or once a month) blood tests to monitor liver and kidney function, as these programs can cause various problems with those organs.  Although you can certainly do a short-term (a few days, maybe a week) of just protein drinks to give yourself a jumpstart, I would not recommend doing it for longer than that without medical guidance.   Also, keep in mind that you need a plan for what happens when you're done losing with liquids and need to go back to regular food.  If you want to lose weight and maintain that loss, it's likely you're going to need to change some of your food habits.  If that's the case, why not just work on changing those habits and lose the weight more slowly?  If you take the time to ingrain new, healthy habits, you've got a better shot at maintaining your weight loss long-term.  By now, I think we all know there's no quick, easy fix - losing weight and keeping it off is hard work, but the effort is worth it... Good luck with whatever you decide to do!!! Kellie

Thnaks, but I never said I was going to use Optifast, I just wanted info about it.

Sorry, I must have misunderstood your post.  It sounded like you were considering using high-protein bariatric shakes to follow your own Optifast-like program, so that's what my comments were based on.  Apologies for the confusion -  Kellie

Here's a blog that reviews various fad diets and gives the details about their recommended programs.  The review is usually in depth and informative --- but the reader comments are also invaluable.  Here's the link for Medifast: http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2006/10/26/medifast_comple te_review.php

Thanks for the link.