The Depths of Despair!

8 days on optifast and this evening I am feeling at the depths of despair.. I am not hungry on optifast ever.. But I cook dinner for my family and I choose to sit in another room while they eat..this evening I feel sad and alone, I miss my family....I know it's silly but I guess my emotions are a little on edge right now...figured if I just pour it out here.. I would feel better.... .. 

You are doing amazing cooking for your family at all during Opti! Good for you girl!  It will time will pass and be a faint memory. Lol

all the best.

What about if you made yourself your own food - broth, jello, etc. and sat with your family sometimes for dinner?  Or maybe do something non-food related with all of them together, like watch a movie?  I am on day 7 of opti so 1 day behind you and I was very emotional at times too. I think it is normal because of the huge change in our eating.  You are awesome to cook while on opti, not sure I could handle that.  You are doing great and you will feel better again, don't worry.

Oh honey, my heart goes out to you. Your almost there. I think it is a great idea to make yourself something and sit and chat at the table. I hope your feeling better.

Take care

Lisa

I think it's just kind of hitting you that you are at the beginning of a big change. It is scary but so exciting! You will be just fine. HUGS

I absolutely feel your pain I have a very hard time cooking dinner for my family. I have been using the crockpot because the urge to eat is way less when it's raw lol I make my husbands lunch for work as well which has been a bit hard too I try to stick to foods I don't like but even then it's been tough. Just hang in there we are so close to the finish line :)

Thanks ladies..feeling a lot better now...just was having a weak moment...I couldn't eat anyway opti has me turned from that lol. Again thanks for the encouragement ..

I feel your pain but you can do this!  When I was on Optifast back in June we had company for two weeks.  Had to live through pool parties, bbqs etc.  Keep your eye on the prize.  When you are on opti you wish you were on fluids.  When you are on fluids you wish you were on full fluids.  When you are on full fluids you wish you could just eat something.  When you are on soft food you wish you were back on opti when the biggest decision you had to make was what flavoring do I add to my shake!

All the best to you!

There will be days when the emotional part of us gets the better of us. That's okay. Be gentle with yourself but keep your goal in mind.

We have a family meal time in our house. If you are in the house, you eat with us. Doesn't matter if you must eat someting different, but it's a time for family to connect and talk about their day. So even on Opti, I would prepare whatever everyone else was eating, and then prep my shake and go sit with them. I'd nurse my Opti shake (like it was a margarita!) and they would eat whatever the meal of the day was. I didn't feel deprived; I felt totally empowered! Like, "I CAN do this! I totally got this." My family was proud of me for getting through that and I still had that important time to connect with them.

I hope it was just a bad day. But think about how nice it is to be with your loved ones and make that connection. If it's impossible, then yes, do what you must to get through the Opti stage. (Like I said, keep your eyes on the prize!) But I would pretty much lay bets that they are missing your presence with them at the table.

My next question to you is: what do you plan to do in the long run? For example, if you go low/no carb while in the honeymoon stage, are you going to refrain from sitting with them for months on end? That may be hard to handle psychologically. For all of you. I would encourage you to talk that over with someone and/or come up with strategies that can let you be at peace with that choice.

Emotions do run high in this process. Cultivate whatever behaviours and gather all your tools that you will need. It can be a rough ride at times, but it is well worth it. Sending hugs to you as you navigate this road and look forward to what comes next!

I agree with Jiliana's words of wisdom, above.

If I were to do it over, I would have done some of that mass cooking from blogs such as this:  http://happymoneysaver.com/making-50-freezer-meals-in-one-day/

That would shorten your time in the kitchen during recovery.

Good luck!