"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" -- first day of Opti

Today is my first day of 21 days of Opti (I'm sure there is an OH spoof on the "12 days of Christmas" just asking to be written).

Observations thus far:

1) Opti isn't as bad as I was preparing myself for in terms of the taste and smell.  I mixed my first shake with some coffee and LOTS of ice this morning and while it's not going to win any awards, it's tolerable.  Does anyone else find that Opti smells a bit like wallpaper paste?

2) I'm wondering how the heck I'm going to manage to drink 4 of these things in the course of a day.  Seriously!  I'm still drinking the first one I made for breakfast and it's already noon!  Did anyone else have this problem?

3) My "last meals" before starting Opti were kinda lame.  I ended up eating things I never expected, like Eggo waffles.  I will hopefully never eat another Eggo waffle in my life.  For some reason, despite the fact that even when I wasn'****ching what I ate I didn't eat Eggos, I suddenly had this crazy need to have some.  They weren't that exciting and I can't say I'm really going to miss them after all.  I also had my final break up with pizza.  The weird thing is that I didn't really enjoy any of the food I had this weekend and it left me a bit depressed.  I guess starting Opti for me is like crossing the Rubicon -- there's no going back after this.  I was surprised at how emotional it made me.  I totally didn't expect to feel sad about leaving my old life behind but inexplicably I did.  I still feel a bit sad and I don't know why.

I have a friend who has cancer who took a turn for the worst on the weekend, so that could be part of why this weekend was hard for me.  I just feel like there isn't enough of me to spread around (a quite ironic statement when you're overweight, but I digress...).  I feel stretched emotionally.  I'm really glad that I have some close friends that are providing support because dealing with my emotions (versus the liquid diet) are actually what is proving to be a challenge I wasn't expecting.

I'm really thankful also to have all of you wonderful people on OH to discuss things like this with.  Sometimes it helps to know that there are other people out there going through the same or similar things as I am and it makes it a bit easier.

On a positive note, 1/2 a day gone, 20.5 to go!!! 

I sucked mine back as fast as possible.. It took me about 4 minutes to drink one. I didnt want to make it last longer than they had to lol... 

I wish I could drink them that fast.  The second one I made today for "lunch" taught me the important lesson of making sure you add nearly double the amount of water they suggest.  I turned out all soupey and pasty... yuck.  I had to add a lot more water to get it to a drinkable consistency.  Oh well, tomorrow I think I'm going to bust out some of the fancy SF syrups that I bought and see if they can make them more exciting...

I envy people who are ok with the Opti.  I had to chug mine.  It was the only way it was going down.  My "last meal" was Chinese food - noodles, fried stuff, sticky sauces ... it was that or poutine.  LOL.  Variety won out.

My thoughts are with you and your friend.  Watching someone go through the cancer battle is a horrible thing.

Good luck with the rest of the Opti phase.  It goes a lot faster than you think it will.

TES

Thanks TES, I'm hoping it goes fast too (although I'm going to be a total nervous wreck on surgery day -- I've never had surgery before).

The RNY was my very first surgery too!  And it was MUCH easier than I ever thought it could be.  Yes, there was a bit of pain, but the nurses were great at helping manage that.  By the time I went home 2 days later, I felt fine and ready to get on with my new life.  

You'll do great!  Just listen to your team and be gentle with yourself.  :)

TES

I'll admit, I did not even come close to four packs a day. I drank a lot of broth. 

You our can do it lady!!!! Woot woot! The countdown has officially begun! 

I think broth and tea are going to be my friends.  At least there is a David's Tea very near to me so I can seek out some fun blends when it all gets boring.  

I'm a bit weird ....I kinda like Opti !! I only ever blended it with Nescafe  french vanilla coffee and ice . And it tasted a bit like a yummy McDonald's milkshake  to me ! .......I do , however , have an awesome imagination. ..so make of that what you will ! Anyway , tonight I have my last one before surgery tomorrow morning  ......so I will relish every last drop ! Lol ! 

Sorry to hear about your friend . I really was on an emotional rollercoaster  for the first week , so I can only imagine how you must feel with this on your mind also . Sounds like you have great support around you , and of course , you have us !! :) 

Good luck.with everything ! It will fly in and your day will be here in no time ! 

Jax xx

Thanks, Jaxx!  I'm hoping I can get creative with my imagination too... I think I'm going to need it! ;-)

All the best wishes to you and Seyenna as you go in to surgery tomorrow!  TWH is awesome so I'm sure it will go swimmingly!

Heal fast!  Can't wait to hear more of your adventures as you move into the next phase of this wild ride!