Just started opti fast. And I've cheated

I started Opti on Wed May 17. I seem to be ok during the day but am having NIGHTMARES about eating at night.

This is a HARD road and even when you are 100% committed it is difficult.

Remember all the work you did to get here and what the end result will be.

YOU CAN DO IT!!!

During the day is good for me too. At supper is hardest for me- watching them eat- tonight is homemade lasagna--- and I get spinach lol .... I'll just keeping thinking I CAN DO THIS!!! thank you for the boost.

I didn't eat with my family at all during opti, or post op, for most meals, anyway. It was easier to have family time away from meals. They were supportive of that. The smells of their meals still drove me mad, and I made them put the bread away in a cabinet instead of leaving it sit on the counter, so I couldn't see it every time I went in the kitchen.

It is really hard, maybe I'll start to eat away from them. My mom isn't very supportive, she doesn't agree with the surgery so she hasn't held back on cooking anything and in fact bringing anything into the house. But if I can stay away when it's out right in front of me - the better chance I have post op. Did you get any side effects of opti fast?

I'm sorry your Mom isn't supportive. My Mom wasn't supportive pre-surgery either; but after I had surgery and started losing weight, she was very supportive, for her, anyway, lol. She still bakes a zillion pies for holidays and the smells just about kill me but so far I've managed not to give in.

On my first few days of Opti, I could never be far from a washroom as it acted like a laxative on me at first (tmi), but after that, it settled down. I had some headaches and low energy at first.

I loved the opti after awhile. I was on it for 3 weeks and had an entire suitcase full of packets, which I later transferred into a big plastic tub. Every morning I took out 4 packets, and at first it didn't seem like the level of packets was going down at all, but I felt such a sense of accomplishment every day when I took 4 packets out. I was lucky that I grew to love the taste. I just mixed it with almost 500 ml of ice cold bottled water into a shaker bottle, along with some ice cubes. I made sure to get all 4 in every day because that way I knew I was getting all of the vitamins I would need to make me strong enough for surgery. I spaced them 4 hours apart, drank plenty of water, including hot lemon water with splenda, and had broth and greens too. For greens, I usually chopped up green pepper, broccoli, and celery and tossed it in the oven with various spices. The oil in the green pepper was enough to keep things moist, and it was really tasty. I felt like I was getting a hot meal too, psychologically, which really helped as I went through opti in January and it was super cold out.

I found when my brain started flashing images of pizza or donuts or whatever, it was time for an Opti or lemon water or broth or what have you. As soon as I started drinking, the images went away. My brain was sending me old messages to tell me to feed or hydrate my body; it just hadn't adjusted to my new healthier life style so wasn't sending the right images, I think.

Sometimes it felt like I'd be on Opti forever, but slowly the packets went down and the next thing I knew, there were only 4 left and it was the day before surgery and I was hopping on a plane to Toronto (I live 500 km away from my surgery center). Time has flown by and now I'm 4 months post op and down 80.6 Lbs. I've gone from a 4-5X to a 1X , and even fit into one XL top from Walmart, which blows my mind as I don't remember the last time I was in 1X, never mind XL. I can swim, ride my bike, and walk, and feel so much better. You CAN do this. It's something we all have to go through, and although it's not easy, it is so worth it. Hang in! You've got this.

Hopefully my mom comes around.... I'm sure she will. You mention you live very far... did you have to stay in a hotel room for 5 days? Congrats on the loss of 80 lbs... that's amazing. I've lost weight before but never that much and always gained it back. You must be proud.

Also you said you flew to Toronto? Who was your surgeon?

I had Dr. David Lindsay, at St. Joe's.

I couldn't afford to stay in a hotel after paying for two flights to Toronto within 3 weeks so I rented a room via AirBNB; much cheaper. It had WiFi so I brought my laptop and watched a lot of Netflix, lol.

What is airBNB? Can I use it if I'm not flying?

Anyone can use it; you just have to sign up for a free membership and make sure you find a place with plenty of good reviews. It's basically just anyone renting rooms, apartments, houses, or lately, various experiences (like pottery, surfing, etc) to other people. It exists almost world wide.

My sister in law rented an entire house for herself, her 3 children, her mom, and their dog in Ottawa, for half the nightly cost of a budget hotel and really loved the place. Each place is different, and you can find super plain budget places or fancy expensive places. It's really important to only stay somewhere that has lots of good reviews if you're traveling alone, for your own safety.

Just google it and the website will tell you a lot more.