Lost Forty Pounds on Optifast in Three Months

Both on the Kaiser scale and my home scale I've now lost over 40 pounds since starting in early January. It may be three months and one week but still, it's pretty amazing. Can't argue with those results! And I bet others in the program have lost more. The doctor last week said that you lose more if:

• You have more to lose
• You start out further from your goal (which is saying the same thing)
• And you were eating a lot more before the program 

So for that last bullet, if you were eating 3000 calories a day before going on Optifast, obviously that's a much bigger difference than if you were eating 1600. A difference in thousands rather than hundreds, in terms of calories.

So I'm in the category of having less to lose in that I didn't start out at 250 or more pounds, and wasn't (at least in my opinion) eating a huge amount before. So my forty pound loss, thrilled as I am with it, may be below the average for our group!

But if you read about Optifast no one really argues about results. After all, wasn't Oprah the posture child for dramatic weight loss on Optifast? But its reputation - and it isn't alone in this by any means - is that the weight comes back. So as I mentioned before, the real challenge ahead is transition, and then maintenance. But I feel SO much better at this weight. The money and effort have been worth it. I can keep from going back. Yes!

Weight Loss Graph

So, this is the chart of the weight I've lost since starting the program. Tonight I was at 159. Woo hoo! Two more pounds and it will make 40 that I've lost! I met with the doc tonight and talked about a goal weight. I was surprised he thought I should lose another 20 or more (he said goal of 135 or 140). I'm thinking maybe 15 more and that would be it. We'll see. If it came from the right places that would be great. But instead my arms, legs, neck and face will just get scrawnier, LOL. And since he was rather portly I wanted to ask what HIS goal was. ;-) But obviously I'm quite happy about the progress I've made during the last 12 weeks. My goal is more maintaining rather than lots more lost, frankly. That's the true battle for any diet/weight loss program. Transition back to food a few weeks away...

Latest Stats

So at weigh-in tonight, I'd lost 3.7 pounds last week. That's a total of 27.6 pounds during the seven weeks on product. We are starting our eighth week.

Saw the doc again tonight (once a month). Lab results all good, no problems.

Everyone in my group seems VERY happy with their weight loss, they feel good, not hungry, lots of energy. Hard to knock this program, at least in the weight loss phase!

And we are discussing long term strategies, including monitoring. Large Kaiser study said those who monitored (whether on paper or apps like My Fitness Pal) lost twice as much weight...

Checking in with the Doc

This weight loss program isn't cheap, and isn't covered by Kaiser health insurance. Of course the cost of the product shouldn't be counted (as we aren't buying food at grocery stores, restaurants, etc. while on the diet) but somehow those costs do get counted in our minds. But the not insignificant non-food cost of the program covers a number of things, including the staff who order, sort and bag our products, who check us in each week, taking weight and blood pressure, our group leader who we meet with each week, and the doctor that we see each month as well as the cost of the lab work also done monthly.

We are starting week four, and tonight we each met with a doctor about the results of lab tests done last week, our progress, and other matters. The doctor was NOT happy with my water consumption. We are supposed to drink a gallon of water a day. I'm drinking less than half that. I thought it was just for weight loss, but he says it is also important for the liver and gall bladder, when on this diet. That's motivating. I don't want major organ problems! So tomorrow, I have to get serious about water.

He also wants me to exercise more. I do a "gentle water" class at the gym maybe twice a week, and use some stretchy bands a few minutes each day. So yeah, lots of room for improvement.

It was a good talk with the doc, because this is a big time and money investment to improve my health, and I should be 100% committed, which means not just the products but the water, exercise, and other components (logging, etc.) of the program. So, new resolve moving forward!