rabrijumo

Ok my dr requires Optifast for 2 weeks prior to surgery plus I am STRONGLY encouraged to lose 35-45 lbs before surgery. I was considering doing an extra week to attain the wt loss needed. My question is they make me buy theirs for 150 per week is this a good price or can I get my extra week for less money? Like on Amazon? And if so what exactly do I need for a week how many Protein cartons or bars. The optifast site will give no info because they want you to pay a clinic. Thanks Ps my plan is as follows: Step 1 Data entry everything I eat being brutally honest and writing down EVERYTHING Using myfitnesspal Time limit: August 14,2012 Step 2 will be to eliminate the sweets and keep track and decrease carbs. Time limit 8/14-21 Step 3 low carb no sweets 8/14-9/4 Step three if I haven't lost at least 25 lbs by sept 4th do an extra week of optifast. Time limit: if needed start 9/4 Step 4 optifast 2 weeks prior to surgery. Time limit 9/11-24 Step 5 surgery! 9/25/12

Hi, I am actually an RN working in pst that's pre surgical testing. Medical clearence and H&P history and physical are a very standard requirement of hospitals pre op. that being said if you are young ie under 70 years old the requirement is Not as stringent. Your surgeon could do the h&p on day of surgery. Any comorbidities though and your pcp must " clear" you for surgery within 30 days of surgery. I need both a cardiac and medical clearence. Hope you can scramble and get into your pcp tomorrow. Get a copy from him immediate in fact if you get an appointment write up a form that says the following Pt name: insert your name DOB: Insert birthday History: leave 1/2 page Physical: leave 1/2 page Patient is cleared for surgery _____yes____no MD name MD signature____________________________

CONGRATS soon I think you will find you have collar bones too! enjoy I can't wait to join you

So how much do you use in a week?

Hi I have my surgery the day after you 9/25/12 and I am using myfitnesspal to data entry everything I eat that's my step 1 , it was my birthday Thursday so I wanted to be free to eat what I wanted but I am being brutally honest and writing down EVERYTHING I eat. Just the knowledge that I have to account for everything helps me not mindlessly eat/snack. It's making me think about what I am eating. Step 2 will be to eliminate the sweets and keep track and decrease carbs Step 3 low carb no sweets Step three if I haven't lost at least 25 lbs by sept 4th do an extra week of optifast Step 4 optifast 2 weeks prior to surgery Step 5 surgery! Ps thanks for posting it helped me formalize my plan

My name is Rachael. I am a mother, a nurse, and a very fat person. I was given my first diet pill at age 10 by my mother... I couldn't take pills so I struggled to get the huge pill down. I don't know that I ever did or that it worked or if I even really needed it! I see pictures of my self and I am a bit chubby but not obese at all at that age. I remember being teased about being fat and large at an early age. I remember carving the word fat into my arm at around 12 years old. I remember hating my body and thinking my life would be perfect if I weren't fat. Years flow by I am in high school I am 5 7 my wt a HUGE 155. In retrospect that isn't that tall or fat but at the time I felt unattractive. I had a period at age 16 were I had a lot of dates no sex but boys asked me out and told me I was pretty....... I did have big boobs and a full soft figure. I think I undervalued myself in some respects but was a fun, gregarious person. I met the man I eventually married he seemed to think I was attractive. We moved in together 2 years later. I did my first "successful" diet at age 20 . It was a liquid Protein diet run by a doctor. My dad paid for it and I achieved my ideal weight of 130 lbs. I bought a tiny bikini short skirts and tight jeans. I went to community college for 2 years then nursing school. By the time a graduated in 1983 I had regained the wt I lost plus 30 or 40 lbs. I married at age 22 wt 170 ish ....continued to gain year after year hitting 270 when I got pregnant for the first time. I lost wt during the pregnancy but regained during breast feeding. Rinse and repeat x 2 more kids over 7 years. At age 33 I was 300 plus lbs but active and healthy. Years flow by my life hits a snag or two my husband developed into an alcoholic and we have marriatal problems. We split for the first time when I was 38 wt 345 lbs 3 kids ages 12, 7, and 5. Living as a single mom for a year was hard we got back together kind of to buy a nice house in VA and be a family. The difference was we kept separate rooms. I had become used to sleeping by myself reading if I wanted to and did not want to hear my husband snore or reek of alcohol. Today I am thinking about why I decided to have the surgery. I have become increasingly UNABLE. I can not: walk up stairs, walk any distance comfortably, fly comfortably, ride a bike, get up from a sitting position with anything like ease, and take care of myself alone. I have a laundry list of things I want to be able to do a BUCKET list if you will. Chase my grandson walk up or down stairs without a rail fly to Africa on a mission ride a bike take a hike buy a small car and fit in it ride a motorcycle Meet someone and be attractive enough to attract them I sometimes want to do a skit like Jeff Foxworthy (not that its very funny) YOU MIGHT BE MORBIDLY OBESE IF you can't wipe yourself without hurting your wrist you can't climb a stair without a reinforced rail get up out of a low couch without assistance well you get the idea i have a million and they all make me want to cry life as a fat person in America is not much fun .....the ridicule is one thing ......the discomfort of chairs that bind you is another...... and the comments people feel free to make is yet another. Yes I am responsible for my situation I know that but it does not make me sub human or less valuable as a person. I know I have lost friends, one in particular that I relate to my weight and my inabilities. This makes me sad and mad. I am a disappointment to my children though they love me they worry about me when they should not have to. They miss being able to do things with me or having to do things for me. They want a Mom they can count on and not have to worry about. I want them to have that as well. That's why I am doing this surgery to be ABLE.

Thank you all for commenting. I am glad to be here for support through this process. It is wonderful to look at pics and see the successful outcomes. Not that it didn't come without struggle but that it seems attainable and worth it.