I was considering trying my luck on Optifast(liquid meal replacement) instead of Lapband surgery.

What do you think of this idea?

I was considering that my problem is mainly an eating problem. A liquid diet might work, because it totally eliminates the act of eating from my lifestyle.

Does this make sense? please be brutal and tell me what you think.

thanks

Tyler

It just occured to me that there is no shortage of wisdom on this website. and I mean that as a compliment. if you are reading any insult into this, it was never implied or intend.

I lost 65 pounds on optifast and gained it all back. My full button is also broken. The good thing about the lap band is that you just can not eat the way you once did, if for no other reason then you will throw up. Also...you can not be on a liquid diet the rest of your life plus I think that most liquid diets are full of chemicals that can't be healthy over time. Good luck.

I did Optifast back in the 80's (just before Oprah did it), and I lost over 80 pounds. I felt and looked great for about a minute. When I went off Optifast and back to food, I never gained weight so fast in all my life. I think being on a liquid diet like that for a long time messes up you metabolism. Most obese people can lose weight by dieting or going on fasts, but the weight comes right back plus some. I've lost between 80 and 100 pounds four different times, only to have the weight come piling back on. I'm hoping that my band will give me the tool to maintain my weight loss.

I think it is great that you are exploring your options and asking what other people think. Having weight loss surgery is one of the most serious decisions of your life, and you need to be fully informed and ready to commit to the changes you will need to make in your life in order to be successful. If you aren't sure, don't do it.

Here is the ingredient list for 1 package of chocolate Optifast (I have some leftover):

Total milk Protein, fructose, maltodextrin, canola oil, cocoa, soybean oil, sodium citrate, potassium citrate, sodium chloride, sodium caseinate, potassium phosphate, dibasic, citric acid, artificial flavour, mono and diglyerides, magnesium oxide, choline bitartate, aspartame, ascorbic acid, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, niacinamide, copper gluconate, manganese sulfate, d-calcium pantothenate, bha/bht (to preserve freshness), thiamine, hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin a palmitate, ribloflavin, chromium acetate, vitamin e acetate, folic acid, sodium molybdate, potassium iodide, sodium selenite, Biotin, vitamin d3, cyanocobalamin. Each package contains 61.3 mg aspartame and 500 mg sodium.

All I can add to this is "YUM" :biggrin:

You sound just like I did 10 years ago when I went on slim fast...

and then 5 years ago on slim fast...

You sound just like I did 3 years ago when I went on NutriSystem (taking the guess work out of food)...

You sound just like I did 1 year ago when I went on MediFast (another similar liquid diet)...

I was so down, so determined that this would be the answer for me...if I could only take food out of the equation all would be well...

I kicked butt on MediFast...14 pounds the first two weeks...10 pounds the next two weeks...and so on...I KNEW I had found my way! There was no food to worry about, no chance of failure...it was heaven...

For about 3 months...

What happened? Family Vacation

It was so easy to talk myself into it, we were on the road, stopping to eat, enjoying amusement parks, and the food that goes along with them...

And the whole time I was telling myself, this is one week, and I am being really careful, I am being smart with my choices...and in truth I really was - I wasn't overeating, or binging, or getting up in the middle of the night and shoving food in my face, I was just having a "normal" week on vacation. And to be truthful, it wasn't even a full week, I stuck to the plan for three days of my trip, determined to not fall victim to food...

What caused the slip was something really simple. We were on the road and out longer than I had expected. I did not have a shake pkg with me and due to lack of nutrition, etc, I nearly passed out when we stopped and got out of the car. My husband was worried and said he had had enough and I was going to eat something, or he was taking me to the hospital and have them feed me through a tube!

I gave in and ate, and then continued to eat throughout the remainder of the trip. I did not blame my husband, in truth, it felt good to say "ok, I'll eat something"...and then something else...and something else...

By the time I returned home after about four days of normal eating, I had gained back every ounce I had lost except for about 9 pounds. The shock that it had come back so fast really got me down...I was mad at myself and felt that nothing would ever work for me...so I ate, and then ate some more (because I could) and before you know it, four months after starting MediFast I was 20 pounds heavier than I was before I started it.

That was it...that was how I came to this place of being banded...I knew that I had the "want to" what I finally came to realize I needed was a safety net of sorts, something to keep me from going crazy and eating everything in sight...I just finally realized that I can never take food out of my life, it is always going to be there, but I knew without a shadow of doubt that I did not want to be in this same place, a year from now, 2 years from now, ten years from now...

I thought for years that I could do this on my own...what I failed to see through all those attempts was that there is no more shame in using a tool such as the lap band than there is in believing that you must be policed by a liquid diet that will punish your body over time.

I believe that you should ask yourself hard questions, and that you should look at your current and past diets with a realistic frame of mind...do not be hard on yourself, just be honest...can you do this for the rest of you life? Without fail? If you do slip will the guilt drive you further down the wrong road?

I hope you achieve your goals no matter what path you take...we are all traveling this road together regardless of our mode of transportation...best of luck to you.

A friend of mine was put on optifast with the intention of her losing 100lbs before having the band put in...so it is a possibility for some surgeons to do this. I had never heard of it before but my friend has a hernia and heart defect that was concerning to her surgeon. She lost the 100lbs, had her band put in and her hernia fixed and now she is on her road to recovery with her heart.

Tyler,

I did Optifast several years ago. I too do not have the full nerve. I used to constantly over eat and even tried it with the Lapband. BIG MISTAKE. I thnk of the Lapband as my full feeling nerve. I get that full feeling realy early and I stay full as long as I follow the rules.

Anyway, with Optifast I lost a lot of weight, but i couldnot stay on it, I just had to chew. Drinking my meals was not for me. I could not take it. I loved the weightloss i got from it, but could not stay with it. I was always hungry, and thinking about food and I wanted to chew on something. Gum just wasn't cutting it.

I don't know what advice you are looking for. I just know it did not work for me and it cost me a lot of money. Then to add injury to insult, I gained all the weight back and then some. that is how I got to were I am today and using the Lapband.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do.