Optifast Diet...Not going well!!!

[mom2trips06 0]

Sorry for the complaining but here goes...

Ok so I started my Optifast diet just yesterday. My diet is supposed to consist of 5 shakes and 1 snack bar per day with NO food. I hate the shakes - I have had to down them through a straw with the babies cheering me on..."go mommy, go mommy!" - they are my biggest fans and supporters!!! :biggrin:

Ok so today at my serving job...I got very sick - dizzy, confused, everything seemed fuzzy, weak, clammy, etc. I had to eat a grilled chicken breast then felt much better.

Im wondering if this is normal: 1. the diet with no food just Optifast & 2. the way I felt at work???

[katwmn63 0]

I am right with you...but perhaps a little luckier. I am on day 4 of "modifed" liquids. My doc said lose as much weight as you can and keep it low carb...only do shakes if it is Meal Replacement. I do 2 shakes for meals and one low carb meal for supper. I can't imagine not having it, but I will have to post op for sure.

MANY like you are told...all liquids:( Of course you should try to follow your surgeon's instructions to the "T" as best you can. But when you falter (we all do some time or another) make the next best choice. You did exactly that...you had high Protein, low carb, low fat food...and just enough to eliminate your symptoms. A server and have triplets? Yikes...your body was probably screaming for an energy source. Are you taking the Vitamins your surgeon instructed you to take?

I think you will be ok. I also think the symptoms will go away as you adjust to the diet. Remember... it is temporary. You will get to eat food in a few weeks. You will do great, I can tell because you were worried about the slip. BEST of luck to you :biggrin:

Edited July 8, 2009 by katwmn63

[flipman416 2]

Not to butt in, but try other Meal Replacements that just might help you. Search around. I know Bariatric Advantage has a Meal Replacement that is equivalent and I heard even better because it has less sugar. Bariatric Advantage - Nutritional supplements, Vitamins, Proteins, and Help for Gastric Bypass, Distal, Lap Band, Realize, Stomaphyx and Duodenal Switch Surgery Patients take a look there good luck to you.

[vonhelzing 3]

I was on total liqued for the 2 weeks pre-op but it was too hard so I would have half a grilled chix breast for lunch and the other half for dinner. I used fat/calorie free BBQ for dipping. Eating the chicken did not hurt my surgery at all.

[mom2trips06 0]

Thanks for all of your responses everyone! I am eating a little but only chicken and some veggies a couple times. Ive been putting the shakes in the freezer and downing them really cold - helps a lot. The nurse ended up saying it was ok to do.

[losingitat41 0]

I feel your pain. i am on day 2 of Optifast and my headache is unreal. I am allowed to have caffeine, so its not that. It must be sugar and carb withdrawl.

we can DO this. We haveto!

My doctor said- "you should drop some weight on the liquid diet- and for the first time in your life you will get to keep that loss...it wont be coming back". I look at it as a jumpstart to the overall loss.

i try to remember that when my head is hurting and my stomach is growling!

[shannybp 0]

Hi

Don't feel bad. A few years a go I tried Opti-fast as one of my many diets. And I would throw up everytime I tried to drink one, then I also became weak and would get headaches. I stopped that diet after a few days. So just know it can happen to anyone.

[Takingcareofme 0]

Wow, mom of trips, I agree you made a good choice today. I came to the same conclusion, how would a healthy salad and a little grilled chicken ruin my pre-op diet. I'm on an all liquid/jello/broth/pudding/protein shake diet too and I'm ready to go crazy after day 2. So thanks everyone for your honesty!! Someone attended the last education pre-op class with me this week and they were on day 5 claiming it was so "easy" and they were not "hungry". I had a feeling that couldn't be true!!

Best wishes to all... my surgery date is also 7/15/09... excited anxious and nervous!

[elcee 3,343]

The preop diet is hard but we have to do them for a reason. if you want to eat stuff that is not on the diet contact your surgeon and see what he says.You don't want to end up in a situation where maybe they can't operate because you didn't stick to it. You also have to remember that postop you HAVE to stick to it.

Yes it is hard but it is only for a very short time. We all think that at the time that we can't do it but we surprise ourselves. I find it hard to believe now 5 weeks after surgery that i actually survived a month on liquids!

[mgmagnolia 1]

Hi,

I'm on Day 4 on the same diet. The first few days were awful. I experienced all the same things you did. It was awful! But today it seems like it's getting better. I told my friends that I've never gone through detox but it reminds me of what alcoholics and drug addicts go through when they are trying to get clean. Not as bad I'm sure but it is withdrawel.

Anyway I hope that it is getting better for you too. They told me that I could have as much broth as I wanted. I have been heating it up in a coffee cup and having that with my "meals" and that seems to help a little.

[greytz 4]

Hi mom2trips06. Have you ever been tested for hypoglycemia? That is how I feel when my sugar plummets. You may want to check with your doctor again but my pre-op diet was the two liquid Proteins one for Breakfast and one for lunch and then a small portion of Protein and a small portion of green veggie for dinner. The grilled chicken breast I would think would be fine. Check with your doc and see if he will allow that for you. Hope you get better on the pre-op.

[mom2trips06 0]

Hey greytz...Its funny you say that because a couple of the girls I work with are nursing students and kept saying my sugar was low! I am going to call tomorrow and mention it. I'll tell you when I find out. Thanks!

[greytz 4]

Good. I hope you find out what is going on. Keep in touch.