Embarrassed By Optifast?

A friend I hadn't spoken to in a long time called me this week to see how I was doing and to invite me over tomorrow. We chatted for awhile, catching up on our activities, and inevitably I felt I needed to tell her about my weight loss. "I've lost almost 40 pounds," I said. "What?!" she replied. I could hear the amazement in her voice. Should I tell her about Optifast? I hesitated. Then decided against it.

Why? Well, I think I am embarrassed to tell some people I am on Optifast. I know I'm not alone in this. Lots of Optifasters are like me. I know in my case, I want to avoid any negative judgement of my choice to enroll in the Optifast program. I'm afraid people will call me nuts or see me as someone who wants a quick way out of having to follow a traditional diet. I think about how everyone harshly criticized Optifast after Oprah Winfrey did the program and gained all the weight back. Even though Oprah, by her own admission, didn't follow the Optifast long-term maintenance plan.

I also think that some, who have never had issues with weight, view obese people as lazy and "less-than." People who make suspect and ill-conceived choices in anything that has to do with weight. I don't want anyone questioning my decisions. And I know I am a good, loving person. Sure, I gained a lot of my weight because I cooked and ate high-caloric food, but I do have a serious thyroid problem that contributes to the weight issue. Yet do I really need to build some "justification" to some that Optifast is right for me and I haven't lost my mind?

I know I don't need to pick up a bullhorn and broadcast to everyone that I'm on a liquid diet. But when you start dropping some serious weight, people you know are going to notice. There is no way around it. And in our highly weight-conscious society, they are going to be very, very curious how you lost your weight. So we're stuck, in a way. There are just some situations where the truth must be revealed. Why do I feel so awkward about it?

Here's what I have been mulling over lately. There is no way around the fact that many, many people are highly suspicious of very low calorie/liquid diets. Some doctors included. But if we really think about it, is the problem with the diet itself or does the real issue have to do with what the dieter chose to do after the program was over? There are also those highly-publicized examples of celebrities who have done liquid diets and failed to keep the weight off. Those are not going away. Some people heard about it and made up their minds that liquid diets are a waste of time. And let's face it: when you tell some people you spent 8 months subsisting on shakes, soups and bars, they will be shocked. That you cannot change.

But deep inside, I know that the Optifast program is right for me. I had to lose this weight. I wanted to do it successfully. I needed a program that made the food choices for me and ensured I was getting the proper nutrition to be healthy. I wanted support and information on how to keep the weight off after the program was over. And most importantly, I wanted to be under a doctor's care. My Optifast program offers all of this. And that's why I chose it. This not some "fad" diet. As it says on my product packets, this is a "serious solution to weight loss."

So I am trying to be a little more comfortable with my decision to do Optifast. While it's not a program for everyone, it is for me. That's what ultimately counts. This is my life to lead and I need to take care of my body. No one else can do that for me. I have chosen this path. And it is working for me.