As I indicated in my last post, I did email my dietitian about my "strategy" (if you want to call it that) for carving off that 5 lb. weight gain from my vacation. She responded with a fantastic breakdown of the entire process, why it worked and how it worked. One thing she pointed out that did give me pause was I was consuming a very, very low amount of calories without a doctor's supervision. I have preached here numerous times about not doing Optifast without a doctor -- and here I was letting panic over 5 lbs. drive me, one day, to take in under 600 calories a day without a physician's oversight. Not wise, stupid, actually. And I know better.
I am to go back to my transition eating schedule which had me consuming roughly 1,200 calories/day (I think -- need to go over my materials). I started back in with that yesterday. Honestly, I felt a little "dicey" all week. My sleep has been horrible -- up at 3:00 a.m., starving, holding off on eating and then going back to sleep for a few hours. Work has been a real struggle. I haven't been sharp. I woke up at 3:00 a.m. again this morning, and after I finish writing I am going to have my yogurt "concoction", take something to help me sleep, and go back to bed.
My dietitian also told me NO weighing until I see her next week. This is because there will be fluctuations. In my case, that gets me very, very upset. Look, I lost 80 lbs. and I'm completely freaked out about gaining it back. That weight gain from my trip really upset me and that is no way to go through life. A great friend on the Facebook Optifast Chat Support page made an excellent point that weighing = accountability, and that's key to maintaining, protecting your weight loss. I completely agree. I just think for some, like me, weigh-ins need to be weekly. For psychological reasons.
Now, obviously many, many people who gain weight after discontinuing the Optifast products -- after a trip, for example -- and are familiar with the Optifast program, may choose to get some Optifast products online and just start using them until the weight gained is back off. On their own. In my case, for me to have success with Optifast, I needed to use Optifast 70 products (84 calories per packet) in conjunction with Optifast 800 products. My calorie intake was under 650 calories a day. To the best of my knowledge, Optifast 70 products are not available anywhere outside of a registered Optifast clinic -- unless we are talking some illegal avenue.
Subsequently, it is a "knee-jerk" reaction for me to strongly caution everyone from using the products on their own. We all have our own perspective, and experience, and I speak as someone who used the Optifast 70 products. So that explains my genuine concern for those taking things into their own hands. My dietitian made it very clear: if you are going to take in under 1,000 calories a day, you need a physician. And given what I felt like this week, I believe it. Yes, I got those 5 lbs. off, but look what I had to go through. It's insanity. So I am back to following instructions. The best way to go.
All right, it's some food then nighty night for me! Have a great day all.
I have to echo what your dietician said about the 1,000 calories. My dietician told me the exact same thing. Anything less than 1,000 is dangerous. I'm glad you'll be going back to transition ... Your good health is the most important thing dear friend. The medical supervision was the deciding factor for me when I was on Optifast and I was so grateful for them. Without it, I had situations that would have sent me to the hospital if I was doing it on my own. I know I'm preaching to the choir on that, but it means more than trying to save money by not going to a clinic.
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