One Week Down...Along With Our Weight!

Whoa...that first week was a challenge! Tim and I started on the OPTIFAST Program. But, in spite of some hunger pangs and a few occasions of doubt, we stuck with it diligently. We ate a meal replacement every three hours, and drank plenty of water, diet pop, and herbal teas.

Today, we learned that we lost a combined thirteen pounds! That's quite a motivator to keep going!

Here's what we learned:

• Planning to have an additional meal on hand is a sensible idea. For us, it would have made a world of difference when we were stuck in traffic for over an hour!
• Starting and ending day with soup is a helpful trick; the soups are quite substantial.
• We found a product called a Blender Bottle - a shaker bottle with a wire whisk ball in it to make our shakes; we've ordered them to sell to our clients.
• Hydrating well is key. We found that drinking plenty of water, and having an herbal tea or a soft drink between meals kept the momentum going.
• We reminded ourselves that caffeine tea and coffee makes you lose fluid, so we stayed away from more than one or two each day.
• I decided not to go to my spin cycling class during the early part of the Program, but added it in without difficulty during the end of the week.

The most important thing we learned is that we can do this! And what a different summer this will be! Back in control of our own lives...

So, we feel triumphant - and proud of ourselves. We also feel that this first week of learning was critical in helping our clients as they start the OPTIFAST Program.

After all, we're all in this together.
Linda Gromko, MD