The Optifast Diet: Yay or Nay?

Hey Gorgeous People,

Since early March, I have been making a conscious effort to lose weight and lose it healthily. At the beginning of this endeavour, I weighed 93kg (the heaviest I had been) and I was not happy or comfortable in my body. So I began eating healthy.

At first, I just cut out bread, pasta, and anything that was too processed or had too many carbs in it. This went on for about a month and I lost 6kg, although I did put some of that back on during my period as my weight usually goes crazy around that time anyway. After about a month, I decided to start the Optifast diet, which is a VLCD - Very Low Carb Diet. My usual food for the day entailed an Optifast shake for breakfast, an Optifast bar for lunch, and then a high protein, low carb dinner. My dinner remained the same as what I would usually be eating as it usually consists of some chicken or mince and vegetables.

Now I have lost almost 10kg in two months and, while it hasn't been easy, I have noticed considerable differences from when I lost 15kg in a month at the beginning of last year. During school holidays from December 2015-January 2016, I put on enough weight so i weighed 90kg and I was determined to lose that weight. But, in all honesty, I did not lose that weight healthily at all and I believe I ended up losing a lot more muscle than fat. I lost the weight through usually having my only food for the day at dinner and even then, my dinner portions were smaller than usual. I found ways to even skip dinner some times by simply saying I had a big lunch and wasn't hungry. The longest I went without eating a single piece of food was three days.

Now I truly do not recommend this as a way to lose weight! And if you are doing this then I urge you to find a different way, such as Optifast, that allows you to lose weight but to do it in a way that is safe and won't be detrimental to your body. Yes, it is really hard sometimes to stick to the diet and I do get hungry, but the results are showing and I know I am losing fat this time instead of muscle. And, it is a diet! It's going to be hard sometimes! For instance, last year I lost very little from my lower abdomen area but I lost quite a bit off my legs. This time, I can tell that my stomach is getting smaller, which I am so happy about because I had and still have a lot of issues with how I feel about my stomach.

Me when I was around 93kg (I didn't take a lot of photos as I was self-conscious)

Me at my formal when I was 84kg (which is what I am now)

Now the difference may not be alarming as you can't see my whole body in the top photo, but I can feel and see the difference and I am beginning to love my body more.

So I truly recommend a diet like the Optifast diet just because it has really worked for me. Once I get down to my goal weight of 70kg, I will go back to just the healthy eating that I began with. But for now, I am married to the VLCD and I do really enjoy it. And this isn't a one hit, get-down-to-my-goal-weight-then-go-back-to-eating-how-I-was last-year kinda thing. This is a lifestyle change for me and I will have to stick with the healthy, clean eating for the rest of my life.

If you want to share your weight loss journey with me, please feel free to comment! I would love to know how you did it because it is still a journey for me.

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As always,
I love you all so much

Immy Minette