Optifast Recipes

I will take NO credit for these recipes. I found them on a blog but didn't save the address and couldn't find it again to give a link. Great way to mix it up. Will have to try a few! 

Andes Mint - 6-8 oz. water, 1/4 tsp mint extract and chocolate Optifast powder mix

Banana Nut - 6-8 oz. water, 1/4 tsp banana extract, 1/4 tsp almond extract and vanilla Optifast powder mix

Black Cherry - 6-8 oz. black cherry sparkling water and vanilla Optifast powder mix

Candy Cane - 6-8 oz. water, 1 oz. strawberry sugar-free syrup, 1 oz. peppermint sugar-free syrup and vanilla Optifast powder mix

Cherry Vanilla - 6-8 oz. cherry sparkling water, 1/4 tsp cherry extract and vanilla Optifast powder mix

Chocolate Covered Banana - 6-8 oz. water, 1/4 tsp banana extract and chocolate Optifast powder mix

Chocolate Covered Cherry - 6-8 oz. cherry sparkling water, 1/4 tsp cherry extract and chocolate Optifast powder mix

English Toffee & Peanut Butter - 6-8 oz. water, 3 tbs english toffee sugar-free syrup, 1 tsp peanut butter sugar-free syrup and vanilla Optifast powder mix

Hazelnut Coconut - 6-8 oz. water, 1 oz. hazelnut sugar-free syrup, 1 oz. coconut sugar-free syrup and either chocolate or vanilla Optifast powder mix

Key Lime - 8 oz. Key Lime sparkling water and vanilla Optifast powder mix

Macadamia Nut & White Chocolate - 6-8 oz. water, 1 oz. macadamia nut sugar-free syrup, 1 oz. white chocolate sugar-free syrup and and vanilla Optifast powder mix

Mango - 6-8 oz. water, 1 oz. mango sugar-free syrup and vanilla Optifast powder mix

Mounds Bar - 6-8 oz. water, 1/4 tsp coconut extract and chocolate Optifast powder mix

Orange Dreamsicle - 6-8 oz. diet orange soda, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract and vanilla Optifast powder mix

Peach-Vanilla - 6-8 oz. water, 3 oz. peach sugar-free syrup and vanilla Optifast powder mix

Raspberry - 6-8 oz. Crystal Light raspberry drink and vanilla Optifast powder mix

Root Beer Float - 6-8 oz. diet root beer soda and vanilla Optifast powder mix

Strawberry Banana - 6-8 oz. strawberry sparkling water, 1/4 tsp banana extract and vanilla Optifast powder mix

Watermelon - 6-8 oz. water, 1 oz. watermelon sugar-free syrup and vanilla Optifast powder mix

Ending Week 4!

Week 4 was tough. Felt the pull of temptations. No going to lie, I gave in a few times. Nothing major, just a bit here and there, but still. I felt like I let my self and the others rooting for me down, but I am human! At last weigh in I lost only 1.6 lbs. I am more hopeful for this week.

I have done so well and am working so hard to get healthier. I was ashamed at how far I let myself go but I am past being ashamed. I am feeling great and I am loving the results I am seeing. I am so proud of myself for taking charge of my body and doing what needs to be done. As anyone I can't wait to get to my personal goal weight but I know nothing worth having comes easy!

I am IN LOVE with my new blender by the way. I take a powder shake add some water and ice and blend and it makes such a great smoothie! Makes shakes SO much better!  

Heaviest Weight: 355 lbs.
Start of Program Weight: 321 lbs.
Personal Goal Weight: 200 lbs.
Current weight: 297.9 lbs.  (as of weigh in on 8/14/13)
Pounds Lost: 57 lbs.  
Pounds To Go: 98 lbs. 

Top of Week 3

Sorry I skipped last week but this sure has been an adventure! My first week on product was a breeze. I even went to a family party and kept my self busy (out of the kitchen) so I wouldn't snack. People felt bad for me not being able to eat but were proud of me for taking this adventure. I kept strict to the program, no little slips, no fudging, and no bartering with myself the whole week. At the end of week 1 I lost 10.5 lbs. I was very proud of my self.

This 2nd week was a little harder on me. A few more temptations but I held out! I am determined to stay on product only the whole 16 weeks! I just keep thinking, "Its not forever!"  I had a few more parties and girls nights but I got through them and was no worse for wear. I had big hopes for my weigh it but 4 lbs. is nothing to scoff at!

I am feeling great. I am starting to notice small changes. My arms are a little tighter, my stomach a bit smaller. I had to buy new work pants so I went to the store and tried not just 1 size smaller but 2 sizes smaller and they fit a little loose. I was thrilled! It makes it all better seeing results not just on the scale!

They gave us on our first week of product a BlenderBottle with a blender ball and it works well but it doesn't blend totally in my experience. I was using a Milk Frother to mix my soups and and some shakes but it doesn't work well in deep cups. I looked up Personal Drink Blenders, something to mix things thoroughly. I bought this blender, it was $19.99, came with 4 16oz cups, lids for those cups, 2 blender lids, and a small cup. So far it is the best purchase ever! 

Heaviest Weight: 355 lbs.
Start of Program Weight: 321 lbs.
Personal Goal Weight: 200 lbs.
Current weight: 306 lbs.  
Pounds Lost: 49 lbs.  
Pounds To Go: 106 lbs. 

First Day on Product!

Today was my first day on product! It was tough. But I lived! I woke up at 330am for work and had a shake, had a bar at "lunch" around 630am, waited way to long to have my next shake (so I had two) at 230pm, a soup at 530pm, and I plan on having a bar here in just a bit. I even went "out" to eat, as I do every thursday, with my grandparents and just had my soup. It was a little rough not eating but it wasn't that bad. I think as a few days pass it will be easier to not have cravings. First day I will call a success! Here is to a great first week and a great first weigh in after starting product on Wednesday!


Heaviest Weight: 355 lbs.
Start of Program Weight: 321 lbs.
Personal Goal Weight: 200 lbs.
Current weight: 320 lbs.  
Pounds Lost: 35 lbs.  
Pounds To Go: 120 lbs. 

Pictures. Then and Now.

Me in my 9th or 10th grade year (2003-2004). 185 lbs.

Winter Formal (2003) 185 lbs.

Senior Portrait 2005. 195-200 lbs.

Me and my beautiful sisters (2008) 210-220 lbs.

My Honeymoon (2009) 265-275 lbs.

Thanksgiving (2011) 330 lbs.

My Mother-In-Law and myself (2012) 340 lbs.

Sharks Game (2013) 320 lbs.

Here is to setting the body clock back! 

Last few days on food.

OK SOOOO Thursday I start the meal replacement. I am getting nervous! I have tried to keep the "Last Supper Syndrome" down to a minimum. I have had a few things I enjoy that I know I wont be able to have for quite awhile but all in moderation.

So when I decided to go ahead with Kaiser's Medical Weight Management Program , I went to an orientation to learn what it would entail, I walked away with a lot of  information and samples. After comparing the ready-to-drink chocolate shake from Optifast and the Costco case of Premier Protein Chocolate Shakes that my husband drinks already, we found they were almost identical, so my (very supportive) husband and I tried a 3 day protein shake diet, if you want to call it that, to see how hard it would be. I will say most the day wasn't so bad but nights are the worst. In all honesty there was a few nights my husband and I went to bed in a bad hunger mood because we couldn't stand it any more and were being beyond grumpy even though we had more then enough to live on but were use to so much more, BUT we lived and were no worse for the wear. Its doable and will be rough but well worth it in the end.

Last Wednesday was our first meeting. All we did was get our first weigh in out of the way and get our binders, then sample all the product to make our order for our first week on replacements. I tried everything even if I knew I wouldn't like it just so I knew how it tasted. Your options are very limited but I ordered as much variety as I could with the thought that variety would make me less likely to want to cheat (if the price of the program wasn't enough to make you stick to it). Its definitely not gourmet food but it isn't the worse thing I have eaten (well drank rather).

I met a few of the women in the group and they seemed nice. We will all need each other to lean on. I know not all of us will make it the whole program but having a strong support system is key. Ideally you would toss ALL the food out of your house to reduce temptation, but that isn't realistic when you live with others. I, however, just have my husband and my self so in a show of solidarity my husband agreed to get rid of ALL the food in our house (fridge, pantry, freezer, cabinets, the whole sha-pang, well... except for the beer =) ) since he works in the city long hours and has food provided for him at work. Since he isn't home except for "dinner" he has decided to replace all his "dinners" with the Premier Protein Shakes so we will limit the food temptations in the house. I am very fortunate to not only have the support of my husband but my whole family and friends.

At my heaviest weight I was 355 lbs.. I have gotten down to 321 lbs. at the start of this program. My over all happy life goal weight is 200 lbs. (give or take 5 lbs.). At my thinest (in high school) I weighed an athletic 185 lbs., at my thinest post high school was 200 lbs. and I felt great and I though I looked great and I felt comfortable. At 6'2" the suggested "ideal body weight" is 165-185 lbs. but I was barley in that range at my peak fitness as a high school athlete, 200 lbs. is my happy goal. In my next post I will post "before" pictures (and maybe a few "through back" pictures) to document my progress. I am very excited and nervous.

Tonight is our first actual program meeting and the last night before the July 2013 Group of 22 people will start on path back to a healthier us.


Thank you for the support!
-Kierstyn

Heaviest Weight: 355 lbs.
Start of Program Weight: 321 lbs.
Personal Goal Weight: 200 lbs.
 (At 6'2" the suggested "ideal body weight" is 165-185 lbs.)
Current weight: 321 lbs.  
Pounds Lost: 34 lbs.  
Pounds To Go: 121 lbs. 

The Road Back

I would love to say something profound here. I just don't have it in me, I am not that kinda person. Here I am just going to tell my story. Document my road back to health and an all around happier me. 

It has been a hard few years for me. I feel bad for complaining. I think of how awful some people have it both in their childhood and in their adult life, and how fortune it I am to have everything I do. Yes I have had things happen to me that I wouldn't wish on anyone, but I have been blessed too.

It has been a 2 year 7 months since I found out I had PCOS (January 2011), 5 years 2 months (May 2008) from my first pregnancy and miscarriage and 2 year 8 months from my second ending in an ectopic pregnancy and an emergency surgery that left me with one less fallopian tube. After all this, a full year of Fertility Treatments, my husband and I were emotionally exhausted.

I have struggled with Food Addiction (compulsive eating) for the last 4 years after these very emotional life events leading me to gaining over 150 lbs. in just about 2 years. Its so much more then what everyone thinks;"There is no such thing as Food Addiction, just stop eating!","Your just fat and lazy, but the food down!". I have come to find it is so much more then that. Its a drug, the most dangerous kinds because we have to use it to live... literally.

I have tried all kinds of diets (and pills). Most pre-made meal diet plans are to expensive for most everyday people, some diets are unrealistic, and some are confusing. For the last few years I have tried (some times more successfully then others) to stick to a Gluten-Free and Sugar-Free life style and a eating plan based on the Food Addicts Anonymous guild lines. I have lost 30 lbs. (and counting) since putting my head down and deciding I NEED to make a life style change or I may never get better. Since I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome), which is a condition in which a woman has an imbalance of a female sex hormones, which has lead me to have trouble getting pregnant and trouble loosing weight, I knew I needed a BIG life stye change. PCOS, gone untreated can lead to Diabetes. While being over weight can cause PCOS, mine isn't totally caused by that. BUT loosing the weight is my best chance to get control of the PCOS and starting a family.

This blog starts my road down Kaiser's Medical Weight Loss Management with Optifast.

Heaviest Weight: 355 lbs.
Start of Program Weight: 321 lbs.
Personal Goal Weight: 200 lbs.
 (At 6'2" the suggested "ideal body weight" is 165-185 lbs.)
Current weight: 321 lbs.  
Pounds Lost: 34 lbs.  
Pounds To Go: 121 lbs.