Jacque's Optifast Blog

January 2012

Jacque Baker — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:03:46 +0000

During the holidays I regressed to some of my old habits and ate too much junk food and too many sweets. I know I can’t do sweets but I keep doing them. I know if I get started I can’t stop, I start the day healthy with my homemade smoothie. I use raw egg, greek yogurt or kefir, small fruit, kale or collards cooked with their juice, raw carrot or celery, cherry tomato, avacado slice or coconut oil, and cinnamon to flavor. I add lots of supplements, flax seed, B12, astaxanthin, C, garlic, red yeast rice,krill oil, D3, Olive leaf extract, and others off and on. I blend it into two servings, one at 10 and one about 2 pm. About 4 pm I have a red pepper and hummus with a glass of wine (sometimes mixed with Hansens Tangerine lime diet soda…super yum!). Dinner is a homemade ceasar salad with chicken or shrimp on it. Desert is the problem. My mom has ice cream every night so it’s in the house and I end up eating it too. With walnuts chopped on top. I get a real sweet tooth after dinner and rationalize that I’ll get rid of the calories tomorrow. But tomorrow never comes. Add to that Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas Parties, weekly family get togethers, and a trip to Las Vegas and I gained 30 pounds between October and January. I am so mad at myself but have started back on the liquid diet in an attempt to reverse it.

I had stockpiled a month’s worth of product along with a months supply of prescription potassium. I’ve known for the past year that I had this just in case….. so I think I gave myself permission to indulge and then use it up in January. I am hopeful that once it is gone, this nonsense will stop. I know it’s a runaway train with me….all or nothing, I know the triggers, I know the rational, I know the self talk. I saw it happening and couldn’t stop it. My blood sugar jumped up into dangerous territory 147 and that didn’t stop me either.

Finally I got started on my 30 days of optifast on January 12, 2012. My mother, who I live with and care for, took a trip to Texax to visit her sister for 10 days. No cooking to get me through the first few days so no excuse now. This is the end of the first 7 days and I weighed myself. I’ve lost 11 pounds. My blood sugar is 98 this morning. Yeah me! It’s been easy…none of the struggles I had the first time. Either I went right into ketosis or my memory reminded me of what it felt like and that it’s easy. Either way I’ve enjoyed the drinks again this week, have a chicken soup instead of a glass of wine, and watch the weight (probably water) coming off me quickly. I’m used to smoothies for breakfast and lunch anyway so dinner was the only change for me. I’m also supplementing the shakes with vitamins, krill oil, and red yeast rice so I keep my good health. The first time I was told not to add anything but it’s not causing any problems so I’ll continue with it. The last week I may stretch out to two weeks by adding my own homemade smoothies for two or three meals. I want that 30 pounds gone and never to come back.

One year later!

Jacque Baker — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:26:21 +0000

It’s been almost one year since I stopped the fast and went on full food. I stayed within 5 pounds of my final weight until I gave myself permission to eat what I wanted during the holidays and gained 20 pounds. I went back on the fast with stockpiled supplies for 2 weeks and lost most of it in January. My downfall is sugar. I have to just stay away from it. If I eat a little, I get cravings I can’t control, however when I fast and get the sugar out of my system I am able to stay on plan and feel good. Same with fruit, I have to limit it or I get cravings. I’m still eating mostly organic whole foods and I make a fortified smoothie every morning with a raw egg, small piece of apple or banana, cooked or raw green leafy vegetables left over from dinner the night before, good quality whey protein from Whole foods, aloe vera juice, UDO’s oil, greek yagurt, and various multiple vitamins and supplements. I sometimes add a little stevia for flavor. I usually make enough for 2 smoothies and have one for lunch too. I also make a low fat granola, pumpkin seed, sesame seed, sunflower seed mixture and put on scoop of it into my morning smoothie so I have something to crunch. For late lunch, I’ll eat a large homemade ceasar salad with chicken or fish, fresh parmesan and Galeo’s cearsar dressing (which is fabulous and only 14 calories- available at Whole Foods market).
About 5 I’ll have one glass of wine. For dinner it is usually fish or other meat, cooked or roasted organic vegetables. For dessert around 8 or so I’ll enjoy a square of dark dark organic chocolate. I’m able to maintain my weight with this diet and still enjoy family outings and restaurant meals. If I overdo (which I do almost weekly at some point) I simply fast with my own type smoothie for a day or two. It is easy to do that, I have no problem at all eating liquid meals for 2 days. I rarely use the Optifast meals now, and mostly use various whey protein products from Whole Foods market (I like their 365 brand) or Dr Mercola’s whey protein I purchase online. I also found a sugar free chocolate bar made by Amberlyn that I order online for dessert too. I am currently about 10 pounds more than last May 18th and holding. I am still attending the monthly booster meetings at Positive Choice and am able to purchase 6 boxes a month of product if I wish. I have about a month’s supply on hand although I rarely use them and found I can just make my own healthier version with Whey Protein but it give me a sense of peace knowing that it is there if I need it. Hopefully time with take care of that. I’ll try to remember to update this blog next year.

Finally on full food!

Jacque Baker — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:21:11 +0000

Took me 3 weeks of adding various food groups to my diet and then another week of phasing out the optifast shakes. I did it faster than recommended. The counselors couldn’t give me good enough reason to take 6-8 weeks so I did it my own way- quickly! Besides, my new diet of all organic, whole foods, no processed grains or sugar, and no dairy products didn’t fit into an easy box and I wanted to experiment. It seems alright although I gave myself a stomach ache for 20 hours at one point. I think too many raw vegies on a sensitive stomach made it too acidic. Soy yogurt finally fixed that. I gained 3 pound of water back over the past week but lost another pound so I should be stabilized now. I have lots of energy, taking two 2 mile walks a day or swimming. Now on to maintenance for the next 6 months.

Finally on partial food

Jacque Baker — Mon, 10 May 2010 14:52:17 +0000

On May 4th, 2010, I’d had it! It had been six months of fasting. I had lost 85 pounds. I was putting off going back on partial food and struggling in my mind about it. I kept thinking I want to lose a few more pounds first even though I had hit my initial goal. Just 5-10 more pounds, just in case, I kept telling myself! Only things really slowed down and I was lucky to lose 1-2 pounds a week now- there just wasn’t that much fat left to use up and at $125 a week, they were getting to be expensive pounds! Most of my classmates had already gone onto partial foods and gave good reports about continuing to lose after starting to eat some lean meat and vegetables so I just decided to do it too. My body was also starting to rebel against the fast, hair falling out, constipation becoming more of a problem, and just a blah feeling that my body wanted to eat healthy so…my first bite was some 3 ounces of fresh cod, baked with some seasoning (not salt). I forgot my taste buds were still sensitive though and the lemon pepper seasoning was so strong I had a hard time with it. Next day I switched to sliced organic turkey and fresh cooked organic green beans and they were wonderful. Three days later I had 3 ounces of boiled shrimp, some fresh butternut squash soup, and fresh salad greens with balsamic vinegar. Again wonderful. I’m now having 4 optifast shakes a day and one small meal- 3 ounces of lean meat, half a cup of cooked vegetables, and 2 cups of raw salad for my dinner. Seems to be working well and I’ve lost another 2 pounds this week so shaking up my metabolism was the best move for me. Total, I’ve lost 87 pounds. My blood sugar is around 90 and my liver levels are all normal and healthy once again. I am so glad I went on this optifast program. It is the best thing I’ve ever done for myself and I will never be fat again!

Just passing 80 pounds

Jacque Baker — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:48:22 +0000

Still going down, although much slower now. Only losing about 2 pounds a week now since it takes less calories to maintain my slimmer self. So now I need to get serious about stepping up my metabolism by exercising/walking more. Plus I need to tighten up some really flabby skin almost everywhere. My skin feels really strange to me now, lots of hanging skin that wiggles and jiggles. No fat underneath it now so the skin feels odd. I can grab it and just take big pinches. I’m told by my optifast counselor that things will tighten over the next six months or so. The younger you are the faster it tightens- think pregnancy! I’m also using more skin creams on my face and neck to minimize some of the wrinkles that I see in the mirror now too- ugh!

Not sure where my stopping point is yet, maybe another 5-10 pounds. Most of that is in my stomach and I want it to go away! However it is getting expensive- I figure about $50 a pound at this rate now. I’m going to check into Curves this week to see what that entails. Maybe use their machines to help burn extra and tighten more. Walking isn’t working on spots- great for burning calories though and I’m still walking 2 miles a day but plan to add spot exercised to it too. And I’ve found that if I avoid the Torani syrup, I lose faster, so I’ve switched to Stevia in my coffee with vanilla shake in the mornings.

Been sewing up a storm. I have lots of expensive blouses that hang on me now. Rather than give them all away to Goodwill, I am taking 2″-3″ seems up the sides of them. Going by color so I don’t have to thread that many bobbins. First red, then blue, then purple, now black, and next white. Easy to do, just sew a straight line up the sides of each extending it down the sleeves. Seamstresses will tell you that you should take the sleeves off first and redo them at the same time. Too much trouble and too many blouses for me to do this. I think they look fine. Not doing pants, I’ll just get smaller ones!

We finished our 20 week program last week and just continue on with a new class that started last week. There are 7 of us still from the original class that started together. The rest have graduated but we all have a few more pounds. Feel sorry for the 25 or so new members just getting started. It has been a long haul and I’m now anxious to be done and trying out some of my new healthy recipes. Of course I still have partial food weeks to go and then maintenance for up to a year.

Just passing 70 pounds!

Jacque Baker — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:20:13 +0000

Still doing great! 3-4 pounds a week. I think I’ve only got about 6 weeks left until I reach my goal. Then I go on partial food for 4-6 weeks until my metabolism is back up. That will also prepare me for full food maintenance which goes on for the next year. There is no way I’ll gain the weight back so I’ll follow their well tried method for keeping it off forever. The fast is still easy for me, however I’m getting bored with the choices and anxious to get back to food. Since my body is cleaned out of gluten, metals, and toxins, I will keep those things out of my diet once I do start back to eating. Then record how the addition of any new foods makes me feel. In class today we discussed PFE’s (partial foods). There are still 8 of us in the class and several are already on PFE’s. They say they have a hard time eating all the food they are supposed to as their stomachs have shrank so much. Evidently 3 ounces of lean meat seems like a lot to them and 1 cup of fresh vegetables is a lot too. We’ll see.

I’m enjoying shopping for new clothes. Haven’t bought much yet but a few pieces that I can wear now for awhile to transition. My stomach is the last to go down so it is keeping me in larger sizes than the rest of my body. Hopefully it is the next thing to go down. I’m having a hard time finding clothes to buy as I am so used to shopping at Lane Bryant or other large size stores and departments so I don’t know what my new style will be. I visualized myself in some of the cute clothes I see in magazines but when I try them on, they seem too young or show too much flab. I have flab around my arms and thighs that I hope will tighten up with time. And most of the remaining fat will move around some until it settles somewhere. I tried Jeans on and they just don’t seem me. I haven’t worn jeans in over a decade so we’ll see if I want to go back. Right now I like stretchy black pants and conservative blouses with collars. I’ll just have to go and try on some different things when I get to that point. Also summer is coming so I want to buy summer clothes, shorts, etc but again the sun dresses and shorts show too much hanging skin so I may wait a while to buy those things. I can still wear my old fat black bathing suit (now it looks good- not saggy) so I’m ready for the pool. Still walking regularly several times a week listening to my audiobook on my iphone. Plans to invite family over for Easter and cook something. Wish I was done by then but…..soon enough. I want to go all the way down now. I am so thankful that I found Optifast. Six months ago I was resigned to being fat the rest of my life. This is like a dream come true for me.

Just passing 200 pounds!

Jacque Baker — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:58:56 +0000

This morning the scales read 200.0. It’s been awhile since I’ve been on the other side of that number. Having fun going through the closet trying to find something to wear. Several old dressy outfits in the spare room closet now fit again. Just need somewhere to wear them! My sizes should be changing quickly now. I’m not buying much until I get there but have been shopping to see what the styles are and trying on different looks and styles. Also letting my hair grow so I can get a new hairstyle soon too. Still feel good and losing about half a pound a day. I want to lose another 30 pounds and at that rate it will be about 2 more months. Then I go on partial foods for 6 weeks to find where my calorie intake matches my calorie burning rate. That six weeks will also allow me to try some of the new healthy foods and recipes before having to rely on them 100%. The blood tests have consistantly shown lower cholestrol and blood sugar levels each time I have blood drawn every other week. The class size has gone down. One person moved, anther went to maintenance but there are about 8 of us still going strong on the fast. Everyone looks good. A couple of them have cheated occasionally and always regret it. Once you do, it is hard to stop and hard to get back on the full fast. I don’t want to open that door so I just refuse to cheat. I want to look good more than I want to eat and that keeps me focused.

Reached 50 pounds!

Jacque Baker — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:50:41 +0000

Weighed in and now have lost 53 pounds! Still going strong. Mostly just keep drinking the shakes, have a good routine, and don’t think too much about food. I even conquered going out to eat with friends and just sipping on my shake or chicken soup. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what kinds of foods I’ll eat when I start eating again. I know that I cannot keep eating the way I did before the fast so I’m anxious to try different food choices such as gluten free, grain free, and mostly sugar free whole foods. I’ve been subscribed to and read Dr. Mercola. That may be very healthy but also very limiting so we’ll see. I’ll try it first. Good time since after 6 months of this fast, my body has rid all the gluten’s and toxins so it’ll be a good time to try to keep it that way and see how I feel. Right now I feel great! Everyone says I am a new me!

White Chocolate

Jacque Baker — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:53:33 +0000

I discovered sugar free White Chocolate Torani Syrup. Don’t know why it took so long to try.. could be because I was gulping down the other dozen or so flavors I have! Anyway it’s good, especially with the vanilla and chocolate shakes. HOWEVER I now believe the sucralose in it is not good for me and as soon as the optifast diet is over so will the sugar free Torani syrups! Getting closer to that 50 pound mark- maybe next week? Each day I lose about half a pound average. Some days more some less and I still have a long way to go. Several people in the class have met their goals and have moved on into Partial Food or maintenance so the class is getting smaller- about 12 of us now. Good discussion today about how we plan to maintain once we reach our goal. Evidently these little fat cells, once empty, just lie in wait for more fat to fill them. So there will be no such thing as going back to life and eating as I used to. It’ll be a strict regimen that I must follow and get used to. I’m learning all about eating healthy now- even though I can’t try out any new recipes. I’m looking forward to new foods and a new way of cooking when the time comes which is why Torani Syrups will be history then but for now….

Forgot to post

Jacque Baker — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:17:57 +0000

Tested my fasting blood sugar yesterday morning and it was 99! So much better than the 200 it was testing at 3 months ago( and that was on insulin). I’m off all medications now, insulin, cholestrol, everything. Only thing I have to take is potassium on the optifast program. My blood pressure stays low too yesterday it was 100/86. When it goes too low I get dizzy so I have to have a little salt in my chicken soup still. Also stopped by Smart and Final Iris and picked up some new sugar free Torani Syrup, Coconut and Peppermint. Getting bored and needed a different flavor. They taste wonderful with chocolate shakes.