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Since this my first post, I’ll start from the beginning … the short version. I was always a skinny and athletic kid growing up. Weight was never an issue for me at all. I probably gained a few pounds in college but I also stayed active there with intramural sports and a little bit of running on the tracks at school.
After I got married in 1995, I remember starting to put on a few pounds. That was probably the first time I thought to myself that I should watch it a little. In 1999, our first child was born and I gained quite a bit of weight. Using Weight Watchers, I was able to lose 40 pounds fairly easily. The week I hit my goal weight I found out I was pregnant with baby #2. And it all went downhill from there.
I think most of my weight gain has occurred since 2004 when many things changed in my life. I decided to become a stay-at-home mom to our 3 kids – giving up a career I dearly loved. Not even a week into my new “stay at home mom” life, my mother was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and she passed away less than 3 months later. My entire world was upside down and this point … and I had 3 children 5 and under to take care of.
Year after year I put on another 10 or so pounds until, here I am. About 90 pounds overweight. I am over 5’9″ so I haven’t had much trouble carrying it – until now. I can tell that my belly is gettin WAY too big. I am sick of shopping in the plus-size departments and stores and, most importantly, my unhealthy eating is starting to show up in my blood-work with high triglycerides and high cholesterol (fortunately my blood sugars are all fine and I am not even pre-diabetic).
I’m hopeful that this journey will not just help me remove the weight but identify and correct the things I was doing to put it on in the first place.
optifastmom 
Hi–I just started Optifast program on 02/07/2013 with Kaiser. Four weeks into it and I’m looking for inspiration. Thanks!
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Hi. Thanks for the post and congratulations on being 4 weeks in! This program has been life-changing and I’m glad you are along for the ride!
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Oh my word! Your blog is so inspiring! We are about the same height, starting weight and build! 6/5 will be my first day using the Optifast product. I was told I can expect to lose 65lbs but reading about your journey made me realize I can do so much more! Thank you for sharing! You are beautiful inside and out!
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Hi Amber, and thanks! I so rarely hear anything from people reading my blog … it was nice to know that it inspired you a little! Best wishes on your journey – you can do it! Nothing you could be eating will taste as good as being thin and healthy will feel – I guarantee it! Please keep me updated on your progress!
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I have my first meeting tomorrow for Kaiser’s medical weight management program with Optifast. I am feeling very stressed. I have not done well with weight loss/gym programs in the past and often have quit. I really want to do this sincerely. But am feeling very nervous and have been sweating all day. Reading your blog has given me hope. Thanks.
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Hi and thank you for your feedback. Best wishes for you on this journey. All I can say is just keep your goals in the front of your mind and all times. The fact that you sincerely want this is the key – and I can honestly say that the changes that have occurred in my life because I stuck with it have been amazing and it is SO WORTH IT. Give yourself the gift of seeing it through – that gift is WAY better than ANYTHING you can eat. I think the nice thing about Optifast is that you could have relatively quick success and that is encouraging. When you can see results fast, it is a bit easier to stick with it. Don’t stress about the exercise/gym portion of this just yet. Get the eating portion down first. But keep an open mind and look for ways to get more active – my favorite tool is the pedometer – or FitBit or something to track your activity. They’re fun! If you are on Facebook, I would encourage you to request to be added to the group “Optifast Support” – there are many people from the Kaiser program on there (and other programs around the country/world) and you can find a lot of support and have questions answered. There are several that I know of that have had great success with the Kaiser Optifast program. I’d love to hear how things go – please keep me posted! You can email me at marthamkaiser@gmail.com if you want to!
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Thanks for letting me know about your blog! I find it very inspiring. I started the program this week and I am hoping for great success. Thanks again!
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Hi Martha! I am beginning a NutriMed program (similar to Optifast) in Rochester, NY and have really been inspired by reading your blog! I think it honestly shows the highs and lows and maintenance. I admire you for being able to keep the weight off for so long! Anyhow, I just wanted to know- did you use the appetite suppressants? If so, what do you think about them and did they have any side effects for you?
Thanks!
-Sarah
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Hi Sarah,
Thanks for the comments!
To answer your question, I did use Phentermine as an appetite suppressant. I did not have any side effects from it at all – although I was careful to not take it too late in the day because I think it can keep you awake. I didn’t use it all the time – pretty regularly in the beginning and then only when I was having breakthrough hunger issues. I do think I got a small metabolic boost from it. My dr. is OK with leaving his patients on it long term – although it hasn’t exactly been approved for long term use, it is part of one of the new drugs on the market that IS approved for long term use…so that leads me to believe it is probably OK…if not abused and not causing me any problems. It’s a bit of a trade off between the hazards of that or the hazards of obesity. I know some people have had issues with phentermine so I guess you would just have to give it a try. I went a long time without using it but have recently restarted it in an effort to get back on track and down to my goal weight, and I do think it is helping me.
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