I am wondering how Optifast impacts on blood sugar levels.Although I am losing weight,feeling better and have better blood pressure,cholesterol.etc on this programme(week 6 of the intensive phase) my blood sugars are not going down. Is this because of the fructose etc in the Optifast sachets??
Are other diabetic 2 members of this forum using Optifast for weight management and what are their experiences?
SarahTrust
My PA always cautioned about drinking my meals, until she opened a body studio and weight control center. She sold and counselled using Optifast. I tried it, but found my sugars went crazy, I lost weight, but the affects on my sugars were not worth the effort. They didn't stave off the hunger of eating and chewing foods, and when I did eat, I was starving. So I gave them up. As a side, the PA no longer sells the stuff as she didn't want her clients drinking their meals
I have watched two diabetic friends do Optifast and while they lost weight, their blood sugar was a problem. Not just the highs after drinking the stuff, but the lows an hour or so later made them very hungry. Neither of them got to their goal weight because they were hungry all the time, and neither was able to maintain their loss because the diet that was recommended for them (in my opinion) was much too high carb. Maybe the diet works better for people who aren't T2, and are overweight just because they're eating too much and not because their bodies are carb resistant?
Optifast is a form of a protein sparing starvation diet. It is preferred by doctors because it is a big source of revenue. Because it is medically dangerous you are often required to have lots of doctors visits and the diet requires you to buy special meal replacements. I had a certain endo recommend the diet to me and when I looked into it I basically just ran away. I didn't look at the ingredients, but now when I look at them all I can say is yuck. Here are the main ingredients in the Vanilla shake: Milk protein isolate, fructose, maltodextrin (corn), canola oil, soybean oil.
I'll be interested in hearing whether this works for you and whether you keep the weight off. I know this diet is very popular with doctors trying to get bariatric patients to shed weight before surgery.
ps. Since this is a protein sparing starvation diet, you may find that the protein is digested over 3-5 hours and is converted to blood sugars causing higher blood sugars between meals.
Thanks for your reply. I want to lose weight for an impending back operation Lack of mobility means I cannot exercise normally even walking. My cholesterol and other vital signs have improved to normal since I started Optifast (week 6)I have lost6.5 kilos. I am surprised I have not been hungry but often crave the taste of certain foods which I would previously thought of as hunger but now realize is just a craving for tastes. You can eat 2 cups vegetables a day so you do have some food and the initial extreme diet is only for 12 weeks so I figured I could endure it if it has a fixed time frame. It is actually restful not to have to think each meal what can I eat? saving lots of time and money Cost is 50NZ$ per week so OK for food outlay.
AS I can eat almost nothing and put on weight I wonder too what will happen when I go back to 3 meals a day....and I am worried about the blood sugars always being 8-10 I counted the grams of carb per day and they are about 60 for the sachets - for years I have resisted diabetic advice for 40-60 g carbs a day because of what it did to the blood sugars so I was surprised at the content of the sachets and bars -and wonder what else I can do _Feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of it all and the fact that diabetes is so individualized - different for every person -feeling discouraged. Drinking meals is easy if it is good for you and it works I don't know..... I thought I had found an answer but now not so sure....
Thanks for your re ply confirming my fears re carb grams. I cannot comment on your friends because of all the unknowns about them - I do know that doing it without any cheating is very hard so don't know how strictly they would have kept to it. I am not hungry all the time just want certain tastes especially when someone leaves eg cheese out and I see it! I believe you are right about the carbs I counted a days worth of sachets and it is about 60g carbs and not good carbs either- Is it worth struggling for another six weeks and should I just up the insulin to cover the carbs? If I do this, the insulin works against the weight loss. Weight loss seems to have slowed so perhaps the 6,5 kilos is what usually happens with any diet that a lot is lost initially mainly water... Thanks again
Thank you so much- I have examined the contents of sachets and found you are right about the ingredients. I am alarmed to find I am eating about60 carbs a day with Optifast and my blood sugars are not good My last ALC was 7.4 I am interested to see what it is after 6 weeks on Optifast and if this is stopped what else will I Do to lose weight given reduced mobility due to back operations, ventricular tachycardia( managed with beta blockers) I have tried 1200 calorie diets and I do not lose weight so figured I don't need that many calories anyway - I am not hungry on Optifast
I am not sure you are right on your last point I am working to grasp the useful article on Insulin Leptin and blood sugar- Byron J Richards which I thought was what I was doing with Optifast but now not so sure.....
I did not think that protein affected blood sugar levels.
Thanks again
When you are losing weight where does the fat go? If it goes into the blood stream to be carried to the liver to be disposed of, does not the presence of this fat raise the blood sugar temporarily??
Fat does not raise blood sugar, but protein does in its own way. I can't exercise very well, either, and have found a low carb diet works best for me. I have to stay below 1200 calories on any diet to keep from gaining weight, but I'm not hungry on low carb and my blood sugar stays well within control. I'm not on insulin. Trying to lose weight is the pits, I'm wishing you all the best with that.
Now on week 8 and have lost 8 kgs. Discussed concerns with dietician and Health psychologist and doctor re blood sugars. Discovered that small cheats sabotage the ketosis - have been having e.g tsp of peanut butter, "tastes" of meals, cubes of cheese and other sins thinking they were so small it would not matter - however as soon as I went back on strict optifast, my blood sugars were in the 6's.It is a low carb diet and very successful in weight loss, akin to the benefits of bariatric surgery in its effects. The contents of the bars sachets I understood wrongly - good reason for getting good medical supervision to do it Also hunger is related to cheating as it stimulates the body so you eat more and without cheats you are not hungry - you are retraining your body to use fat for between meal energy
Sarah Trust
reply to Brian -It is preferred by doctors because it is now known that it works ( they don't get revenue from it?)and for some people reduces their need for diabetic medication. There is no research saying it is dangerous but medical supervision is necessary- this is the same as my normal medical supervision for diabetes and the diabetic nurse, dietician and health psychologist are provided free in N Zealand so at every issue I have access to medical advice. I have lost 8.kg and have normalized my lipids, blood sugars are in the 6s now since I found out not to have even small "cheats" My nutritionist is preparing me for the transition and I feel much better. This diet is not protein sparing but high in protein. Meal replacements cost only as much as the food for the week plus green vegetables and you are training you body for eating differently .I found that between meals, your body learns to use your fat for an energy source so you don't need snacks between meals and that this maintains the ketosis and cuts hunger because you are eating only every 5 hours. This diet is used by doctors so that obese patients can be ready for drastic bariatric surgery and reeducate them into new ways of eating- however if I can do this without surgery I am happy - it is only 12 weeks and I can do this in the short term for a long term goal. I am understanding all this progressively.
Sarah, what is important, no matter what anyone says, is that you are doing this under the guidance of your medical team. What scares me are the people who go ahead and follow the high protein drinks without supervision or medical advisement. You are VERY lucky to have FREE medical care where you are, in the states we are not that lucky, so many people find these programs and follow them on their own, to the detriment of their health. If you are preparing yourself to eat regular meals once the 12 weeks are done, that's great,. I have my own opinions on surgery to loose weight, but I won't go into them here. At some point people are going to have to practice some form of food control eating regular food....and if that is what you are doing GREAT! But to drink your meals for the rest of your life is rather screwy I think, and not something I personally would want to do...guess I enjoy chewing more than I do swallowing a liquid,
Yes, Optifast can work. Almost all diets can be shown to work in some way. But personally, I'm not convinced that the Optifast diet is a good diet for most people. It carries dangers requiring medical supervision as noted by NIH and WebMD. And while it may not cost much out of pocket for you, all that medical supervision and all does cost a lot. And there have not been good results long-term, regain on these diets is almost assured. This isn't a long-term way of eating any more than the Allen Diet was before the discovery of insulin.. The hard part is really yet to come. I do hope this works out for you.
ps. The term "protein sparing" means that protein levels are kept at minimum required levels, while carbohydrates and fat are reduced to starvation levels.
Thanks for your response.
I have concluded that the Optifast programme allows people ,especially diabetics who have patterns of faulty metabolic habits over time, to reset their digestive computers. I haven't read of any dangers of Optifast but medical supervision is required even for exercise programmes. Do you have references for the dangers you speak of?
"All that medical supervision" is just my same doctor 4x a year for prescriptions (which is the same as the last 20 years,) the diabetic nurse, diabetic dietician and diabetic health psychologist are all free in New Zealand, and prescriptions are free after the first 20 I think so most of the year I don't pay for needles, medicine, diagnostic labs etc. Research coming through does show long term maintenance for many but I haven't got a link to it now -
Optifast is not intended to be a long -term way of eating, just 12 weeks intensive programme then transition to food gradually. I have spent 20 years struggling with weight and this is the first progrmamme that has been successful on all fronts.
My dietician is already helping me plan my transition to normal food ,in January but by then I will understand much more about how to maintain weight loss and then I will be overweight rather than obese (BMI) My ALC is 56 ( just over 7) today and by January 1st will show the influence of the low carb Optifast regime. "Starvation " levels is hard to understand I don't feel starved, I don't miss bread pastas rice etc I am not hungry because the body is now snacking on my fat instead of carbs taken between meals
and leptin now tells my body "Enough" instead of letting me go on eating...
My health is not suffering, all my vital signs are improving.My lipids and blood pressure are now normal, triglicerides normal.
I have greatly benefited by reading the article on how the digestion works and how weight is put on and taken off.(Bryony Richards)
Cheers and thanks for your interest and explaining about protein sparing The protein levels in Optifast may be "minimum" but are adequate for me-
I have more energy, even my back pain has reduced, my liver and pancreas have less fat so can function better. There is a world wide interest is Optifast as a help for diabetics and overweight people so I guess I am converted!!
Cheers SarahTrust
Once again Sara,whatever it takes for you to be successful is the most important. I had been a life long Weight Watcher, sold on the program as healthy for me prior to diabetes, but afterwards, I had to transition from that to a low carb diet. That works for me, but maybe not for you, Contrary to what docs think and what most people think diabetes is a very individual illness, what works for me, may not work for you, and vice versa. My husband who is a recently diagnosed diabetic, can't follow the same program I do....so he had to develop his own with the CDE in our area. His mother is also a diabetic, and her program is completely different than ours. So I have to rather smile, and nod when people say "this is the ONLY way to do things" because that's not so.....we all don't take the same meds, nor follow the same program and we all have different results. There are somethings that are the same, some things that are different. I am again so glad that you found something that works for you,.,...and it is healthy for you. For me, Optifast was one of the things I should have never tried, but did....it didn't work for me. But if you are losing weight, maintaining healthy numbers...GREAT!!!! I applaude you!
kate:
very interesting data and experiences. Excellent summary comments
and specially the uniqueness of each personnel case.
Thank you and best wishes!