Time for change

Taking the first steps towards improving your health and nutrition can be a bit daunting. Some of you may be feeling excited and ready to take it on; for others, you may be feeling a little apprehensive and even a little overwhelmed. Whatever you are feeling, it's ok, it is normal to be feeling nervous when trying something new or making changes.

Beginning a new journey may mean trying things that are different, and may even be a little uncomfortable. Remember, if you want things to change then you may need to do things differently than what you have done in the past. The OPTIFAST® VLCD™ Program will help challenge you to think of weight loss a little differently. You may have always believed that when it comes to weight loss, that slow and steady wins the race. The slower you lose the weight the longer you will keep it off. However more than often you have probably given up before you succeeded. We now know, and research now supports that this is not true, there are in fact many advantages to rapid weight loss that is achieved through the use of a Very Low Calorie Diet program such as OPTIFAST® VLCD™ Program.

Research shows that rapid weight loss is a motivating factor and that you can use this to motivate you to stay on track rather than throw in the towel due to frustration. Recent evidence suggests that management with a VLCD does not lead to worse long-term results than other dietary approaches and in fact individuals maintain more weight loss when the weight loss is achieved using a VLCD compared to a calorie controlled diet. That doesn’t mean however that you can return to old habits and keep the weight off long-term. Long-term changes are required for long-term weight loss success, and the OPTIFAST® VLCD™ Program will help teach you how to do this step-by-step.

The OPTIFAST® VLCD™ Program works by inducing a mild ketosis. Ketosis is a metabolic reaction that occurs in your body, when following the OPTIFAST® VLCD™ Program Intensive Level. Very low calorie diets are designed to bring on a mild form of ketosis, which means your body shifts from using primarily carbohydrates to fats as an energy source. Ketones are by-products that are created when your body has to switch to fats as an energy source. It means your store of glycogen or carbohydrates has been depleted. One of the consequences of ketosis is a decrease in appetite, which helps make following the OPTIFAST® VLCD™ Program easier. As the OPTIFAST® VLCD™ Program causes only mild ketosis; it is a very safe approach to weight loss. Before your body transitions into ketosis, you will most likely feel hungry and you may experience some other side-effects such as fatigue, lack of concentration, nausea, headaches. This may sound a little uncomfortable and not too pleasant but these side-effects should only last about 3 days and most symptoms usually pass by days 4-6. This is followed by an increase in energy and reduction in appetite which, through the Intensive Level, is likely to result in consistent and successful weight loss.

The 12 week Intensive Phase of the OPTIFAST® VLCD™ Program may seem a little different to what you have tried in the past, however you can use this 12 weeks as a chance to try some new ways of thinking, eating and exercising.  Challenge yourself to try something new, and you may find it is not as bad as you think!