Optifast questions

Hi All
Today is my second day on Optifast, yesterday wasn't too bad but feeling the hunger today.
I have a couple of questions not sure if only the Guelph people can answer.
On the Optifast sheet is says unlimits coffee, tea, green tea, broth and crystal light.  It says nothing about being allowed Splenda which is in most flavourings and in fact Dr Reed told me I had to stop using it as it will cause dumping after surgery.  First time I have ever heard that so I asked about SF Jello and he said no but its on the sheet for after surgery??
What about SF freezies?  Wondering if they are any different then if I froze crystal light which is allowed.
Can you chew SF gum to get rif of the awful taste of the vanilla Optifast which is making me want to hurl even though I have tried different ways to flavour it?
Any help would be great.
I have to say its great to have these boards to ask questions or just read the encouragement from others.  Thanks

Joanne

Hi,

I'm not sure what the rules are in Guelf, but in Ottawa, I was allowed sf jello (I prefered the actual Jello over Hunts)  If you like coffee and teas then get the decalf ones,  My list also said I could have SF freezies, but I never tried as they would get mixed with my kids' regular ones.  I had my 4 shakes, and drank Crystal Light Iced Tea in between then had a jello at night when my family was eating.  In a day or so, that's probably all you'll need too.  I chose chocolate shakes instead of vanilla.  When I mixed my shakes I did 12 oz of really cold water (filled the shaker after each use at work and put in the fridge until next time to get it cold), it made the shakes go down easier.  And make sure to mix it well.

This is interesting... dumping is a reaction caused by the rapid intake of sugars, fats, or too much volume of food, into the small intestine which is a result of the lost pyloric valve in RNY post-ops. It causes the intestines to be flooded with water and for extra insulin to be released (which can lead to hypoglycemia) and the resulting symptoms are not nice.

As for artifical sweetners causing this, I see a few problems...

Sucralose is derived from sucrose, but is not broken down in the body and has no caloric content for this reason, so I don't see how this would cause dumping, as the body can't recognize sucralose as 'sugar'.

Splenda on the other hand is not pure sucralose, it has dextrose (a form of glucose) in it which gives it a couple of calories and a carb per packet. If you were eating something loaded with Splenda I could see how dumping might be theoretically possible, but I've never heard of it. Dumping on less than 8-10g of sugar/carbs is very rare.

As for aspartame, there is no sugar/carbs/caloric absorption nor an insulin response (just like pure sucralose) so I don't see how this is possible.

Acesulfame-potassium stimulates a small insulin response despite having no sugar/carbs/calories, but has not been shown to stimulate hypoglycemia, so I'll leave this one with a very skeptical question mark.

What Dr. Reed is saying doesn't really make sense to me and I'd ask him for more details and whether he means certain artificial sweetners or all of them... as for myself, I would consume pure sucralose and aspartame without any concern whatsoever (unless of course you have any upset stomach issues with them, I can't have aspartame for this reason), and might just keep a log of Splenda and acesulfame-k so that I can cross-reference in the event of a dumping episode.

Good luck!

I was allowed sf jello, sf popsicles, broth, crystal light and decaf coffee and tea. They all count as part of your 2L + of fluid per day. I am 3 weeks out and I have had SF jello without any dumping issues.

I totally agree with the temperature thing. I made my shakes in the cuisneart equivalent of a magic bullet. Just enough to make the shake have texture a bit of body. I agree the chocolate was better, but if you have vanilla, I added rum flavouring and some spices to try and make it taste like eggnog... Kinda almost worked.

Chapman's should have some sugar free popsicles for you!

Good luck if you need anything feel free to message me!

Hi Joanne,

They don't want you to have those things at Guelph because Dr. Reed says that artificial sweeteners are an appetite stimulant and just makes sticking to the optifast harder.  

He explained to me that the type of sweetener used in Splenda can cause dumping after surgery as well.  (can't remember what it is off-hand though!).  The other types of sweetener use something different so we can tolerate them better I believe.

If they had their way, we would not have any artificial sweeteners or anything else for that matter.  Natural is better on our systems.  Makes sense, but is damn hard to do all the time I bet!  Guess we'll see how I do when I get onto real foods!

Whereabouts are you by the way?  Are you near London?  I have about 8 extra packages of chocolate if you needed it.

Hope that helped!

Laura

Hey Laura thanks for the offer but im about 1 1/2hrs north of London.  Born and raised there however.  LOL 
My mom is coming up to help me after surgery for a few days and she is coming from Port Stanely however she isnt coming till the day before surgery.
I think I read someone on here saying they mixed 1/2 vanilla and 1/2 chocolate so might try that later as well as I made some decaf coffee earlier and put it in the fridge so will try that with my second vanilla of the day.
Guess to stay on track I should make some crystal light popsicles just in case.

Joanne

I don't remember seeing that splenda wasn't allowed before surgery and that it can cause dumping.  I used the flavoured splenda in my caffeine free coffee before and after, still do, but now it's got caffeine in it.  I added different flavorings to my vanilla more for variety than anything else. 

 Joanne, I'm 10 days post-op from Guelph, and discovered that things are SO very different between locations. I would suggest calling the dietician at the clinic in Guelph and talking with her, or send her an email. I truly found that the taste of OPTIFAST got better as I went along so don't get discouraged, I was able to lose 18 poinds in 2 weeks!

I used splenda before surgery, while on optifast, and I still use it. I have not dumped because I use it in my tea or even for baking.

While I was on optifast, I sucked on "dentyn" mints. I went to costco and picked up the small case (in the dark blue cases). I had no issues with them at all.

I wouldn't chance what's not on the list. Like Jackie said I found it tasted better as I went along. The decaf coffee you made with the chocolate and LOTS of ice (I ground mine up so it was like a starbucks frap.) was really good.
I got the don't do sweetners as well, but was also told it was a contibutor to cravings.