Since gaining popularity in the 1990s, bariatric weight loss surgery has changed the lives of millions of obese Americans. Twenty years later, it is the diet patients follow in preparation of weight loss surgery that is being touted as the latest in healthy weight loss.

Optifast is a medically-supervised diet offered at Tobey Hospital and other hospitals across the nation. Optifast has been used for years in some bariatric surgery centers to help patients lose weight in advance of their weight loss surgery. But,it is the lifestyle changes patients learn as part of the Optifast program that has led the plan to become an alternative to surgery.

With the Optifast diet program, users have the option of going on a full plan or a partial plan. The full plan lasts for 18 weeks. Dieters “fast” for 12 weeks, consuming five Optifast meal replacements a day adding up to a total of 800 calories. Dieters choose between shakes, soups, and meal bars.

On week 13, dieters can begin incorporating other foods into their diets before moving on to the "maintenance" phase of the program. Under the partial program, dieters eat healthy meals and the Optifast meal replacements.

According to Tobey Hospital dietitian Stacie Mederios, one reason the program is more effective than other commercial diet products is because it addresses the underlying reasons people gain weight.

“We meet with patients every week so they have accountability of coming in and weighing in,” said Mederios.  “They learn to deal with eating behaviors and then once they have graduated the program, maintenance helps keep the weight off.”

Dieters Heidi Baptiste and Brian Reed had success using the full program under the guidance of Mederios and the staff at Tobey Hospital. With a combined weight loss of 157 pounds they say they have a new lease on life.

“Everything has changed. I have so much energy. I feel great. I feel like I can do anything,” Baptiste said.

Both Baptiste and Reed said they tried Optifast after countless other diets failed to provide them with the know-how to make lasting lifestyle changes. Baptiste said the plan helped her to control her emotional eating habits. Reed said Optifast helps him keep the weight off.

“I have always wanted to be thin. I have been able to lose the weight, but I haven’t been able to maintain it,” Reed said.

Dieters can expect lose three to five pounds per week on the full plan and one to two pounds per week on the partial plan.

Reed completed the full plan and lost 117 pounds in eight months. He said walking has helped him keep it off, but credits the program’s weekly counseling sessions for helping him stay committed and accountable.

Baptiste, who lost 40 pounds in five months, said she’s hoping to lose even more before moving on to the maintenance phase but feels the program has given her the tools she needs to reach her goals.

“I still have more to go," Baptiste said. "I am a work in progress."

For more information on the Optifast program at Tobey Hospital, call 508-525-3114 or log-on to www.southcoast.org/weightloss.