A lot of people tend to not like the Optifast shakes as they find them too chalky. I myself don’t really mind them. But then most shake mixes are chalky to begin with so it’s one of those preferred things. You either love it or hate it.

Notwithstanding one of the challenges to this particular program is the lack of bowel movements. In fact on any weight loss program, or fast, this is going to be a challenge regardless. So even though there is very little to actually move through your insides, what is there can often become blocked. Fibre is obviously the solution to this problem however this raises another one. The standard metamucil, or other similar products, for dissolving in water typically have a lot of sugar in order to make them more palatable. Sugar and weight loss is bad.

What seems to work better is to use the capsule form of metamucil instead. It has no added sugar and can be added to an Optifast shake just as easily by adding the contents of a capsule rather than taking it whole. It is mostly tasteless so doesn’t impact the flavour.  Also, the standard dosage is about 5 capsules per day. 

Now 5 capsules per day is a lot. What I’ve found is that if you use 1 capsule as part of the first shake per day and then see what the results are. If necessary, do the same with the second one, or third, until you find the right number per day to stop any constipation. It is not going to have you going more frequently, but it will alleviate any blockage problems.

The other thing to keep in mind is that since you are going less frequently, you will need to give it a few days to see what the results are, not a few hours. So don’t just start jumping the amount of fiber just because nothing is happening 6-8 hours later. Wait one or two days before increasing to adding fiber to your second or third shake in a day.

— Kevin