You may have seen the Optavia diet program that appeared on social media recently. Although the company is a little older, its diet program has started to gain traction in the last few years. Optavia says it can help you develop healthy habits and apply them to your daily life.
Founded in 2002, Optavia is owned by parent company Medifast, which is known for selling weight loss and health-related products, often through multi-level marketing.
To learn more about Optavia’s weight loss plans and offerings, I tested the products and spoke with a nutritionist. Here’s what I found.
What is Optavia?
Optavia is a diet company that sells bars, shakes, snacks, and easy-to-prepare recipes. It emphasizes both eating well and living well. The company’s message is: If you learn healthy habits, you can live a healthy life.
Optavia first came to people’s attention on Instagram in 2018 when TV’s Cake Boss, aka Buddy Valastro, shared his weight loss success. In a post on her profile, she wrote: “A lot of people have been asking me lately how I lost weight… I used the Optavia program. I think everyone is different and you should do what works for you but it is what it is.” I’m doing it and I’m very happy with the results so far!” He says he’s not sponsored.
Now let’s move on to how Optavia helped Cake Boss lose weight.
How does Optavia work?
The diet company relies on meal replacement foods called “fuels,” which are branded products designed to keep you full until your next fueling visit. No matter which meal plan you choose, you’ll eat every 2 to 3 hours, which means six meals a day. However, there will be one to three meals (depending on your plan) that you will prepare at home using fresh ingredients. The program also recommends avoiding alcohol, sugary drinks and desserts, high-calorie condiments, starchy vegetables and whole grains.
Each fuel product contains approximately 100 to 150 calories. Optavia’s minimum-calorie diet has clients consuming approximately 800 to 1,100 calories per day, depending on the plan and number of home-cooked meals. According to the USDA’s dietary guidelines for adults, women should consume 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day and men should consume 2,200 to 3,200 calories.
This calorie deficit causes rapid weight loss at the beginning of the diet. Health experts recommend a 500-calorie deficit for healthy weight loss. Be sure to consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet to ensure you are consuming enough calories.
Optavia meal plans
Optavia offers three meal plans:
- Optimum Weight 5 and 1 Plan (five fuels and one lean and green meal per day)
- Optimum Weight 4-Piece, 2-Piece and 1-Piece Plan (four fuels per day, two lean and green meals and one snack)
- Optimal Health 3 and 3 Plan (three fuels and three lean and green meals a day)
Optavia fuels
Optavia’s fuels make up the bulk of every meal plan; these include bars, shakes, brownie and waffle mix, snack bars, cereals, pasta, potatoes, soups and pudding. Each product is said to be high in vitamins and minerals, probiotics and protein, and does not contain any artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners. The meal plan you choose will determine how much fuel you get.
While not all fuel products are available on every meal plan, you have the option to customize your refueling kit.
Optavia lean and green meals
The meal plan you choose will determine how many lean and green foods you eat per day. Unlike fuels, these meals are not included in your meal kit. This means extra shopping and cooking is required, but each meal is entirely up to you. Optavia provides recipes.
Every lean, green meal you prepare on your own should include:
- 5 to 7 ounces of lean protein (such as chicken, salmon, or tofu)
- Three servings of non-starchy vegetables (such as cauliflower, kale, or broccoli)
- Up to two servings of healthy fat (e.g. avocado, egg or nuts)
Personal coaching with Optavia
Losing weight is hard, and doing it alone is even harder. A personal coach can help motivate you and relieve the stress of starting your weight loss journey. You can connect with Optavia’s personal coaches via text, email, or in person if distance permits.
The majority of Optavia coaches were customers. After the training provided by the company, you can become a paid coach for newcomers. Although the training Optavia provides seems comprehensive, the coaches are not professionally trained. This is where some aspect of Optavia’s parent company, Medifast, comes into play through multi-level marketing to bring in new clients and coaches.
Is Optavia’s food good?
I was sent eight bars, two snack bars, four shake packs, four potato packs, four pancake mixes, and a box of chocolate brownie mix (containing seven packs). This was a small sample of what to expect on the Optimum Weight 4 and 2 and 1 Plan or the Optimum Weight 5 and 1 Plan.
I’m not a professional food critic, but I put myself in the shoes of someone on the Optavia diet. I paid particular attention to the taste, texture, nutritional value, portion size and preparation effort of the dishes.
Fuels
I started Optavia’s trial with one of the eight bars in my package. Out of the packaging, one stick is about the size of my index finger. It contains 110 calories, 11 grams of protein, 3.5 grams of fat and 25 vitamins and minerals. I thought the bars tasted great, similar to the cereal bars I ate as a kid. There are a variety of flavors available, including peanut butter, s’mores, chocolate mint cookies, and raisin oat cinnamon. If you don’t like chocolate, there are many different flavors you can try.
I wasn’t as impressed with the other fuels in the can. Although the brownie was easy to prepare (add water and microwave), it didn’t have much flavor and was quite dry. It had the consistency of chocolate cake but was bitter. The brownie contains yogurt sprinkles, which are the most delicious part of the fuel. It contains 110 calories, 11 grams of protein and 8 grams of sugar.
Mashed potatoes are a common fuel in both Optimal Weight meal plans. Like making Idahoan instant potatoes I just had to add water and put them in the microwave. I tried the sour cream and chive relish, but there are so many more to choose from. Each packet of potatoes contains 100 calories, 11 grams of protein and 0.5 grams of fat.
As seen in the picture above, the portion is small. However, I think potatoes are filling because of their protein amount. As for the taste, the chive flavor is strong but not strong enough to cover up the processed flavor. Its texture is similar to homemade mashed potatoes, but its consistency is very dry.
Finally, I tried the honey mustard and onion sticks. They resemble flavored pretzel sticks and contain 100 calories, 11 grams of protein and 1.5 grams of fat. It’s hard to think of these as fuel because they seem more like snacks to me. The honey mustard sticks were bland, dry and heavily processed.
rafts
Shakes are considered refueling, but they are very different from other fuels offered. They contain higher amounts of protein and fat. These traditional protein diet shakes contain about 100 calories, 14 grams of protein, and 0.5 to 1 gram of fat.
First I tried one of the chocolate mixes. The drink tasted similar to chocolate milk and wasn’t overly chalky like other protein shakes I’ve tried. You can add extra water to adjust its thickness. Other flavors include mocha, caramel macchiato, vanilla, peanut butter and strawberry.
A day on the Optavia diet
Here is an example of a daily meal from the 5 and 1 Plan. Remember to eat every two hours.
- Golden chocolate crepe
- wild strawberry shake
- Homemade chicken noodle soup
- Honey mustard and onion sticks
- Salmon and broccoli with lemon, thyme and ginger (lean and green meal)
- Creamy double peanut butter crunchy bar
Optavia pricing
Each meal plan contains enough food to last 30 days.
- Optimum Weight 5 and 1 Plan: $378.25 (contains 17 cans of base fuel)
- Optimum Weight 4-Piece, 2-Piece and 1-Piece Plan: $423 (Includes 18 cans of basic fuel and two cans of snacks)
- Optimal Health 3 and 3 Plan: $20.75 box / $249 box (you have the option to choose between a case of one can with two fill-ups or two shakes)
What do nutritionists say about Optavia?
Physician nutritionist and Dr. Melina’s Practically Healthy podcast host Dr. I spoke with Melina B. Jampolis. About the safety of diet programs like Optavia.
“As a weight loss doctor, I completely understand why people turn to these types of diets since we have to make hundreds of food and drink decisions every day,” Jampolis said. “So trying to go on a ‘diet’ can quickly lead to decision fatigue and cause people to make the wrong choices.
“Most people report that lack of time to prepare the right foods is a factor in their diet failures, and that eating out is very difficult because portion sizes are often much larger than needed and, honestly, you have no idea what goes into recipes when eating out. ” said Jampolis.
Diet programs try to simplify this process by offering easy-to-make meals with built-in portion control; so you don’t have to guess how much fat, protein or fiber you need each day.
But Jampolis said he is concerned about diets that include highly processed foods. “They may not be as naturally filling as whole foods in their near-natural form, and they certainly aren’t that healthy,” he said. In addition, most diet programs “don’t teach people how to navigate their diets on their own, so when they stop ordering food, they may revert to their old ways.”
On the other hand, Jampolis said studies have shown that “meal replacement helps both lose weight and maintain weight, so if people want to use it to start losing weight, they need to make sure they follow the guidelines.” weight loss-weight maintenance. “So perhaps they can find a healthier meal (with whole grains and veggies) to replace the occasional lunch or dinner, or have a smoothie or protein bar or snack for breakfast to maintain portion control.”
Potential disadvantages
Is Optavia for you?
Optavia has helped people lose weight, but it’s not healthy for everyone. Any diet program can have undesirable effects, such as triggering disordered eating or yo-yo dieting. Consult a doctor before starting Optavia or any weight loss program.
You should try Optavia if:
- You don’t mind meal replacements like protein shakes
- You want to learn how to make easy-to-prepare meals
- You want a program that gives you access to a community of people on their weight loss journey
You should look for other weight loss options if:
- You’re looking for fresh or pre-packaged meals
- You don’t want to pay for both a weight loss program and trips to the grocery store
- You’re looking for a way to maintain your weight over the long term