Are you curious if the Optavia diet is ing as it sounds? Some individuals assert that “Optavia Ruined My Life” A Dietitian’s Take on the Reasons Why has had a detrimental impact on my life.”
This weight loss plan shows some impressive before and after pictures that could make you want to join immediately, but what’s it following this diet? Read Also
In this article, I’m going to give you a complete review of Optavia. I’m a Registered Dietitian and nutrition expert. I’ll discuss what you can expect if you choose to attempt this severe eating regimen program and what it is like.
What is Optavia?
Optavia is a weight loss program designed to help people reach their health goals by using a mix of small, pre-packaged meals you buy and homemade meals called “lean and green.”
Optavia is like a meal kit plan that aims to help you shed pounds quickly! That sounds super appealing, especially when you’re trying to lose weight. Recently, this program has gained a lot of fans, with many people saying they’ve seen amazing results.
When you follow this diet, you’ll eat five small meals throughout the day, spaced out every two to three hours, mostly from the meals in your subscription box. Then, you’ll prepare a “lean and green” meal yourself.
This is a meal you cook instead of eating the pre-packaged ones. The app gives you recipes to create a low-carb, protein-packed dish.
But what are the hidden downsides of sticking to Optavia’s strict diet rules?
How does Optavia work?
Optavia is a super low-calorie plan that can help most people eat fewer calories than they burn. This means if you follow it, you’re likely to lose weight since cutting calories does help.
However, the big question is whether the weight loss will stick around. The sad reality is that losing weight quickly by eating very few calories isn’t something you can keep up for a long time, and it often leads to gaining the weight back later on, instead of keeping it off. Now, let’s dive into how the program works.
Low calorie; higher protein
Optavia has a special program designed to help you lose weight quickly by having you eat only 800 to 1000 calories each day. They provide meals, which they call “feelings,” that are controlled in portion size. These meals have more protein and less carbohydrates and fat, making them a good choice for starting your weight loss journey.
Optavia Fuelings
In the well-known Optimal Weight 5 & 1 Plan, you can have six small meals each day (though calling them meals might be a bit of a stretch). Out of those, five are called “feelings,” and you should eat them every 2-3 hours.
Optavia meals, also known as “fuelings,” are ready-to-eat meal replacements that come in specific portions. You can buy them straight from Optavia. Some examples are:
- Bars
- Shakes
- Soup
- Pancakes and cereal
- Mashed potatoes and mac and cheese
- Hot chocolate
If you use these “feelings,” it probably means your meals will be different from what your family eats.
“Lean and Green” meals
You can have one “lean and green” meal consistently This meal is something you need to make yourself, and it should have 5 to 7 ounces of lean protein, three half-cup servings of non-starchy veggies, and up to two servings of healthy fats.
For instance, if you have 5 ounces of chicken breast along with 1.5 cups of broccoli, that would count as a “lean and green meal.”
Optavia coaches
Optavia their coaches and even says on their website that they understand what you’re experiencing since 90% of them have been Optavia clients too.
The concerning part is that anyone can be an Optavia coach. You don’t have to have any special education, experience, or knowledge in nutrition or health.
The Optavia website talks about how many studies show that having a coach can help you lose weight. They mention a study that supports the idea of working with Registered Dietitians like me, who are real health experts. But it’s important to know that their coaches are not licensed medical professionals at all – yikes!
Also, just so you know, Optavia coaches earn money by getting more people to join Optavia since it’s a multilevel marketing company. This raises some concerns.
Hydration
Besides the meals mentioned earlier, the Optavia program suggests drinking 64 ounces of water every day.
Optavia side effects
Since Optavia has very few calories, there’s a chance you could end up not getting enough nutrition.
For instance, let’s look at how few calories you get with Optavia. A 40-year-old woman who is 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs 200 pounds and is somewhat active needs more than 2200 calories each day to keep her weight steady.
Sticking to a super low-calorie diet can cause some not-so-great side effects. Some of these side effects are:
- Low energy levels due to malnutrition
- Nutrient deficiencies
- Hair loss
- Low-energy
- Gallstones
Sadly, it looks like these side effects are pretty common. If you search online, you can find many stories from people who had serious side effects after using Optavia.
Is weight regain possible?
One more thing about using Optavia is that it can be really hard to keep the weight off for a long time after you stop doing the program.
A lot of people who follow this diet plan notice that they quickly regain the weight they lost, and some even end up weighing more than they did before starting the diet.
Once you start eating enough calories, it can be tough to keep off the weight you lost. If you eat too few calories for a long time, it can hurt your metabolism in the long run.
Optavia cost per month
You may be curious about how much Optavia costs. This requires a considerable financial commitment, as a minimum expenditure of $400 per month is necessary, with the precise amount subject to variation depending on the chosen plan.
If you have some extra cash to spend on your health, that $400 every month could help you make lasting changes to your habits. You could use it to buy healthier foods, sign up for a gym, or get some workout gear for home to improve your overall well-being.
Is there any research to support Optavia?
Sure, some research studies look into the Optavia weight-loss program, which used to be called Medifast.
The research shows how well the program helps people lose weight and what other effects they notice. They also examined whether participants lost muscle mass while following this super low-calorie diet.
It’s important to mention that these studies are often paid for by the companies that conduct them. Most of the research lasted for about 12 weeks, and they did show that people lost weight.
The key point to remember is that the people in the study were only followed for a limited time. Many of us can stick to a strict diet for a few weeks or even a couple of months. The real question is what happens once that initial excitement of the diet fades away.
A 12-week study doesn’t give us enough information about how long a diet program can be effective. To prove that a strict diet is good for people and not bad.
A lot of people have shared stories about how they tried this program and then quickly gained back the weight they lost. Plus, there are numerous claims from individuals saying that Optavia “ruined my life.”
Anecdotal accounts
You can easily come across stories from people who used to be on the Optavia program, sharing that it didn’t work for them, like this one and that one.
I like how these two reviews were written a long time after the person started the diet and even after they stopped it. They feel different from someone who is just starting and is super excited but doesn’t have much experience with the program yet.
A dietitian’s thoughts
The Optavia program seems strict and limiting, which raises some concerns for me.
If a “healthy” diet makes it hard for you to be flexible, travel, or hang out with friends and family, then it’s not healthy. Moreover, If your “healthy” diet leads to quick weight loss but then you just gain it back, that’s not healthy either.
If your “solid” diet depends on a costly program as opposed to assisting you with figuring out how to be sound in good times. And a flexible way, it’s not healthy.
And if your “healthy” diet could lead to issues like disordered eating, hair loss, or gallstones, then it isn’t healthy.
In short, I wouldn’t suggest a super strict weight loss plan like Optavia for most people because the downsides are much more significant than the upsides.
Read More Blogs
- intermittent-fasting-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work/
- https://www.hypernewsy.online/ulcuprazol/
- https://www.hypernewsy.online/cyanova/
That’s a wrap
If you stick to the Optavia plan, you probably will lose some weight. However, this weight loss might not last long. And if you end up putting all that weight back on, what’s the use?
To put it simply, I wouldn’t suggest it. It’s very limiting and probably won’t lead to lasting results for most people.
I think that if you want to lose weight, it’s really important to learn how to eat healthy and make lasting changes in your lifestyle with food and exercise. This is the best way to keep the weight off for good.
If you want to start learning how to do that without strict diet plans, take a look at my Balanced Basics Handbook! In this ebook, I guide you on how to start creating healthy habits in a balanced manner, one step at a time.
I hope this article cleared up some misunderstandings about Optavia and inspired you to look into any diet plans or supplements more before you start using them.
