Today’s article will cover the question, “How does the optavia diet plan work?” as this question has been one of the most asked questions we have been hearing lately.
With so many diet plans available today, we like to take a good look at each plan and give you our opinion on whether or not we believe they will work or if they are just another fad created to take your money.
There have been many similar diet plans throughout the years that involve pre-packaged meals and many of them worked quite well but were loaded with artificial everything, but this one is different when it comes to this as you will read below.
Before we get into how this diet plan works let us first define what it is and where it came from and why it is a healthy alternative to many diets on the market today.
Contents
What is the Optavia Diet Plan and who created it?
This program is a new creation from veteran diet specialists from Medifast. Medifast is based out of Baltimore, Maryland and its main focus is nutrition and weight loss. It also owns a pharmaceutical company and several other businesses not associated with the health industry.
The company claims this is the newer and vastly improved version of their Take Shape For Life program and it has a very loud supporter in The Food Network celebrity Buddy Valastro, who claims his incredible weight loss was due to this diet plan.
This plan they have created is set up to use what is being called “fuelings”. These fuelings consist of pre-packaged meals that are purchased along with the diet plan and are eaten in small five to seven meal servings throughout the day.
The plan is based on eating these fuelings throughout the course of predetermined levels along with eating a mix of homemade lean and green meals.
The lean and green homemade meals are pretty simple to define. Just think veggies and proteins and you are in charge of creating them yourself, but they do offer guidelines to follow.
The fueling packages are a bit different as they are all pre-packaged and they are really the heart of the diet.
Having been scientifically designed for this diet, they are completely free of artificial sweeteners or coloring and their select line of packaging is completely preservative-free.
They are also loaded with vitamins and minerals.
Also supplied with this diet are probiotics, omega-3’s and digestive enzymes.
This gives a whole new definition to pre-packaged meal plans as in the past they were loaded with all kinds of unhealthy chemicals and could not be called healthy, but not anymore!
Because of new technology in packaging and the likes the company can now offer much healthier versions of pre-packaged foods than were ever available in the past, opening up a whole new version of this plan!
Now, on to how it works.
Just how does this diet work?
There are three levels of this diet available and they are labeled as:
- Optimal Weight 5&1.
- Optimal Weight 4&2&1.
- Optimal Health 3&3 Plan.
Let’s break down each level and see what they are all about…
The Optimal Weight 5&1plan…
This plan consists of consuming five pre-packaged fuelings and one lean and green meal throughout your day.
The Optimal Weight 4&2&1plan…
This plan consists of consuming 4 fuelings, 2 lean and green meals and one snack of a healthy nature.
The Optimal Weight 3&3 Plan…
This plan consists of consuming three of each, or three of the fueling meals and three of the lean and green meals.
This is a general description of how the different plans work and as one digs into the actual diet so many cool things are revealed.
One of the best parts of this diet is the kinds of foods that are available and OK to eat in the fuelings. They cover everything from Mac and cheese to pancakes and everything in between!
How about support?
This is where this plan stands pretty much alone by offering all the support you could ever want while working this weight loss plan.
You can choose to use all of the online support or actual one on one phone support or a mix of both.
They have support coaches that you can access online or on the telephone, and you can also take advantage of their online forums, weekly support group meetings and they even offer in-person meetings with support coaches depending on your area you live in.
How about exercising and this program go together?
It is recommended to exercise but at the beginning, people are encouraged to do so with caution as whenever people change their eating habits they put stress on our bodies and extra stress can have a negative effect on our overall health.
If you are already on an exercise program it is asked that you cut that program in half for the first couple weeks and if you are not currently on one to postpone starting any for at least two weeks after you begin the diet program.
What do we think?
After checking out this diet and seeing results by people who have used it to lose weight, having explored all of the support offered when using this program, and seeing the large array of choices in the types of foods you can eat, we have to give this a big thumbs up for sure!
But as usual, there are 2 specific diets recommended on this site that are pretty awesome:
- Eat Fat Get Thin.
- And the 2 week diet.
Both are also recommended.
As with anything we are starting that is new to our daily activities there are a few rules that always apply.
Please remember with any diet you must follow the whole program and not just the parts you like, and you must also stay on it as long as recommended before expecting the results you are looking for.
It is also wise to consult your doctor before starting any kind of exercise program. it is always a good idea to make sure your health is up to what you have planned.
Thanks for checking out our article on the question: “How does the optavia diet plan work?” and check back for more information on what works and what does not work in the weight loss world!