Optavia Diet: What Is It, Benefits, and Downsides

If you're trying to lose weight but find it difficult to meal plan on your own, you might turn to programs like the Optavia diet. This popular weight loss plan provides you with low-calorie, low-carb packaged foods alongside homemade meals. It also offers personalized coaching. 

While the Optavia diet may promise fast weight loss – and deliver on it, for some people – it's not the most sustainable or nutritious option long-term. Before you consider trying it, here's everything you need to know about the Optavia diet. 

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What Is the Optavia Diet and How Does It Work?

The Optavia diet program intends to take the guesswork out of losing weight. 

It provides customers with pre-packaged foods, called "Fuelings", meant to be eaten as meal replacements throughout the day. Optavia Fuelings consists of low-calorie, low-carb, high-protein options such as protein bars, shakes, microwaveable brownies, soups, and more. They contain 24 vitamins and minerals plus probiotics.

The plan encourages dieters also to prepare "Lean & Green" homemade meals, focusing on lean protein and non-starchy vegetables. A Lean & Green meal includes 5 to 7 ounces of cooked lean protein, three servings of non-starchy vegetables, and one or two servings of healthy fats. Overall, the plan restricts calories to promote weight loss. ¹

The Optavia diet offers three types of programs, all of which vary based on health and weight loss goals, such as losing or maintaining weight. The program also includes a coaching component, where Optavia Coaches (who also sell you the plan) provide support and aim to help you build sustainable habits. 

Optavia Diet Programs

 There are three versions of the Optavia diet available. Two are designed to promote weight loss, and the third is designed to help maintain that weight loss. All plans are calorie-controlled and include the Fuelings, just in different amounts.

The three Optavia diet programs available include:

• Optimal Weight 5-and-1 Plan: This is one of the weight loss plans and the most popular option. The 5&1 Plan has you eat five Fuelings and one Lean & Green meal per day. The 5 & 1 is the most restrictive out of the three as it limits your daily calorie intake to just 800 to 1,000 per day, which is well below safe recommended levels. This plan costs around $515 a month (which doesn't include the cost of groceries for the Lean & Green meals). 
• Optimal Weight 4-and-2-and-1 Plan: This weight-loss plan has you eating four Fuelings, two Lean & Green meals, and one healthy snack each day. It's more flexible than the 5&1 Plan because it provides more home-cooked and unprocessed meals and snacks. This plan restricts calories to about 1,100 to 1,300 per day. It costs around $515 a month (which doesn't include the cost of groceries for the Lean & Green meals). 
• Optimal Health 3-and-3 Plan: This plan is designed to help you maintain your weight loss. It includes three Fuelings and three Lean & Green meals per day, so you're relying less on the packaged snacks than with the other plans. The 3&3 Plan costs around $485 a month (which doesn't include the cost of groceries for the Lean & Green meals). 

Optavia Diet Food List: What to Eat and Avoid

When you're not relying on the Fuelings, Optavia encourages whole, unprocessed foods. You'll have to go grocery shopping to make your Lean & Green meals, which consist of 5 to 7 ounces of cooked lean protein, three servings of non-starchy vegetables, and one or two servings of healthy fats. 

Here's exactly what the Optavia diet recommends eating, plus foods to avoid on this weight loss plan.²

Foods to Eat

• Eggs: including whole eggs, egg whites, and liquid egg substitutes
• Fish: cod, flounder, haddock, orange roughy, grouper, tilapia, mahi mahi, tuna, salmon, trout, herring, mackerel.
• Shellfish: crab, scallops, shrimp, lobster
• Soy: tofu and tempeh
• Seasonings: herbs and spices of all kinds
• Beverages: water, unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened cashew milk, unsweetened tea, unsweetened coffee
• Low-carb Vegetables: leafy greens, celery, cucumber, zucchini, mushrooms, cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant, radishes, jalapenos
• Meat: beef, lamb, buffalo, elk, deer
• Poultry: lean chicken and turkey, including ground options
• Healthy Fats: avocado, nuts, seeds, pesto, guacamole 
• Healthy Oils: avocado oil, olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil 

Foods to Avoid

• Full-fat Dairy: including full-fat cheese, butter, sour cream (but note that low-fat dairy is OK in certain phases of the diet)
• Sugary Beverages: sodas, fruit juices, sweetened coffee and sweetened tea
• Refined Grains: white bread, white pasta, white rice, flour tortillas, crackers, pastries, cookies, cakes, and other desserts
• Fried Foods: of all types
• Alcohol: of all types

<div class="pro-tip"><strong>Also Read: </strong><a href=non-alcoholic-healthy-drinks>8 Healthy & Delicious Non-alcoholic Drinks You Should Try</a></a>.</div>

Optavia Diet Plan Benefits

While it may seem regimented, Optavia is backed by research and has helped people lose weight. However, it may not be for everyone, especially when it comes to maintaining long-term weight loss. Before starting the diet, review the pros and cons, preferably with a medical professional, to help you decide if this diet is right for you.

It can help you lose weight

The 5&1 and 4&2 plans are meant to jumpstart your weight loss journey. A randomized, controlled trial published in Obesity Science and Practice compared the 5&1 plan and 4&2 plan to a self-guided calorie-restricted plan that participants followed for 16 weeks. At the end of the trial, people who followed the 5&1 and 4&2 plans lost significantly more weight and body fat (including belly fat) and lowered their waist and hip circumferences. Participants could also maintain lean muscle because the Optavia diet plans emphasize a high-protein intake. ³

But it's worth noting that this study was funded by Optavia (formerly Medifast), which presents a conflict of interest.

It Can Help With Portion Control

The Optavia diet emphasizes portion control with its Fuelings, which are pre-portioned and make healthy eating feel simple. Instead of figuring out what to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, Optavia takes the guesswork out. Optavia has followers who eat about six small meals a day. The plan provides guidelines on how to craft your meals, including specific serving sizes for proteins and fats to help keep your calories to a minimum and support weight loss.

It Offers Support and Coaches

Optavia offers one-on-one coaching sessions throughout your time in the program. Coaching is shown to help people stick to their weight loss plan and see success. Indeed, the Obesity Science and Practice study found that the participants who attended less than 75% of their coaching calls ended up gaining some weight back. This suggests that sticking to coaching sessions may help prevent weight gain.

Optavia Diet: Potential Downsides

While Optavia can help someone lose weight, especially when starting with the diet, it's not necessarily a long-term solution. The plans are costly, the food is mostly processed, and the diet doesn't present a sustainable way of eating. Here are the important disadvantages to consider before starting this weight loss regimen:

Costs

The Optavia plans don't come cheap. The various programs range from $485 to $515 a month. And that doesn't include the additional grocery shopping you'll have to do for the Lean & Green meals you'll eat. That means you'll spend an additional $500 on top of your regular grocery bill by starting Optavia.

The Foods Are Processed

The diet offers more than 50 types of Fuelings, ranging from protein shakes and bars to crunchy snacks like popcorn and cereal to microwaveable cookies and mug cakes. They're all high in protein and low in calories, but they're still ultra-processed snacks. That leaves little room for whole, unprocessed, naturally nutrient-dense foods, which should make up most of a balanced diet.

It Might Not Be Suitable for Long-Term Weight Loss

Relying heavily on processed foods and spending nearly half a grand each month on these snacks makes this diet difficult to sustain long-term. Plus, the diet is very calorie-restrictive, which may make you feel fatigued and low on energy. Eating too few calories can slow down your metabolism, making it harder to lose weight in the long term. Moreover, very low-calorie diets restricting you to about 800 calories per day may increase the risk of gallstones.⁴

A healthy, sustainable plan will focus on whole foods that feel easy and enjoyable to include in your diet for as long as possible. 

It Can Trigger Disordered Eating Habits

The  5-and-1 Plan restricts calories to 800 to 1,000 calories per day, which is where things get controversial. The USDA 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans estimate women need 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day while men need around 2,000 to 3,000 calories per day.⁵

Setting your daily calorie intake so low can contribute to disordered eating patterns and hyper-fixating on calories instead of enjoying wholesome, nutritious foods. Research shows that trying to restrict calories can lead to eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. ⁶

Coaches Aren’t Qualified

The Optavia program is sold by what they call "Coaches," who receive a commission for selling the plan. These Coaches, who are often former Optavia clients themselves, provide one-on-one support to help you stick with the plan. However, Optavia Coaches aren't required to be credentialed health professionals, like registered dietitians – so they're not technically qualified to dole out health advice. Plus, these coaches are often former Optavia followers who were encouraged to become coaches and sell more plans, a multi-level approach resembling the workings of a pyramid scheme. 

4 Tips for Following the Optavia Diet

If you decide to buy into Optavia, consult a healthcare provider and check in with them throughout the process. Here are a few more key points to know about this popular weight loss plan:

1. Eat Every 2-3 Hours

Optavia recommends eating a Fueling meal or snack every two to three hours. These meals and snacks are pre-portioned to help you maintain a calorie deficit.

2. Eat a Minimum of Two Servings of Fatty Fish per Week

Optavia encourages eating at least two servings of fatty fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids every week. Omega-3-rich fish include salmon, tuna, mackerel, trout, and herring. When you're enjoying a serving of fatty fish, it's also recommended to pare down on the healthy fats and oils in other parts of your lean and green meal.

3. Add Healthy Carbs Once You Reach Your Weight Goal

Once you hit your goal weight, your Optavia diet plan can become less restrictive. You can then add in sources of healthy carbs, including fruit, low-fat dairy, whole grains, and starchy vegetables. While the diet restricts these foods when you're first starting, it encourages you to add them to your diet once you lose your desired amount of weight to maintain a more sustainable diet in the long term.

4. Eat Your Lean and Green Meal Whenever You Choose

The diet gives you the flexibility to eat your Lean & Green meal at any time of day, depending on what works with your schedule.

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