The Optavia diet has gained popularity as a weight loss program that emphasizes pre-packaged meals and personalized coaching. While it promises rapid weight loss, it's crucial to consider the potential side effects. This article explores those downsides, providing a balanced view to help you make an informed decision.
What is the Optavia Diet?
Optavia is a low-carbohydrate, low-calorie diet that employs a method of consuming six small meals per day to facilitate short-term weight loss. It evolved from the Medifast diet, relying heavily on prepackaged "Fuelings" combined with a limited number of home-prepared meals.
The Plans
The program offers several plans, all involving a combination of Optavia Fuelings and homemade entrees known as Lean and Green meals. For those who aren’t interested in cooking, the company also provides a line of premade low carb meals called Flavors of Home as a replacement for Lean and Green meals.
- Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan: This popular plan includes five Optavia Fuelings and one balanced Lean and Green meal each day. It's an 800-1,000-calorie regimen that the company claims can help you drop 12 pounds (5.4 kg) over 12 weeks.
- Optimal Weight 4&2&1 Plan: This plan is for those who need more calories or flexibility in food choices. It includes four Optavia Fuelings, two Lean and Green meals, and one snack per day.
- Optimal Health 3&3 Plan: Designed for maintenance, this plan includes three Optavia Fuelings and three balanced Lean and Green meals per day.
Optavia Fuelings
Optavia Fuelings are Optavia-branded products that are low in carbs and high in protein and contain added probiotics. You can choose from more than 60 Optavia Fuelings, including bars, cookies, shakes, puddings, cereals, soups, and pastas. Fuelings use sugar substitutes, small portion sizes, whey protein powder, and soy protein isolate to create low carb, high protein versions of popular food items, like vanilla milkshakes and mac and cheese.
Lean and Green Meals
A Lean and Green meal should include:
Read also: Comprehensive Optavia Overview
- 5-7 ounces (145-200 grams) of cooked lean protein
- 3 servings of non-starchy vegetables
- Up to 2 servings of healthy fats
The program also includes a dining out guide that explains how to order a Lean and Green meal at your favorite restaurant.
Transition and Maintenance
Once you reach your desired weight, you enter a 6-week transition phase, which involves slowly increasing your calories to no more than 1,550 calories per day. You’ll also be allowed to incorporate a wider variety of foods, including:
- Fruit: all fresh fruit, particularly berries because they’re lower in carbs
- Low fat or nonfat dairy: yogurt, milk, cheese
- Whole grains: whole grain bread, high fiber breakfast cereal, brown rice, whole wheat pasta
- Legumes: peas, lentils, beans, soybeans
- Starchy vegetables: sweet potatoes, white potatoes, corn, peas
After 6 weeks, Optavia recommends transitioning to the Optimal Health 3&3 Plan, which includes 3 Lean and Green meals and 3 Fuelings daily, plus ongoing Optavia coaching.
Potential Side Effects
While Optavia can lead to short-term weight loss, it's important to be aware of the potential downsides.
Inadequate Calorie Intake
One of the most significant concerns is the very low calorie intake, especially with the 5&1 plan. Consuming as few as 710 to 950 calories per day can put your body into starvation mode. While this can lead to rapid weight loss, it's not a safe or sustainable approach. Losing one to two pounds per week is the safe, expert-recommended pace of weight loss to aim for, as it allows your body to receive the necessary fuel to function optimally.
Read also: Healthy Eating with Optavia
Symptoms of inadequate calorie intake may include:
- Gallstones or gallbladder disease
- Temporary hair thinning
- Muscle loss
- Dizziness
- Lightheadedness
- Headache
- Fatigue
Seek immediate medical attention if you notice the following symptoms:
- Muscle cramps
- Tingling
- Numbness
- Confusion
- Rapid or irregular heartbeat
Calorie intake should not fall below 1,200 per day for people assigned female at birth or 1,500 per day for people assigned male at birth, except under the supervision of a doctor.
Nutrient Deficiencies
Not eating enough calories can deprive you of essential nutrients. The diet also requires you to replace many meals with replacement products (Fuelings). It’s almost always better to eat plant-based foods rather than these supplemental snacks or ultra-processed foods, as meal replacements often can’t provide the same nutritional benefits as natural foods.
If you don’t get the necessary nutrients, you can experience health consequences. You might develop vitamin and mineral deficiencies, including vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K and minerals like potassium and magnesium, which may cause the following symptoms:
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- Hair loss
- Burning sensation in your feet or tongue
- Slow-healing wounds
- Bone pain
- Vision problems
- Irregular heartbeat
Visit your doctor if you show any of these symptoms, as they can help diagnose and treat your nutrient deficiency.
Muscle Loss
Severely cutting calories can lead to muscle loss because your body tends to break down muscle in response to eating an extremely low-calorie diet. Increasing the proportion of calories derived from protein, combined with regular physical exercise (such as resistance training), can help preserve muscle mass and strength while following a low-calorie diet.
Weight Regain
Approximately 80 to 85 percent of people who lose a significant amount of weight eventually regain most, if not all, of it. While Optavia can lead to short-term weight loss, it may not be the best program for keeping those pounds off in the long haul.
There are a few reasons for this: First, severely cutting calories signals your body to decrease your levels of hormones responsible for appetite control. Your body may be telling you to eat more due to the low intake of calories. Dieting may also negatively impact your metabolism, causing your body to burn calories more slowly. This can make it harder to lose weight upon resuming a full-calorie diet.
The best way to lose weight safely and sustainably is to eat a diet full of nutritious whole foods, exercise regularly, set attainable goals, and work on maintaining a good mindset.
Digestive Problems
Some dieters have reported digestive symptoms like gas, constipation, and diarrhea on Medifast or Optavia. These issues may be caused by two key ingredients in Optavia shakes - xanthan gum and carrageenan gum. Both are safe food additives but have links to gas and bloating in people with irritable bowel syndrome. Some people with certain intolerances or allergies also experience digestive upset from whey or soy protein isolate, both of which are ingredients in Optavia’s Fuelings.
Gallstones
The Optavia diet can cause hard clumps of digestive fluid in the gallbladder, known as gallstones, in individuals who are already at risk, such as people assigned female at birth or those with obesity or those who are overweight. Crash diets lead to a higher risk of getting gallstones because they can disturb the normal balance of cholesterol and bile in your liver.
Risk of Eating Disorders
Dieting can also put you at risk for developing an eating disorder, according to a review. It can also be triggering for those who’ve experienced an eating disorder in the past. The limitations of certain foods/food groups, as well as significant calorie restriction, on any extremely low-calorie diet, including an Optavia program, can cause people to continue potentially harmful behaviors well past their chosen diet plan.
Hair Loss
The Optavia diet may cause rapid weight loss, which may trigger acute telogen effluvium (TE). TE is a disorder that causes excessive shedding of hair on your scalp. It’s one of the most common causes of alopecia, the medical term for hair loss.
Who Should Avoid the Optavia Diet?
Certain individuals should avoid the Optavia diet due to the potential health risks:
- Pregnant women and those younger than 13
- Teens, nursing mothers, people with gout, and those with diabetes (unless following specialized plans developed for their needs and cleared by their doctors)
- Older, sedentary adults and people who exercise more than 45 minutes daily (should avoid the 5 & 1 Plan)
- People with serious illnesses (like cancer, liver disease, kidney disease, or an eating disorder) unless they have recovered and are cleared by their health care providers
Potential Benefits
Despite the potential risks, the Optavia diet may offer some benefits:
- Short-term weight loss: Studies have shown that the Optavia diet can result in short-term weight loss.
- Easy to follow: The diet relies mostly on packaged Fuelings, so you’re responsible for cooking only one meal per day on the 5&1 Plan.
- May improve blood pressure: Optavia programs may help improve blood pressure through weight loss and limited sodium intake.
- Offers ongoing support: Optavia’s Coaches are available throughout the weight loss and maintenance programs.
A Dietitian's Perspective
Many dietitians express concerns about the Optavia diet due to its restrictive nature and reliance on processed foods. They argue that it can harm your relationship with food, leading to cravings and potential binge eating. They also point out the lack of long-term research on the diet's effectiveness and the potential for weight regain.
Alternative Approaches
Instead of relying on fad diets like Optavia, it's crucial to prioritize a balanced and varied diet that includes whole, unprocessed foods. Work with healthcare professionals or registered dietitians to develop a personalized approach that supports your overall health and long-term weight management goals. Lifestyle interventions remain the cornerstone for obesity treatment.
The Role of Coaching
Optavia uses ‘health coaches’ to sell their products. Optavia coaches are typically past clients, and there is no formal nutrition training, education, or certification required to become a health coach for Optavia (outside of Optavia’s own certification course). Some coaches are Registered Dietitians (RDs), however they are overqualified as the job does not require a medical training/background. The more product they sell, the more they earn, and they are paid more by bringing more coaches into the program.
While the one-on-one coaching may be helpful, Optavia Coaches are not required to have any kind of certification or nutrition training, so it’s unlikely that most of them are experts.