7 Day Optavia Diet Plan – Benefits, Risks, and Cost (2024)

Optavia Diet Plan

Diet plans that involve calorie restrictions, such as Optavia, should be personalized and followed under medical supervision. Consult your healthcare professional before following the Optavia diet.

Are you looking for an effective and reliable weight loss diet plan? If so, then you have reached the right destination.

Contents show

We’ve written a dedicated article for Optavia food list as there are numerous food combinations you can choose while following this diet. This article will particularly be covering Optavia Diet Plan.

If you don’t have the time to prepare meals or don’t want to cook, you might be interested in a diet that requires you to spend less time in the kitchen. That is exactly what the Optavia diet plan does.

It helps with weight loss through home-cooked meals, one-on-one counseling, and low-calorie pre-packaged foods.

It’s a popular weight-loss diet from Medifast Inc. Nothing is officially off-limits on this diet, but it will require effort.

To lose weight, the method restricts calories and recommends you purchase special “fuelings.”

By eating frequent, small, and nutrient-dense meals, your body can enter an intermediate fat-burning state during this diet.

You may still be unsure what an Optavia diet plan is, how it works, and whether it is safe or has any drawbacks.

Before you begin the diet program, here’s everything you need to know about the Optavia diet plan.

What is an Optavia Diet Plan

Optavia diet is a weight-loss or maintenance program that includes a combination of purchased fuelings (processed food by the firm) and handmade “lean and green” meals (see also Optavia Diet foods list).

You are not required to count carbs or calories as part of the program.

Instead, as part of 6 or 7 portion-controlled meals daily, people add water to powdered food or unwrap a bar.

The brand offers more than 50 alternatives, including biscuits, shakes, puddings, and soups. All of these products contain additional protein and a probiotic.

The Optavia Diet has been around for almost 40 years. It uses pre-packaged, patented snacks, meals, and shakes, a health coach, and advice on building new eating habits to help people effectively lose weight.

How Does the Optavia Diet Plan Work

The Optavia diet is based on the factor that eating multiple small meals or snacks throughout the day leads to controllable weight loss and habit change.

So instead of 3 large meals a day, you’ll eat 6 or 7 small, substantial, and healthy meals throughout the day. As a result, you won’t be hungry.

2 weight-loss programs and a weight-maintenance plan are included in the Optavia diet:

#1. Plan 4&2&1: It contains 4 Optavia Fuelings, 2 lean and green meals, and 1 snack each day for people requiring more calories or flexibility in their food choices.

#2. Plan 3&3: It comprises 3 Optavia Fuelings and 3 balanced lean and green meals daily and is designed for maintenance.

#3. Plan 5&1: This plan is the most popular, with five Optavia Fuelings and one balanced lean and green meal daily. (1)

Additional benefits like suggestions and motivation are available through the Optavia program to help lose and maintain weight.

1) Community forums

2) Weekly support calls

3) Text messages

4) The application helps track food intake and activity and sets meal reminders

After consulting their healthcare professional, nursing mothers, teenagers, older folks, and people with diabetes or gout may benefit from the company’s tailored Optavia diet plan program.

Even though Optavia offers these tailored diets, it’s uncertain whether they’re safe for those with certain medical issues.

Teenagers and breastfeeding women have special vitamin and calorie requirements that the Optavia diet may be unable to meet.

Foods to Eat During the Optavia Diet

Optavia Diet Food List – What does the Optavia diet food list include?

Optavia’s “fuelings,” including shakes, bars, cereal, cookies, and savory alternatives like mashed potatoes and soup, make up at least half of any diet.

Soy protein or whey protein is frequently listed as the first component in these foods.

The rest of the diet consists of lean and green foods you purchase and cook yourself. These are some of them:

#1. 5-7 oz cooked lean protein, such as poultry, turkey, fish, egg whites, or soy protein

#2. 3 non-starchy vegetable servings, such as greens, lettuce, cucumbers, or celery

Foods to Include in Your Optavia Diet (Video)

Here are some of the groceries you will need to purchase in preparation for your Optavia diet journey.

Shellfish and fish like salmon, trout, lobster, halibut, crab, shrimp, and scallops.

Meat including chicken, turkey, lamb, lean beef, pork chops, game meat, and ground meat, which should be up to 85% lean

Soy should only be tofu

Eggs

Healthy fats like almonds, olives, avocado, walnuts, and pistachios

Vegetable oils like walnut flaxseed, canola, and olive oil

Sugar-free snacks like mints, gums, popsicles, and gelatins

Low calorie vegetables like celery, collard greens, spinach, cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant, almonds, olives, avocado, walnuts, and pistachios, jicama, zucchini, and squash

Condiments and seasonings like dried herbs, spices, lemon juice, sea salt, lime juice, yellow mustard, ketchup, sugar-free zero calorie sweeteners and syrup, cocktail sauce, and barbecue sauce.

Beverages

Purchase your beverages based on the Optavia diet guidelines. The diet advocates for plain water always, but you can infuse it with your preferred flavors, such as lemon or lime wedges and ice.

Your beverages should be calorie-free, like unsweetened coffee, tea, diet soda, sodium-free seltzer, or sparkling water.

The Optavia diet discourages the use of alcohol, especially for people living with diabetes.

Remember, alcohol leaves you dehydrated and adds empty calories to your body.

Further, alcohol will lower your self-consciousness, reducing your ability to resist the temptations of consuming unhealthy meals.

Optavia Fueling

Based on your Optavia diet food plan, you will consume between five and two prepackaged meal replacements from the company daily.

You will also include between three to one low-calorie meal from your kitchen.

Usually, these low calorie meals are non-starchy veggies and lean protein. A big percentage of the food you consume on the Optavia diet comes as prepackaged fueling.

According to the Optavia diet company, each fueling contains the same nutritional value as portion-controlled meals.

As a result, you can consume them interchangeably, meaning you get the same nutrients whether you eat vegetable chili and red beans or a granola bar from Optavia.

Some of the fueling you can choose include

Soups

Shakes

Bars

Cookies and brownies

Pretzels

Lean Protein Food Options

Your lean and green meals should comprise a five to seven-ounce part of homemade lean protein.

Optavia differentiates between leanest, leaner, and lean protein sources based on these examples.

Leanest: egg whites, shrimp, and cod

Leaner: chicken breast or swordfish

Lean: Pork chops, lamp, or salmon

Non-Starchy Veggie Options

The Optavia 5 & 1 program allows you to combine non-starchy veggies with a protein option in your green and lean meal.

These vegetables are categorized into higher, moderate, and lower carbohydrate sections, as seen below.

Higher carb veggies: peppers or broccoli

Moderate carb veggies: summer squash or cauliflower

Lower carb veggies: salad greens

Healthy Fat Options

Apart from non-starchy veggies and lean protein, you can add approximately two healthy fat servings to your lean and green meal. Some healthy fat options include:

Flaxseed oil

Canola oil

Low-Calorie Condiment Options

Apart from the condiments we’ve mentioned above, you can choose the following:

Vinegar

Salsa

Whole Grain, Fresh Fruit, and Low-Fat Dairy Options

According to Optavia experts, you can add grain, dairy, and fruit servings to your food list once you reach your preferred weight. Some good options would be:

Greek yogurt

High fiber cereal, whole wheat English muffins, and whole-grain bread

Cottage cheese

Bananas, apples, and berries

Foods to Eliminate from Your Optavia Diet

No food is prohibited on the Optavia diet but experts discourage various items like sweets. Other foods you should avoid include:

All types of fried foods except the ones included in the fueling

Coconut oil and butter

Any type of alcohol

All products are made using refined cereals like white bread, biscuits, white rice, and pancakes.

Cheese, yogurt, milk, and any other dairy fat product

Sweetened beverages like soda, fruit juice, energy, or sports drinks

High-Calorie Additions to Avoid

Mayonnaise

Butter

Sugary BBQ sauce

Desserts to Should Avoid

Optavia discourages the consumption of sweets. However, once you achieve your weight loss goals, you can eat low-calorie sweets like flavored yogurt or fresh fruit.

Other desserts you should avoid include:

Cake

Ice cream

The Optavia Diet also discourages the use of alcoholic and sugar-sweetened beverages like:

Sweetened coffee

Soda

Beer

Wine

Spirits

What is The Cost of The Optavia Diet Plan

The essential kits, which are the most affordable plan options, cost more than $400 per month, and that’s before you factor in the cost of your lean and green meals (or what you cook at home).

Here’s how much each type will cost you:

#1. $378.25 for 119 servings on the 5&1 Plan

#2. $23.00 for 140 servings with the 4&2&1 plan

#3. $20.75 for 7 servings with the 3&3 plan.

Weight Loss With The Optavia Diet

The Optavia diet plan extensively relies on calorie restriction to promote weight loss. Most “fuelings” are roughly 100–110 calories each.

Therefore, on this diet, you may consume around 1,000 calories daily.

You have a better chance of losing weight if you consume fewer calories. The 5&1 diet restricts calories to 800-1,000 daily, spread out among 6 portioned meals.

According to studies, reduced overall calorie consumption and reduced-carb diets are effective for weight and fat loss, at least in the short term.

However, there are currently no studies that have looked into the long-term effects of the Optavia diet.

Overall, further research is needed to determine the Optavia diet’s long-term effectiveness in weight loss.

Advantages Of Optavia Diet

Some people may be driven to the Optavia diet for reasons other than weight reduction. However, it is simple to follow, may lower blood pressure, and provides continuing support.

Blood sugar and cholesterol readings have improved:

Two Optavia programs that may help lower blood pressure are weight loss and sodium restriction.

Although you can choose low sodium options for Lean and Green meals, all Optavia meal plans include less than 2,300 mg of salt daily.

The American Heart Association, the Institute of Medicine, and the United States Department of Agriculture recommend consuming fewer than 2,300 mg of sodium daily.

Increased sodium intake may increase the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure if salt-sensitive.

Convenience:

It includes simple, handy, pre-portioned, packaged foods, so you don’t have to calculate calories or carbs. Having a simple formula for making your meals at home is also helpful.

Instead of calculating calories, you’ll record portions of specific items, making keeping track of your meals easier.

Coaching assistance:

Optavia also assists with its coaching program, which some may find beneficial. Coaching may assist you in staying on track, boosting your chances of success.

Risks of Optavia Diet:

Certain potential drawbacks to the Optavia diet plan could negatively impact your health. Some of the risks include

Deficiency in nutrients:

If your calorie levels are kept too low for too long, this diet may result in nutritional deficiencies.

In addition to calorie restriction, Optavia diet plans exclude some food groups, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and critical vitamins and minerals.

Cost:

The plans can be costly; 5 fuelings will set you back approximately $17 before tax and shipping (or the groceries you buy for lean and green meals).

Hunger:

This weight-loss method is inconvenient and may not be effective in the long term.

Exhaustion, extreme hunger, and other unpleasant symptoms are common side effects of low-calorie diets.

In addition, when one is hungry, it is easier to be enticed to eat something that is not on one’s diet plan.

It could be challenging to stick to the following:

5 prepared Fuelings and 1 low carb meal each day are included in the 5 & 1 Plan. As a result, the meal alternatives and calorie count can be fairly limited.

Since you may grow tired of eating prepared items for most of your meals, it may become easier to cheat on your diet or get cravings.

Although the maintenance plan is less stringent, it still significantly relies on fueling.

Printable Optavia Diet Food List (PDF)

Foods to Eat
Tofu
Shellfish and fish like salmon, trout, lobster, halibut, crab, shrimp, and scallops
Meat including chicken, turkey, lamp, lean beef, pork chops, game meat, and ground meat
Soy should only be tofu
Eggs
Healthy fats like almonds, olives, avocado, walnuts, and pistachios
Vegetable oils like walnut flaxseed, canola, and olive oil
Sugar-free snacks like mints, gums, popsicles, and gelatins
Low calorie vegetables like celery, collard greens, spinach, cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant, almonds, olives, avocado, walnuts, and pistachios jicama, zucchini, and squash
Condiments and seasonings like dried herbs, spices, lemon juice, sea salt, lime juice, yellow mustard, ketchup, sugar-free zero-calorie sweeteners and syrup, cocktail sauce, and barbecue sauce.
Calorie-free beverages like unsweetened coffee, tea, diet soda, sodium-free seltzer, or sparkling water
Fuelings like Soup, shakes, protein bars, brownies and cookies, and pretzels

7-Day Optavia Diet Plan

Meals	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Meal 1	1 serving of 7-oz shrimp with 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables	1 serving of 6 oz of pork tenderloin with 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables	1 prepacked optavia meal	2 healthy fat servings such as nuts with 1 fueling	1 fueling	1 serving of 6 oz chicken breast with non-starchy vegetables	2 fuelings (1 bar and 1 shake)
Meal 2	1 serving of 7 oz cod with 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables	1 healthy fat serving and 1 fueling (bar)	1 fueling	1 serving of 7-oz shrimp with 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables	1 prepacked optavia meal	1 fueling	1 serving of 7-oz shrimp with 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables
Meal 3	2 healthy fat servings such as nuts	1 fueling (shake)	5 oz salmon with non starchy vegetables (1 serving)	1 fueling (Bar)	5 oz salmon with non starchy vegetables (1 serving)	1 serving of 6 oz of pork tenderloin with 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables	2 healthy fat servings such as nuts
Meal 4	1 serving of 7-oz egg whites with 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables	1 serving of 6 oz trout with 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables	1 fueling	1 serving of 7 oz cod with 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables	1 light snack with fueling	1 healthy fat serving and 1 fueling (bar)	1 serving of 7 oz cod with 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables
Meal 5	1 fueling (bars)	1 fueling (bar)	1 light snack with fueling	1 fueling (shake)	5 oz beefsteak with non starchy vegetables	1 serving of 6 oz trout with 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables	1 fueling (bars)
Meal 6	2 fuelings (1 bar and 1 shake)	1 serving of 6 oz chicken breast with non-starchy vegetables	5 oz beefsteak with nonstarchy vegetables	1 serving of 7-oz egg whites with 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables	1 fueling	1 fueling (bar)	1 serving of 7-oz egg whites with 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables

Conclusion

The Optavia diet consists of one-on-one coaching, low-calorie pre-made food items, and homemade food with low carbs.

This weight is effective for weight loss and balancing blood sugar levels.

However, the Optavia diet plan also comes with certain risks that may not be good for your health. If you are looking for a short-term weight loss strategy, this diet plan is good.

However, there is no proof of the long-term benefits of this diet. Learn more about healthy dietary practices at https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/basics/diet-plans/