Optavia | Imamother

amother

Aqua

Mon, Jan 07 2019, 11:14 am

amother wrote:

I'm seriously looking into it. I don't eat oud so am nervous if I'll find enough food, decent to eat.

If you have to stick to Pareve only options it is much harder. There are several options (maybe 5) but they don't taste as good as the dairy and that is really a very limited selection.

I would never tell you what to do, but I personally only eat cholov Yisrael, and was told by my Rabbi that for weight loss it's OK for me to eat the OUD optavia products. I don't eat OUD anything else. It's made from powdered milk so that's a chumra on top of a chumra.

amother

Maroon

Wed, Jan 09 2019, 1:14 am

I'm also considering trying Octavia. I recently put on 20 pounds from a new birth control pill and I can't get it off! How quickly does one lose weight on this plan and how w easy is it to stick with? Am I going to be starving all day or just for the first couple of days? I need something drastic. Also, I don't understand how to maintain it once it comes off. Am I stuck buying these products or risk gaining it all back?

SplitPea

Wed, Jan 09 2019, 1:19 am

My husband has lost 80 lbs and is doing great

I got VERY sick on it.

I am.just regular dieting.

My issue is it does.not do.enough to teach you how to eat without their products and builds dependancy. I am doing weight watchers now and really understand food.and nutrition. My husband will be going on weight watchers after he stops optavia to teach him.about food.choices etc.

amother

Maroon

Wed, Jan 09 2019, 1:30 am

Interesting. I actually have a good grasp on food and control, it's just that this weight came on from hormones and it's not budging. But I don't want to to start something that will rebound as soon as I go to healthy eating. Is that what happens? Is there a way to maintain the weight loss without still buying their products?
Wow! 80 pounds?? How long did it take him to do that?

amother

Aqua

Wed, Jan 09 2019, 12:12 pm

You won't keep it off if you go back to your regular way of eating, but you can keep it off without their products. The idea is to keep at 6 small meals a day. You can replace their products with other 100 calorie, nutrient dense snacks (about three of those a day) and then three lean and green meals, There is a transition phase where they slowly wean you back to more normal eating. They will always push their products for your snacks, but you don't have to do that.

For people with a lot of weight to lose, 10-15 lbs a months is typical. For people with smaller amounts, it might go slower, but you should be able to take off 20 pounds in a few months.

You shouldn't be starving after the first week. If you are, your coach can tweak your program.

tymama

Sat, Jan 26 2019, 9:06 pm

I started this program a month ago and lost 15 pounds. I tried many diets before this and nothing worked for me. I’m happy on this program because I have a lot of weight to lose and it’s very motivating to see the scale move quickly. The food choices aren’t great but if you are consistent with the diet it will work.

amother

Mauve

Sat, Jan 26 2019, 9:14 pm

Some people really love Optavia and do well.
Others don't like it.
The main thing is to ask your doctor if this is okay for you to do.
I lost the weight and did maintenance but then I got really tired of the meal replacements. I found something else that worked for me and I am much happier.

cookiewriter

Sat, Jan 26 2019, 9:46 pm

Ask anyone who’s on it for a while. The food is GROSS. For the most part. There are a few tolerable things.
By the way- you can return or exchange boxes of food even if you are a few packets out of it! Most people don’t know that.

The other reason I’m anti is because I don’t know anyone who kept the weight off.

But I’m fat and I don’t know what to do about it I’ve trued it all. So I can’t help ya. I tried optavia. Gross. And I like everything!

Sebastian

Sat, Jan 26 2019, 9:57 pm

amother wrote:

This is not really so accurate. It sounds like your information is coming as an outsider, not an insider.
Firstly, all diet plans have a risk of regain, hut Optavia is actually one of the few (only) plans I know of where people lose large ounts of weight in relatively short time spans and keep it off long term. I know more than a dozen people who have lost between 40-150lbs who are keeping it off for 2-10 years! If you work the program, it works for you. Maintenance is hard, as it is in any pogram, but you have a way higher chance of maintaining if you stay surrounded by people in the program - through coaching, their teleconferences, social media, etc. You keep your coach even after you lost your weight, and there's no reason you can't stay involved for years.

Regarding the processed food, a lot of it is actually dehydrated forms of real food. There definitely is some level of processing going on, but a lot of them are basic wholesome ingredients. Not much different than if you buy oatmeal out of a packet, or mashed potato flakes. Either way, the processing part doesn't really bother me so much since I know the plan is actually very good for my body, as I've seen vast health improvements from eating those foods. They are very nutritionally dense. It actually reversed my PCOS symptoms....

and it does not put your body into starvation mode, it puts you into mild ketosis, and allows you to burn fat for fuel, so you are a lot more energetic than you would be eating other foods at that same low calorie amount and it's supposed to maintain your muscle mass.

Anyway, I'm not a coach or anything I have nothing to sell or gain from other amothers joining. But I think people do others a diservice by stating negative comments about the plan when they don't really have full information about it...

I just wanted to respond. I did not try Optavia btw but in general humans are not programmed to starve themselves and eat bland, boring food. If maintenance is HARD most ppl. will not stick to it. And real food is much yummier than packaged Optavia stuff.

amother

Mauve

Sat, Jan 26 2019, 10:03 pm

Sebastian wrote:

Exactly.
You can't have dairy or fruit on the weight loss part of optavia.
Veggies have to be measured.
I am a big eater and I love my diet I can have as much free veggies as I want and I can have fruit and dairy.
Everyone has to do what is good for them. But I would not recommend Optavia. I just went to my endocrinologist, he did not think it was good for me. That's why I think people should ask their doc.

amother

Beige

Sun, Jan 27 2019, 2:01 am

Amother mauve, can I ask you which program you are doing that is working for you?

amother

Olive

Mon, Jan 28 2019, 9:47 am

I have been doing Optavia for the last few months, with about 80% dedication. (I was stricter in the beginning, and I am much less strict on Shabbos.) I lost 30 lbs. I feel and look like a new person. If I would be working the program 100%, I would probably have been down at least 50 lbs by now, but I am happy with the pace I am at.
This program is amazing for the busy mom who doesn't have the time to prepare all those healthy balanced meals that other diets require. Don't forget, most dieters need to cook separately for their families who don't want to change their diet just because the mother is on a diet. This program eliminates the bulk of the grunt work: peeling, chopping, cooking, weighing and measuring, counting etc. And especially the buying of produce which goes bad so fast...
You do have to prepare one meal a day which you weigh and measure, but that is much more doable than 3!
In short, its very easy on the brain, and frees you to focus on your regular life instead of obsessing about your next meal all the time. For me, this is what keeps me on the program, because it is just so easy.
It seemed like a very expensive program at first, but I am convinced now that I am probably coming out about even, since I am saving money on the other meals that I would normally eat.
The fact that you get a coach (included in the price) is an incredible benefit right there. My coach is encouraging and knowledgable, and has been a huge part of my success.
I find almost all the foods to be delicious, and they are very filling. I don't understand people who say the food is gross. Everyone I know who is on the program loves the food (with the exception of the mac n cheese). But if you're unsure, find someone who would sell you a few items to try before committing to a whole month's supply.
I grab a bar and shake on my way to work and it keeps me full and keeps my mind off the danishes sitting around in the office.
They have bars, shakes, hot chocolate, muffins, cookies, brownies, pancakes, pasta, parve chicken soup, soft serve ice cream, pudding, mashed potatoes, cereal, oatmeal, snacks and more...That's a pretty big selection, enough to suit almost anyone's tastes.
I love being able to grab something easy, especially on those busy Fridays when there's potato kugel calling my name.
Since you are eating every two to three hours, you never really get hungry.
Finally, to those posters who commented on the fact that you don't learn to eat properly, that can be true if you look at Optavia as a diet only. But in their literature, they actually put a huge stress on the "Habits of Health" which are supposed to be part and parcel of the food plan. The Habits of Health teach and encourage you to develop healthy habits in every area of your life (food, sleep, excercize, finances, spirituality, etc. )
As others said, every diet is hard to maintain. The challenge is not to go on a diet, but to stick to it. There is simply no way around it. For me, after trying so many other diets and feeling discouraged that I couldn't stick to it, Optavia was a blessing.
I am not a coach, and have nothing to gain, just want to share my experience and hopefully help someone else out there.

Last edited by amother on Wed, Apr 03 2019, 8:03 am; edited 1 time in total

May

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 1:24 am

If anyone on Optavia currently wants to join our WhatsApp group pm me.