Optifast Review

 

Optifast is the grande dame of liquid diets, the older among us may remember the seminal "Oprah Winfrey Show" in the late 80s, when O strolled onstage in skinny jeans to announce she'd lost 67 pounds in four months on this diet. And we all know how that worked out. In any event, these meal replacement shakes, soups and bars are recommended by physicians for patients weighing more than 50 pounds over their ideal weight, as well as for obese persons prepping for gastric bypass surgery.

Optifast is not a liquid diet scam, but in fact a clinical approach to treating obesity, available in hospitals and Optifast clinics. Prospective patients are subject to a medical exam and must meet certain criteria to be accepted. It is typically an 18 week program of total meal replacement with liquids, followed by a transition to solid food period and concluding with a regular diet to be maintained for life. Note that the meal replacement portion of the diet - also called the weight loss phase - calls for 800 calories a day. All liquid. Doctors, dietitians and counselors work with and monitor participants' progress in three key areas - medical, nutrition and behavior. Exercise programs are developed according to fitness level and ability. Weekly one-on-one and group counseling sessions are intended to teach nutritional and lifestyle education, and encourage healthy lifestyle changes.

Optifast is expensive. It is widely quoted as being a $550 investment, with the addition of a $100 per week fee for meal replacements and snack foods. Optifast is also a starvation diet, which is widely quoted as being an absolutley miserable experience. It is effective, to be sure - how could 800 liquid calories a day max not be? But it is unrealistic as a vehicle for weight loss for anyone other than those prepping for surgery. For the average participant in Optifast, the return to solid foods and freedom from starvation proves impossible to manage, and the weight loss impossible to maintain.