Optavia (Medifast) Popular Diets after Bariatric Surgery

Optavia (Medifast)

Optavia is a subsidiary of Medifast and I am covering it here in our Popular diets after Bariatric Surgery blog series. The program is focused on habit change coaching and utilizes “fuelings.” It could work for some bariatric patients looking to get a jump start back to good habits, but with some consideration of long-term habit change that can be sustained.

Read the recap blog for the Popular Diets after Bariatric Surgery Series here including a full comparison chart!

The backstory on Optavia (a subsidiary of Medifast)

What does Optavia advise?

As I researched the Optavia website, it seems their offering is entitled “Transformation through Holistic Wellness” and utilizes coaching, community and Dr. Andersons “Habits of Health®” Transformational System.

In particular with food, they commonly use the “Optimal Weight 5 in 1 Plan®” which includes 5 daily meals from Optavia “fuelings.”

One would select from their list of options and eat every 2-3 hours plus learn to make a ‘lean and green’ meal. The products are developed by doctors and dietitians.

To summarize the plan:

Is there research on Optavia after Bariatric Surgery?

The Optavia website includes a link to a 48 page Clinical Studies Overview document citing their research specific to their meals and eating plans, diabetes and PCOS. 

There is no research specific to bariatric surgery.

It takes some digging to find nutrition information on the fuelings. The label shown here is for a Rustic Tomato Herb Penne.

Is Optavia after Bariatric Surgery okay to try?

This program would be a patient to patient, clinical judgement decision. It may fit within your goals but it’s also worth asking if this is the right choice for your long-term goals. 

Is it worthwhile to invest more money and eat prepackaged foods for the long-term management of obesity? It might help someone lose regained weight though what is the transition plan in the long term? The micro-habits program may help to build that transition for later, I’m not familiar enough to know. 

Are all of the products appropriate? Are you prepared to go through all the nutrition information? That can be tedious to read through all the labels plus identify what you’d like.  

Is eating 2-3 hours ideal for the patient when they need to focus on hydration in between meals? We see better weight management results with a structured meal pattern of 3 meals a day and one snack if you need so you can focus on hydration in between meals and avoid grazing habits. 

The coaching on habit change seems very helpful. It may be worthwhile to review Dr. Anderson’s book before investing in the full Optavia program.

In Summary

Optavia has some cool habit change coaching behind the program. I’ve listened to a presentation from a licensed counselor who worked for Optavia on habit change and it was fantastic.

The fuelings seem expensive and questionable if it’s the right choice long-term. Reading all the labels, finding what you like and investing more money is the most likely reason why a post-op might shy away from the program in it’s entirety.

Eating 2-3 hours isn’t ideal for post-ops as we see more success with structured meals and not grazing. For more on that, the blog on Macros showcases a research study with common habits of highly successful patients 5 years out. Hydrating in between meals is essential and not drinking with meals would cut into water drinking time! Here is a blog on the common question about Small Frequent Meals.

Don’t forget! If you are looking for group chats, live coaching and other nutrition resources more specific to bariatric surgery, Premier Access Membership to Bariatric Food Coach offers all those things!

Members can email me anytime with their questions. If you are a member and have more questions about this post, click here! 

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More in the Popular Diets Series