Optavia/Medifast/TSFL

lorib642

It is a MLM program. I know a health coach who sells the products/program. I am having trouble sticking with anything on my own.

She said you lose 1% of your weight a week at first. I imagine it must be VLC. She did not approach me about it, I asked her.

Has anyone done any of these programs. Do they work ? Is it worth it?

(I am not promoting this program)

MichelleSilverleaf

Any program that is purposefully low cal is going to work. What it's not going to do is help you develop long term habits or how to eat proper portions when the program is over. So while you probably will lose weight there's also a very probable chance you'll gain a lot back when it's over. IMO not worth it.

kommodevaran

Any diet or method that gives you a calorie deficit, makes you lose weight if you stick with it. The hard part is sticking with it. A normal/healthy/sustainable rate of loss, regardless of method, is up to 1% of your body weight per week.

I don't think you have trouble sticking with anything on your own! I would look into what you're having trouble sticking with, and why. Losing weight is something you do yourself, anyway. But you don't have to do it alone - that's what this community is for.

misskarne

Your "friend" will tell you anything to get you to buy.

These things are a waste of money. Some of them have health risks. Check out the stickies here - they're full of great info.

FlyingMolly

Never ever ever give an MLM your money for any reason.

kristan33

I just started about a month ago. I’m loving it. I was very skeptical and have debated the program for almost 3 years before trying. I’m having really good success which is motivating. My coach lost 80 pounds on the program and has kept it off for 4 years. There’s a book and a workbook that teaches you healthy habits as you go. I love the convenience of the bars/shakes which really surprised me but it has alleviated a lot of stress only having to focus on one meal per day that I plan/make.

kommodevaran

WHat kind of meals and meal planning are people doing, that create such stress? For me, the hard thing is always I WANT TO EAT.

Overeating2Breastfeeding

Firstly it is not a MLM so let’s just clear that up. The trick to losing the weight is that the meals are formulated to give you the exact macronutrients you need to sustain a healthy ketosis/gentle fat burn stage. This with drinking loads of water to flush and break down the stores fat that has been sitting in your body helps remove that built up fat. The big thing for me was that I was so big I could barely get out of bed. This program works with what you already do so no added exercise and they encourage you not to overdo it. I’ve seen people from 8 years ago that still have the weight off and kept it off. It also teaches you how to listen to your body and how/what to eat. It’s simple instead of jumping into some complicated diet that you really don’t understand.

MichelleSilverleaf

Overeating2Breastfeeding wrote: »

Firstly it is not a MLM so let’s just clear that up. The trick to losing the weight is that the meals are formulated to give you the exact macronutrients you need to sustain a healthy ketosis/gentle fat burn stage. This with drinking loads of water to flush and break down the stores fat that has been sitting in your body helps remove that built up fat. The big thing for me was that I was so big I could barely get out of bed. This program works with what you already do so no added exercise and they encourage you not to overdo it. I’ve seen people from 8 years ago that still have the weight off and kept it off. It also teaches you how to listen to your body and how/what to eat. It’s simple instead of jumping into some complicated diet that you really don’t understand.

Actually the trick to it is the fact that it's a low cal diet which is the actual reason one loses weight.

cheryldumais

My sister did optifast (don't know if it's the same) and dropped a ton for her wedding then gained it all back. I did a bunch of these types of programs in the past and while you lose initially it is very hard to maintain. I always convinced myself I would lose then learn how to maintain. I never did but lightened my wallet considerably. Finally I lost slowly and surely just walking and eating less. It's up to you but truly for me the only way to do it was slow and steady. I've completely changed my eating habits now and I'm maintaining my loss (over 100 lbs.). I would keep my money if I were you.

yirara

Overeating2Breastfeeding wrote: »

Firstly it is not a MLM so let’s just clear that up. The trick to losing the weight is that the meals are formulated to give you the exact macronutrients you need to sustain a healthy ketosis/gentle fat burn stage. This with drinking loads of water to flush and break down the stores fat that has been sitting in your body helps remove that built up fat. The big thing for me was that I was so big I could barely get out of bed. This program works with what you already do so no added exercise and they encourage you not to overdo it. I’ve seen people from 8 years ago that still have the weight off and kept it off. It also teaches you how to listen to your body and how/what to eat. It’s simple instead of jumping into some complicated diet that you really don’t understand.

You can't flush out fat unless you're talking about liposuction, which again doesn't involve flushing but only sucking. Fat is energy stored in a semi-solid state. If you consume too little energy (food) then the body takes energy from fat cells. The less full cells remain in place.

fitoverfortymom

I was *this* close to using Medifast (or whatever it's called now). My physicians assistant was using it and lost boatloads of weight. Actually researching it is what led me to MFP to figure out all that business about calorie deficits. I decided to give MFP a whirl (after reading all of the sticky threads in the Getting Started thread and equipping myself with a food scale). I was convinced it wouldn't work and I would have to do a prescribed program like Medifast or get weight loss surgery to lose the weight.

Boy was I wrong!

Committing to weight loss using MFP totally worked, and here I am 100lbs lighter.

However, I will say that a program like Medifast, while in my opinion is WAY too low calorie, does provide a certain comfort of being prescriptive when it's really, really hard to make food choices. Knowing that what you have to eat for the day is prepackaged and ready to go is definitely reassuring. I accomplish the same thing through meal prep, but I do see the appeal of something like Medifast--it just never, ever would have been enough food for me.

siobhanaoife

The reason that some people are successful with a completely defined / prepackaged plan, but not so much with general good eating guidelines, is often emotional.

When I started working on weight loss, I was completely distraught and just needed a complete break from making food choices. Not a forever break, but right then, sitting with a nutritionist who was telling me about the plate method and healthy eating guidelines and calorie targets as if I had been living under a rock my whole life and didn't already know all that, I was completely overwhelmed and miserable. I knew that what I needed emotionally was a reset, a break from making choices, and to get some momentum losing weight as positive reinforcement.

I prefer eating food to drinking it, so I didn't do a shake-based diet. Instead I used a meal subscription plan, where I had 20 frozen meals shipped to my house each week for a while. One night a week I had to get a sensible dinner for myself, and every day I used MFP to log all my foods, and would weigh/measure snacks to get me up to a reasonable calorie targets. The foods were all, for lack of a better word, food - so I was microwaving a frittata or an egg with pulled pork or an omelet for breakfast, salmon with vegetables for lunch, etc. So I didn't have to figure it all out, I just had to log, figure out snacks, microwave meals, and stick with the program.

Would I have lost the weight if I'd cooked for myself and hit the same calorie targets? Absolutely yes. But right then, for emotional and mental stress reasons, that was overwhelming, whereas a structured plan with prefab foods was doable.

A nice thing about the approach I took, at least for me, was that it modeled food combinations and serving sizes for me. So after a while, I started making my own salmon and vegetables, etc. I stopped having a subscription where all my meals were provided, and instead I still buy some a la carte so I've got healthy options in the house (especially for breakfast, when I'm running six ways from seven in the morning), but I'm comfortable now with the kinds, portions, and preparations of foods that keep me on track, weighed and recorded on MFP of course.

So as far as, why would anyone do that, when a calorie deficit is all you need? My response is, there may be many reasons, but one I know for sure is, sometimes some people need a break. A rest from making food choices. A reset. And those people may find it in them to get going more easily with a prefab, very proscribed way of eating, at least at first.

Just food for thought...

CharlieBeansmomTracey

Overeating2Breastfeeding wrote: »

Firstly it is not a MLM so let’s just clear that up. The trick to losing the weight is that the meals are formulated to give you the exact macronutrients you need to sustain a healthy ketosis/gentle fat burn stage. This with drinking loads of water to flush and break down the stores fat that has been sitting in your body helps remove that built up fat. The big thing for me was that I was so big I could barely get out of bed. This program works with what you already do so no added exercise and they encourage you not to overdo it. I’ve seen people from 8 years ago that still have the weight off and kept it off. It also teaches you how to listen to your body and how/what to eat. It’s simple instead of jumping into some complicated diet that you really don’t understand.

you lose fat in a deficit and keto diet you burn dietary fat, not body fat for fuel. its not what you eat or how you eat but it comes down to how much you eat whether you lose weight or not. you cannot break down fat with water.

FlyingMolly

Overeating2Breastfeeding wrote: »

Firstly it is not a MLM so let’s just clear that up. The trick to losing the weight is that the meals are formulated to give you the exact macronutrients you need to sustain a healthy ketosis/gentle fat burn stage. This with drinking loads of water to flush and break down the stores fat that has been sitting in your body helps remove that built up fat. The big thing for me was that I was so big I could barely get out of bed. This program works with what you already do so no added exercise and they encourage you not to overdo it. I’ve seen people from 8 years ago that still have the weight off and kept it off. It also teaches you how to listen to your body and how/what to eat. It’s simple instead of jumping into some complicated diet that you really don’t understand.

What they said plus yes, yes it absolutely is an MLM.

http://optaviamedia.com/pdf/compensation-plan.pdf

CharlieBeansmomTracey

Overeating2Breastfeeding wrote: »

Firstly it is not a MLM so let’s just clear that up. The trick to losing the weight is that the meals are formulated to give you the exact macronutrients you need to sustain a healthy ketosis/gentle fat burn stage. This with drinking loads of water to flush and break down the stores fat that has been sitting in your body helps remove that built up fat. The big thing for me was that I was so big I could barely get out of bed. This program works with what you already do so no added exercise and they encourage you not to overdo it. I’ve seen people from 8 years ago that still have the weight off and kept it off. It also teaches you how to listen to your body and how/what to eat. It’s simple instead of jumping into some complicated diet that you really don’t understand.

if a person sells it and has to reach tiers to get paid more or get a commission then yes it is a MLM. if you have to have people buy from you and then have others sell it as well under your referral line then its an MLM