Carbs & sugar vs optavia

penny03681

Is it better to watch carbs & sugar too lose weight or do optavia?

L1zardQueen

Calories are the best.

jgnatca

False dichotomy.

Weight loss happens when you eat less than your daily calorie requirement.

This can be done dozens of ways.

The danger with nutrition shakes is that it is far too easy to over consume your calories, without the tactile and sensory pleasures that come with real food.

penny03681

So watch what i eat. Be healthy about it and not do optavia (shakes, bars & eat every 2 to 3 hrs)?

L1zardQueen

Or eat the appropriate amount of calories, everyday. Food you like to eat. Buy a food scale.

dewd2

No gimmicks required for weight loss. Accurately track what you eat here for a few weeks. Then look at your diary to see what you can eat less of or perhaps replace with lower calorie alternatives. Add some exercise for your health and you will be set.

Good luck.

heybales

penny03681 wrote: »

So watch what i eat. Be healthy about it and not do optavia (shakes, bars & eat every 2 to 3 hrs)?

More than watch what you eat - weigh what you eat. Obviously have to watch it, but more than watching is required.
Vast majority watch what they eat in some manner - every bite and beyond what's needed that goes in their mouth that adds on the fat.

Healthy is what gives you the nutrition you need, for many that can be met at low calories if smart - meaning you can have some tasty non-healthy stuff too!

Who says you have to eat every 2-3 hrs?

For many that is actually a fail, they find it causes low blood sugar and feeling hungry earlier than needed, and since so low in calories with that many snacks, never feel fulfilled.

GaleHawkins

penny03681 wrote: »

Is it better to watch carbs & sugar too lose weight or do optavia?

@penny03681 I had never heard of Optavia but I am guessing it is expensive.

https://health.usnews.com/best-diet/optavia-diet

From my personal success for over the past 4 years after cutting out carbs and sugar that route gets a green light for sure now at the age of 67 with the best health markers in 30 years with no Rx meds needed.

Yes being very sick and weak at 63 the first two weeks I cut out a foods containing added sugar and or any form of any grain was hellish because of my attachment to carbs I guess. After that two weeks the controlling cravings just faded fast. I was going for and got good pain management starting around day 21. Thankfully I had no weight loss objective because it was day 45 before I lost the first pound. Since 2014 I am down 50 pounds and have maintained that loss for 3 years now without trying or tracking.

My doctor was not hipped on Low Carb High Fat or Keto but this being the third year of seeing her she gave me no input other to say she saw no health concerns and that she would see me in 12 months again. She spent one hour with me going over my lab results in detail and my physical exam. My physical mobility is returning and I am adding some muscles which is helpful to move better plus I now can sit and stand more erect of the first time in like 30 years.

If you do the Optavia thing please update us how it goes.

As you can read here others eat other WOE's (Way of Eating) and do just fine. In time you will find the right WOE for your health needs. Best of success.

psychod787

I don't like to drink my nutrition honestly. I had to look this medifast up. Looks expensive and non sustainable long term. If you must absolutely drink your nutrition. Why not make your own. Good quality protein, some frozen berries and some frozen spinch/kale. Ect....

kgirlhart

I don't think either is better. I lost ~78 pounds and I didn't watch carbs and sugar or do optavia. I just set a calorie goal that put me at a deficit and ate foods I like that fit my goal. I do try to hit my protein every day, but as long as I get a minimum amount of protein I don't really pay too much attention to anything else besides calories.

apullum

Weight loss happens when you eat fewer calories than your body burns. You do not need any special bars or shakes to accomplish that. Simply “watching what you eat” will not ensure that you take in fewer calories than you burn. The best way to ensure this is to weigh and log all your food.

ritzvin

Shakes and bars are generally not going to be as satisfying/filling for the calories as actual food - which makes them pretty counter-productive for losing weight IMO. They can be a good alternative if you eat on the run and find yourself grabbing higher calorie stuff like fast food or chips, but otherwise you can find a lot of things that will be much more enjoyable, filling, satisfying for the calories.

Runaroundafieldx2

L1zardQueen wrote: »

Or eat the appropriate amount of calories, everyday. Food you like to eat. Buy a food scale.

This ^^

solieco1

Real food mostly, less of it, enough of what you love to stay sane, a bit more movement - that is all. You don't have to give up anything or take anything weird. It's really just math. Plain, old boring math.

penny03681

Thanks everyone. I need to get on track without spending the additional money

amy19355

penny03681 wrote: »

Is it better to watch carbs & sugar too lose weight or do optavia?

I think what is better is to find an eating plan that works for the rest of your life. Why? to avoid the risk of yo-yo dieting.

there are a million and one stories about weight loss , weight gain, weight loss again, weight gain again - it's hard to argue with the idea that a regular everyday plan of eating sufficient calories. Pick a daily calorie goal, get a food scale, and weigh every single thing you eat, so you don't mistakenly eat more than planned.

drinking meals is boring quickly - you will soon miss the sensation of chewing things, and, as another poster said - the risk of overconsuming calories is a real risk. The sense of fullness is not the same from a liquid meal as is gotten from solid food.

and , meals in a can are EXPENSIVE.

good luck to you!

solieco1

Get a food scale and weigh by grams. It makes a huge difference. Most entries in the database you can find one with gram measurements.

Anyone got that video showing how much difference it can make handy to post so OP can get off on the right foot?

fuzzylop72

I was on optavia a long time ago (was called medifast at the time), and it worked just as well as anything else for losing weight, if you're okay drinking most of your calories. However, it's both expensive and transition to maintenance is rather difficult. They have a plan, but it's a much larger shift than just adjusting your calories up 250-500 as would be more common in a standard calorie counting approach.

Sabine_Stroehm

Find a sustainable way for YOU to eat at a caloric deficit. I'd suggest you learn how to eat to lose weight and later to maintain your weight.
You can eat what you like and weigh your food and count your calories.
You can reduce your carbs and sugar (which may help YOU with staying on track) and count your calories. You can use shakes and bars.
The question I would ask: which of those approaches teaches YOU how to maintain your weight loss after you've lost the weight?
For me it would NOT be the shakes and bars. Sure, I have some around. I use them when I need a snack, or need to eat on the go but they aren't the BASIS for my eating plan.

Because lets be real: losing weight is simple. Keeping it off is the actual goal.

Good luck.