WHY OPTIFAST®
The OPTIFAST® program goes way beyond the typical liquid diet. To help ensure your long-term success, OPTIFAST® clinics provide personal support and lifestyle education throughout the program.
OPTIFAST® before bariatric surgery?!
Some OPTIFAST® clinics and bariatric surgery centers offer special programs that help patients lose weight in advance of their weight loss surgery.
“Why should I lose weight beforehand,” ask some patients, “when I’ll lose so much weight afterward?” The fact is, the heavier the patient, the greater the risks you and your surgeon face. Clinical data show that using OPTIFAST® before surgery can help patients lose enough weight to significantly reduce health risks associated with various procedures. Moreover, the lifestyle changes patients learn as part of the OPTIFAST® program help prepare them for life after surgery.
If you are considering weight loss surgery or are scheduled for a procedure, talk to your physician about the benefits of pre-surgical use of OPTIFAST®. It could make a meaningful difference in your health before surgery, during surgery, and long afterward.
Some of the benefits include:
- Reduced risk for complications during surgery
- Reduced recovery time
- Increased weight loss first year following surgery
Proven Benefits of OPTIFAST®
Unlike fad diets, the OPTIFAST® program has been proven effective in more than 80 clinical studies and by more than 1 million people who have participated in the program since 1974.
OPTIFAST® succeeds because it treats the whole you – not just your weight. It combines support and counseling, comprehensive lifestyle education by medical professionals with a great-tasting meal replacement to help people lose weight and significantly reduce weight-related health risks.
A Plan That Fits Your Lifestyle and Provides Support
The OPTIFAST® program goes way beyond the typical liquid diet. To help ensure your long-term success, OPTIFAST® clinics provide personal support and lifestyle education throughout the program. Some of the features include:
- One-on-one counseling sessions with a registered dietitian
- Small group discussions led by a registered dietitian
- Peer support from current and past OPTIFAST® participants.
- Educational materials created especially for OPTIFAST® patients.
- Customized activity plans appropriate to your fitness level and schedule.
OPTIFAST® health care professionals understand the challenges overweight individuals face as they become active. That’s why they partner with you to make the transition to healthy, active living.
Great-Tasting Meal Replacement
The well-documented weight loss success of the OPTIFAST® Program is based on the use of meal replacements during the active weight loss phase of the program. The benefits include:
- High-quality, complete nutrition
- Pre-portioned and calorie-controlled servings
- Quick and simple preparation
- Freedom from having to make food choices
Some people are skeptical about their ability to follow such a diet, but adjusting to full meal replacement typically only takes about one week. Afterward, many patients report they feel more energetic than they have for a long time.
Positive change can occur quickly. In addition to losing weight, you will improve your health, learn new, healthier eating and activity skills so that when you return to self-prepared foods, you are better equipped to manage your weight long term.
A Medical Program
The OPTIFAST® Program includes ongoing monitoring to assess your progress towards better health, and that the doses of any medications you are taking and/or the calorie level of your diet are adjusted as you lose weight.
Monitoring includes:
- A thorough preliminary medical review of any conditions to determine your health status and rule out any risk factors.
- A personalized weight loss plan, based on your health status and weight loss goals.
- Continued guidance and monitoring of your progress, health, and wellbeing throughout the course of treatment.
- Communication with your primary care physician, if necessary.
The OPTIFAST® Program has worked with the top experts in the obesity field since 1974 and regularly shares the latest developments and research with all our clinics.