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  Optifast^® Success Stories
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Rather than meeting a friend for a drink, a coffee or a meal, arrange to go for a walk, play a game of tennis, or take a dip at the beach.

Why Optifast® VLCD™?

If you want to choose a life of energy, activity, and healthy eating, you need a brilliant Action Plan, to help you live the life you would prefer to live.  You need the Optifast^® VLCD™ program!

The Optifast^® VLCD™ program combines a clinically proven, very low calorie diet with an extensive and flexible lifestyle program, which incorporates recipes and advice for healthy eating along with an exercise planner.

The program aims to not only help you lose weight and improve your health, but most importantly to educate you on how to make sustainable lifestyle changes that will help you keep the weight off long term.

Optifast^® VLCD™ has been widely researched and successfully and safely used worldwide by millions of patients since 1974. Unlike fad diets, the Optifast^® program has been proven effective in numerous clinical studies.

Optifast^® succeeds because it treats the whole you - not just your weight. It combines support and counselling, comprehensive lifestyle education and medical monitoring with a great-tasting very low calorie diet range to help people lose weight and significantly reduce weight-related health risks.

Simple and effective

The Optifast^® VLCD™ program is incredibly simple to follow. Meals are replaced with Optifast^® VLCD™ products, which are designed to restrict energy intake, whilst still maintaining healthy nutrition. Reducing calorie (energy) intake means the body starts to draw energy from its own fat stores. Research has shown that very low calorie diets produce greater initial weight loss than other forms of energy restriction (9-26kg over 4-20 weeks). The Optifast^® VLCD™ program may be more effective when combined with a simple exercise plan. Modifying your lifestyle by adjusting diet and exercise can be simple with the Optifast^® VLCD™ program.

What is involved in the Optifast^® VLCD™ Program?

In the early stages, Optifast^® is designed to totally replace normal food intake. As you start to lose weight, normal meals are then gradually re-introduced. There are 11 products in our range - each of which contains carbohydrates, essential fatty acids and high quality protein (which helps preserve lean body mass). There are four stages to the Optifast^® VLCD™ program and your health professional can advise which is the most appropriate phase of the program for your individual weight loss needs. Click on the tabs below to find out more.

The Optifast^® VLCD™ program can also help you make lasting lifestyle changes with a simple meal and exercise planner, available free to online members.

• Intensive Phase
• Transition Phase
• Maintenance Phase
• Stabilisation Phase

Phase One: Intensive Phase

The Optifast^® VLCD™ products and 2 cups of low starch (green) vegetables (with 1 tsp of oil per day with vegetables) are the only sources of nutrition in this phase. The total daily calorie intake is <800 Cal per day. Download the Additional Allowances PDF

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3 Optifast® VLCD™ sachets or bars	+	2 Litres of Water	+	2 Cups Low Starch Vegetables	+	1 Tsp of Oil

Phase Two: Transition Phase

The Optifast^® VLCD™ products are no longer the only source of nutrition. Transition phase (six weeks): Two Optifast^® VLCD™ sachets or bars are consumed along with a low calorie evening meal (500 calories). This increases the total daily calorie intake to 800-880 kcal. Low starch vegetables should also be continued. The evening meal is substituted in this phase, purely for social reasons. You may prefer to tailor this for the individual and substitute the morning meal or lunch meal instead.

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2 Optifast® VLCD™ sachets or bars	+	2 Litres of Water	+	2 Cups Low Starch Vegetables + 2 Fruit serves + 1 Low Calorie Meal*

^{*Less than 500 calories per serve.}

Phase Three: Maintenance Phase

One Optifast^® VLCD™ sachet or bar at lunch time. Low calorie meals are prescribed at breakfast (approx. 350 calories) and dinner (approx. 500 calories). This increases the total daily calorie intake to approximately 1000 kcal. Low starch vegetables should also be continued. Continuing to avoid starchy food and vegetables may help prevent water retention and apparent weight regain.

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1 Optifast® VLCD™ sachet or bar	+	2 Litres of Water	+	2 Cups Low Starch Vegetables + 2 Fruit serves + 2 Low Calorie Meals*

^{*Less than 500 calories per serve.}

Phase Four: Stabilisation Phase

The Optifast® VLCD™ products are eliminated. The total calorie intake is approximately 1200 calories; 350 kcal in the morning, 350 kcal at lunchtime and 500 kcal in the evening. The nutrition component of the Stabilisation phase requires ongoing monitoring for meal plan adjustments and education.

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2 Litres of Water	+	2 Cups Low Starch Vegetables + 3 Low Calorie Meals*

^{*Less than 500 calories per serve.}