I have already briefly talked about the Optavia method : it is the meal replacement diet that allowed the famous ” Cake Boss ” to lose weight. In this article, I describe how to lose weight with meal replacement according to the Optavia method , with suggestions of replacement meals that have less “junk” than most of the replacement meals on the market.

And which obviously are not those of Optavia, which do not exist in Italy, but have the same number of calories and distribution of nutrients.

Those looking for a 100% natural alternative can instead find recipes in the book “The diet of natural replacement meals” by Dcomedieta and then apply this method by skipping the personalized plans according to their needs, both in sweet and savory versions.

SLIMMING WITH SUBSTITUTE MEALS ACCORDING TO THE OPTAVIA METHOD

Rules: eat every 2-3 hours and take a half hour / hour walk every day in the first phase. In the following: a half hour walk every day + 20 minutes of physical activity 2-3 times a week.

First stage. 

In the first phase, 5 meals are made, one of which, nicknamed “Lean and Green”, to be cooked at home.

Breakfast: meal replacement with a vegan smoothie type Sunwarrior Chocolate Vegetable Protein or a normal milk smoothie type Ekopura bio protein – Cocoa , obtained by mixing a scoop of about 25-30 grams in a glass of water. Coffee or tea can be added as long as it is sugar-free but with stevia.
Snack: half a glass of meal replacement.
Lunch: a cucumber or a quarter of fennel + a glass of meal replacement.
Snack: like mid-morning.
Dinner.120 grams of chicken, veal or turkey breast, or omelette of 150 grams of egg white + a slice of ham, or 120 grams of white fish of your choice or 70 grams of grilled tofu or seitan. Mixed salad with a teaspoon of oil, or grilled radicchio, spinach, Chinese cabbage, endive, escarole, chicory. Herbs and aromatic spices to taste.
A herbal tea sweetened with stevia.

The first phase should be followed until most of the weight is lost, and for about 2-8 weeks depending on how much you want to lose. The loss is approximately 6-7 pounds per month. 

Second phase. 

In the second phase, you have 6 meals a day, 4 of which with a replacement meal, a “Lean and Green” meal to cook at home and 1 snack.
Breakfast: as in the first phase.
Mid-morning and afternoon snacks: as in the first phase.
Lunch and dinner: as in the first phase. At dinner you can vary the vegetables with mushrooms, courgettes, cucumbers, fennel, peppers, tomatoes.
Extra snack: 150 grams of kiwifruit, oranges, pineapple, strawberries, red fruits, peach or 200 grams of melon.
This phase is transitional, and is used to lose the last 2-4 pounds. It must last from 2 to 5 weeks.
The loss is approximately 3-4 pounds per month.

Third stage. 

In the third phase, three meals a day with meal replacement are eaten, three normal meals. It is the maintenance phase.
As an alternative to meal replacements, I italicize what to eat.
Breakfast: as in the first phase, or 150 grams of white skimmed yogurt + 3 shortbread biscuits or a pack of pavesini or two rusks with a little jam or a small banana. Or a homemade dessert of your choice with a maximum of 150 calories plus 150 ml of skimmed milk or sugar-free soy milk.
Snack: as in the first phase, or 200 ml of skimmed milk or 150 ml of unsweetened apple juice + 5 almonds.
Lunch:60 grams of pasta or rice or grains or legume pasta. 40 grams of low-fat cheese between ricotta and primosale, or a large egg or a small can of well-drained tuna in oil or 100 grams of drained legumes in a jar. Simple sauce or 150 grams of vegetables or vegetables of your choice. A teaspoon of oil.
Snack: as in the first phase, or 125 grams of vitasnella / soy yogurt + a walnut or a small shortbread.
Dinner: as a Lean and Green dinner + a 25 gram slice of toast or 100 grams of potatoes. Vegetables can vary according to your choice, in free quantity. Plus: 5 grams of dark chocolate or 3 almonds and a sugar-free herbal tea.
Extra snack:150 grams of kiwi, oranges, pineapple, strawberries, red fruits, peach or 200 grams of melon.

In the case of dinner out, lunch with the family, etcetera: the first phase is followed for all other meals and the sneaky dinner is considered as Lean and Green.