What Do You Eat for Dinner While on Optifast?

A nutrition counselor will guide you on what foods to choose.

A nutrition counselor will guide you on what foods to choose.

Optifast is a medically prescribed weight-loss program that you undertake with your doctor's supervision if you have serious weight issues. Designed for adults with a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 and above, the initial phase of the program consists of complete meal replacement. After that, you can expect to transition to partial-meal replacement, where you'll replace all except one meal with Optifast foods. During this phase, you can choose dinner as the self-prepared meal.

How Optifast Works

Optifast is a very low-calorie-diet and behavior modification program. During phase 1, called active weight loss, you choose Optifast products for all of your meals. You will eat a total of 800 to 1,000 calories a day. The initial phase typically lasts 12 weeks, during which rapid weight loss is expected. Optifast meals are designed to provide fewer calories than regular meals. The products are fortified with the vitamins and minerals your body needs while on the program.

Phase 1 Dinner Options

Optifast offers ready-to-drink shakes, shake mix and soup mix as main meals and bars for snacks. You can choose a shake or soup for dinner. The shakes come in three flavors -- strawberry, French vanilla and chocolate -- and contain 160 calories. Soups come in two flavors, zesty garden tomato and creamy chicken. The soups contain between 160 and 170 calories. The shakes and soups provide 14 grams of protein and about 20 grams of carbohydrates.

Phase 2 Dinner Guidelines

You can choose one non-Optifast meal during phase 2, the transition phase, which usually lasts six weeks. During the program, you'll meet with a dietitian for nutrition counseling. You'll learn what foods to choose for a healthy dinner. The guidelines state that your meal must be low-calorie and highly nutritious. The dinner you choose also depends on your current health status. For example, if you have diabetes, your dietitian may recommend choosing a dinner that is low-glycemic in addition to being low in calories and nutritious.

Low-Calorie, Nutritious Dinner Ideas

For your non-Optifast meal during phase 2, you'll likely aim to fill most of your plate with non-starchy vegetables, since they're low in calories, contain fiber and are highly nutritious. Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, collards, turnip greens and broccoli are nutrient-dense. You can pair vegetables with a lean protein such as a 3-ounce serving of skinless chicken breast or 98 percent lean ground turkey. Other lean sources of protein include tofu, legumes and beans, which you can use in place of meat.

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