The OPTIWIN study demonstrates how well people do with a program like the AEA weight loss program that uses total meal replacement as the main treatment to help people lose weight and then keep that weight off. People who used meal replacements had almost double weight-loss compared to regular food-based diets over 1-year.
During the first six months, participants in the total meal replacement group were assigned to a diet of meal replacements only for up to 16 weeks, followed by a gradual reintroduction of food through week 26. The food-based group was assigned to a reduced-calorie diet without meal replacements. During the next 6 months, the meal replacement group received one to two meal replacements daily, plus food, to achieve maintenance, and the food-based group remained on a low-calorie diet to achieve maintenance. Researchers found that the frequency of nonresponders was lower in the total meal replacement group compared to the food-based group at all time points.
The tolerability and safety of the program is exceptionally good when compared with a food-based strategy. Meal replacements make dieting quite easy. You eat and drink your meals without having to make decisions or have decision anxiety.
