The Unpleasant Truth About The “5&1” Diet Plan From a Chronic Bad Eater Who Finally Managed to Lose Weight (What She Did Instead)

Is it really possible to eat whatever you want, don’t watch calories, and melt away stubborn fat for good from the comfort of your home while hardly exercising? 

Well, the truth is – not really, no!

Despite what many online personalities may tell you – it’s quite hard to lose weight!

Especially if you’re above the age of 50 (like me).

I’ll be the first one to admit this.

I’ve tried a lot of different diets. Including the ever-so-popular 5&1 diet plan, which I’ll go in-depth about below.

But it wasn’t until I went through this long and tiring journey of losing weight that I learned something very important about myself. Something I think you might find useful as well.

If you’re struggling to lose weight or you’re considering the trendy 5&1 diet plan (or its variations), I hope you can learn from my mistakes.

I went from chasing the latest trendy diets that I hoped would magically solve my problems to finally sticking with one consistent diet that completely changed my approach to weight loss.

My name is Linda, I’m a mother of 2, and I’m from Oregon. Here’s how I managed to lose weight for good in my 50s when I felt trapped in my body. 

It was as if I blinked and had put on a noticeable amount of weight

I knew that your metabolism slows down after the age of 50. But I was not expecting to feel the changes almost overnight.

I was suddenly overweight. Knocking on the door of obesity at 53 years “young.”

My doctor said I could develop heart problems down the road, and if my joints could talk, they’d be screaming out in pain.

Deep down, I knew he was right. 

I was simply out of breath from going up the stairs. Putting aside the self-esteem and body image issues I was starting to develop because of my weight…

Now, I’m not going to lie. This made me sad for quite a while and I had a hard time starting a diet.

I’ve always loved cooking and eating food. Especially with my family. Regular celebrations and feasts with my closest friends were a regular occasion at my house.

In my mind, going on a diet meant giving all of this up. Not just the food, mind you.

Rather, not being able to see my friends and family. Being judged for not spending time with my loved ones. And missing out on the simple joy of enjoying my meals.

So, that’s when I discovered this diet that supposedly lets you eat 5–6 times a day and still lose weight.

The ugly truth about the 5&1 diet and how I fell for the online hype

Now, here’s a disclaimer:

I’ve never been big on diets. My ideal “diet” is someone telling me what to eat and when.

But now, when I first started the Optavia diet, I was at a low place. I felt insecure and desperately wanted to lose weight fast.

They tell you, “Look at me! I already lost 15 pounds! I’m shrinking each week!“

Which, of course, is the hook that brought me in like most people.

“Sign me up!” I said within an hour.

I got assigned a meal plan where I got to eat 6 times a day, a different meal every 2–3 hours: 5 Optavia Fuelings and 1 Lean and Green meal daily.

So far, so good, I thought. The meals were pre-packaged neatly, and I thought eating so frequently would make the diet fly by.

But that’s when the first red flag crept in.

Eat so many times per day and still lose weight? What’s the catch? What, exactly, will I be eating?!

If you’re wondering, the Optavia Fuelings include foods like soups, bars, hot beverages, health shakes, sometimes pretzels, and so on.

Meanwhile, Lean and Green include more savory foods like cooked lean protein. Things like salmon, lamb, chicken, egg whites, and more.

And for the record – if you’re vegan, then you can forget about the Optavia diet completely.

Personally, I felt hungry almost the whole day while I was on this diet. Counting seconds until it was time for my “main meal.”

I lasted just over 1 month on the Optavia 5&1 diet plan. I lost weight but gained more of it back on.

I lost around 7.2 lbs in that time. Which sounds nice and all, but I was absolutely grumpy the whole time, and I knew I couldn’t do it for long.

Eating around 1,000 calories per day is just too low!

Especially for someone my age.

While I did lose around 7 lbs, I gained around 9–10 lbs back.

Why?

Whenever I tried introducing something new to my diet, something as simple as fruit, certain bread, or even my beloved oat milk lattes, I felt like I was gaining the weight back the next day.

The diet had taken the joy from the small things I enjoyed in my life and I was devastated.

After doing some research, I found out I wasn’t the only one struggling.

Apparently, diets that are about 800 calories are considered “very low-calorie diets,” and they should be medically supervised! 

I even read on WebMD that extreme calorie restriction can cause fatigue, brain fog, headaches, or even menstrual changes.

The whole time I was on the 5&1 diet, I felt like I was following someone else’s diet.

They didn’t consider my taste buds, my lifestyle, my weight, and most importantly – my age.

So, I knew I had to find something better. 

Luckily, I discovered a way that would change my approach to weight loss diets altogether

When I was doing research on the 5&1 diet to see if anyone else was struggling, I saw someone recommend following a personalized diet instead.

They were saying that, unlike the 5&1 Optavia plan, personalized diets take your lifestyle into consideration. They ask about your favorite meals, what kind of meat you like (if any), and your general goals.

Apparently, you can even continue eating some of your favorite foods.

Now, it all sounded too good to be true. 

But I decided to take the free 2-minute quiz anyway. Wouldn’t hurt, I thought.

So, when this personalized diet claimed it had 1,000+ unique food variations for me, I was skeptical, to say the least. It also claimed 87% of people had lost more than 22+ lbs following their personal plans.

And unlike the 5&1 diet, I’d be eating around 1,500+ calories per day, eating real food.

Well, this is the diet I stuck with, and as you might have guessed – yes, it worked!

Why PerfectBody helped me lose weight for good when other diets failed

All of my skepticism disappeared 1 week into my new diet when I realized I felt full after my lunch.

I thought I had struck gold!

This diet really takes things back to the essentials.

You only have to eat under a certain number of calories if you want to lose weight.

It’s just that keeping track of meal plans, counting calories, macros, and writing down thousands of recipes and healthy alternatives to your favorite meals on your own is next to impossible.

But here’s the thing:

Thanks to the PerfectBody app, you don’t have to do any of this!

The app is like having a personal nutritionist in your pocket who holds your hand along each step of your weight loss journey.

I would wake up, look at the app, and continue with the easy-to-follow daily meal plan. 

And then, throughout the day, the app was also automatically keeping track of how many calories I was eating, my carbs, protein, and fat intake.

The 2-minute quiz that “fixed” my long-fought diet problems completely

I’m not afraid of cravings anymore, and I’ve never felt better mentally.

Whenever I’m craving something unhealthy, PerfectBody recommends a healthier alternative that hits the spot and fills me up just as well.

Before, I was struggling with brain fog from exhaustion and felt like I was starving myself.

Now, my lifestyle has been completely transformed and I’m never going back. I feel like I get to enjoy life again, without stressing about my weight or my food.

The best part is that I feel the weight is off for good. Even when I spoil myself here and there, I don’t feel like I’ve ruined my whole dieting efforts.

It took me probably up to a half year of struggling with Optavia and other fad diets on-and-off until I found PerfectBody.

For the first time in a while, I feel like I’m enjoying life again. Not being a slave to my diet or struggling with my body weight.

And now, I hope you can experience this for yourself too.