Are you looking to become a health or weight loss coach? During your research did you stumble across OPTAVIA coach? Or maybe an OPTAVIA coach is trying to recruit you?
Welcome! We’ve heard the good and the bad, and we got curious too. Today, we’re sharing everything we learned.
By the way, we’re Cass + Tee, the duo behind this blog, and our company, Lovely Impact. We’re web designers turned coaches, and we are OBSESSED with all things coaching including certifications, news, branding, web design, trends, and more.
This brings us to OPTAVIA.
Is it legit or is it a scam? Is it a pyramid scheme or MLM? Should you become an OPTAVIA coach? What would that look like?
Keep reading to learn more about becoming an OPTAVIA Health Coach!
P S. We are not affiliated with them at all, so this is a completely objective review.
What is OPTAVIA?
OPTAVIA is a company that has become popular by providing weight-loss plans to its clients. It is focused on “fuelings,” aka food, that clients purchase to help themselves shed weight. The company creates these foods, and they are portion controlled.
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Clients can also eat other foods, and the company recommends at least thirty minutes of exercise per day. OPTAVIA has nutrition plans for weight loss maintenance as well as weight loss. These plans advise clients to eat many small meals per day, rather than just a few large ones.
OPTAVIA promotes a high protein diet, and is focused on calorie restriction through the meals that they provide. Many adults will only eat around 1000 calories per day when following this diet, which does generally lead to weight loss.
Clients can choose from multiple different plans to find one that suits them.
What is An OPTAVIA Coach?
OPTAVIA offers its customers access to coaches, and these coaches are there to help the clients complete the programs successfully, stay on track with their goals, and build healthy eating habits that will make them feel and look better.
A coach is often the customer’s first point of contact, and they will be given lots of guidelines on how to support and help clients. As a coach, you will be provided with a whole section of information on client answers to help ensure that you have everything you need to help clients with their journeys.
A coach is part of OPTAVIA’s Habits of Health system, and will work one on one with clients throughout this process. Again, all relevant training will be provided.
How Much Do OPTAVIA Coaches Make?
An OPTAVIA coach’s rate of pay will vary, because they are compensated based on their qualifications and other factors.
There are three different opportunities to earn as an OPTAVIA coach:
- Leadership Development income for Business Leader Competency
- Team building income for Business Coach Competency
- Client Support income for OPTAVIA Coach Competency
There are then ten different avenues via which coaches can earn money. Coaches will be rewarded for a whole range of activities, including client acquisition, mastery of these three levels, team building, and sponsorship.
Coaches will also earn money through client bonuses, team growth bonuses, leadership bonuses, and client support commissions, among other areas. Coaches can earn very varying amounts of money, depending on how much effort and time they put into their work.
To maximize your earnings with OPTAVIA, you need to build and monitor coach teams, not just work independently.
As an example, a senior coach is paid 4%, while an executive director is paid 12%.
What Does An OPTAVIA Coach Do?
An OPTAVIA coach is there to help the company’s customers make the most of the products that they are buying and consuming. A coach’s duty is to provide clients with encouragement and guidance, answering any questions that they may have about the diet.
The main role of the coach is to provide one on one support in the Habits of Health System, which is an exclusive offering only OPTAVIA can provide. This helps clients build healthy habits to keep their eating on track and help them enjoy, as well as follow, the program to lose weight.
A coach will also encourage clients to participate in activities offered by OPTAVIA, including events and webinars. They also will provide support in terms of exercise routines.
Additionally, they are also responsible for informing Nutrition Support if any adverse reactions to the products or programs offered by OPTAVIA occur. Coaches should redirect clients to medical professionals if asked questions about medication, behavior, eating disorders, or medical nutritional therapy. Certain exercise questions should also be referred to field experts.
How Do I Become An OPTAVIA Coach?
You can become an OPTAVIA coach by applying through the company. You should talk to your own OPTAVIA coach about becoming a coach and how to proceed with it. They will give you an insider look at what being a coach is like and what it involves.
You should then get a business kit from OPTAVIA. This kit contains everything that you need to know about running your own business, and everything you need to know about being a coach. With this done, you’ll be well set to get started.
Next, you can get engaged with the coaching community. This is a very supportive network of coaches who all work together to support each other, overcome issues, and follow the OPTAVIA system for success.
It is required that you talk to a coach before you can sign up.
Is There An OPTAVIA Coach Certification?
Yes, there is! In an attempt to ensure that coaches can demonstrate their skills, OPTAVIA offers a certificate. This covers the Habits of Health Transformational System that the company provides, and shows that coaches are officially affiliated with the OPTAVIA program.
You can purchase this from the Coach Store, and you will do a brief exam on the system before receiving it.
If you have already passed the previous exam that the company offered, you don’t have to retake the exam. Your original score will remain visible when you look at the course revisions, and you don’t have to redo it at the moment.
In the future, they may require you to retake the course to show that you are up to date with all present material.
Who Are The Top OPTAVIA Coaches?
There aren’t necessarily “top” coaches inside the OPTAVIA program, but on the site, you can see several stories of successful coaches featured. For example, you should see video clips with Pat Staude, Alex McMillian, and Lindsey and Jeremy Nicks.
These are all coaches who have enjoyed great success and happiness on the OPTAVIA coaching program. You can also see many more stories featured on the website, with the individual coach’s explanation of what they enjoy about their job.
Is OPTAVIA Health Coach A Pyramid Scheme?
No, OPTAVIA Health Coach is not a pyramid scheme, although it has had some misrepresentation and bad press.
BUT, in our opinion, it is MLM… multi-level marketing.
In order to maximize your earnings, you must sign up other coaches and become a manager of those coaches. If you don’t do this, you will still earn money, but your earnings will remain low, and you will not receive many of the bonuses that are available.
Also, the competition to make money increases as you sign people up, which can make the system challenging to manage.
You can find testimonials of successful coaches on the OPTAVIA site, although it should be noted that these are individual success stories and not representative of the overall success rate.
Final Thoughts: Should I Become An Optavia Coach?
Although we can’t tell you what to do, we are not fans of MLM coaching. Your earnings are restricted, you have to recruit others, and if the company gets investigated or closes, everything disappears and you’ve branded your coaching business under them.
It may seem like a quick way to get started, but the long way of getting certified, creating your own offers, and launching your coaching business is the better and more secure route to take.
Here’s how to get started:
First, you can learn how to be a weight loss coach with this affordable weight loss coach certification on Udemy HERE >>
Second, join our resource library HERE and download our business coaching checklist.
Third, create your signature program by reading THIS >>
Fourth, use our Brand Clarity Guide for Coaches HERE, and weight loss logo template HERE to create a professional looking brand.
Last, launch your business using our weight loss coaching website HERE >>
About The Author
Hey! I’m Cass, a brand coach and the Co-Founder & Chief Brand Officer at Lovely Impact, a website template shop for coaches. I help coaches elevate their businesses with beautiful branding and websites. Here on our blog, my content focuses on branding, web design, and storytelling.
Hey! I’m Tee, a brand and marketing coach and the Co-Founder & CMO at Lovely Impact, a website template shop for coaches. I help coaches grow their coaching businesses digitally. Here on our blog, my content focuses on web design, marketing, business, and social media strategy.
If and when I become an optavia coach, can I then train my clients to become coaches.
Hi Ralph! Yes, like other MLMs, with Optavia you can have coaches under you. Optavia would train them and you would manage them and make money when they signed clients. You would be their mentor/coach as they built their coaching businesses.
Do I need a business license to be an Optavia coach?
Hi Keena! Coaching is an unregulated industry in the United States, so you do not need any licenses to get started. I am not sure about other countries, so do you research if you live outside of the US.
I want to say that I am on the program with a coach and the results are very positive. I am not a coach, may become one some day. But the biggest success for me has been the controlling of my diabetes. This concept does work whether MLM or not.
That’s so good to hear Steve! I think other coaches would love to see your comment who are thinking about joining OPTAVIA. It’s so good to hear from an actual person that is getting coached. That says a lot about the program, and that you took the time to share your experience.
I’ve experienced the same results. I’m thinking if I become a coach I’ll have to stay accountable…. Still thinking it over.
PJ, that’s awesome to hear you’re considering becoming a weight loss coach! Accountability is key, and you’re already on the right track. If you have any questions or need some guidance, we’re here to chat. You got this! ?✨
I m currently a client – very satisfied with the program and my coach! I am considering becoming a coach as a way to help people live their best healthiest lives. I think that for anyone that feels like they can honestly help others, it is a great company.
Thanks for sharing Margaret! I’m so happy to hear that OPTAVIA has happy clients. We’d love to hear from more coaches, could you share this article with your coach? Open to learning about their experience as a coach and how it has been for them.
I am a client and have been an Independent Optavia Health Coach for approximately a year and a half. I became a health coach for several reasons: accountability, the desire to inspire others and to earn money to pay for my Fuelings. I have been thrilled with my progress. I lost 80 pounds in 8 months and have maintained a healthy weight since May 2020. I truly believe that without the support of my fellow clients and coaches, I would have gone back to my bad habits. I feel amazing and confident in my ability to lead a healthy lifestyle. Our company and coaching family provides free training and resources for coaches and clients to help maintain our health progress and to grow both personally and professionally. I have worked with other Multilevel Marketing Companies in the past, I wasn’t as successful as I have been during my time with Optavia. I find this work much more rewarding because I am helping others learn skills to help them transform their health and their lives. I believe the program is simple to follow and the business is like any business, it takes determination and hard work to create a successful business. I have goals that I have achieved and I know I will achieve so many more. Belief in yourself and in the product comes when you see what this program can do for you and those you partner with.
Hi Konni! ?
Thank you so much for sharing your inspiring journey with us and the rest of the Lovely Impact community! ?
It’s amazing to hear that you’ve found so much success as an Optavia Health Coach, and that you’ve been able to achieve your health and business goals through the support of your fellow coaches and clients. We agree that having a strong community can make all the difference when it comes to maintaining healthy habits and achieving lasting results.
We appreciate your insights about the program and the business, and we wholeheartedly agree that success in any venture requires determination, hard work, and a belief in oneself and in the product. It’s great to hear that you find the work of helping others transform their health and their lives so rewarding. ?
Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience with us, Konni! We wish you continued success in your coaching journey, and we’re here to support you in any way we can! ?
Best,
Cass and Tee
Hi Margaret, my name is Judith Golino, I was on, the 5/1 plan, I was very satisfied, with the program, I lost 8 pounds in four weeks, I love the program, the only setback I have, is that it is very expensive, I know people that have been on this plan for a long time because they have at least 100 pounds to lose, but I can’t imagine how they can afford to stay on it from month to month at this price. I am retired and I live on a pension and Social Security, do you know of another plan less expensive? I only have 15 pounds to lose., Please advise
Hi Judith, if you would like to know how I paid for my program. I would be happy to share that with you.
Hi. Do you have a coach I can contact and work with? One of my patients has a coach at Optavia Medifast that has given her a link to see a doctor at LifeMD to work with a doctor for GLP-1 review and access. Optavia and LifeMD partnership seems to have started. I looked it up and LifeMD has a GLP-1 weight management program with potential medications like Wegovy and Ozempic. Dr. Dansinger
Hi Dr. Dansinger! You can contact an Optavia coach by searching on their website here: https://www.optavia.com/us/en/find-a-coach
Hi there Dr. Dansinger, your post requesting a coach contact is many months old, so you might have already found one… if not, you would be welcome to contact me, Sally Macklin, at sally@heartforhealth.info. Yes, OPTAVIA is embracing medically supported weight loss drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic, but recognizing, as I hope you do, that habit change is an essential component of MSWL for clients to attain long term success. Therefore ,what we coach, habit transformation and creating a healthy mindset, is vital.
Hi there!
I have been coaching as part of the OPTAVIA team for 9 years now, and it’s definitely the most rewarding business I’ve been involved with. I have met so many amazing people that have become true friends, and I am surrounded by support and encouragement , which is sometimes needed when you are pouring into people – you can’t pour from an empty cup. I would not want to be a coach without this support. Being able to help people truly change their lives, seeing relationships improve, and helping people find freedom from the restrictions of poor health Is so rewarding, and gives me something to be excited about every day. I continue to be amazed at the high level of training that is provided to me – for FREE – from my coach mentors. Our coaching resources and materials just keep getting better and better. Our compensation plan is fantastic… basically the more lives we change , the more we are rewarded financially, and this is especially reflected in monthly bonuses. Last but not least, I’ve heard it said that coaching is like a life insurance policy on your own health journey – so true. Nothing like leading others to make you accountable for your own health!
If anyone is interested in coaching, we set up a Coach Explore call – there is never any pressure… and what we focus on is how coaching helps that person meet their goals – whether that’s extra income, meaning and purpose, personal accountability, or my favorite , a healthy community of friends. And then – fun fact, I do not benefit financially UNTIL that person has acquired 5 clients and become successful themselves – so its in my interest to do everything I can to help my new coach be successful! (I think this is where the MLM label doesn’t fit ). Also, it’s one thing to help someone regain their health, but it’s a special kind of joy to help someone else help their friends! So rewarding ! Highly recommend !
Hey Sally! Your journey with OPTAVIA sounds absolutely incredible and so inspiring! It’s amazing how you’ve not only grown personally but also how you’re empowering others in their health and wellness journeys. The sense of community, support, and the rewarding nature of the work you’re doing shines through in your words. Thanks for sharing your experience and insights – it’s truly motivating for anyone considering a path in coaching.