#Optavia coach earnings

[finance-guy]

Can You Make Money With Optavia

Optavia is a Baltimore based health and wellness company. There is a wide range of Optavia products, ranging from muesli bars and snacks, to pre-made meals.

They were formerly known as Medifast, but have now decided to rebrand themselves as Optavia, and sell their weight loss and dietary products through multi-level marketing. Here at The Finance Guy, we have the opinion that you can’t make money with MLM, but we are happy to be proven wrong, so we’ll have closer look and ask can you make money with Optavia

How do you make money with optavia

To find out how you can make money in this MLM, we looked at a copy of the Optavia Compensation Plan. This document explains all the ways you can make money as an Optavia coach, as well as what you need to do in order to qualify for commissions.

The first thing that stands out is that they tell us that this compensation plan gives Optavia coaches the ability to shape their destinty and create a life of greater momentum. It’s not the first time we’ve heard similar claims in a compensation plan, but we’ll keep going.

They tell us that to earn from all 9 of their potential income streams, Optavia coaches need to be competent in 3 areas which are: - Client Support - Team Buiding - Leadership Development

Before they go into 9 ways Optavia coaches make money, they first explain that with Optavia, there are 2 types of Volume. Compensation Volume (CV) and Qualifying Volume (QV)

Compensation Volume is used to calculate how much commission coaches can earn. All Optavia products have a CV between 0% and 100%. Commissions are based on these values. Coaches will also earn CV from people they sponsor. Coaches they personally sponsored are shown as Frontline Compensation Volume (FCV). Coaches sponsored by others in their downline will contribute to their Group Compensation Volume (GCV).

Qualifying Volume is used to help determine coaches rank in the Optavia system. Their rank will determine which commissions they do or don’t qualify to earn. Just as with CV, coaches can also earn Frontline Qualifying Volume (FQV) and Group Qualifying Volume (GQV).

Client Support Commission The amount of commission Optavia coaches can earn is shown in the table below:

As we see from this diagram, coaches can earn commission from their frontline volume. That is the people who they have personally sponsored to join Optavia. It starts at 15%, but increases if the coach is able to sponsor 5 different éntities’.

If you do sponsor 5 or more front line coaches, then you will qualify for the client support bonus. This will increase depending on the monthly volume ordered by the people in your frontline. If they order a combined volume of 6,000 points, you will earn the maximum bonus of 13%, taking your total Optavia client commissions to 28%

Coach Consistency Bonus If your frontline achieves certain qualifying volumes for 3 months in a row, then Optavia will pay you a lump sum bonus. The amounts your can earn are shown below: - 2,000 FQV = $250 - 4,000 FQV = $500 - 6,000 FQV = $1,000

While these bonuses are all well and good, it’s important to remember that the person who sponsored you into Optavia can also qualify for them. In other words, the person who sponsored you has a vested interest in making you spend large amounts on Optavia every month

Coach Accelerator Bonus This is what most MLMs refer to as a ‘fast start bonus’. Optavia makes this available to new coaches for their first 3 months. If you personally sponsor 3 frontline Optavia coaches, and they each buy 345 QV worth of product in a month, you will get a lump sum payment of $150. If you manage to do this with 5 new coaches, then they’ll give you $250.

Accelerator Assist Bonus If someone you personally sponsored earns a Coach Accelerator Bonus, then you will also get paid the same amount.

These accelerator bonuses are a nice way to reward new coaches who ‘hit the ground running’. Having said that, they also create an incentive for the person who sponsored you to make you spend as much as possible as soon as you join. After all they need you to spend 345 QV or you won’t be eligible for their accelerator bonus. The person who sponsored them will be equally enthusiastic to make you spend because they too will get the bonus.

We might think that the Optavia accelerator bonuses are designed to make people sponsor new coaches and get them spending as much as possible as quickly as possible.

Team Growth Bonus This is Optavia’s version of what other MLMs would call ‘downline commissions’. Optavia coaches can only start earning this payement once they achieve the rank of ‘Senior Coach’ with Optavia. The amount of commission they earn from their down line will depend on their rank as shown in the table below:

While it’s nice that Optavia is willing to pay all these commissions, it does mean that 32% of the price Optavia Coaches pay for any products goes to their upline as a team growth bonus. On top of that up to 28% will be paid to their sponsor as a client support commission.

While they may tell you how exciting it is that you can earn all these commissions, we think it’s important to remember that 60% of what you pay for your Optavia products, goes to your upline as commission. You should also keep in mind that this is before Optavia has made any profit for themselves.

A universal challenge we find with all MLMs, is that their products or services have to be very expensive in order to include all the layers of commission offered by the MLM compensation plan.

Fully Integrated Business Coach Consistency Bonus The compensation plan tells us that you can reach a level of mastery with Optavia if you achieve their level of Fully Integrated Business Coach (FIBC). As expected the qualifications for this are volume based. To become a FIBC, you will need: 6,000 Frontline Qualifying Volume At least 5 Front Line Optavia Frontline Senior Coach Teams 15,000 in total Group Qualifying Volume for the month

If you manage to achieve all these criteria for 3 consecutive months, then Optavia will pay you a bonus for the month of $1,000. The only way to obtain this bonus is if you have a very active downline who are purchasing a lot of Optavia products.

Once again, if you have recently joined, then your upline has a vested interest in making you buy as much Optavia products as possible every month

Executive Director Gerneration Bonus To qualify for this bonus, you must first achieve the Optavia rank of Regional Director or higher. The amount you can earn will depend on how many Éxecutive Director Teams’ you have in your Optavia downline. Each time someone in your downline reaches the Optavia rank of Executive director, that leg in your downline will qualify. You don’t need to have personally sponsored the Optavia coach who reaches the rank.

The amount of Optavia Director Generation Bonuses paid at each rank are showed in the table below:

As you climb the Director ranks within Optavia, you will qualify for more and more and more generations of bonuses..

Elite Leadership Bonus These are 3 additional bonuses of 0.5% each which are paid when Optavia coaches achieve the qualifying ranks for each bonus. The qualifying ranks are National Director, Global Director and Presidential Director. These bonuses are cumulative, so an Optavia coach who reaches the rank of Presidential director, will get paid all three elite leadership bonuses.

While it’s nice that you can earn all these bonuses, it’s important to remember that they represent a total of 13.5% of the price paid by coaches for Optavia products. If we include the commissions and bonuses we looked at previously, we see that when Coaches buy Optavia products, 73.5% of what they pay goes to their upline to fund the compensation plan. And this doesn’t include the other one of cash payments that coaches may earn.

Like all MLMs Optavia will tell us how proud they are of their generous compensation plans, we see it a a problem. If they are paying so much in their compensation plan, the only way the company can turn a profit, is to include it in the price paid by Optavia coaches in their MLM

How are optavia coaches promoted

In order to qualify for all the commission available in the Optavia compensation plan, coaches will need to get promoted through the ranks of their MLM.

To reach each level, coaches must reach a combination of sponsoring and volume quotas. This is shown in the table below:

Are Optavia coaches making money

To find out if they are making any money in this MLM, we looked a copy of the Optavia Income Disclosure. All they have given us is a table of earnings for the previous 12 months, with very little explanation.

For example Optavia have not explained how they selected the coaches who are included in their table. Looking at the first line, which is Optavia Coaches who earned nothing. We see that they represent 22.42% of all coaches, and they were active for an average 13 months. This seems like a high average. Maybe Optavia is only showing us the data for Coahces who were active for the entire 12 moths. They have not told us how many coaches quit during the year, but we are guessing that like most MLMs, it is a very substantial number

While we are not convinced we have all the information, from the table they have given us we can see that: - 22.42% of Optavia Coaches earned no income at all - 2.17% of Optavia Coaches earned over $50,000 for the year (enough to replace a full time job)

Even if Optavia have given us limited information with only their most active Coaches, it still shows us that 97.83% of active Optavia Coaches earned less than a full time income

Why is it difficult to make money with Optavia

To find out why it’s hard to make money from the Optavia business opportunity, we looked at Dr Jon Tayolors 5 Step MLM evaluation. This study looks at 5 potential red flags, and Dr Taylor explained that if any MLM raises any 4 of the 5, then they should be considered a product based pyramid scheme, and not a legitimate business opportunity. They are:

Red Flag 1 - Constant Recruitment of New Members There is a strong emphasis on recruitment in Optavia. They only way to earn some commissions such as the accelerator bonuses, is to ensure that new Optavia coaches are being constantly recruited into the downline. Optavia definitely raises red flag 1!

Red Flag 2 - Promotion Through Recruitment As we saw, the only way to climb the ranks with Optavia is to meet their qualifying criteria, which includes building a downline. It is therefore impossible to get promoted without recruitment. Based on this, Optavia raises red flag 2

Red Flag 3 - Pay to Play While there is no specified quota for coaches to remain active in Optavia, there is a requirement for their downline to have Group Qualifying Volume. So even if Optavia isn’t asking you to buy product every month, it’s very likely that your upline will be pressuring your to add to their GQV. Technically Optavia didn’t raise this red flag so we won’t count it.

Red Flag 4 - Most of the Rewards go to your upline Dr Taylor warns that the compensation plans of most MLMs results in extreme inequality of payouts, he estimates that while a few people at the top make a lot of money, 99.6% of people who join MLM will lose money.

As we already noted when looking at the various commissions paid in the compensation plan, 73.5% of the price paid by Optavia coaches goes to their upline as commission. It’s safe to say Optavia has raised this red flag.

Red Flag 5 - More than 5 levels in the payout plan Dr Taylor says 'Excessive levels in a downline is another sign participants are expected to sell primarily to their downline, rather than to the general public.  This makes it an exploitative money transfer scheme, or product-based pyramid scheme'.

Optavia did not mention any limitations to the commission paid on their bonuses. Their compensation plan suggests commission is paid on the entire downline in your team. Even if someone reaches the high ‘director ranks’ the coaches above them at the equal or higher levels will receive some commission from their entire downline. Optavia definitely raises this red flag.

Based on our understanding Optavia has raised 4/5 red flags from Dr Taylors MLM evaluation system. His study found that any opportunity which raises 4 or more flags should be considered a product-based pyramid scheme.

Dr. Taylor estimated that 99.7% of participants will lose money in a business such as Optavia. The reason is that there is no real demand for the products being sold. The business is an endless recruitment chain in which only the very few at the top will make real money.

Should you join optavia

The first thing to be aware of before joining any MLM, is that it is a sales job. You are not owning your own business, and it’s not as simple as just telling a few friends to get on board with you. The only way to succeed will be to sell large amounts of the product and sign up large numbers of complete strangers into your downline.

Before you join Optavia, it would be a good idea to try some of the products and see if you would be willing to pay full price for them. At the end of the day, if you wouldn’t buy the products without being part of the compensation plan, then you can’t expect others to do so.

It might also be a good idea to look into some reviews of the Optavia diet. One review we read found that their system simply put people on a diet where their calorie intake was reduced to between 800 and 1200 calories a day. That is half the recommended caloric intake for an adult. In other words the Optavia diet is simply starving the weight off your body. While this may result in weight loss, it might not be healthy for everyone.

is Optavia an Illegal pyramid scam

Even though MLMs closely resemble pyramid schemes, they are not illegal. The reason dates back to the 1979 case of Amway vs the FTC. After 4 years in court Amway was found to be offering a business opportunity, rather than a pyramid scam. The technicalities came down to wording in their paperwork. One example requires consultants to make retail sales.

The Amway ruling effectively opened the doors for all other MLMs to operate within the law. However we should remember that being legal doesn’t make it ethical. If you knew that less than 1% of people had a chance of generating a real income, would you feel comfortable recruiting new consultants?

We also looked at the 2018 FTC Business Guidance for MLMS. The FTC explains that several activities used by MLMs to promote their business opportunities, may be misleading and unlawful.

Another issue, is that even though these rules may be in the paperwork, they are difficult to enforce. For example, several people in MLMs have said that they have cupboards full of product. This is because of the minimum monthly purchases they need to make to remain active in the system. Even though stockpiling is against the rules, there is no way for the company to monitor it.

Being legal does not make MLM ethical. All companies are in business with the goal of selling goods and services for a profit.  Network marketing companies are able to charge a higher price because they create a customer base of loyal members who believe that by consuming these products and recruiting others to do so, they will become financially free. Keep in mind that making such promises is in breach of the FTC guidance.

As always, we’d love to hear your feedback about Optavia. Feel free to share your thoughts and feedback in the comments section below:

For more posts like this, look at our list of mlm reviews. 

[noisynutcrusade]

Medifast Reports $349 Million in Q1 2023 Revenue

Medifast, the parent company of direct selling organization OPTAVIA, announced first quarter 2023 revenue of $349 million, a year-over-year decrease of 16.4% from the same time last year. This decline was primarily driven by a lower number of independent active earning OPTAVIA Coaches, which numbered 58,700 in the first quarter. Average revenue per active OPTAVIA Coach was also down by 9% to…

[myjourneytoahealthyme1]

“You get to do this for you. You get to be healthy today. It's not something that you have to do. It's something that you get to do, and you're doing it for you." and “I just want to be the best version of myself... before I felt like I had a mental cloud over my head. I didn't always put me first, my whole life has changed.” Do you have 60 days to do it for yourself, and commit to a healthier you? I have $75 instant credits for month 1 + you earn 30% in rewards (approx $100) to use towards month 2. I would love to talk today or tomorrow and hear about your health goals, and see if the health and nutrition program I followed and coach would benefit you. #NotADiet #HabitsOfHealth #HealthyHabits #OptaviaHealthyHabits #LifelongTransformation #Optavia #Optavia5and1 #Optavia5and1plan #OptaviaResults #IndependentOptaviaCoach #IndependentCertifiedOptaviaCoach #OptaviaJourney #Optavia30 #Optavia30wow #OptaviaTransformation #MyJourneyToAHealthyMe #OptimalLife #OptimalWellbeing #WeightLoss #WeightLossJourney #WeightLossTransformation #WeightLossTips #WeightLossHelp #HealthyLife #LeanAndGreen #HopeDealer (at Greensboro, North Carolina) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_rxhoOC-G/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cdigitalss]

Medifast Announces 15% Boost in Q2 Revenue  

Medifast, the parent company of direct selling organization OPTAVIA, reported 15% revenue growth during the second quarter of 2022, totaling $453.3 million. Gross profit increased 9.5% to $321.7 million, which the company attributes to higher revenue that was partially offset by elevated cost of sales.   Active earning OPTAVIA Coaches grew in number by 14.9%, totaling 68,000 by the end of the…

[gethealthy2-blog]

It's Monday! Time to refocus. Whether you're looking to grab a hold of your own health or maybe just want to earn some extra cash helping others or both, TODAY is a great day to take that step!! Need help staying on track?? Something to keep you accountable?? Be a health coach and a client. Pay it forward while helping yourself at the same time. PM me & let's chat about it. Whatever you're ready for, I can help ♡ #OPTAVIA #healthcoach #imworthit #payingitforward #beyourownboss #nocubicle #blessed #positivechange #healthylife #timeforchange #freedom #healthylife #healthyfuelings

[elizabethcariasa]

MLM Income Disclosure Statements

A collection of annual income disclosure statements published by multi-level marketing companies, continuously updated. Last updates done 11/18/19.

Some MLMs release income disclosures or earnings disclosures. These numbers are not required to be disclosed in the United States, but some of the companies do it anyway to appear transparent. The disclosures theoretically provide insight into how much distributors earn in commissions or overrides, but they are generally worthless. They are worthless because of what they do not disclose.

Multilevel marketing companies purposely omit important information that would allow potential distributors or investors to have real insight into these plans. In general, earnings disclosure statements often fail to provide the following information that is critical to understanding the plans and the results:

Total distributors throughout the year

How the total distributor count is calculated (as of a certain date, using averages, or other methodology)

Number of new distributors during the year

Number of distributors who quit during the year (so you can calculate the churn rate)

Turnover rate

Number of distributors earning $0

Definition of “active” distributor

Total number of distributors at a supervisor or leader level (i.e. have recruited other distributors)

Total number of  “active” distributors at a supervisor or leader level

Amount of product purchased by each level of distributor for the year

Below are links to the earnings disclosures found for various multi-level marketing companies:

Advocare Income Disclosures

Amway Earnings Disclosures

Arbonne Compensation Summaries

Avon Earnings Disclosures

Beachbody (Shakeology) Statement of Independent Coach Earnings

DoTerra Opportunity and Earnings Disclosure Summary

Fortune Hi Tech Marketing Income Disclosures

Herbalife Statements of Average Gross Compensation

Ignite Energy Income Disclosures

InteleTravel (PlanNet Marketing) Income Disclosure Statements

Isagenix Earnings Statements

It Works! Income Disclosure Statements

LuLaRoe Income Disclosure Statements

Mannatech Income Averages

Mary Kay Cosmetics Earnings Representations

Melaleuca Income Statistics

MonaVie Income Disclosures

Nerium (Neora) Income Declarations

Numis Network Income Disclosures

Nuskin Income Disclosures

Optavia (formerly Take Shape for Life) by Medifast Income Disclosures

Paparazzi Income Disclosures

Plexus Income Disclosure Statements

Primerica Income Disclosures

Rodan + Fields Income Disclosure Statements

Scentsy Income Disclosures

Send Out Cards Income Disclosures

Shaklee Average Income Disclosure

Stella & Dot Income Disclosures

Stream Energy Income Disclosures

Team Beachbody Statement of Independent Coach Earnings

Thirty One Gifts Income Disclosure Statement

Tupperware Income Disclosure Statements

Usana Income Disclosures

Vemma Income Disclosures

World Ventures Income Disclosures

Your Travel Biz (YTB) Income Disclosures

XanGo Earnings Disclosures

Xyngular Income Summary

Young Living Income Disclosure Statements

If you have any income disclosure statements for the above MLMs (or other major multilevel marketing companies), please send them to the email address on my Contact page.

[mlmcompanies]

Emblazoned on their home page is BeachBody’s promise…

“We do not doctor photos. Ever. All of the results you see here are real and unretouched.”

It’s a smart move because the photos show amazing transformations. And since BeachBody has been slammed for using sneaky marketing tactics that overpromise results or fail to give full disclosure, you have to wonder.

Overblown marketing aside, if you’re willing to put in the work to transform your body, this company has probably got you covered.

Beachbody is a health and wellness MLM that sells all sorts of weight loss and dieting programs like P90X, Insanity and Shakeology.

We all know someone who’s done (or sold) P90X. Whether or not that person is rocking 6-pack abs and a thigh gap, the product was a household name for a while. So is this the fitness MLM for you? Keep reading to find out.

FAQ

1. What does Beachbody sell? According to Beachbody, everything you need to get fit, including 700+ workouts and fitness PLUS nutrition plans.

2. What are Beachbody’s most popular products? Beachbody’s signature product is P90X3. This program is an upgrade of the original P90X program that was all the rage a few years ago. It’s a whole workout in half the time, and it’s supposed to be tons of fun while getting you totally ripped in 90 days. The 80 Day Obsession, is supposed to give you the abs and booty you’ve always wanted. They’re calling it a total-body transformation and expecting you to make this your number-one priority for the full 80 days. Also popular is their Shakeology, a superfood-packed protein supplement shake that gives you the nutrients you need to lose weight, reduce junk-food cravings, and enjoy healthy energy.

3. How much does it cost to join Beachbody? It costs $39.95 to become a Team Beachbody Coach. You’ll also pay $15.95 per month to cover the cost of a personalized website and back-end operations. This covers your starter kit, which includes a welcome book, 30-day access to your Coach Online Office, a personalized Coach website, and support tools to run your business.

4. Is Beachbody a scam? Not necessarily. As a customer, you’ll get the training and products you pay for. And though they obviously work for some people, they may or may not work for you. That’s true of every health and fitness program, by the way. As a coach, be aware: You’re not likely to get rich, and you may find yourself having to give out health and fitness advice that you’re not qualified to give. All to earn a few extra bucks. Now that starts to look a bit scammy.

5. What is Beachbody’s BBB rating? B+

6. How long has Beachbody been in business? Since 2007

7. What is Beachbody’s revenue? $863 million

8. How many Beachbody distributors are there? 406,000

9. What lawsuits have been filed? In 2017, Beachbody paid $3.6 million to settle a lawsuit from the city of Santa Monica over automated credit card renewals. They were also asked to tone down their marketing, so it’s not overpromising results it can’t always deliver. [1] In 2013, Consumer Labs released a report declaring that Shakeology Greenberry is not approved due to lead contamination. Beachbody denied their claim. [2]

10. Comparable companies: Optavia, It Works

Their products have become some of the hottest in the fitness and weight loss industry, so should you join up and promote this trendy company?

I’m not saying it’s impossible to make money with Beachbody, but there are better options out there if you want to make passive income.

Click here for my #1 recommendation

Either way, here’s the full review on Beachbody.

Overview

Beachbody was founded in 2007 in none other than Santa Monica, California, home of the infamous “Muscle Beach” with the lofty goal of ending obesity.

Founders Karl Daikeler and Jon Congdon, infomercial veterans (Beachbody products are also sold through infomercials), have actually been running Beachbody for decades (since 1998), but it didn’t become the direct selling company that it is today until 2007. Not coincidentally, that’s when the company’s sales skyrocketed.

By 2012 they were on the DSN’s Global 100 with net sales of $218 million, and in 2013, they increased sales by 50.5% in one year for a total annual revenue of $328 million. Astounding.

Going into 2017, they were up to $863 million in sales, so even though some of the initial hype has worn off, they’re still going strong.

While opening a network marketing arm has killed brand reputation for others, it was honestly a genius move for Beachbody, and I give them props. The problem with most network marketing companies, especially in the health and wellness industry, is that you’ve got people desperately peddling miracle pills and fat burning shakes left and right, with no solid proof or science to back up ridiculous claims (hint: Nefful).

Beachbody is an anomaly when it comes to MLM fitness. Most MLMs try to sell you on the idea that losing weight and being healthy is fast and easy, as easy as taking a pill or drinking a magical diet tea.

Beachbody does quite the opposite – they sell you on the idea that getting fit will be very, very hard work but also very, very rewarding. And it’s the truth.

Beachbody coaches are living proof – walking, talking billboards for the program. Because it’s an intense workout program and coaches have to complete the program in order to sell it, they tend to be pretty fit. At the very least, most experience pretty visible transformations in their body after completing the program. Friends and family take note, and they end up wanting to buy into the program without even having to be asked.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Beachbody coaches are spam-free. In that regard, they’re just like every other MLM. In fact, they’re one of the worst. Almost every single person has gotten a private message from a Beachbody coach subtly suggesting that they should lose some weight or has seen countless before-and-after photos pop up in their newsfeed.

How much does Beachbody cost?

In order to become a Beachbody coach, you’ll need to pay a $39.95 activation fee, as well as a $15.95 monthly fee to keep your account active.

However, you’ll also need to complete certain fitness programs and challenges if you want to sell them. Instead of paying the $39.95 activation fee, you’ll instead buy a “Challenge Pack” that ranges from $140-$305, depending on what challenge you’d like to partake in.

Products

Beachbody sells a number of different fitness and nutrition programs and products.

Fitness Products

Team Beachbody’s fitness products are mostly made up of in-home exercise videos that have become wildly popular.

P90X, their flagship program, is said to be valued at around $700 million on its own. [3]

After P90X, they released two more workouts in the same series that are more difficult – Insanity and Asylum.

They’ve since come out with tons of other programs, including a popular 21-day fitness program, a Hard Corps boot camp program, a 3-Week Yoga Retreat, Brazilian Butt Lift, Core the Force, an MMA-inspired workout program, and even Country Heat, a country dance-inspired workout, among others.

Most are month-long programs and cost around $60-80. Full-blown programs can cost upwards of $100-$200, with some nearing $300.

Nutritional Products

The company has also created nutritional apps and meal plans, as well as the nutritional shake branch that’s also gained a lot of buzz – Shakeology.

Shakeology is a weight loss program that uses meal replacement shakes of various flavors that come in at about 140 calories a piece. The program is not cheap – it retails for about $120 per month. The program offers one shake per day, with each shake costing about $4.

Now, that’s not cheap. But if it’s a legitimate meal replacement, $4 a meal isn’t outrageous, especially if it actually helps you lose weight. But with only 140 calories in the shake, it’s hard to call Shakeology shakes “meal replacements,” and $4 for 140 calories is pretty steep.

Benefits:

The Shakeology products, although expensive, do seem to be filled with mostly health, nutritional ingredients. They are made up mostly of protein, fiber, and low-fat ingredients.

Side Effects:

There is no evidence to prove that Shakeology meal replacement products provide anything more than a placebo when it comes to weight loss. Furthermore, there hasn’t been enough research to show whether or not some of the “superfood” ingredients, such as spirulina, cacao, and flax, are actually healthy to consume on a daily basis. [4]

Compensation Plan

Coaches earn 25% commission on personal retail sales, which is around average for these kinds of products. Considering the high price tag, you could make some okay side money off this alone if you’re able to make a lot of sales. For each P90X or Shakeology program you sell, which go for $120 a pop, you make $30.

You also get compensation on team cycle bonuses, which is where you can earn a little more on a regular basis.

Beachbody has a binary compensation program, pretty common in the MLM space (see the full rankings here). You get a cycle bonus every time your team completes a cycle, which is 300 TV (team volume) with at least 100 TV on your weak leg. The bonuses are $14 for Emerald Coaches, $16 for Ruby Coaches, and $18 for Diamond Coaches. This amount gets paid to you every time your team hits 300 TV.

Recap

While their products are popular and effective, there are still some concerns with Beachbody “coaches” giving fitness and nutritional advice when they are in no way trained professionals.

Not to mention, all their “advice” comes, primarily, from the motivation to make more money.

In the end, Beachbody is just as spammy and cult-like as most of the other health and weight loss MLMs out there. That doesn’t mean it’s not a good way to make some money on the side, but you just have to consider how many friends you’re willing to alienate and piss off along the way.

Look, I’ve been involved with network marketing for over ten years so I know what to look for when you consider a new opportunity.

After reviewing 200+ business opportunities and systems out there, here is the one I would recommend:

Click here for my #1 recommendation

[antionetterparker]

Beachbody: Is not doctoring photos enough to build trust here? [Review]

Emblazoned on their home page is BeachBody’s promise…

“We do not doctor photos. Ever. All of the results you see here are real and unretouched.”

It’s a smart move because the photos show amazing transformations. And since BeachBody has been slammed for using sneaky marketing tactics that overpromise results or fail to give full disclosure, you have to wonder.

Overblown marketing aside, if you’re willing to put in the work to transform your body, this company has probably got you covered.

Beachbody is a health and wellness MLM that sells all sorts of weight loss and dieting programs like P90X, Insanity and Shakeology.

We all know someone who’s done (or sold) P90X. Whether or not that person is rocking 6-pack abs and a thigh gap, the product was a household name for a while. So is this the fitness MLM for you? Keep reading to find out.

FAQ

1. What does Beachbody sell? According to Beachbody, everything you need to get fit, including 700+ workouts and fitness PLUS nutrition plans.

2. What are Beachbody’s most popular products? Beachbody’s signature product is P90X3. This program is an upgrade of the original P90X program that was all the rage a few years ago. It’s a whole workout in half the time, and it’s supposed to be tons of fun while getting you totally ripped in 90 days. The 80 Day Obsession, is supposed to give you the abs and booty you’ve always wanted. They’re calling it a total-body transformation and expecting you to make this your number-one priority for the full 80 days. Also popular is their Shakeology, a superfood-packed protein supplement shake that gives you the nutrients you need to lose weight, reduce junk-food cravings, and enjoy healthy energy.

3. How much does it cost to join Beachbody? It costs $39.95 to become a Team Beachbody Coach. You’ll also pay $15.95 per month to cover the cost of a personalized website and back-end operations. This covers your starter kit, which includes a welcome book, 30-day access to your Coach Online Office, a personalized Coach website, and support tools to run your business.

4. Is Beachbody a scam? Not necessarily. As a customer, you’ll get the training and products you pay for. And though they obviously work for some people, they may or may not work for you. That’s true of every health and fitness program, by the way. As a coach, be aware: You’re not likely to get rich, and you may find yourself having to give out health and fitness advice that you’re not qualified to give. All to earn a few extra bucks. Now that starts to look a bit scammy.

5. What is Beachbody’s BBB rating? B+

6. How long has Beachbody been in business? Since 2007

7. What is Beachbody’s revenue? $863 million

8. How many Beachbody distributors are there? 406,000

9. What lawsuits have been filed? In 2017, Beachbody paid $3.6 million to settle a lawsuit from the city of Santa Monica over automated credit card renewals. They were also asked to tone down their marketing, so it’s not overpromising results it can’t always deliver. [1] In 2013, Consumer Labs released a report declaring that Shakeology Greenberry is not approved due to lead contamination. Beachbody denied their claim. [2]

10. Comparable companies: Optavia, It Works

Their products have become some of the hottest in the fitness and weight loss industry, so should you join up and promote this trendy company?

I’m not saying it’s impossible to make money with Beachbody, but there are better options out there if you want to make passive income.

Click here for my #1 recommendation

Either way, here’s the full review on Beachbody.

Overview

Beachbody was founded in 2007 in none other than Santa Monica, California, home of the infamous “Muscle Beach” with the lofty goal of ending obesity.

Founders Karl Daikeler and Jon Congdon, infomercial veterans (Beachbody products are also sold through infomercials), have actually been running Beachbody for decades (since 1998), but it didn’t become the direct selling company that it is today until 2007. Not coincidentally, that’s when the company’s sales skyrocketed.

By 2012 they were on the DSN’s Global 100 with net sales of $218 million, and in 2013, they increased sales by 50.5% in one year for a total annual revenue of $328 million. Astounding.

Going into 2017, they were up to $863 million in sales, so even though some of the initial hype has worn off, they’re still going strong.

While opening a network marketing arm has killed brand reputation for others, it was honestly a genius move for Beachbody, and I give them props. The problem with most network marketing companies, especially in the health and wellness industry, is that you’ve got people desperately peddling miracle pills and fat burning shakes left and right, with no solid proof or science to back up ridiculous claims (hint: Nefful).

Beachbody is an anomaly when it comes to MLM fitness. Most MLMs try to sell you on the idea that losing weight and being healthy is fast and easy, as easy as taking a pill or drinking a magical diet tea.

Beachbody does quite the opposite – they sell you on the idea that getting fit will be very, very hard work but also very, very rewarding. And it’s the truth.

Beachbody coaches are living proof – walking, talking billboards for the program. Because it’s an intense workout program and coaches have to complete the program in order to sell it, they tend to be pretty fit. At the very least, most experience pretty visible transformations in their body after completing the program. Friends and family take note, and they end up wanting to buy into the program without even having to be asked.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Beachbody coaches are spam-free. In that regard, they’re just like every other MLM. In fact, they’re one of the worst. Almost every single person has gotten a private message from a Beachbody coach subtly suggesting that they should lose some weight or has seen countless before-and-after photos pop up in their newsfeed.

How much does Beachbody cost?

In order to become a Beachbody coach, you’ll need to pay a $39.95 activation fee, as well as a $15.95 monthly fee to keep your account active.

However, you’ll also need to complete certain fitness programs and challenges if you want to sell them. Instead of paying the $39.95 activation fee, you’ll instead buy a “Challenge Pack” that ranges from $140-$305, depending on what challenge you’d like to partake in.

Products

Beachbody sells a number of different fitness and nutrition programs and products.

Fitness Products

Team Beachbody’s fitness products are mostly made up of in-home exercise videos that have become wildly popular.

P90X, their flagship program, is said to be valued at around $700 million on its own. [3]

After P90X, they released two more workouts in the same series that are more difficult – Insanity and Asylum.

They’ve since come out with tons of other programs, including a popular 21-day fitness program, a Hard Corps boot camp program, a 3-Week Yoga Retreat, Brazilian Butt Lift, Core the Force, an MMA-inspired workout program, and even Country Heat, a country dance-inspired workout, among others.

Most are month-long programs and cost around $60-80. Full-blown programs can cost upwards of $100-$200, with some nearing $300.

Nutritional Products

The company has also created nutritional apps and meal plans, as well as the nutritional shake branch that’s also gained a lot of buzz – Shakeology.

Shakeology is a weight loss program that uses meal replacement shakes of various flavors that come in at about 140 calories a piece. The program is not cheap – it retails for about $120 per month. The program offers one shake per day, with each shake costing about $4.

Now, that’s not cheap. But if it’s a legitimate meal replacement, $4 a meal isn’t outrageous, especially if it actually helps you lose weight. But with only 140 calories in the shake, it’s hard to call Shakeology shakes “meal replacements,” and $4 for 140 calories is pretty steep.

Benefits:

The Shakeology products, although expensive, do seem to be filled with mostly health, nutritional ingredients. They are made up mostly of protein, fiber, and low-fat ingredients.

Side Effects:

There is no evidence to prove that Shakeology meal replacement products provide anything more than a placebo when it comes to weight loss. Furthermore, there hasn’t been enough research to show whether or not some of the “superfood” ingredients, such as spirulina, cacao, and flax, are actually healthy to consume on a daily basis. [4]

Compensation Plan

Coaches earn 25% commission on personal retail sales, which is around average for these kinds of products. Considering the high price tag, you could make some okay side money off this alone if you’re able to make a lot of sales. For each P90X or Shakeology program you sell, which go for $120 a pop, you make $30.

You also get compensation on team cycle bonuses, which is where you can earn a little more on a regular basis.

Beachbody has a binary compensation program, pretty common in the MLM space (see the full rankings here). You get a cycle bonus every time your team completes a cycle, which is 300 TV (team volume) with at least 100 TV on your weak leg. The bonuses are $14 for Emerald Coaches, $16 for Ruby Coaches, and $18 for Diamond Coaches. This amount gets paid to you every time your team hits 300 TV.

Recap

While their products are popular and effective, there are still some concerns with Beachbody “coaches” giving fitness and nutritional advice when they are in no way trained professionals.

Not to mention, all their “advice” comes, primarily, from the motivation to make more money.

In the end, Beachbody is just as spammy and cult-like as most of the other health and weight loss MLMs out there. That doesn’t mean it’s not a good way to make some money on the side, but you just have to consider how many friends you’re willing to alienate and piss off along the way.

Look, I’ve been involved with network marketing for over ten years so I know what to look for when you consider a new opportunity.

After reviewing 200+ business opportunities and systems out there, here is the one I would recommend:

Click here for my #1 recommendation

via https://mlmcompanies.org/beachbody/

[clamonnaturalhealth]

What are the best foods to eat for weight loss? If you’re trying to loose a few pounds, you probably already know the foods you eat make a big difference in your weight loss efforts. It’s NOT just about calories in and calories out! There is so much more to it than that, other factors include exercise, health issues, diet, medications your taking and their side effects, etc. The foods we eat can boost our efforts and give us an edge on our weight loss. The most important things to do  for successful weight loss is eating well and exercising, but if you want to boost your efforts, read this article of the best foods to boost weight loss. Researchers say that these weight-loss foods are some of the best you can add to your diet to help you lose weight. Here are 15 super foods to add to your daily diet that will help boost your weight loss.

1. Nuts

They ARE packed with monounsaturated fatty acids, good fats that lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes and MAY help you control your appetite. Eating a high-protein, high-fat snack, such as almonds, increases your calorie burn for as much as 3 1/2 hours. 1 ounce of almonds boosts Vitamin E levels, which increasing memory and cognitive performance. People who eat pistachios for 3 months loose 10-12 pounds on average.

2. Eggs

Those who eat eggs (including the yolk, which contains nearly half the protein and all the nutrient choline) reported higher energy levels and lost 65% more weight than those eating high carbohydrate breakfast (with no effect on their cholesterol or triglyceride levels), egg protein helps boost muscle strength and development, more than other proteins do because of its high concentrations of the amino acid leucine. And egg protein is also better at keeping you from getting hungry over a sustained period.

3. Whole Grains

Those that eat whole grains daily weighed 2 1/2 pounds less than those who ate only refined-grain foods. Whole-grain eaters loose 2.4 times more belly fat than those who ate refined grains. Whole grains more favorably affect blood-sugar levels, which means they don’t cause wild swings in blood sugar and pump up cravings after you eat them. Plus, the antioxidants in whole grains help control inflammation and insulin (a hormone that tells your body to store belly fat).

4. Avocado and Other Healthy Fats

Just because a food has a lot of fat and calories in it doesn ‘t mean it is bad for you. Certain foods cause you to gain weight because they provoke hormonal changes that trigger cravings. One hunger-control hormone, leptin, becomes blocked by starchy, sweet, fatty, and refined carbohydrate foods. Avocados however aren’t fattening, because they’re loaded with healthy fat and fiber and don’t cause major changes in blood sugar levels. So eat and enjoy the fat in avocados, olive oil, and nuts, their fats are good for you!!

5. Meat (Pasture-Raised and Free-Range are best if available)

Grass-fed beef, chicken, and pork is leaner and healthier than animals raised the conventional way, and will help trim away pounds. A 3 1/2 oz serving of grass-fed beef has only 2.4 grams of fat, compared with 16.3 grams for conventionally raised beef. In fact, grass-fed beef is so much more nutritious that it’s almost a different food. It ‘s the same with chickens. Higher in omega 3 fats improve your mood, boost your metabolism, sharpen your brain, and help you lose weight.

6. Environmentally Sustainable Fish

Choosing seafood isn’t always easy. Some species (swordfish, farmed salmon) contain obesity-promoting pollutants (dioxins, PCBs). So what kind of fish should you eat? Mostly small, oily ocean fish (herring, mackerel, sardines) are low in toxins and are high in good fats. Wild Alaskan salmon, Pacific Halibut, Rainbow Trout, and Yellowfin tuna are generally low in toxins and high in nutrients. And then there are fish that we should avoid like farmed (or “Atlantic”) salmon, farmed tilapia, Atlantic cod, Chilean Sea Bass, and farm raised shrimp.

7. Raspberries and Other Berries

Avoid the habit of overindulgence in bad snacks by eating foods that are rich in antioxidants. And berries are your best choice. Berries that give you the most antioxidant are cranberries, black currents, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, pomegranates.

8. Instant Oats

If you do nothing else to your diet other than add more oats and you will lose 9 pounds in a year, without effort. Instant oats are one of the easiest ways to get more fiber in your diet. Oats as well have 10 grams of protein per 1/2-cup, they deliver steady muscle-building energy. Choose oatmeal that contains whole oats and low sodium and which also has whole-grain wheat flakes and flaxseed.

9. Cruciferous Vegetables and Other Leafy Greens

Cruciferous vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, brussle sprouts, kale, cabbage, swiss chard, and Bok choy are rich in folate, and the more folate you get in your diet, the lower your risk of obesity, heart disease, stroke, cognitive impairment, Alzheimer ‘s, and depression.

10. Apples and Other Fruit

Why are apple so potent? Because we eat the peel, The peel is a great way to add more fiber and nutrients into your diet. But there ‘s a downside: The peel is where fruit tends to absorb and hold on to most of the pesticides they are exposed to, apples and peaches are the worst. That ‘s why for maximum weight-loss I strongly recommend you buy organic, as much as possible, apples, pears, peaches, and other fruits that you eat the peel.

11. Navy Beans and Other Legumes

Bean and Legume eaters live longer and weigh less. People who eat 3/4 cup of beans daily weigh 6 pounds less than those who don’t eat beans. Also people who eat one and a half servings of beans a day (3/4 cup) have lower blood pressure and a smaller waist than those who skip the beans in favor of other proteins.

12. Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate improves heart health, lowers blood pressure, reduce LDL (bad cholesterol), decrease the risk of blood clots, and increase blood flow to the brain. Dark chocolate boosts serotonin and endorphin levels, which improves mood and boosts levels of concentration. Dark Chocolate is rich in B vitamins and magnesium, which are cognition, it has a small amounts of caffeine, which helps with short-term concentration, and it contains theobromine, a stimulant that is different from that in caffeine.

14. Enzymes and probiotic (Yogurt)

probiotic and enzymes are the friendly bacteria found in yogurt, they may just be the key to losing those last few inches from around your waist. They help the digestive system work properly, they also have a profound effect on your metabolism. The bacteria Lactobacillus paracasei and Lactobacillus rhamnosus can change how much fat is available for the body to absorb by influencing stomach acids during digestion. Not all yogurt are probiotic, make sure the label says “live and active cultures.” Other foods containing probiotic include kefir, acidophilus milk, miso soup, soft cheeses, pickles, and sauerkraut. Kefir is excellent in smoothies in place of milk or water! (Another great way to get probiotics in your diet is supplementation. A good multi-vitamin mineral supplement that aids in weight loss is the THRIVE system by Le-Vel here’s an article telling you more about weight loss supplements and THRIVE. Weight Loss Supplements article    THRIVE )

15. Tea and Other Healthy Beverages

Most people get at least 25% of their calories, a whopping 450 calories, a day from sodas, sweetened teas, and the like. If you trade just one of those sodas a day for water or unsweetened tea or coffee, you ‘ll lose 2 1/2 pounds a month. In fact, cutting back on liquid calories has a bigger impact on calories from food. Instead of sugary beverages, try green tea, which is high in the plant compound called ECGC, which aids in burning fat.

On a Personal Note:

I started a new program two months ago and I must tell you the combination of Optavia and THRIVE supplements has helped me lose 35 pounds to date. I believe strongly in both these programs and I have attached links below to an article and the websites for these products.

Optavia Program article

Optavia Program website

THRIVE Supplements

Optavia Program 

Our innovative plans and products empower and equip you to create life long transformation in your own life. Our comprehensive healthy lifestyle offering can help you safely and effectively reach and maintain a healthy weight and adopt habits for a lifetime of health. There are three components that create a foundation for transformation: 1. Scientifically-Proven Products and Programs 2. Your FREE Health Coach and a Community of Support 3. The Habits of Health System to Create Lasting Health

DISCLAIMER:

The information here is NOT medical advice. Do not institute any changes in your current health programs without consulting your Medical provider. For medical advice please consult your private physician or preferred health service provider.

DISCLAIMER:

So as per FTC Regulations I would like to let you know that I do have affiliate links throughout this blog. The links provide me with a small percentage of commission but do not cost you anything extra. I (Elizabeth) is also a participant in multiple Affiliate Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking.

Weight Loss – 15 super foods to help you lose weight What are the best foods to eat for weight loss? If you're trying to loose a few pounds, you probably already know the foods you eat make a big difference in your weight loss efforts.

[noisynutcrusade]

Medifast Reports $1.6 Billion in 2022 Revenue

Medifast, the parent company of direct selling organization OPTAVIA, released its fourth quarter and full year financial results for 2022. In Q4, revenue for the company reached $337.2 million, a 10.7% decline from the previous year’s quarter, with a net income of $26.5 million and earnings per diluted share of $2.41. Each OPTAVIA Coach earned an average revenue of $5,538, a 12.4% decrease from…

[mlmcompanies]

The mission is attractive: Lifelong Transformation, One Healthy Habit at a Time.

After all, who doesn’t want to be transformed?

Add to that Optavia’s own transformation: from Take Shape for Life to a new, modern brand name in 2016, and from analog to completely digital. Today, coaches share their personal stories of transformation through social media. Meetings, support calls, coach support calls, business calls — they’re all done through Webinars.

Which all adds up to an attractive MLM that may be a valid business opportunity.

Optavia is a popular health and wellness MLM company that offers products backed by science. Eat less, exercise more. Come on people, this weight loss thing isn’t rocket science. Or is it?

Optavia, with its “roots in scientific rigor,” claims that weight loss can actually be a very scientific thing, and they’ve got some medical and corporate backing.

FAQ

1. What does Optavia sell? Optavia sells a line of food products called “Fuelings,” available in kits or as individual items, ranging from full meals to light snacks. The full line is separated into two categories: Essential and Select. Their claim to fame is 37 years of experience, products used by more than 1 million clients, and recommendations from more than 20,000 doctors since its founding.

2. What are Optavia’s most popular products? The Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is based on eating six small, 800- to 1,000-calorie meals per day to put your body into a gentle but efficient fat burning state while maintaining lean muscle mass. The idea is to make healthy eating become second nature.

3. How much does it cost to join Optavia? Optavia products are sold through coaches. To become a coach, you’ll need to buy an Optavia Business Kit, which costs $199 and contains tools, plan information, and 12 months of free access to your personalized Optavia website.

4. Is Optavia a scam? No. Optavia is a brand under a publicly traded company, Medifast. It was ranked #56 on Direct Selling News’ Global 100. And it’s expanding around the world

5. What is Optavia’s BBB rating? A+

6. How long has Optavia been in business? Since 2002

7. What is Optavia’s revenue? The company rarely shares Optavia-specific financials, but publicly traded Medifast (the parent company) reports strong earnings that are growing consistently. The second quarter of 2018 marked the largest revenue and profit quarter in the history of Optavia, hitting $117.3 million.

8. How many Optavia distributors are there? 19,700

9. What lawsuits have been filed? In 2013, a class-action suit was filed against Medifast for not being forthright about revenues to deceive investors. It was dismissed. [1] In 2012, a subsidiary of Medifast, Jason Pharmaceuticals, who creates their Fuelings meals, paid $3.7 million settlement over deceptive ads. The Federal Trade Commission said it violated a 1992 FTC settlement agreement by making unsupported claims to its weight-loss program. [2, 3] In 2011, Medifast sued Sequence for $270 million, alleging defamation, criminal conspiracy, unfair business practices, and market manipulation. The case was dismissed. [4]

10. Comparable companies: Isagenix, IDLife

So should you get involved?

I’m not going to say you won’t make money with Optavia, but there are certainly better options out there…

Click here for my #1 recommendation

Either way, here’s the full review on Optavia.

Overview

This company is confusing to evaluate because you see a lot of different names. Here’s how it works…

Medifast is the parent company. It’s been recommended by over 20,000 doctors since 1980. [5] Optavia is a subsidiary and is the MLM part of the company. Prior to 2016, it was known as Take Shape for Life.

They were founded by the perfect duo – Bradley MacDonald (who has since passed), Chairman of the Board of Directors for Medifast and big business expert, and Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen, a major critical care physician.

Their Medifast products are backed by doctors and clinical studies, while the healthy lifestyle program is created by Dr. Andersen. They’ve also got a personal component thrown in there in the form of their distributors, or “Health Coaches.”

So they’ve got some science and research to back them up. Although, to be honest, there’s not a shred of evidence that suggests their supplements and shakes work any better than any other brand.

In 1992, Medifast did get themselves tangled up in a lawsuit regarding their weight loss claims (saying people were losing 5 pounds a week), and the Federal Trade Commission ended up ruling against them.

However, that was a good while ago, and they seem to have shaped up.

Medifast, a publicly traded company. Revenue has been trending upward for at least 3 years and hit $117.3 million, an increase of 54.9% year-over year in 2018. Their Optavia branch specifically is doing even better, up 54.9% in year-over-year revenue at a whopping $117.3 million in the second quarter of 2018. [6]

Products

Optavia sells all kinds of diet foods, shakes, bars, and smoothies galore through their website, and they’ve got a few different lines of product.

OPTAVIA “Fuelings” are diet food products that have bold flavors and specialty ingredients from around the world, and come in 30-day kits with samplings. They sound pretty tasty, to be honest — they’ve got a chia bliss smoothie, an aged cheddar chipotle mac and cheese, and a cinnamon cream cheese swirl cake, to name a few.

Optimal Weight and Optimal Health Meal Replacement products include bars, shakes, smoothies, and drinks on the light end and hearty choices, soups, breakfasts, and desserts on the heavier end.

Lean & Green Meals are healthy meals, such as chicken and rice with vegetables or beef stew, that include a lean protein and a vegetable. They come pre-packaged in boxes of six servings.

Snacks include crisps, popcorn, and crackers.

Flavor Infusers are nutritional flavor packets for water, in everything from Raspberry Acai to Mixed Berry. They are free of artificial flavors and colors, have no preservatives, and provide additional B vitamins.

Supplements include various herbal supplements for digestive health, heart health, and melatonin.

Their individual products aren’t cheap but they aren’t terribly priced. A 7-serving box of their chocolate peanut butter shake is $18.95. A 6-serving box of chicken cacciatore is $29.70. At $4.95 a serving, it’s still way cheaper (and healthier) than eating out.

But their real money makers are their Optimal Health Programs, weight loss programs and kits that get you to buy bulk amounts of their food and snacks on a regular basis, along with a “free” Health Coach…

The Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is for people looking to drop significant amounts of weight, and consists of 5 Optimal Weight Meal Replacements (for example, a soup, a meal, a bar, a smoothie, and a dessert) and 1 Lean & Green Meal each day. Meal replacements are consumed once every 2-3 hours and the Lean & Green Meal is for whenever you feel like you need it.

The Optimal Health 3&3 Plan is for people who have already achieved their weight loss goals and want to make sure they’re maintained. The program includes 3 Optimal Health Meal Replacements (for example, one bar, one shake, and one smoothie), and then you prepare 3 balanced meals yourself each day.

The meals and snacks can be vegetarian-friendly. They are kosher. Many are gluten-free. And they contain no artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners.

A big problem with weight loss is lack of support and motivation, so it’s awesome that that’s also built into the program. It really sets them apart from other weight loss and nutrition MLMs (like Herbalife, Isagenix, or Vasayo). When you buy into one of their programs, your distributor becomes your Health Coach and you get to join a community of other people on the program. [7]

The program also includes Dr. A’s Habits of a Healthy System, which really helps you make a lifestyle out of healthy eating. [8]

I like that these are clearly not starvation diets, and they’re focused on helping you lose weight in a healthy way rather than all at once. The average weight loss for clients who follow the program is 20 pounds. [9]

However, this stuff ain’t cheap.

It costs $300+ for a 30-day BeSlim kit, and that includes only a sampling of the shakes, bars, and meals, you would eat throughout the month.

French Vanilla Shake

Dutch Chocolate Shake

Peanut Butter Crunch Bar

Chocolate Mint Crunch Bar

Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Cereal Crunch

Original Pancakes

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Parmesan Cheese Puffs

Chocolate Pudding

Strawberry Shake

Orange Cream Shake

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chewy Bar

Caramel Crunch Bar

Brownie Soft Bake

Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal

Hearty Vegetarian Sloppy Joe

Cinnamon Pretzel Sticks

FREE TSFL Blender Bottle*

5 FREE Client Choices*

Considering that the 5&1 weight loss program requires you to consume 6 products a day, this kit isn’t enough to provide even half your consumption for the month.

But, depending on how much you normally spend on food each month, this program might be worth the expense.

Compensation Plan

Their compensation plan is very different, and it’s not fully clear either.

Rather than giving their Health Coaches a wholesale discount and allowing them to make retail profit, Health Coaches and regular customers pay the same exact amount for products. In fact, new customers just order product directly from the company.

Health Coaches, then, don’t get discounts on personal orders either.

Health Coaches also aren’t compensated for recruiting new distributors. [10]

On top of all that, if you want to become a Health Coach, you have to buy a Health Coach Business Kit (training and marketing materials) for $199. [11]

So wait…

How the heck do you make any money?

Well, compensation is paid off as a percentage of the retail dollar amount of commissionable goods in an order by one of their customers.

You get a commission from your clients because they actually have to pay for your coaching and support in addition to buying their food products.

There are also bonuses for team growth and leadership, just no direct commission for recruitment. [12]

What’s more, there are no long-term rank advancements. Your pay is based only on your current monthly performance.

A little weird, but hey, I kind of like the straightforwardness. More like a real business opportunity.

Recap

So their compensation plan is a little more honest and a little less pyramid-y than your typically MLM.

And their weight loss program is healthier and more effective than a lot of weight loss programs.

That’s all great, but does that mean you’ll be making any money?

You might get some good side cash if you build a strong client-base, but you’re definitely not getting rich.

Look, I’ve been involved with network marketing for over ten years so I know what to look for when you consider a new opportunity.

After reviewing 200+ business opportunities and systems out there, here is the one I would recommend:

Click here for my #1 recommendation

[antionetterparker]

Optavia: Authentic Transformation or Just Another “Miracle” Diet MLM? [Review]

The mission is attractive: Lifelong Transformation, One Healthy Habit at a Time.

After all, who doesn’t want to be transformed?

Add to that Optavia’s own transformation: from Take Shape for Life to a new, modern brand name in 2016, and from analog to completely digital. Today, coaches share their personal stories of transformation through social media. Meetings, support calls, coach support calls, business calls — they’re all done through Webinars.

Which all adds up to an attractive MLM that may be a valid business opportunity.

Optavia is a popular health and wellness MLM company that offers products backed by science. Eat less, exercise more. Come on people, this weight loss thing isn’t rocket science. Or is it?

Optavia, with its “roots in scientific rigor,” claims that weight loss can actually be a very scientific thing, and they’ve got some medical and corporate backing.

FAQ

1. What does Optavia sell? Optavia sells a line of food products called “Fuelings,” available in kits or as individual items, ranging from full meals to light snacks. The full line is separated into two categories: Essential and Select. Their claim to fame is 37 years of experience, products used by more than 1 million clients, and recommendations from more than 20,000 doctors since its founding.

2. What are Optavia’s most popular products? The Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is based on eating six small, 800- to 1,000-calorie meals per day to put your body into a gentle but efficient fat burning state while maintaining lean muscle mass. The idea is to make healthy eating become second nature.

3. How much does it cost to join Optavia? Optavia products are sold through coaches. To become a coach, you’ll need to buy an Optavia Business Kit, which costs $199 and contains tools, plan information, and 12 months of free access to your personalized Optavia website.

4. Is Optavia a scam? No. Optavia is a brand under a publicly traded company, Medifast. It was ranked #56 on Direct Selling News’ Global 100. And it’s expanding around the world

5. What is Optavia’s BBB rating? A+

6. How long has Optavia been in business? Since 2002

7. What is Optavia’s revenue? The company rarely shares Optavia-specific financials, but publicly traded Medifast (the parent company) reports strong earnings that are growing consistently. The second quarter of 2018 marked the largest revenue and profit quarter in the history of Optavia, hitting $117.3 million.

8. How many Optavia distributors are there? 19,700

9. What lawsuits have been filed? In 2013, a class-action suit was filed against Medifast for not being forthright about revenues to deceive investors. It was dismissed. [1] In 2012, a subsidiary of Medifast, Jason Pharmaceuticals, who creates their Fuelings meals, paid $3.7 million settlement over deceptive ads. The Federal Trade Commission said it violated a 1992 FTC settlement agreement by making unsupported claims to its weight-loss program. [2, 3] In 2011, Medifast sued Sequence for $270 million, alleging defamation, criminal conspiracy, unfair business practices, and market manipulation. The case was dismissed. [4]

10. Comparable companies: Isagenix, IDLife

So should you get involved?

I’m not going to say you won’t make money with Optavia, but there are certainly better options out there…

Click here for my #1 recommendation

Either way, here’s the full review on Optavia.

Overview

This company is confusing to evaluate because you see a lot of different names. Here’s how it works…

Medifast is the parent company. It’s been recommended by over 20,000 doctors since 1980. [5] Optavia is a subsidiary and is the MLM part of the company. Prior to 2016, it was known as Take Shape for Life.

They were founded by the perfect duo – Bradley MacDonald (who has since passed), Chairman of the Board of Directors for Medifast and big business expert, and Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen, a major critical care physician.

Their Medifast products are backed by doctors and clinical studies, while the healthy lifestyle program is created by Dr. Andersen. They’ve also got a personal component thrown in there in the form of their distributors, or “Health Coaches.”

So they’ve got some science and research to back them up. Although, to be honest, there’s not a shred of evidence that suggests their supplements and shakes work any better than any other brand.

In 1992, Medifast did get themselves tangled up in a lawsuit regarding their weight loss claims (saying people were losing 5 pounds a week), and the Federal Trade Commission ended up ruling against them.

However, that was a good while ago, and they seem to have shaped up.

Medifast, a publicly traded company. Revenue has been trending upward for at least 3 years and hit $117.3 million, an increase of 54.9% year-over year in 2018. Their Optavia branch specifically is doing even better, up 54.9% in year-over-year revenue at a whopping $117.3 million in the second quarter of 2018. [6]

Products

Optavia sells all kinds of diet foods, shakes, bars, and smoothies galore through their website, and they’ve got a few different lines of product.

OPTAVIA “Fuelings” are diet food products that have bold flavors and specialty ingredients from around the world, and come in 30-day kits with samplings. They sound pretty tasty, to be honest — they’ve got a chia bliss smoothie, an aged cheddar chipotle mac and cheese, and a cinnamon cream cheese swirl cake, to name a few.

Optimal Weight and Optimal Health Meal Replacement products include bars, shakes, smoothies, and drinks on the light end and hearty choices, soups, breakfasts, and desserts on the heavier end.

Lean & Green Meals are healthy meals, such as chicken and rice with vegetables or beef stew, that include a lean protein and a vegetable. They come pre-packaged in boxes of six servings.

Snacks include crisps, popcorn, and crackers.

Flavor Infusers are nutritional flavor packets for water, in everything from Raspberry Acai to Mixed Berry. They are free of artificial flavors and colors, have no preservatives, and provide additional B vitamins.

Supplements include various herbal supplements for digestive health, heart health, and melatonin.

Their individual products aren’t cheap but they aren’t terribly priced. A 7-serving box of their chocolate peanut butter shake is $18.95. A 6-serving box of chicken cacciatore is $29.70. At $4.95 a serving, it’s still way cheaper (and healthier) than eating out.

But their real money makers are their Optimal Health Programs, weight loss programs and kits that get you to buy bulk amounts of their food and snacks on a regular basis, along with a “free” Health Coach…

The Optimal Weight 5&1 Plan is for people looking to drop significant amounts of weight, and consists of 5 Optimal Weight Meal Replacements (for example, a soup, a meal, a bar, a smoothie, and a dessert) and 1 Lean & Green Meal each day. Meal replacements are consumed once every 2-3 hours and the Lean & Green Meal is for whenever you feel like you need it.

The Optimal Health 3&3 Plan is for people who have already achieved their weight loss goals and want to make sure they’re maintained. The program includes 3 Optimal Health Meal Replacements (for example, one bar, one shake, and one smoothie), and then you prepare 3 balanced meals yourself each day.

The meals and snacks can be vegetarian-friendly. They are kosher. Many are gluten-free. And they contain no artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners.

A big problem with weight loss is lack of support and motivation, so it’s awesome that that’s also built into the program. It really sets them apart from other weight loss and nutrition MLMs (like Herbalife, Isagenix, or Vasayo). When you buy into one of their programs, your distributor becomes your Health Coach and you get to join a community of other people on the program. [7]

The program also includes Dr. A’s Habits of a Healthy System, which really helps you make a lifestyle out of healthy eating. [8]

I like that these are clearly not starvation diets, and they’re focused on helping you lose weight in a healthy way rather than all at once. The average weight loss for clients who follow the program is 20 pounds. [9]

However, this stuff ain’t cheap.

It costs $300+ for a 30-day BeSlim kit, and that includes only a sampling of the shakes, bars, and meals, you would eat throughout the month.

French Vanilla Shake

Dutch Chocolate Shake

Peanut Butter Crunch Bar

Chocolate Mint Crunch Bar

Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Cereal Crunch

Original Pancakes

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Parmesan Cheese Puffs

Chocolate Pudding

Strawberry Shake

Orange Cream Shake

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chewy Bar

Caramel Crunch Bar

Brownie Soft Bake

Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal

Hearty Vegetarian Sloppy Joe

Cinnamon Pretzel Sticks

FREE TSFL Blender Bottle*

5 FREE Client Choices*

Considering that the 5&1 weight loss program requires you to consume 6 products a day, this kit isn’t enough to provide even half your consumption for the month.

But, depending on how much you normally spend on food each month, this program might be worth the expense.

Compensation Plan

Their compensation plan is very different, and it’s not fully clear either.

Rather than giving their Health Coaches a wholesale discount and allowing them to make retail profit, Health Coaches and regular customers pay the same exact amount for products. In fact, new customers just order product directly from the company.

Health Coaches, then, don’t get discounts on personal orders either.

Health Coaches also aren’t compensated for recruiting new distributors. [10]

On top of all that, if you want to become a Health Coach, you have to buy a Health Coach Business Kit (training and marketing materials) for $199. [11]

So wait…

How the heck do you make any money?

Well, compensation is paid off as a percentage of the retail dollar amount of commissionable goods in an order by one of their customers.

You get a commission from your clients because they actually have to pay for your coaching and support in addition to buying their food products.

There are also bonuses for team growth and leadership, just no direct commission for recruitment. [12]

What’s more, there are no long-term rank advancements. Your pay is based only on your current monthly performance.

A little weird, but hey, I kind of like the straightforwardness. More like a real business opportunity.

Recap

So their compensation plan is a little more honest and a little less pyramid-y than your typically MLM.

And their weight loss program is healthier and more effective than a lot of weight loss programs.

That’s all great, but does that mean you’ll be making any money?

You might get some good side cash if you build a strong client-base, but you’re definitely not getting rich.

Look, I’ve been involved with network marketing for over ten years so I know what to look for when you consider a new opportunity.

After reviewing 200+ business opportunities and systems out there, here is the one I would recommend:

Click here for my #1 recommendation

via https://mlmcompanies.org/optavia/