Optimum Nutrition is one of the best known supplement companies in the world, and there’s one reason: Gold. Standard. ON’s Gold Standard Whey is probably the most popular whey protein powder on the market, lining the shelves at any and every supplement store in the United States and offering pretty solid macros at a pretty solid price.
But a company the size of ON produces a lot of different supplements, and we’ve tried a lot of them: creatine, BCAAs, pre-workouts, vegan protein, and more. Today we’re taking a look at their “meal replacement protein powder drink mix” called Opti-Fit.
The product’s slogan is “Helps Keep You Full” and while there’s certainly a good amount of protein and fiber to produce that effect, there’s also a pretty great nutrition panel as well. Let’s take a look.
Optimum Nutrition Opti-Fit Shake Nutrition Info
One serving is two scoops and provides 200 calories: 25 grams of protein, 16 grams of carbohydrates (6 grams of fiber and 3 grams of sugar), and 3.5 grams of fat (1.5 grams of saturated fat). There’s 25 percent of your daily cholesterol per serving.
The micronutrients are very impressive, providing roughly 20 percent of the recommended daily intake of 23 vitamins and minerals, from Vitamin A to zinc. The only nutrients that aren’t here are Vitamin K and choline, and it’s a little low in potassium with 8 percent of the RDI.
Optimum Nutrition Opti-Fit Shake Ingredients
Most of the ingredients are just the vitamins and minerals themselves, but it’s worth taking note of a few things.
The protein is a blend of whey and casein and the carbs come from a lot of “whole food” sources like chickpeas, oats, flaxseed, and chicory root.
There’s also xanthan and guar gum for thickeners and stabilizing, artificial flavors and sweeteners (sucralose is the sweetener), and soy lecithin for mixability. Allergen-wise, this product contains milk, soy, and possibly wheat.
Find out which are the best meal replacements of all in our complete list!
Optimum Nutrition Opti-Fit Shake Benefits & Effectiveness
There’s a lot to like here. Sure, the nutrition is missing a couple of micronutrients, but this has a fifth of the daily intake of almost every single vitamin and mineral we need. It’s also tested by Informed Choice for banned substances, which might be good news for competitive athletes who are concerned by such things.
The macros are pretty good. This has more protein than most meal replacements and I liked that the protein is a blend of whey and casein, since casein digests much more slowly than whey and should help with that feeling of “fullness” the product is aiming for.
It’s not a great source of calories and fat, though. For a lot of people, when they hear “meal replacement” they figure there will be about as many calories, fat, carbs, and protein as you’d get in a well balanced meal. This is low in fat and low in calories, so it’s a little closer to “very nutritious and filling protein shake” than meal replacement. Then again, that’s all many people want from their meal replacement anyway.
Optimum Nutrition Opti-Fit Shake Price
Tubs of 1.83 pounds go for somewhere between $20 and $25 for 16 servings, which makes it roughly $1.50 per serving. Most meal replacements are about $2 or $2.50, so Opti-Fit is very reasonably priced.
Optimum Nutrition Opti-Fit Shake Taste
You can drink this with water, but the directions on the back strongly suggest you use 10 ounces of unsweetened almond milk, which I did. The end result tastes like very sweet dark chocolate with a hint of oats.
The Takeaway
This is a pretty solid product, especially given how cheap it is. The main complaints someone might have are the high cholesterol content (25% of the RDI) and the artificial flavors, but if those aren’t issues for you then you’ll be satisfied with Opti-Fit.
Optimum Nutrition Opti-Fit
Per Serving: ~$1.50
Pros
- Great for satiety
- Inexpensive
- Contains a good amount of whole foods (oats, chickpeas)
- Certified by Informed Choice
Cons
- Not much potassium, Vitamin K, choline
- Has artificial flavors and sweeteners
- Kind of high in cholesterol
- Not a great source of fat or calories