The medically supervised OPTIFAST® meal replacement protocol at our Edgemont clinic in NW Calgary — run as a combined program with GLP-1 therapy, with close monitoring through the intensive phase and a structured transition back to food.
OPTIFAST® is a formulated total meal replacement designed for use under medical supervision. During a defined intensive phase, nutritionally complete products replace your usual meals. Two things happen as a result: you get a large, controlled energy deficit with the nutrition still accounted for, and you stop making dozens of small food decisions a day — which for many people is the harder of the two problems.
It is a protocol with a beginning, a middle, and an end: an intensive phase, a structured transition that reintroduces regular food in stages, and a maintenance phase. Skipping the last two is the most common way people lose weight on a meal replacement and then regain it. Our longer guide walks through the OPTIFAST® program and its three phases in full.
Both of our OPTIFAST® programs pair the protocol with GLP-1 treatment, because the two work on different parts of the same problem. The meal replacement phase creates the deficit and takes the daily decisions off the table; the medication acts on the appetite signalling that pushes intake back up afterwards — which is exactly the mechanism that ends most intensive diets. Together, the intensive phase has something holding the result in place once regular food comes back.
Whether medication is appropriate for you is a clinical decision made at assessment, and it is never a requirement of care.
An intensive phase is a real physiological change, not a diet plan.
Blood pressure and blood glucose commonly shift during rapid weight loss, and existing doses can become too high as a result. Reviewing and adjusting them as you go is core pharmacist work, and it is the single strongest argument for doing this under supervision.
Weekly or bi-weekly visits during the intensive phase, with health and laboratory review as clinically indicated, plus body composition tracking so we can see whether you are losing fat or lean mass.
Reintroduction is staged and planned, and it is where the result is kept or lost. Behavioural coaching and a maintenance plan are built into the program rather than left to you at the end of it.
Every fee is published before you book. OPTIFAST® product and medication costs are billed separately.
An intensive, medically supervised program combining GLP-1 therapy with the OPTIFAST® meal replacement protocol.
Medication and OPTIFAST® product costs billed separately.
Our most comprehensive program for patients seeking significant weight loss and long-term maintenance.
Medication and OPTIFAST® product costs billed separately.
Not sure this is the right intensity? The GLP-1 program starts at $155, and all five programs are listed together.
It suits people who need a substantial, structured change rather than an incremental one — often after diet-based approaches have been tried repeatedly — and who are willing to commit to a defined intensive phase with frequent visits. It is not appropriate for everyone, and suitability is determined at assessment against your medical history, current medications, and goals.
If you are weighing this against medication alone, the honest answer is that they are different intensities of the same idea rather than rival approaches. Book an assessment and we will tell you which one fits your situation, including if the answer is neither.
Medically reviewed by Wessam Sakr, BScPharm, RPh — Clinical Pharmacist, Certified Bariatric Educator (Obesity Canada) and Certified Diabetes Educator (Diabetes Canada). Reviewed 25 August 2026. This page is general information, not medical advice for your situation. Program recommendations are made collaboratively between the clinician and the individual, based on medical history, goals, and clinical suitability. Not all services are appropriate for every patient.
OPTIFAST® is a formulated total meal replacement used under medical supervision. For a defined intensive phase, nutritionally complete products replace usual meals, which removes day-to-day food decisions and produces a large, controlled energy deficit. It then transitions structured food back in, followed by a maintenance phase.
The three-month intensive program is $1,100 and the six-month comprehensive program is $1,500. Both fees cover clinical care only — OPTIFAST® product and any medication are billed separately.
Both of our OPTIFAST® programs are designed as combined programs that pair the meal replacement protocol with GLP-1 therapy, because the two address different parts of the problem. Whether medication is appropriate for you is determined at your assessment, and it is never a requirement of care.
A total meal replacement phase is a substantial physiological change. It can affect blood pressure, blood glucose, and how existing medications behave, so doses of other drugs sometimes need adjusting as you lose weight. Supervision is there to catch that early and to keep the transition back to food from undoing the result.
That depends on your starting point, the length of the intensive phase, and adherence, so we will not quote you a number in advance. What we will do is set a realistic target with you at assessment and track it against waist measurement and body composition, not the scale alone.
The maintenance plan is part of the program, not an afterthought. Weight regain after any intensive phase is the main risk, so the structured transition back to food and the follow-up schedule after it are where the result is actually kept.
No. Book an initial assessment directly and we will determine whether the OPTIFAST® protocol is a clinically suitable fit for you.
Book a consultation to learn what medically supervised options may be appropriate for you.
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