80 Day Obsession: Does It Work?

The 80 Day Obsession is a fitness program created by personal trainer Autumn Calabrese, who also created the popular 21 Day Fix fitness program.

The program is available exclusively through Beachbody On Demand, an online streaming service that features hundreds of fitness programs.

A Beachbody On Demand membership costs less than $10 per month and allows you access to its online library of fitness programs, including the 80 Day Obsession.

The 80 Day Obsession program includes 80 different workouts, meal plans, workout calendars, and tracker sheets.

You can stream the workouts on your laptop, smartphone, or tablet and access the program’s materials through the membership portal on the Beachbody On Demand website.

Summary

Created by personal trainer Autumn Calabrese, the 80 Day Obsession is a fitness and weight loss program delivered online by Beachbody On Demand.

The 80 Day Obsession program provides its members with a starter guide that includes six steps to get you started:

1. Take before and after photos and measurements. This is to assess weight loss and muscle gain.
2. Calculate your calorie target. Using a simple formula, calculate the number of calories you’ll eat to lose weight.
3. Determine your eating plan. Based on your calculated calorie goal, you’ll follow a specific eating plan.
4. Get your eating plan. Your eating plan tells you what and when to eat.
5. Watch the starter videos. Autumn Calabrese, the creator of the program, walks you through these steps in a series of quick videos.
6. Get your workouts. Print out the 80 Day Obsession workout calendar and plan your start date.

What you need

In addition to the monthly subscription fee to access the program, you must purchase special workout equipment and portion-control food containers.

For the workouts, the plan requires light, medium, and heavy dumbbells, resistance bands, and exercise sliders.

Optional fitness equipment includes a foam roller and an exercise or yoga mat.

Beachbody, the company that owns Beachbody On Demand, sells most of these items and encourages you to purchase them from their website.

The eating plan requires the use of Beachbody’s seven color-coded food containers, each color representing a different food group based on its size.

Depending on your eating plan and calorie target range, you’re allowed a certain number of food containers from each food group to fill and eat each day.

While not required, the 80 Day Obsession plan strongly recommends several Beachbody-branded supplements, including protein shakes and pre- and post-workout drinks to enhance exercise performance and recovery.

Workouts

Each day, you’ll complete a unique workout that lasts 45–60 minutes.

You’ll work out 6 days per week, with Sunday being the rest day. The rest days aren’t counted as part of the 80 days.

The workouts range from whole body to an emphasis on your glutes.

They also build on one another, becoming more challenging as you progress through the program.

Summary

The 80 Day Obsession starter guide will help get you started with the plan. Along with a membership, you’ll need exercise equipment and the Beachbody color-coded food containers.

The 80 Day Obsession eating plan focuses on timed nutrition, also known as nutrient timing.

Timed nutrition involves eating foods in specific amounts at specific times to boost exercise performance and promote muscle recovery and growth.

Each eating plan has a 4–5-hour workout block where you eat certain foods in specific amounts before, during, and after your workout.

The workout block also recommends what Beachbody-branded supplements to drink and when to drink them.

Outside of this workout block, the eating plans encourage you to eat your meals every 2–3 hours.

The plan follows the acceptable macronutrient distribution range (AMDR) for adults, containing 10–35% of calories from protein, 20–35% of calories from fats, and 45–65% of calories from carbs (1).

Summary

Timed nutrition, a key focus of the 80 Day Obsession, involves eating specific foods in specific amounts at specific times. The plan follows the AMDR for adults.

While research on the 80 Day Obsession is lacking, the program may offer sustainable weight loss.

May help you lose weight

In step two of the 80 Day Obsession starter guide, you calculate your calorie target using a simplified formula.

This calorie target puts you in an estimated 750-calorie deficit per day after accounting for the calories burned from the daily workouts.

A 500–750 daily calorie deficit is sufficient for most who want to lose 1–1.5 pounds (0.45–0.68 kg) per week (1).

However, as research shows, you can’t expect to lose this much weight weekly, as weight loss slows over time due to changes in your metabolism (2, 3, 4).

While exercise can help aid weight loss, it’s much more effective and sustainable to create a calorie deficit through your diet (5, 6, 7).

Still, exercise is essential for long-term weight loss maintenance (8, 9).

Doesn’t restrict food groups

The majority of weight loss programs differentiate themselves from the rest by vilifying single nutrients or entire food groups.

However, in the absence of food allergies or intolerances or religious, cultural, or personal preferences, there’s no evidence-based reason to eliminate entire food groups for the purpose of losing weight or improving your health (1).

The 80 Day Obsession doesn’t restrict any food group, but instead limits how much you can eat from each food group based on your calorie target range.

By allowing all food groups within a low calorie diet, you’re more likely to meet your daily vitamin and mineral needs (10).

Quick and convenient workouts

The 80 Day Obsession workouts last an average of 45–60 minutes, allowing for a quick workout.

Because you perform the workouts in the comfort of your own home, they also eliminate the need to drive to and from a gym.

If you’re pressed for time, the program also offers shorter, 30-minute workouts.

Encourages self-monitoring

The 80 Day Obsession encourages you to track your weight, food intake, and workouts.

These self-monitoring techniques have been shown to not only lead to weight loss, but to also reduce weight regain over time (11, 12, 13).

By tracking your weight, food intake, and workouts, you develop a better understanding of how your behaviors bring you closer to or further from your goals, allowing you to make adjustments as needed.

Summary

The 80 Day Obsession may help you lose weight without restricting food groups. It also allows for quick and convenient workouts and encourages self-monitoring, a behavioral strategy that has been shown to promote sustainable weight loss.

Just as the 80 Day Obsession has its benefits, it also has downsides.

Not for beginners

According to the Beachbody On Demand website, the 80 Day Obsession is designed for intermediate to advanced fitness levels.

As such, you should already have been working out regularly before attempting the program.

Can be rigid

Throughout the 80 Day Obsession program, you’re instructed on what, how much, and when to eat.

While some may prefer this rigidity, others may find the program difficult to fit into their job or lifestyle.

Visualize taking your prepackaged, color-coded food containers with you to work or along for a trip.

There’s nothing wrong with doing so, but if you can’t see yourself following the rigidity of the plan for the 80 day duration of the program, it may not be for you.

May not work for you

Autumn Calabrese, the creator of the 80 Day Obsession, based the program’s eating plan of how she eats.

The way Calabrese eats may work for her lifestyle and preferences, but it may not be suitable for yours.

Some people may benefit from a more individualized approach to their nutrition and fitness goals rather than what worked for someone else.

Remember, a diet or eating plan is only as good as your ability to stick to it long term.

Also, keep in mind that the length of the program is 80 days. To maintain your results from the program, you must have a plan in place after you complete it concerning your diet and exercise habits.

Promotes own supplements and equipment

The program encourages participants to buy equipment and Beachbody-branded supplements through their website.

Though this practice isn’t uncommon for many exercise and weight loss programs, some people may view it with skepticism.

Summary

The 80 Day Obsession isn’t intended for beginners, can be rigid, and may not suit your lifestyle. Consider these downsides before trying the program.

The 80 Day Obsession is a fitness and nutrition program created by personal trainer Autumn Calabrese.

It’s streamed online exclusively through Beachbody On Demand, and requires a monthly membership, exercise equipment, and color-coded food containers.

Intended for intermediate to advanced fitness levels, the program doesn’t restrict food groups, allows for quick and convenient workouts, and encourages behaviors that allow for sustainable weight loss.

If you’re interested in the program, consider its rigidity and whether it’ll suit your lifestyle.