~~Newbie~~

LadyCD2013

Hello Group,

New to Medifast (TSFL) and looking forward to finally getting my weight under control. Chose this program because it fits my busy lifestyle and make things simple. I know the most important thing is to follow the guidelines.

I purchased the shakes for now to test the waters, but now I'm thinking I might get bored till I replenish supply. Suggestions would be awesome regarding what I should buy in the future.

Also, open to advice on how to be successful on the plan.

Thanks in advance.

geekishgirl

Welcome! I have been on Medifast since April 8, 2014. I have lost 24 pounds so far, as of this morning. For me this is a program that works well and I am so glad a friend introduced me to it. I wish you luck with it as well!

My absolute favorite Medifast meal is the Pineapple Mango Smoothie. It's so refreshing and helps my fruit craving quite a bit. In fact, I had one for breakfast this morning. The Triple Berry Smoothie is really good as well. The bars are great and make meals on the go very easy. I haven't tried one I didn't like but my favorites are the Peanut Butter Crunch, the Mint Chocolate Crunch and the Cookie Dough Chewy Bar. I do normally cannot stand Sloppy Joes but the Vegetarian Sloppy Joe I found surprisingly good. Especially if you add a little bit of cheese to it. The Brownie Softbake and the Chocolate Chip Cookie Softbake have been a huge help to me at work when people bring in sweets or we're celebrating a birthday. I always keep one in my desk so that I can feel like I'm joining in the celebration but I'm staying on plan at the same time. They also make a really good "ice cream". I also really enjoy the shakes. I'm a "get out of bed at the last possible minute" kind of person so during the week I usually drink a shake while I'm getting ready.

There are some great blogs out there with recipes to transform some of the Medifast foods and I really suggest you take a look at them, especially if you find yourself getting bored. You can even make cakes with the shakes you've already purchased!
I'm on my phone right now but I'll come back later and post some links for you.

A big piece of advice I have is to really enjoy your Lean Green meals. They're the one time a day that you get to eat "real" food so make sure it's something you like. Again there are tons of ecioes already out there that make this easier in the beginning while you're still trying to figure things out. One of my favorites is Cauliflower Pizza. It satisfies my pizza craving and is totally on plan. Even my husband, who is not dieting at all enjoys it.

The other thing that I've found that really helps me is logging on here. The optional condiments really confused me so I kind of threw them out the window. Instead I log everything on here, and I do mean everything, and make sure at the end of the day that I'm within my 80-100 carbs. It just makes more sense to me that way. Also I think logging now will make me more successful in the long run. When I hit my goal and transition into maintenance I will already be in the habit of reading labels and staying within a certain amount of calories, carbs, fats, etc.

My last piece of advice is to drink more water than you think is possible. Before starting I was a HUGE soda drinker. I barely drank water and if I did it had to be flavored. Now I keep a bottle of ice water with me at all times and I drink a minimum of 120 ounces of water a day. It was a huge surprise to be that I could drink that much plain water in a day but now it's not hard at all and I don't miss the flavoring one bit.

I hope this info helps some and I wish you luck on your journey. If you would like to add me as a friend, feel free. I'm on here constantly and always happy to help.

linray51

Thank you so much for this very informative share! I just began 2 days ago on Medifast after trying just about everything out there. Already, my joints feel 100% better! I am 63 and just retired after 32 years of teaching and I am elated that I have finally found something that has allowed me to be in control and escape the carb-addiction that I seem to have had.
Again, thank you and looking forward in this journey with a group that has chosen to improve on the quality of life.

geekishgirl

I'm so glad that I was able to help! And welcome.

I do not profess to know everything nor can I say that I do everything right, I just know what is working for me.

The websites I mentioned earlier are:

http://www.sandyskitchenadventures.com/p/medifast-recipes-only.html (Sandy has TONS of Lean Green recipes! I've only tried a few so far but I love her blog. She breaks everything down and has pictures. It's so easy to follow!)

http://www.escapefromobesity.net/p/medifast-foods-tips-recipes.html (There are lots of great ideas here for meal transformations. Little things you can add or do to make the meals different. I ALWAYS turn my pudding into a frosty now and the hot chocolate truffles are great! If you find yourself not enjoying something or getting bored, there's probably some ideas here of how you can change it up.)

Best of luck with your journey!