Medifast? Extreme dieting?

dpedi

Has anyone tried medifast? I had a friend that lost 50lbs in 3 months on it. She looks good and is keeping the weight off by continuing to eat well and exercise. I know that MFP is about crazy diets but I feel like I am on a never ending road to nowhere I have been trying to lose weight for almost 8 years. I just go up and down and I am not motivated anymore... I have no will power or discipline. Even logging is hard for me to do. I feel like if I didn't weigh 230 lbs that I wouldn't struggle so much when trying to exercise. I'm thinking about biting the bullet and paying to do medifast even though it's really expensive. I feel like I need to get a jump start to get me more motivated... Maybe I'm just looking for an easy way out and being lazy!? Any thoughts??

aweightymatter

Medifast is effective if you follow it but I tried it a while back and honestly, it sucked. As the name implies, it's based generally on a liquid "fast." It's probably changed a little bit since I followed it but basically you take in some calories six (maybe seven?) times a day. One is a very small low-carb meal, and the others are their products. These are all, more or less, liquids of some kind, though I think there are a couple snack bars now. The main product they sell are low-cal, low-carb shakes, and the other products are things like oatmeal, soups, etc. -- but again, all liquid.

I just really missed chewing after a while. And since the plan is based on consuming specific products rather than using points, calories, exchanges, or real food, mostly, it is challenging to continue if you ever have to travel, eat out as part of your work, etc.

It is very effective in producing rapid weight loss, but also somewhat unforgiving. Some people thrive with that kind of serious structure, while others end up flaming out. I was among the latter and wound up with a bunch of boxes of crappy tasting drink powders. YMMV! Good luck with whatever you decide.

rochey1098

There are many different types of diet out there but each one has something in common, willpower. Find something that suits you and stick with it no matter what for 3 months, that's 12-14 weeks, if you lost 2lbs a week that would add up to 24-28lbs lost with very little damage to your muscles.

KayaSamantha

My old manager was on Medifast and lost about 20lbs in 2 months but as soon as she went off it she gained 35lbs and wasn't eating unreasonably. I was right where you are in May and I have taken this long to lose 30lbs. Let me tell you it's totally worth taking your time and doing it right the first time. It is a lot cheaper too! I know it's hard to be motivated but you're going to have good days and bad days but add me as a friend and I'll try my best to keep you up on your feet!

DesertSunsetRain

It's not any easier to get motivated to lose weight and exercise when you're only slightly overweight than if you were very overweight. Just wanted to throw that out there. Also, everyone struggles when they first start out with working out... especially if they spend the majority of their day sitting. Things get easier, you just have to push yourself over that hump.

mquarry

It's not any easier to get motivated to lose weight and exercise when you're only slightly overweight than if you were very overweight. Just wanted to throw that out there. Also, everyone struggles when they first start out with working out... especially if they spend the majority of their day sitting. Things get easier, you just have to push yourself over that hump.

This. It really does get easier, you just have to push yourself out of your comfort zone and break away from your old self.

Pebble321

It is hard to do anyway you do it.
Otherwise we would all be thin, right?

It's your choice whether you want to try something "extreme", I think you are still going to struggle with willpower, although maybe paying out the money and having something strict to follow will be a good option for you.

Personally I wouldn't do it - I tend to think that anything you can't stick to for the long term is only a temporary fix. You will still have to work on finding the healthiest kinds of foods to eat when you stop your "extreme" option. Because, I hate to tell you, but going on a short term diet might help you lose weight, but it won't help you keep it off for the long term. Learning to eat better and move more is the only thing that is going to do that.

If you aren't sure about Medifast then why not give MFP a go just as it is. Eat your calories (don't restrict yourself too much, make it a moderate deficit - 1 or 1/2 pound a week). Do some exercise, don't go overboard.
Do this for a month and I'd be surprised if you didn't see a difference. If this doesn't seem quick enough - well, that's right. Losing weight and learning to keep it off isn't going to happen quickly. Don't get suckered in by anyone telling you that it is!
It is, however, surprisingly easy to stick to when you don't go nuts and put yourself on an incredibly restricted diet.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

marasw

My in-laws did Medifast for a few months and had great short-term success with it. I don't think they are doing it anymore, and I honestly don't have any idea how they are doing fitness-wise now. But overall I get the sense that while it may be very effective, it's not really something you can do over a long period of time. It's also very expensive. I have lost about the same amount that they did but took a lot longer to do it and I didn't have to survive off "shakes" and "bars".

elizamc

We don't have this, so far as I know, in the UK but we do have similar. I did the Cambridge diet some years ago when I was desperate to shed weight quickly and, whilst my nails and hair were in fantastic condition!, it did nothing for me long term - I was straight back onto the yo-yo at the end of it.

If you really want to give this a go - have a plan in place for when you come off it. But overall I'd go for calorie counting and not a quick fix as on the calorie counting road you will learn so much more about yourself and how you're body and weight respond to different foods, and just how much exercise makes a difference to your weight, self image and morale.

Good luck!

Lozze

In four months I lost 50lbs. Ate healthier but I still ate. I'm going to assume you're smaller than me (currently 250lbs) but it can be done but healthy.

I'm not a fan of diets that take away food. I don't think they're au stainable or healthy.

Donners185

I would advise you not to try it if you can do it yourself. I actually did the Lipotrim diet before which is 3 shakes a day (around 500 calories) and although it did work, i lost bout 2 and 1/2 stone in 9 weeks it made me very ill. I did not exercise as my calories were so low it made me light headed and i drank between 3 and 4 litres of water a day. After 9 weeks i had to come off it as my blood pressure dropped so low i was having black outs! I came off the diet and for about 6 months my hair continued to fall out, my nails were peeling and breaking and have never fully recovered and the enamel on my teeth softened and lost colour. My doctor and dentist have advised me that this was as a result of doing this diet. To top it all off i felt so crap when i finally came off it, i just ate and ate to regain my strength! The more i ate the better i eventually became so of course i ended puting it all back on again. These diets affect everyone differently but i would not advise putting your body through that if you can do it some other way! Hope this helps.

TankGirl71

I lost weight with it but became sick in the process. It was so low calorie I was getting vertigo and my *ahem* plumbing stopped working. After three weeks the weight loss stopped completely. Their customer service had no real knowledge about nutrition or biology and were dismissive when I called with problems. The food (powdered packets) also tasted absolutely horrible. I gained back the 15 pounds I had lost and then some.

witchy_wife

It might sound a bit crazy but I actually like the "strictness" of extreme diets. I did Cambridge diet and yes it was hard but after the first 4-5 days it got easier and I liked that it took the options away from me.

I am now trying a more balanced sensible eating way of losing weight as I know that I have to fight my demons. Portion control and too much pasta and bread.

I think sometimes these diets are amazing and people lose a lot of weight fast but they are hard to maintain and the old food demons are still there waiting for you at the end of it unless you really stick to it and follow all the maintenance plans after. Which unfortunately many don't as when they are all slim and feeling amazing its easy to fall in to bad eating habits again.

Whatever you decide, good luck x

dpedi

Thanks for all the advice!! I think I'm going to go with majority and at least try to make a more honest effort with MFP. I just feel hopeless.. I know that's dramatic but geez I really do. Hopefully I can dig up some motivation! Thanks for the support!

Kris10can

I did the medifast diet for 2-3 months two years ago....I lost 35 pounds on the diet....but I would not recommend it!! I gained back the weight as soon as I returned to a health diet and I even gained additional pounds which was very upsetting! I still have some medifast products left over from when I went on the diet that I didn't use. I know a lot of the product have a lot of nutrients so I still have medifast foods on some days...but just for one meal. I think this is a better way to keep yourself in check. Not to mention, just one day of messing up on the diet (even by having too much of a condiment or something) will throw you out of ketosis. It wasn't worth it to me in the long run and just felt as though I was messing with my body.
My boss actually started medifast before I did because she had soo much success....but she also regained back all of her lost weight and then some! Which is soo discouraging. Good news...my boss started losing weight the right way and has had much much much more success!!

Kris10can

Not to mention......pretty expensive! You really miss foods....even healthy foods like carrots and onions that you can't have on Medifast!!!!

JackieMac979

This thread sure was interesting reading for me, since I am following Medifast. I could write line by line my thoughts on some other poster's opinions, but I'll spare everyone of that.

Medifast is not a liquid fast now. They build in lean and green meals of protein and salad or vegetables. You can do a 5&1 plan with one lean and green meal, or a 4&2 plan as well.

I did it before and had such amazing success with it. I lost 60 pounds in exactly 12 weeks. It was my fault for going off the program. My son had his 3rd open heart surgery and the stress got to me. I ate whatever I wanted and took pleasure in being 'naughty' food-wise, so I gained... but had I stayed on the program I would now be at goal weight, and have transitioned to maintenance.

The program works. No doubt about that. Personally, I find it tasty enough (certain meals I love, others I don't like at all, but there are many to choose from.) I find it affordable. It was designed by the Johns Hopkins Obesity clinic and will produce weight loss safely of 2-5 lbs a week, on average, and targets bad/belly fat loss. It preserves lean mass. Your body does not go into starvation mode because you eat in a structured way, every 2-3 hours. You are allowed to work out.

It is not the same as other fasting diets. The meals are all equivalent to each other and interchangeable. You could have oatmeal, pancakes, soups, puffs, bars, brownies, pretzels, hot cocoa, chai lattes, cappuccinos, 'soft serve' ice cream, choc chip soft bake, etc. I could go on and on. Yes, there are shakes, but you don't even have to have them if you don't want them.

It has a lot of medical science backing it up. Dr. Wayne Andersen's book The Habits of Health is encouraged reading for the take shape for life side where you get a free health coach to guide you through the process and support you.

I'll stop my rant now, but for anyone who is doubting the success of this program, please feel free to ask me questions or friend me and see the results for yourself. I am NOT falling off the program this time.

Best wishes to everyone!

Jackie

Apazman

Here's the dope....

95% of diets fail.

you got this way because you made poor food choices in the past, and now all you are doing is switching the decisions of what goes in your food from the fast food/ packaged food vendors to someone else who promises you weightloss.

All you are doing is shifting responsibility from one place to another instead of dealing with it yourself.

Using any program is just treating the symptom and not the disease.

Eating better and exercise is all thats needed but health companies can't make money if you believe you can do it yourself.

I quote John Lennon "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me"

dpedi

Thanks for another perspective! Good luck on your journey! Sounds like your doing well!

MsLouvenia

I tried MediFast a few months ago and in my opinion it's not a healthy or economical way to go. All of the food is dehydrated food, add water and stir or cook in the microwave. They are 100 calorie meals so you are eating below 600 calories a day.

dpedi

I know your right, but it's easier to shift blame and responsibility! Thanks for all of the feedback.

aweightymatter

I didn't read this as a rant, and in fact found it interesting. Looks like they have vastly improved the food choices since I did Medifast. It's still very low-calorie though. It didn't work out for me, but I was in my early 20s and active and 800 calories a day really wasn't enough to sustain my daily life. Congratulations on your success and good luck with your journey!

lizziebeth1028

Thanks for all the advice!! I think I'm going to go with majority and at least try to make a more honest effort with MFP. I just feel hopeless.. I know that's dramatic but geez I really do. Hopefully I can dig up some motivation! Thanks for the support!

It's a fad diet. If you can't learn moderation, will power and self control you will gain all the weight back. A more sustainable weight loss program would be eat healthy and in moderation, do not go over your allowed caloric intake and you will lose weight and keep it off.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

I've been on Medifast since the end of June and have lost 43 lbs. I lost the rest on Weight Watchers. I don't like telling people I'm on Medifast because I feel like I'm cheating by not losing weight the "right" way, but my mom wanted to pay for me to do something where I didn't have to cook my own meals. I'm getting tired of some of the Medifast food, but since I work out almost every day I've been doing the 4&2 plan those days, so then I only have 4 of their meals. It can be pretty convenient to throw some meal bars in your purse if you know you'll be on the road for a while, and people have come up with tons of different recipes to use the Medifast products in that are pretty good. I'd say the best part for me is the convenience, because I work late and don't find a lot of time to go to the store, but I honestly can't wait to go back to eating normal food ALL the time. I learned a lot from Weight Watchers, and researched fitness and clean eating for the last 3 years, so I know what to do. My MFP tracker is set to the highest Medifast limits (1000 cals/100 g carbs/110 g protein/33 g fat), and I stay just under. I don't want to lose 5 lbs a week! Eventually I'll go off Medifast and just use MFP. I can't do some of the workouts I want to because even adjusting the calories to my calorie burn wasn't enough, and I almost passed out a few times. If it's convenience you need, then it's a good plan, but if that's not an issue, I'd stick with MFP.

JackieMac979

I'm glad that reading my perspective was interesting for a couple people.

It's a program that helps many, including myself, make healthy lifestyle changes. The physicians/scientists/nutrition support staff created the Lean & Green part of their 5&1 phase to help educate people in a strict weight loss phase about how to choose and eat better, and still have 'real' food. It's not a 'fad diet' in my humble opinion. How are regular portion controlled meals eaten at intervals throughout the day a fad? Their transition program before maintenance shows people how to add back in healthy foods, such as low fat dairy, fruits, starchy veggies, and carbs.

On Medifast, calories are NOT 600 a day. That misses the whole point of lean and green meal(s.) The calorie goal is 800-1000 a day for someone not doing more than 45 minutes of vigorous exercise daily. Yes, it is low calorie. That is not something ANYONE would dispute. But doing it at 500-600 calories a day is not following their program.

As for economical, well... I don't like seeing the lump sum charge per month for their food, but it's a heck of a lot better than what I would've done before having junk. I am not buying sweet/salty sludge which is a huge savings. I saw a dollar comparison to other programs once, which averaged several things (like $ per pound) and it came out to cost less than Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, etc.

There is a pretty good variety of 'packet' foods (some are dehydrated) but there are also bars, ready to drink shakes, etc. They often add new foods. I just tried 5 of the new products in my recent order (bites, cookie bake, orange drink, and the veg sloppy joe.) There is one food they offer that (to me) rivals a milkshake made by Bobby Flay, taste-wise. I could eat it 5x a day if I wanted, or I can mix it up. (And let me tell you... Bobby Flay makes some kick-*kitten* high fat milkshakes!)

I'm not a health coach, they don't pay me to say any of this, but I'm just writing to show more than 1 perspective. I also just found a MF group here on MFP for anyone following the program. If you are really interested, I recommend doing research to learn more about the program and whether you find personal truth in a lot of the common objections. It's not for everyone, but it has helped so many people. The success stories on the My Medifast board are amazing. I personally have MF buddies who have transformed themselves in a way that inspires me and I hope to replicate that success.

I wish everyone here lots of success and will support you all on your journeys, no matter what you choose to eat!

Jackie

/end rant #2 (lol, please no flames!)

1FitBabe

I have a friend on the medifast diet and it is the first time I have seen her in control. In the past she would practically inhale the bread and dressing. Now she is able to moderate her portions. She said it was because she is just not hungry.

Recently, we were at lunch and she told the waitress to take away the bread basket. I said...whoa...that is your diet. Not mine. I can eat what I want so long as I watch the calories.

It seems pretty restrictive and not something I could do. But it seems to be working for her. Only time will tell how it works in the long run.

Jeff92se

Nothing like losing a ton of weight that includes fat and muscle. Only to gain back only fat again. Then repeat the horrid process over again and losing even more muscle in the process.

snowstorme

My in laws, my husband and I have all been on medifast for a year. We each have lost at least 100lbs. If you follow the diet as designed it will definitely work. But it is more than a diet it also has a detailed transition and maintenance plan. If you don't follow it, if you revert to your old eating habits you will gain your weight back. But that goes for ANY diet. Medifast has it's pros and cons. It can be considered expensive, I'm in the beslim club and my average monthly medifast expense for just myself is ~350$. But prior to medifast we spent alot of money on fast food, pizza, appetizers in general CRAP. So for us we are saving money. I've been able to get off my blood pressure meds. My husband who is a type 2 diabetic is off all of his diabetes meds, which is a HUGE savings per month. I have energy I feel good. It works for me. I will admit I do miss fruits and grains and higher carb veggies. But I will introduce those back during transition as I find out what and how much I can eat with out gaining. The diet is a ketogenic diet so you have to limit carbs so you stay in a fat burning state. If you have a lot to loose you will end up with loose skin for awhile because you loose so quickly. Some people have trouble the first week getting adjust to ketosis, though I didn't. There is a good enough variety in the foods and alot of recipes for repurposing the foods to make things like cakes, muffins etc. The meals are all very similar in macronutrient content. They are balanced for carb/fat/protien unlike other shake/meal replacement items. They are also each contain atleast 20% of 24 vitamins and minerals. The lean and green meal really helps you learn portion control and good choices. The calorie target is something like 800-950 with 5&1 and upto 1100? on 4&2. Because I added weight lifting I do supplement with protein. I definitely recommend it if you have the conviction to commit to the entire process.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

There is one food they offer that (to me) rivals a milkshake made by Bobby Flay, taste-wise. I could eat it 5x a day if I wanted, or I can mix it up. (And let me tell you... Bobby Flay makes some kick-*kitten* high fat milkshakes!)

Which one are you talking about??? You can message me back if you want.

Stacivogue

Ok. I am on medifast and have lost 30 lbs. I gained weight because I was pregnant. Since I don't intend to spend the rest of my life pregnant, I don't plan to have the same food issues. I have a baby, and I like not having to make food for me except dinner. It is much harder to lose than to maintain, for me . I like the structure. I don't think it is a "fad" diet, but it is a diet. For those of you who assume that people trying to lose weight have always eaten badly, and will go back to "old habits" I respectfully beg to disagree. Some people gain weight because of physical ailments.

Medifast is not an "easy" way out. But for those of us who don't have 2 hours a day to go to the gym, it is an effective way to avoid being obese for years. I have found that I can be more active now that I am not carrying that extra 30 lbs around. I lost 2 lbs a week on average, not 10.

Also, I don't eat shakes. I like the bars. I have seen the other food, but like eating the bars every 3 hours, a big salad for lunch and fish with tofu noodles for dinner.

I am about to go from overwieight to a normal BMI. I was obese. And now I am not. So for what it is worth, that is my experience. Maybe I'll end up 300 lbs more than I weigh now, but it does seem to be working and giving me hope. To those of you who dismiss it, without trying it, I would like to say that what works for some people doesn't work for others.

And just to say, someone from work just started the program with her husband because of the progress that they have seen me make. She is adding it to her very healthy workout routine, which has stopped working.

amuchison

I have been Medifast since August 20,2011 and have tried 6 week body makeover,weightwatchers,and trying to do it on my own but was never committed!! So it was my fault. With Medifast I have found a way that for me is more strict and I like it!! I also read Dr. A's Habits of Health which has taught me so far why we need food and what it is intendid to do as well as how I was spiking my insulin levels and what role that played in my body. I am learning hoe my habits okay a role in my health so u see its not just about diet and exercise...its about adequate sleep,how u feel and what your relationship is with food and exercising,etc...On Medifast u learn how to achieve Optimal Health and when u have reached your goal weight u r taught how to maintain and transition your body back to eating starches,fruits,dairy,etc...u transition back up to 1500 cal+ so eventually u do get off Medifast its not a life long thing...it is up to u to stay on plan and do exactly as the program says to have success..if U r not successful with it its because u chose not to be...some will some wont some do some don't...It's a personal decision like anything so do your research. I wasn't disciplined enough back in Aug to do MFP and be in control of what I ate to that extent and I like only having to chose 1 meal a day and prepare it...for me it helps to have this structure...so don't knock what u don't know..don't knock what u haven't truly given time to work...Medifast will work if U do!! Success is past your comfort zone. When Medifast didn't work for u where were u still comfortable....and when u went off if it did u follow the transition plan 100%?