Is Medifast Worth the Money?

sonshinelady

You are right..medifast is not a multilevel company. I'm a very picky eater and I thought the shakes with a couple cubes of ice were GREAT! I loved them...sweet like a REAL shake. I added more HERSHEYS dark baking cocoa to make them xtra chocolately when I wanted the chocolate taste...and fruit to the vanilla when I got tired of vanilla. GREAT with Blueberries and strawberries.

sfstegall

There are no shortcuts, miracle diets, miracle pills, new ways, scientific breakthroughs.
Eat less, exercise more, done.

Yup. Works fine if you are a healthy male in his twenties, with plenty of muscle to burn off that fat.

If, however, you are not healthy, or female, or otherwise don't fit this ideal profile, weight loss is a hell of a lot more complicated than this oversimplified formula would suggest. We don't really have that much information about metabolism, or how men and women lose weight differently, or how other factors (stress, hormones, age) play into the equation. The human body is enormously complicated, and to boil down a major restructuring of your entire life and body into a jingoistic formula is naive.

MCLA4mom

Tell your friend that 85% of the people that do ANY diet gain their weight back including Medifaast. I lost 75lbs 2 years ago through Take shape For Life and have kept it off. Before I did my program I was insulin resistant and had plantar fasciatis. I also have Hashimoto's disease so weight loss was a struggle for me. Medifast food is the tool that they use to get peoples weight off. I felt like there was something magical for me to learn to eat 6 small meals a day and balance my blood sugars. I continue to do that now even though I am not using their products anymore. Medifast is "just the food" part of the program. There is a wonderful curriculum. A text good and work book that really get your head in the game. I learned about my behaviors and triggers. Thats a huge component for most people. It was in no way an easy way out. I did more internal work and soul searching than I ever would have done on my own. I learned about so much about nutrition and setting goals for myself on that program. Then there is the support part. You get a free health coach, access to a weekly doctors call, a nutritionist on call to ask questions to. They even have a behavioral psychologist on call to talk to for clients. In my personal experience, I felt like the food part of it took the burden and stress out of weight loss so that I could relax and focus on how the hell I got so big in the first place. I know that I will never gain that weight back and its gone forever. So, tell your friend if she wants to do that program do it with a health coach through Take Shape For Life. Otherwise she is just doing a diet and there is a big chance she will gain her weight back.

risak

It is worth the money if you are willing to follow through. I did the Medifast diet to get to a goal weight and lost 40 lbs and have kept it all off for over a year now. The food isn't great but there was enough for me to eat.

It did change the way I think about eating, it helped shrink my stomach. It helped me think of food in a different way.

Once I got to my goal weight I joined MFP, started eating more for maintenance and working out.

My mom tried it though and couldn't stand the food and didn't really lose anything.

macybean

There are no shortcuts, miracle diets, miracle pills, new ways, scientific breakthroughs.
Eat less, exercise more, done.

Yup. Works fine if you are a healthy male in his twenties, with plenty of muscle to burn off that fat.

If, however, you are not healthy, or female, or otherwise don't fit this ideal profile, weight loss is a hell of a lot more complicated than this oversimplified formula would suggest. We don't really have that much information about metabolism, or how men and women lose weight differently, or how other factors (stress, hormones, age) play into the equation. The human body is enormously complicated, and to boil down a major restructuring of your entire life and body into a jingoistic formula is naive.

While, yes we are all individuals with some different needs and preferences, the bottom line is eat less/exercise more. I am a 44 yo female with hypothyroidism. There is nothing different though in what it takes for me to lose weight.

cdyoung1143

I recently did 2 weeks on medifast prior to my lap band surgery. I lost 14lbs in 2 weeks, but it was very hard to stick to and I was very hungry. I had lots of headaches, I think from the low number of calories I was eating. I feel that you could maybe use some of the meals they offer as supplements, but full blown medifast should really be supervised by a physician due to the low number of calories you are consuming. Hope this helps.

RHSheetz

WOW, after all this negative, I need to step in here.

I did not do Medifast, I did take shape for life, which uses the medifast products and teaches you the right way to eat and live a healthy life. I have lost over 200 lbs and have transitioned on to a healthy eating and exercise program. I have maintained my weight and continue to follow a healthy routine. The program was great for me since it helped to break my addiction to sugar and other foods, helped me to get my eating under control without logging, counting calories, struggling with platues and all the other issues that people have trying to do this "on there own".

Take Shape for Life is a Radical change, it is for people who have tried everything else, and is a healthier option than surgery. As with anything you will hear all kinds of negatives and positives. I just know, without it, I would still be over 437 lbs. It saved my life and I will say that to anyone.

Shekeriac

+1

babeinthemoon

Honestly, I would try mfp and trying to keep your macros in line with your calorie goals first. I seriously considered medifast / take shape for life, as I've seen several people I know loose lots of weight on the program. But then I stumbled on something that lets me eat real food all the time if I want (although I am choosing to have a shake for breakfast and sometimes for my after dinner snack). Eating real food (not prepackaged out of a box) all the time is more time consuming... but costs less and tastes much better usually.

I figured that I would leave medifast as my last ditch effort before trying something else more drastic. I'm glad I did, because I'm happy with my weight loss so far.

178Goal

Medifast is the best diet for me, and I have tried eveything. Took me 2 months to lose 6 pounds on WeightWatchers and in the last 2 days on Medifast I have lost 5 pounds. On the first day I did 5-1 program, and on the 2nd day I did 4-2-1 and I am drinking 8-12 glasses of good water per day. Medifast is absolutely worth the money. When I signed up they gave me 4 free boxes which gives me 20 boxes or 140 meals, that will last 28 days or basically a month for $250.... and I will probably lose 20 pounds. To lose 20 pounds on WeightWatchers it would take me 5 months not 1 month. I like the Medifast variety too and I have switched to a plant based diet per my doctor, so I eat meatless protein and their are many choices, I actually like tofu because it has 0 carbs and allows me to have a larger salad!

64kelo

I am beginning a Take Shape For Life program on Wednesday which uses the Medifast products. I have seem the results with my sister and her husband last year and they have maintained their weight loss by making healthy food choices. I know I can take the slow methodical approach to weight loss; it is how I grew to be overweight. I believe that I have made enough progress in the area of making healthy choices that a bit of a fast pass to the future me will only be a plus and I will be able to maintain what I lose.

DoctorMom03

I agree with this writer's post. More than 4 years ago I was on a competitive diet to Medifast. My caloric intake was restricted to 900 - 1000 calories per day. It did get to the point where I was just never hungry anymore and could not increase my food intake. Hairloss, fatigue to lethargy, acid reflux, headaches, joint pain ,and regained every ounce I lost despite the fact that I was paying a personal trainer 2 x weekly at $100 an hour to work with me to increase my metabolism.

I am still working toward getting my metabolism back after destroying it by living in starvation mode. These diets do not translate well into reality.

Through a regular diet, measuring my calories burned daily, exercising a minimum of 5 hours/week for the last 2 years, I'm finally where I was when I started the other diet and up to 1200 calories a day but I burn over 2000 per day average.

Correcting a damaged metabolism is not something that can be done overnight. It's taken over two years and I'm still 30 pounds above my goal, which is exactly where I was when I started the other pre-packaged starvation diet program.

See an endocrinologist who specializes in weight management and a licensed and registered dietician. The end result will be the same cost as what you would pay for Medifast, Slimgenics, or Jenny Craig and but the MD and dietician will take into consideration all factors and treat you holistically, not by just reducing your calorie intake.

Janacooney

Iamb 48 years old , I am a type two diabetic , and have hypothyroidism. Medifast was the only diet that ever worked for me. I started last year and it did increase my metabolism so with all the things I have wrong with me you can still lose weight it just may take a little longer than someone who doesn't have these issues and is older. During the first few weeks of Medifast I cried and threatened to quit several times. But I kept at it and I have lost 71.5 pounds. I am in a plateau right now so I'm trying to exercise more and not cheat so often. I started on the 4-2-1 plan then when I hit my plateau , I changed to the 5-1 plan but it was just too difficult for me the 4-2-1 is better for me. I will do that and continue to do that and just incorporate more exercise into my routine. So I guess my point is that no matter what is wrong with you and how old you are it's never too late to boost your metabolism and it can be done I'm proof. And yes it is a difficult thing to do it takes a lot of willpower which I never had so this diet was the only one that ever worked for me I thought about switching to weight watchers just because I wanted a different variety of food to eat other than Medifast but I'm afraid to switch plans because I do not want to gain any weight.

kshermam

I did medifast once and lost 17 lbs but it gave me horrible gas and stomach cramps. Some of the foods are tolerable but if you stop and eat real food again you will have a hard time getting back on Medifast. The eggs, brownies, bars and pancakes aren't bad. Good luck.