Is Medifast Worth the Money?

Not in my opinion, it's always best to do it on your own. But sometimes you just got to try it to see for yourself

I went on the Medifast in 2000. Within 8 months I had dropped 88 pounds. I lost several sizes; there were whole shops I could no longer patronize because I was so much smaller. I went through several wardrobes, and looked better than I had in years. My group leader (you should NEVER go on this diet without medical supervision and group meetings for support!) told me I was his poster child.

However, after eight months of below-900 calorie dieting, my hair was falling out and my teeth were getting loose. With the help of a physician specializing in weight loss, the group leader trained in psychology, a registered dietician and a personal trainer, I worked out a program to transition back to normal eating. I aimed for 1200 calories a day (I am a small person) and a cardio workout 5 times a week. My goals were approved by my doctors and the others. I stuck to the program as faithfully as I had during the fasting part.

Every single ounce came back. Every. Single. Ounce.

Worse, I wound up being one of the 2% of participants that they warn you at the outset about: I lost my gall bladder, and have developed diabetes and metabolic syndrome. I have been struggling ever since with acid reflux so bad it has put me in the hospital. This, in spite of the fact that I adhered to the diet and worked out religiously. When my weight began to come back, I turned to my doctors/support again. They had no answers for me.

Did the diet work? Of course it did. Restricting your caloric intake to 900 calories a day will inevitably lead to weight loss. There are no fat starvation victims. However, the real problem is that starvation diets put your body into starvation mode, and triggers it to hang onto EVERY FREAKIN' CALORIE you ingest thereafter. The trouble is that science really does not know much about metabolism, does not understand the mechanics of PERMANENT weight loss, and has virtually no real scientific data about the different ways men and women lose weight. But unlike every other area of medical research, weight loss is the only area where failure is blamed on the patient, not the method or the lack of data. (When was the last time you heard of a failed cure for cancer being blamed on the patient?). Since medical science does not bother to actually play by the rules of science when it comes to weight loss (so much more lucrative to serve up expensive fantasy diets), it's no surprise that there has been little or no progress on this front for a century.

So, bottom line: I do not recommend a starvation diet. It will certainly work (and forget a month--you will need to commit to many months of starvation)--as long as you are on it. What happens after you go off the diet, is anyone's guess.

A coworker of mine told me a few weeks ago that she was starting Medifast.. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I felt it was a waste of time and money. I mentioned MFP as a cheaper alternative and said she should start by making healthier food choices, tracking her calories, and adding in exercise when she can, but she shrugged it off. I feel like her attitude was telling me she wanted something "easy" or something to "do it for her". Yeah, the shakes and stuff supplement most of your meals, but you're not learning how to eat correctly again (since poor choices, unnecessary snacking, and exaggerated portion sizes are typically what get us in trouble in the first place). Once you take away the stuff in the program (unless you want to pay to be on it forever, which I don't feel is very healthy) you are at more of a risk to gain it back in the long run.

I guess if you are completely determined to do it, please look at ALL angles of sustained weight-loss during the program. It's never to early to learn how to keep off weight you haven't lost yet.

I'm thinking of taking the plunge and trying the program for a month, but the cost gives me pause. Is it worth the money? Are the results any better than doing it on your own? I need opinions!

No! No multi-level marketing company/ campaign like medifast, Visalus, Advocare, Beachbody, etc. IS NOT WORTH THE MONEY! Mediocre products for the price of high quality ones.

Think of how many levels/hands of people the products go through...
They start with the cheapest ingredients possible to save on cost. So let's say one of their meal replacement shakes goes for $3 a container to be made by the manufacturer, then it gets transfered to a wholesaler for $6, then it gets shipped to the distributor for $12, then it finally gets to your rep for $20, who then sells it to you for $40-50.

I went on for two weeks. I did lose 8 pounds and only gained back 2 when I went back to regular food. But I hated the food! And the cost is prohibitive too. Right after I stopped, I found this site and have lost the "real" way since. I much prefer this way.

There are many different plans on Medifast.. I am very happy with it, but I eat about 1000-1200 a day about 100-125 carbs a day, After their transition and maintenance program I will be able to keep off my weight.. I tried everything else and at my age and with pre-diabetes (and on a vegetarian/vegan diet), high BP and bad knees and slow metabolism.. this i he ONLY thing that I could really stick too

I'm thinking of taking the plunge and trying the program for a month, but the cost gives me pause. Is it worth the money? Are the results any better than doing it on your own? I need opinions!

No! No multi-level marketing company/ campaign like medifast, Visalus, Advocare, Beachbody, etc. IS NOT WORTH THE MONEY! Mediocre products for the price of high quality ones.

Think of how many levels/hands of people the products go through...
They start with the cheapest ingredients possible to save on cost. So let's say one of their meal replacement shakes goes for $3 a container to be made by the manufacturer, then it gets transfered to a wholesaler for $6, then it gets shipped to the distributor for $12, then it finally gets to your rep for $20, who then sells it to you for $40-50.

Medifast is not a multi-level marketing company.. Listen do your research, if you are not morbidly obese, don't do it.. but it works! and is healthy..The meals cost about $2.00 each and for $10.00 a day, I was paying that much to eat out at lunch and you pay less for your monthly groceries.

definitely not.

Nope. And I can pretty much say this with confidence since I've had many an experience with clients who used diets to lose and regain when they stopped.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Hi...I used medifast to SUPPLEMENT my other meals. I began replacing my lunch every day with medifast. The drinks were like a SHAKE...they tasted AWESOME. And I got the high protien ones...choc. and vanilla and added fresh berries to the vanilla. BUT like the others have said. The food is NASTY...the NASTIEST!!!

I bought a very large amount of shakes...then realized I could get smaller portions for less or not more than the website itself on Ebay from individuals that wanted out. So if you want to try some and see if you like them...might try EBAY.

I am not familiar with the MEDIFAST DIET as you and others are talking bout. I just replaced one meal a day with a shake ...and I lost 11 pounds the first month, and 4 the second. After two months when I wasn't seeing bigger numbers, I put the drink/shakes away and went back to counting calories...

If you use them to replace your meals, a couple or one meal...you might have success. The ingredients were healthy on the shakes, plus you can add other fruits and veggies to them if you're that kind of a shake gal/guy.

But again, I don't recommend the food. YUCK!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.