Does The Medifast diet work?

After a few years of prodding my husband has decided that he needs to do something about his weight. He needs to loose around a 100lbs if not more. He is looking into Medifast does this actually work? Does anyone have any tips on a healthy way to loose that much weight?
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Replies

  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    Medifast works because it creates a calorie deficit. There's no "magic" to it....and it's expensive.

    Why not have him use MFP and stick to a moderate calorie deficit (which will allow him to eat whatever he wants)?
  • lilysmama08
    lilysmama08 Posts: 60 Member
    It does the same thing that can be done here. And its about $300 a month. I tried it, and the food is disgusting. Its all dehydrated stuff.
  • aelunyu
    aelunyu Posts: 486 Member
    oh please don't give these people your money. just tell him to eat less...then he can give you the 300 and you can go shoe shopping!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,454 Member
    All "diets" work if you stick to them because of calorie deficit. The problem is most "diets" aren't sustainable to do the rest of your life.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
    Yes, it works, but people often gain the weight back just as fast as they lost it. He needs to make lasting changes in his eating and exercise habits, and MFP can help with that. Plus - it's free!
  • mandys1979
    mandys1979 Posts: 46 Member
    He wont. He is looking for the magic pill. He has been on presciption diet pills because of his weight and he gets easily discouraged when he doesnt start loosing right away.I have tried portion control, healthy meals tried getting to exercise and even got consult for lap band. He never wants to do any of that. Im glad he is taking this step he is getting close to 400lbs.
  • Lisa1971
    Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
    Yes, it works and the food is pretty good! I've done it but of course as soon as I transitioned over to "real" food I started putting weight back on. I gained 30lbs and now need to get rid of that! I went from a size 16 to a 4 in 7 months but if he doesn't change his eating habits the weight will come back on.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    He wont. He is looking for the magic pill. He has been on presciption diet pills because of his weight and he gets easily discouraged when he doesnt start loosing right away.I have tried portion control, healthy meals tried getting to exercise and even got consult for lap band. He never wants to do any of that. Im glad he is taking this step he is getting close to 400lbs.

    Well, you're in for an uphill battle then. Good luck.

    Maybe show him some 100+ pound success stories on here?
  • krissy_krossy
    krissy_krossy Posts: 307 Member
    If he wants to do that instead of eating right and exercising, nothing you can say will change his mind. If you (general "you") don't learn to change eating habits, though, then as soon as you stop a program like that you'll just gain weight back. Losing weight and keeping it off is all about changing your lifestyle, not going on a diet.
  • It sucks that Medifast gets such a bad reputation on message boards like this when people are only looking for information and personal experiences about the diet and most of the people who answer have never tried it personally and have only negative things to say about it.

    1st of all, if your husband isn't in the right mindset to put in the work, not give up, and change his lifestyle permanently to lose the weight, then NO diet is going to work for him. Like you said, he'll probably easily get discouraged when things get tough and will probably be more susceptible to "cheating" when the temptation arises. None of us got to the weight we are in 1 day or even 1 month, its going to take time to take it off, period. That being said, Medifast does provide pretty big weight loss from the get go.

    Now, I personally am on Medifast currently and have just finished my second week and am down 10 lbs so far! You may think I don't have much to say experience wise but they say the first two weeks for any "diet" is the toughest. Let me tell you, I love it! Unlike popular belief, not all the food is dehydrated and nothing that I've tried was gross to the point that I would not willingly eat it again. Your taste buds do have to adjust to it but after a few days on plan, everything to me started tasting pretty decent. Some of the foods are so tasty that after I eat them, I feel the guilt as if I have cheated!

    People say this is a lazy diet or that it doesn't teach you good eating habits for the long run. To that I say, is there ever a lazy way to lose weight???? It is always a challenge to lose weight and any movement of the scale in the right direction should always be something to celebrate, not put down. Medifast DOES teach you good eating habits so that when you are done losing weight you can easily transition into the rest of your life without gaining back. That is, if you actually see the transition through to the end and do not immediately go back to eating sludge because your are skinny. Medifast teaches you, and your body, to eat smaller meals every 2-3 hours and that right there is a great start. I am at the point now where it is like clockwork with my hunger and it being time to eat, and I feel great now that I am not eating 2-3 over-sized meals per day. Furthermore, you have the ability to eat 1 "real food" meal a day that you have to prepare. The basic guidelines are 3 servings of veggies and 1 serving (5-6oz) of protein. The rest is up to you! That leaves so much room to experiment and even eat out at restaurants if you like, something that I imagine all of us still want to do. Once you get close to the amount of weight you want to lose you start the transition phase where you start eating 2 real meals a day and only 4 Medifast meals (as opposed to the standard 5 MF meals/ 1 real meal). From there, you slowly start adding in foods like fruits, dairy, grains etc back into your diet until you are off plan completely. I know a lot of people that continue to have whatever their favorite Medifast meals are even when they are done with the program because it is so easy to grab and go while getting something satiating and only 100 cals!

    Ok, so there is my rant about PRO Medifast diet. I know I personally went for Medifast because there are such an overwhelming number of success stories and positive reviews from real people that you just do not find with any other diets aka. pills, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers etc. Furthermore, Medifast provides you with 100% all the nutrients and nutritional requirements your body SHOULD be getting every single day. This is something that I was terrible at on my own where I would assume that a Lean Cuisine or 100 cal snack packs of your favorite junk food was an acceptable diet.

    Medifast is very strict and there is no wiggle room, you are either on plan or not but if you are determined that "this is the time I reach my goals, no excuses" then there is no way this won't work.
  • I tried it in November. Lost 13 pounds and, had to stop. For the most part it was pretty nasty tasting. The shakes are okay and, some of the bars. But the eggs, and soups etc. HORRIBLE. They will let you trade in so many packages for different....but, it was just as bad. I just threw out boxes of the stuff...I am sure some may like it. Everyone has different tastes. But, it is so expensive and, for me so disappointing. I stayed hungry and, dreaded to eat the stuff. Hope he finds something that helps and, he can tolerate.
  • mandys1979
    mandys1979 Posts: 46 Member
    Thank you for your reply. I know it is expensive but so is his eating habits of grabbing a snack during break and eating breakfast out every morning. So I'm hoping that with him not doing that anymore it will make up the difference. But I'm also hoping that his body will adjust to eating several small meals per day instead of 3 large ones and snack in between.
  • Eating the smaller meals is definitely different and takes some getting used to but the great part is that these small meals come every 2-3 hours which if you're working or out running errands, the time flies. For me, that means right when I am starting to get hungry, I look at the clock and it is basically time to eat again! Which is good because I too was a snacker and quick to cheat if I got remotely hungry. There is no way to tell whether not this diet is going to work for your husband without trying it. I would recommend ordering maybe a 2 week supply of the food which is obviously cheaper and give it a try. That way there isn't a huge commitment and your husband can try it first hand and see if it is something that will work for him longer term.


    Best of Luck!
  • MCLA4mom
    MCLA4mom Posts: 219 Member
    I did it and lost 75lbs! I love the program! Medifast food was just one part of it. I found it was not as expensive as I thought. I was spending a lot of money on crappy food so it was like switching grocery stores for me. I learned A LOT. I did it with a health coach. I think thats the way to go. Medifast is just the food part of it. The health coaching was what taught me to keep it off for the rest of my life. I transitioned properly and have NO DESIRE to go back to my old eating habits. I feel too good now! I can actually shop in normal stores. I have enough energy to keep up with my three active young children. My plantar fasciatis is gone. My insulin resistance is under control. Those things are enough to keep me in check. I have kept it off for over a year and I am 100% confident that I will be able to keep it off. He will be able to have success with it if he WANTS IT BAD ENOUGH. If he is coachable and willing to get help. SOme of the food tastes gross, some good. Frankly, I would eat dog food to get the results I did! LOL He will do great. It seems like he has some good support too!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,373 MFP Moderator
    Thank you for your reply. I know it is expensive but so is his eating habits of grabbing a snack during break and eating breakfast out every morning. So I'm hoping that with him not doing that anymore it will make up the difference. But I'm also hoping that his body will adjust to eating several small meals per day instead of 3 large ones and snack in between.

    you would be surprised how many calories he can probably eat an still lose weight. At 400 lbs, his BMR and TDEE will be pretty high. Even if he can stick to a 2500 calorie diet, he will still lose weight. If you eliminate a lot of snack that don't provide nutritional value and limit carb based meals, he should see weight loss. Foods high and protein and fats will maintain satiety longer which should help. So load up on chicken, pork, lean steaks like sirloins and limit breads, pastas and rice until he can get his eating under control.
  • JossFit
    JossFit Posts: 588 Member
    All "diets" work if you stick to them because of calorie deficit. The problem is most "diets" aren't sustainable to do the rest of your life.

    QFT - Its that simple.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,454 Member
    It sucks that Medifast gets such a bad reputation on message boards like this when people are only looking for information and personal experiences about the diet and most of the people who answer have never tried it personally and have only negative things to say about it.

    1st of all, if your husband isn't in the right mindset to put in the work, not give up, and change his lifestyle permanently to lose the weight, then NO diet is going to work for him. Like you said, he'll probably easily get discouraged when things get tough and will probably be more susceptible to "cheating" when the temptation arises. None of us got to the weight we are in 1 day or even 1 month, its going to take time to take it off, period. That being said, Medifast does provide pretty big weight loss from the get go.

    Now, I personally am on Medifast currently and have just finished my second week and am down 10 lbs so far! You may think I don't have much to say experience wise but they say the first two weeks for any "diet" is the toughest. Let me tell you, I love it! Unlike popular belief, not all the food is dehydrated and nothing that I've tried was gross to the point that I would not willingly eat it again. Your taste buds do have to adjust to it but after a few days on plan, everything to me started tasting pretty decent. Some of the foods are so tasty that after I eat them, I feel the guilt as if I have cheated!

    People say this is a lazy diet or that it doesn't teach you good eating habits for the long run. To that I say, is there ever a lazy way to lose weight???? It is always a challenge to lose weight and any movement of the scale in the right direction should always be something to celebrate, not put down. Medifast DOES teach you good eating habits so that when you are done losing weight you can easily transition into the rest of your life without gaining back. That is, if you actually see the transition through to the end and do not immediately go back to eating sludge because your are skinny. Medifast teaches you, and your body, to eat smaller meals every 2-3 hours and that right there is a great start. I am at the point now where it is like clockwork with my hunger and it being time to eat, and I feel great now that I am not eating 2-3 over-sized meals per day. Furthermore, you have the ability to eat 1 "real food" meal a day that you have to prepare. The basic guidelines are 3 servings of veggies and 1 serving (5-6oz) of protein. The rest is up to you! That leaves so much room to experiment and even eat out at restaurants if you like, something that I imagine all of us still want to do. Once you get close to the amount of weight you want to lose you start the transition phase where you start eating 2 real meals a day and only 4 Medifast meals (as opposed to the standard 5 MF meals/ 1 real meal). From there, you slowly start adding in foods like fruits, dairy, grains etc back into your diet until you are off plan completely. I know a lot of people that continue to have whatever their favorite Medifast meals are even when they are done with the program because it is so easy to grab and go while getting something satiating and only 100 cals!

    Ok, so there is my rant about PRO Medifast diet. I know I personally went for Medifast because there are such an overwhelming number of success stories and positive reviews from real people that you just do not find with any other diets aka. pills, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers etc. Furthermore, Medifast provides you with 100% all the nutrients and nutritional requirements your body SHOULD be getting every single day. This is something that I was terrible at on my own where I would assume that a Lean Cuisine or 100 cal snack packs of your favorite junk food was an acceptable diet.

    Medifast is very strict and there is no wiggle room, you are either on plan or not but if you are determined that "this is the time I reach my goals, no excuses" then there is no way this won't work.
    Here's my experience and what the statistics say: Approximately 90% of all dieters regain weight after reaching a goal.The "success" stories will only apply to the 10% who make it. I deal DAILY with people who have come to me for advice on how to lose weight with a diet.
    My answer is ALWAYS the same: DIETS ARE TEMPORARY weight loss. People who lose weight and keep it off did it from a lifestyle change (which is what diet companies, programs, etc. try to preach later to you).
    When people are ready to make the actual change, that's when the real test begins.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • nnaannccyyw
    nnaannccyyw Posts: 19 Member
    Yes it does. So far, I've lost 105 pounds in 15 weeks.
  • nnaannccyyw
    nnaannccyyw Posts: 19 Member
    After a few years of prodding my husband has decided that he needs to do something about his weight. He needs to loose around a 100lbs if not more. He is looking into Medifast does this actually work? Does anyone have any tips on a healthy way to loose that much weight?

    Don't listen to people badmouthing Medifast. It is a good plan. It does cost approximately $300 a month, and I find that it's cheaper than what I was spending on food before I started it. Take note on how much is currently being spent on fast food, or junk food, probably a lot more than you realize. How can you put a price on good health?! Think of all the money you will save in the future when you don't end up with high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and numerous other illnesses that come from being overweight! Not only will you be saving your health, you'll actually be saving yourself a lot of doctor bills in the long run. It does work if you do the complete program which includes the transition and maintenance programs. If you don't do those and don't learn how to eat properly to maintain your weight, you'll gain it back. If you don't change your eating habits and your life style, the weight returns. The food isn't bad. You have to try all of the different types of food and see which of them you like best. You can also get a free health coach to help you with anything that you are going through while on the plan. All-in-all, I say you get a big bang for your buck with Medifast.
  • Medifast works for people who don't mind the way the food tastes. I tried it, and I personally found all the "food" and shakes to be utterly foul tasting, full of chemicals and artificial sweeteners. I also had problems with dizziness, including one very scary episode while I was driving. I'm not sure if that was because of the lack of calories or a reaction to an ingredient. Most of the food is made with soy protein, which some people find hard to digest.

    But I have a friend who had great success with it. She's not much of a foodie, so the taste didn't bother her and she loved not having to prepare real food. I say try everything until something sticks.