My husband wants to do Medifast

Don't do medifast. Too few calories and not enough nutrition.

Here's my story that you can tell him:

I did slimfast (about the same as medifast) a couple of years ago. Biggest mistake ever. After about three weeks I fainted because of not enough food and bruised my ribs falling down. Was bedridden for two weeks and still in a lot of pain for a further 6 weeks.

It's a waste of time and money. You don't need to give anybody money to lose weight, EVER. Plain an simple.

Don't be a victim to things like medifast, slim fast or any other money spinning product aimed at the desperate.

Tell him to count his calories, get a little exercise and stop listening to stupid radio hosts.

If he's tried other methods and failed and is really motivated to do Medfast I say do Medfast. Some people prefer a very streamlined diet that does not require them to think. Of course he'll have to commit to relearning how to eat after he's done with Medfast. Could he do it for a month or two and then transition to real food? Or, say, do two days on Medfast, the rest on real foot, etc.?

I think that at 300 pounds you have to do whatever will work. He also should see the doctor and a Registered Dietitian if that's possible.

I tried medifast. Medifast "works" because it's considered a VLCD (very low calorie diet). It started as meals for bariatric surgery patients, IIRC. If he really wants to do a VLCD, he can speak to his doctor who can send him to a bariatric specialist. The MD can let him know if he is a candidate/whether it's healthy for him to do a VLCD.

I spent over a hundred dollars on these powders and dehydrated meals. They were ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING. 3 years later I still had boxes of the stuff to throw away. I lost weight because I couldn't choke the crap down. Save your money!!

anyone want to try to enlighten me as to why/how Medifast could actually work?

It's a protein sparing modified fast, very low calorie but high protein to avoid muscle loss. Formulated to provide all the daily minerals and vitamins too.

Such things are used for 6-8 weeks in obese patients to achieve fairly quick weight loss. Many clinical trials on obesity use them and various national health bodies approve them for obese adults.

I did it with the Take Shape For Life Program. I lost 75lbs and have kept it off for almost two years! Needless to say, it changed my life and my relationship with food. Its safe, its healthy and teaches you more than you ever wanted to know. My endocrinologist introduced me to the program. You can also get a good review of the program on web md. I find it fascinating how many strong opinions there are out there about this program when it is soooooo obvious that they have never experienced it. Or if they have they didn't get the proper education and support. I just thought you might want to hear from someone who did it, had amazing success and actually kept it off. Have a great day

No. Please don't.

I am a believer in Medifast, but different things good for different people, so I am not going to try too hard to defend the program.

I can say I lost 50 pounds using a program most people on MFP would have agreed with. I hate 1800 - 2300 cal a day and lost the weight over 6 months. I held if for a couple and gained back all 50 and more in less than 6 months after that.

My point being, if your mind doesn't change in the right ways, no program works.

My main complaint with comments people are making about Medifast is that it is expensive. I also considering being on Medifast as helping my checking account also. I understand some people manage to eat pretty cheap, but whether I have been on a diet or not I usually spend much more than I am spending on Medifast.

Now I would say don't go to the Medifast centers, where they charge you additional consulting fees. Just order it from the web site or use a Take Shape for Life coach which is free.

I've been on Medifast for a little over a year. I'm not the best at sticking 100% to the plan....i.e. I do drink, and they say not to. But whenever I veer off course, I always make sure I stay low carb. I've tried about every diet under the sun, including Slimfast, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, South Beach, etc. I'm very good about following a plan for a short period of time, but my lifestyle and habits tend to make everything fail after a short time, followed by gaining the weight back. Medifast has been sooo easy to stay on. I don't have to think about it. I just grab my meals, and run out the door. The foods that need some help with flavor can easily be tweaked, while staying "on plan" with seasonings, or hot sauce, or even a small amount of sodium free chicken bullion. As to the cost, I actually find myself spending about half of what I used to spend on food, mostly because I no longer go out to eat for lunch every day of the week. My Medifast costs me between $150 and $250 a month, depending on what I order. I never use up the previous month's supply completely, so some months I order less, and it costs much less. I feel like I eat all the time. I'm never hungry. In fact, at the beginning, I had to set an alarm to remind me to eat, because I was still satisfied from my last meal. I don't miss carby foods. I find that my tastes have changed, and I don't even like them anymore. Sugary foods taste too sweet. Even potatoes, which I adored, just have no interest at all to me. I've lost 85 pounds so far, and have about 20 to go. Thanks to Medifast, I look and feel 500% better at 30 than I did at 29. I no longer take blood pressure medication, and my BMI has dropped from 38.2 to 25.4. It's still a little unbelievable to me every time I try on clothing that I wear a size 8 now, when I was squeezing into an 18 before. I really can't say enough good things about this program.

I have tried Medifast three times. The first time I did lose about 30 lbs, but it all came back plus another 30. The next two times I tried it, I remembered how disgusting the food is and only did the shakes. I lost maybe 6-10lbs because it wasn't sustainable. And... I gained it all back again. My coworker did Optifast, which is literally the same thing, and gained all of her weight back as well. There are those that find sustainable success with it, but those people are very few and far between.

some people just need to make their own mistakes. If his mind is made up there is nothing you can do to change it.

The food tastes like CRAP. I did it for about 2 months (and lost 15 pounds) but I started falling off the wagon and wanting to do insanity so I started eating clean and working out. When I would try to go back on medifast I couldn't STAND the food. You can only fool yourself into thinking that "it tastes OK..." for so long IMO.

however, I'm all but convinced it's just another, EXPENSIVE, gimmick that can't be sustained in real life once the weight comes off. I don't know though. A chick on a radio show he listens to is doing it and has lost like 130 in a year and he's convinced that if Ruth66 can do it then it's exactly perfect for him too. He really has a problem with self control though. UGHHHHHH. Sorry just wanted to vent a little. Maybe I'm totally off base, too; anyone want to try to enlighten me as to why/how Medifast could actually work? For the record, he's 5'6.5" and somewhere over 300 pounds, I don't know how long it's been since he's been on a scale...

edited to clarify a couple things

OMG Ruth66!!!! she used to do traffic for Dave Shelly and Chainsaw when I lived in SD~~~ what memories...
sorry this has nothing to do with the post - but it made me smile

I did Medifast for a couple months. I lost 12 pounds in 6 weeks, which is no faster than if I was watching what I ate & exercising. I do think it is healthy, since you get all your daily nutrition from the food. It was easy (grab & go). I spent about $265 per month on it. You have to watch it, they send you the next month's shipment (and charge you) after 2-2.5 weeks. I was sick to death of the food after 3 weeks. The bars & shakes were best. I think it's hard to transition from it, because it's not food you can make on your own. I certainly wouldn't do it again. The program is really designed to be on it forever (at a maintanence level, eating less of their food & more real food).

I think that this chick from the radio, ruth66 or whatever her name is, is probably paid by the company to talk about how great the product is. There are also doctors out there who suggest the product because they are getting paid to do so as well. I have never tried medifast, but I have tried others and although you can pick up better eating habits from those sort of products, they have never worked in the long run for me. As far as eating habits go, being on this site has educated me far more about eating properly and controlling my portions more that any product out there and it's free! Also, look at all of the success stories that are on here and all by eating real food and incorporating exercise into your daily life. You should suggest for your husband to come on to this site and to see a nutritionist, one that is more concerned about their patients' welfare than selling a product. I work in advertising and I've seen all sorts of ads for products that claim to help you lose weight and its really sad in my opinion. To those companies, we are nothing but fat walking dollar signs.