My husband wants to do Medifast
Phrick
Posts: 2,765 Member
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
edited to clarify a couple things
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Replies
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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.0 -
Medifast, to me, seems like a Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem type of plan.
While I do think that they work, as I've had friends that have used them, my fear is that by allowing an entity to choose all of your food portions/selections for you, you never really "learn" how to eat healthy and make correct choices.
But, it could be a good stepping stone for those that need a boost to get them started down the path of weight loss.
Good luck in your journey, whatever path you choose.0 -
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.0 -
http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/medifast-diet/reviews
Just have a look here. Medifast is a very low cal crash diet that does lose weight in the short term. But it comes bottom of the diets reviewed in long term keeping off the weight. Show your husband the research, and advise him not to waste his money.0 -
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.0 -
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.
That is most definitely the elegant, simple, and cost-effective way. But if he was able to do that don't you think he would have already?0 -
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!!0 -
3 years later I still had boxes of the stuff to throw away.
Just the fact that it is still around after 3 years (and not spoiled) should be enough to NOT eat it. It's chemicals and fake and should not even be classified as "food." I agree with another poster that if he needs it as a jumping on point to lose weight and then can transition into learning how to eat real food. It is amazing how much food you can eat when it's real food and not processed or packaged.
Since you are on MFP, you understand the concept behind calories and macros, maybe you could prepare a meal for him that would be considered healthy with protein, lots of awesome veggies and maybe a sweet potato to show him how much FOOD he could actually eat and still lose weight?!
Good luck! I hope he ultimately chooses the real food route!0 -
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.0 -
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.
Best advice right here.0 -
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 day0
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What does your husband actually KNOW about Medifast? Does he know it is low calorie? Can you show him exactly the amount of food he would be eating a day on it? Does he know any details other than the radio host has done it?
My boss was all gung ho about doing HCG (hgc? ha, I forget) until I pointed out it was 500 calories a day, she thought all she had to do is take the drops and the pounds would magically fall off.
If he has really looked into it and understands what it's all about then do as others have suggested and have him see a doctor first. I do have some friends who did it and quickly lost weight which gave them the motivation to go on to exercise and eating healthy without the Medifast.0 -
No. Please don't.0
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I did Medifast for a few months when I first started trying to lose weight. It's pretty expensive though and the low carb/low cal diet can be hard to maintain for most people. Not only that, but the first few days are pretty hard on you while you 'adjust' to the low carb/low cal diet. Essentially you eat 5 of their 'meals' a day and then one lean and green meal on your own which comes out to between 800 and 1000 calories a day, depending on the items you select. The only food that I thought tasted okay were the bars and the shakes. I couldn't stand the other items. I did see good results with it (who wouldn't with that low of calories and carbs) but I wanted to focus more on my fitness and I just wasn't able to continue to eat like that if I wanted to make progress on my running. I transitioned off of it and started using MFP instead and slowly upped my calories so I eat between 1400 - 1800 calories now and am still losing weight in a more healthy and slower fashion.
Honestly, I would skip doing the Medifast and save your money. Instead, just try doing MFP's program so that you can stick with a healthy lifestyle that doesn't feel like a "diet" that you're going to give up on in a few months. I've been on MFP for 505 days now and feel like I've made a complete lifestyle change and no longer worry about dieting. I just eat healthy now and make better choices. I truly wish I would have known earlier that you don't have to do some sort of "diet" to lose weight and keep it off.
If you do Medifast, it's imperative that you transition off it properly or you will immediately gain the weight back.0 -
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.0 -
If you are considered obese (over 30% body fat) it is a very good program to jumpstart a rapid weight loss and I would reccomend it. I did it for 3 months and lost over 50 pounds. By then I felt much better and my mobility was improving so I phased it out and moved on to more real food and regular exercise. I could not have safely gotten those results on my own. It took the guess work out of it and was very conveinent for me personally.
As stated it is a low cal low carb ketogenic diet. By limiting both it suppresses cravings and causes to body to tap into fat stores for energy. If you follow the plan you can expect dramatic initial weight loss safely. It is a medical diet that is a balanced and has full supply of all vitamins. I still use the bars, cereals, and shakes occasionally. I chose it because it worked without working out. In fact it works better if you are seditary considering the low calories. Calories run about 800-1200 a day and carbs under 90. Unlike most very low calorie diets it has good protien at every meal to help hold on to lean muscle. Side effects are you will see your sugar level out, water retention will drop, lower cholesterol, and energy will increase.
The foods are much better than you would think for freeze dried astronaught food, but you may have to try a few to see what you like. You have close to 100 different choices at about $2 a meal or $10 a day. You can follow MFP and lose 1.5-2 pounds a week of try Medifast and posibly lose 10 pounds a week. I may not be great long term but its hard to deny its effectiveness for very over weight people.
Good Luck.0 -
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.0
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I did medifast too! I lost like 30 pounds in 45 days and after I lost 15 pounds more after 70 days. The beauty of Medifast is that you do not have to cook. This is the only and best advantage. After 45 days you need to start introducing a mix between Medifast shakes and some food. Starting on day 15 you need to start exercising not before! because your body is still not accustom to the level of calories.
Believe me it worked for me too and I think is a great system to see rapid results so I will motivate you to keep going. After the 70 days stop MEDIFAST completely and just exercise, you are going to be so pump that you lost so much weight that you will never want to start doing exercise any more.0 -
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.0
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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.
So how does the thinking when you get off Medi-Fast? If you aren't thinking, how are you able to change your thought process (thinking pattern) toward good eating habits?0 -
some people just need to make their own mistakes. If his mind is made up there is nothing you can do to change it.0
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I can appreciate that your finances are tied together, but I also feel like he is an adult that deserves to make his own decisions and succeed or fail. I know its not the same, but if you were really excited about getting a personal trainer, and he kept telling you to just work out at home, how would you feel? Maybe a little discouraged or resentful? Or maybe not at all, I don't know your relationship dynamics :-) You know him better than we do, so you're better equipped to gauge his reaction. If he is really excited about it (and not really excited about counting calories), maybe agree to try it for a set time/set amount of money?0
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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.0
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No. Please don't.
this, if he's looking to lose weight he should reduce his caloric intake, drink more water and you all go walk in the park together, more exercise and more romance a few times a week, add more as he gets moving, watch Biggest Loser or get on MFP for inspiration to keep it up
bank the $$ he would have spent on medifast and the upkeep/supplements and go on a cruise next year :drinker:0 -
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 smile0 -
I wasn't sure about Medifast but that stretch of four positive posts, from people with no real posting history and no profile pics...totally sold me!
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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).0
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Me and Oprah Winfrey did Medifast back in the 80's........we both lost good, but once you get off of it....you gain it all back!! I gained back lots more than I lost (nearly double)!!!!0
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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.0
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I know someone who lost weight on Medifast but is having some real problems maintaining. If your husband needs accountability that he pays for (sometimes a very good motivator), I would suggest Weight Watchers or another system that promotes eating real food and a balanced diet. That is a life change that is maintainable.0
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