Take shape for life

bakesb73
bakesb73 Posts: 81 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone tried take shape for life? I am about to start the program and maybe I should have gotten more info on it first but I talked to one of the coaches and they were very convincing.

Replies

  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    This site has 75 million users for a reason.
    It works if you follow it.
    Get a food scale at walmart or target for $20 and get started.
    Focus on eating healthy foods. NOT GIMMICKS to rip you off.
  • kjpeggy
    kjpeggy Posts: 1 Member
    I'm doing Take Shape For Life and I love it. I've been on it since January 16, 2016 and have lost 43 pounds. I'd love to be a source of support for you. It is definitely working for me.
  • alyssa0061
    alyssa0061 Posts: 652 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Weight loss is simple, but not necessarily easy.
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Weight loss is simple, but not necessarily easy.
  • thunder1982
    thunder1982 Posts: 280 Member
    No you dont need special diets or meal replacements but for some people they are a good motivator/kickstart to the weight loss process. This might not be right for you but it could be the right step for someone else.

    For example I paid AU$200 for joining an online program that came with meal planning & a fitness program (all customizable). For me this was good value in conjunction with MFP. I learnt to cook a variety meals (and yes weigh each ingredient), it helped me get into the habit of menu planning and weekly shopping and gave me some great workouts to do at home while I got started. After the 3 months was up I didnt rejoin but have continued the habits (mostly) of menu planning/weekly shopping and use some of the recipes on a regular basis. The community was good and also there were fitness tests you did throughout the program to monitor your progress. Also there were mindset and other videos to watch but they werent really my thing. The forums did have moderators who jumped in with advice/motivation on a regular basis. It was always a very positive experience reading posts on the forum.

    That being said I took a look at the website for Take Shape for Life and personally its not a program I would chose as for me. But I do find it disheartening that people are so harsh about someone trying a program. She's already signed up so what she really needs is some genuine feedback from people who have tried it and any advice on how to make the most of it.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Nope. Never heard of it.

    Just log your food on here as accurately as possible/ use a food scale / move more and the weight will come off without having to pay for any so called diet system.
  • healthykaitlin
    healthykaitlin Posts: 91 Member
    Someone on Instagram kept pushing TSFL & put up a post about how her medifast bar kept her from hitting the drive thru.... you can store any protein or granola bar in your car, gym bag, purse & have the same result. The "coaches" of these programs are trained to recruit individuals & make money doing so. Some of the "coaches" haven't even had real, long-term success. These programs work the same as any other calorie restrictive diet, they just usually have stricter rules about what you can/can't eat & end up costing you more in the long run than a diet based on nutrition & moderation. I've fallen for & failed on so many of these programs, it's ridiculous.

    Calorie counting & exercise works. You do not need particularly branded, packaged foods to reach your goals.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I'm wondering what kind of meal plans/planning you've tried in the past? Genuinely curious, because for me, meal planning makes eating easier, not more difficult. I set up a table - in a spreadsheet - of my meals, and now I just enter into the plan food I want to eat, write shopping lists for those foods/ingredients, buy them, cook, and eat. I accomodate for real life - sometimes my appetite is smaller or larger (today I have to skip lunch) or something non-food related happens that leads to not following the plan exactly, then I rearrange items to fit reality and my needs.
  • 4HisGloryAlways
    4HisGloryAlways Posts: 8 Member
    edited June 2016
    Someone asked about this yesterday on another thread and I'll repost my response below. It's not for everybody, some people have success and some people don't (like me). In my personal experience, and I've tried everything under the sun: diet pills, Medifast or Take Shape for Life, Nutrisystem, "Clean Eating", and even starving myself (college years), and what all these programs have done is provide "quick fixes" to get to a thin body by X amount of time. I've learned the hard way: losing weight and maintaining it has to be sustainable and I need to get out of the "diet" mentality. Once I tell myself that I can only have this food and not that, or label some foods as "good" and "bad" then I'm perpetuating the eating disorder that I already have in binge eating. I've realized that any time I restrict anything I'm going to end up overeating because I'm going to crave the foods I can't have. It's a very mental game.

    So back to your question: I did Medifast (MF) (or Take Shape for Life/TSFL) in the past (aka about 4 years ago) and lost 25 lbs, but then I gained it all back. I started it again in April this year and I found that it was too restrictive and I had reallyyyy bad cravings. I started MFP (myfitnesspal) in May to track my TSFL meals because I wanted to see how many calories I was consuming but also because I wanted to find a system that I can stick to after I was done with MF. I found that I was eating 1000 cal/day, which is really starving. I know that once you get your body into fat burning (which they say takes 3 days), you wouldn't be as hungry, but I kept failing and kept starting over & over. No wonder it was hard to stick to!

    After starting and failing for 1.5 months, I found that it wasn't sustainable because it was too restrictive to stick to 5 MF meals and 1 lean&green a day. I spent a longgg time on the forums here on MFP and became really encouraged by people's success stories who had just decided to count calories and make healthy choices. I learned about IIFYM (if it fits your macros) and I'm practicing that now. I stopped TSFL in early June and started counting calories (I'm at 1200 a day), and I'm not restricting myself (e.g. having low-calorie ice-cream every night), and eating the foods I love as long as I'm within the calorie limit for the day. I lost 13 lbs already just from doing that, I'm hooked! For me, restricting myself will not result in long term success. 1200 cal is enough to keep me full and I make food choices that will give me satiety (e.g. lean cuts of beef/turkey, vegetables, etc). I'm using my TSFL meals as snacks between my meals since I still have them and I'm trying to finish my last shipment. However, I no longer consider myself on TSFL and I'm having better success counting calories on MFP.

    Every one has to find something that works for them. If TSFL works for you and takes you closer to your goals, then by all means do it! For someone like me who has an eating disorder (e.g. binge eating) and has a really hard time with restricting meals, TSFL was a quick fix and I felt really deprived so I was really craving foods (fast food!!) that I don't usually crave. At the end of the day, I find counting calories very liberating because I feel free to make the food choices I want, no one is telling me what to eat (so I am NOT restricted) and knowing (mentally) that I have that freedom to choose actually makes me want to eat healthy AS LONG as I stay within my calorie limit. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but it's true. Like I said earlier, losing weight is a very mental game, but especially more so for someone with an eating disorder.
  • jahillegas_51
    jahillegas_51 Posts: 143 Member
    4HisGloryAlways wrote: »
    Someone asked about this yesterday on another thread and I'll repost my response below. It's not for everybody, some people have success and some people don't (like me). In my personal experience, and I've tried everything under the sun: diet pills, Medifast or Take Shape for Life, Nutrisystem, "Clean Eating", and even starving myself (college years), and what all these programs have done is provide "quick fixes" to get to a thin body by X amount of time. I've learned the hard way: losing weight and maintaining it has to be sustainable and I need to get out of the "diet" mentality. Once I tell myself that I can only have this food and not that, or label some foods as "good" and "bad" then I'm perpetuating the eating disorder that I already have in binge eating. I've realized that any time I restrict anything I'm going to end up overeating because I'm going to crave the foods I can't have. It's a very mental game.

    So back to your question: I did Medifast (MF) (or Take Shape for Life/TSFL) in the past (aka about 4 years ago) and lost 25 lbs, but then I gained it all back. I started it again in April this year and I found that it was too restrictive and I had reallyyyy bad cravings. I started MFP (myfitnesspal) in May to track my TSFL meals because I wanted to see how many calories I was consuming but also because I wanted to find a system that I can stick to after I was done with MF. I found that I was eating 1000 cal/day, which is really starving. I know that once you get your body into fat burning (which they say takes 3 days), you wouldn't be as hungry, but I kept failing and kept starting over & over. No wonder it was hard to stick to!

    After starting and failing for 1.5 months, I found that it wasn't sustainable because it was too restrictive to stick to 5 MF meals and 1 lean&green a day. I spent a longgg time on the forums here on MFP and became really encouraged by people's success stories who had just decided to count calories and make healthy choices. I learned about IIFYM (if it fits your macros) and I'm practicing that now. I stopped TSFL in early June and started counting calories (I'm at 1200 a day), and I'm not restricting myself (e.g. having low-calorie ice-cream every night), and eating the foods I love as long as I'm within the calorie limit for the day. I lost 13 lbs already just from doing that, I'm hooked! For me, restricting myself will not result in long term success. 1200 cal is enough to keep me full and I make food choices that will give me satiety (e.g. lean cuts of beef/turkey, vegetables, etc). I'm using my TSFL meals as snacks between my meals since I still have them and I'm trying to finish my last shipment. However, I no longer consider myself on TSFL and I'm having better success counting calories on MFP.

    Every one has to find something that works for them. If TSFL works for you and takes you closer to your goals, then by all means do it! For someone like me who has an eating disorder (e.g. binge eating) and has a really hard time with restricting meals, TSFL was a quick fix and I felt really deprived so I was really craving foods (fast food!!) that I don't usually crave. At the end of the day, I find counting calories very liberating because I feel free to make the food choices I want, no one is telling me what to eat (so I am NOT restricted) and knowing (mentally) that I have that freedom to choose actually makes me want to eat healthy AS LONG as I stay within my calorie limit. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but it's true. Like I said earlier, losing weight is a very mental game, but especially more so for someone with an eating disorder.

    On point!!!
  • JillArt
    JillArt Posts: 1 Member
    Hi! I'm doing TSFL. I have been since January. Some of you who say thing like "you don't need special diets, etc" have not been in my shoes. I am in my late 50's, post menopausal and have some medical issues that have made losing weight almost impossible. I have tried, unsuccessfully, many things such as Weight Watchers, using fitness pal to track my calories, etc. While I was doing the diets correctly, I was still not losing.
    TSFL is the only thing that I have tried in the last 10 years that has actually worked. It isn't easy, you have to want to see results. Yes, it is restrictive in the weight loss phase but TSFL also successfully teaches how to add all of the food groups back, also has a maintenance phase and teaches healthy lifestyle changes along the way.
    I haven't been perfect but even when on vacation and eating rather badly, I haven't gained the weight back. I love this program and will be considering coaching.
  • 40tmw
    40tmw Posts: 17 Member
    TSFL is a great program to lose weight, but it is not sustainable for weight management. For one, it is expensive. Another, you are not giving your body enough calories to lead an active lifestyle (which is most beneficial for your overall health). However, it is effective for weight loss and works quickly and safely when the primary objective is getting the weight off. When I lost 50 lbs., many of the obstacles I was experiencing to prevent me from regular exercise (foot pain, back pain) went away. After losing 50 lbs. and transitioning off Medifast, I was able to run over 100 miles over the summer. That felt great!

    As with any plan, unless you are learning about food and your boys and your behaviors, no weight loss plan will be successful, long term. TSFL has resources to teach participants about sugar (primarily) and WHY people gain weight. It isn't a mystery - - it just requires people to pay attention and make smart choices. When I started making bad choices this summer, I gained some of my weight back. Now, I am focused on taking back control of what I put in my mouth - and have lost 5 lbs. again.

    TSLF/Medifast is a great program - but it isn't magic and won't solve all of your weigh woes. It is a tool and it is safe, as long as you get coaching. There are some people who cannot/should not do this plan. Consult your doctor or a coach! :smile:
  • z4oslo
    z4oslo Posts: 229 Member
    Diets do not work, simply because they are intended for a limited period.
    The only thing that DOES work, is to eat less and move more. This isnt something new, its always been like this.
    eat - move - sleeep.

    Its so simple, and yet so difficult. In fact its so difficult that many people pay alot of money on diets systems, detox, pills and of course slimming coffee and tea.

    The problem with all the diets are this: they dont actually teach you ANYTHING other than how much it costs to fail.

    The irony is: Its not hard to lose weight, and its not hard to keep it off. The only thing needed is some exercise, and to learn to listen to your body.

    it will tell you when its time to eat, and it will tell you when you had enough (if you eat slowly)
    Thats basicly all you need to do.
  • amyepdx
    amyepdx Posts: 750 Member
    JillArt wrote: »
    Hi! I'm doing TSFL. I have been since January. Some of you who say thing like "you don't need special diets, etc" have not been in my shoes. I am in my late 50's, post menopausal and have some medical issues that have made losing weight almost impossible. I have tried, unsuccessfully, many things such as Weight Watchers, using fitness pal to track my calories, etc. While I was doing the diets correctly, I was still not losing.
    TSFL is the only thing that I have tried in the last 10 years that has actually worked. It isn't easy, you have to want to see results. Yes, it is restrictive in the weight loss phase but TSFL also successfully teaches how to add all of the food groups back, also has a maintenance phase and teaches healthy lifestyle changes along the way.
    I haven't been perfect but even when on vacation and eating rather badly, I haven't gained the weight back. I love this program and will be considering coaching.

    There are plenty of late 50's, postmenopausal women on this site who have lost a lot of weight without expensive unnecessarily restrictive, MLM "diets" myself included - 85 lbs to be exact.

Categories