Food Substitutions That Are Close to the Medifast Profile
Hi,
I am intolerant to soy protein and once my reaction gets going, whey protein is not a lot better. So I devised substitutes for the Medifast meals by coming up with food combinations that approach the profile of the meals. I am listing them here for others who may have a problem with the Medifast products.
Please do not use this thread to list non-Medifast brand foods like SlimFast or WonderSlim, or foods that do not approach the Medifast meal profile. There is another thread for that. If you come up with novel combinations that work, feel free to list them here.
Note that some of the foods, like dairy foods and fruits, are not allowed on regular Medifast; however, I have to include them if I'm to get the correct protein and carbohydrate profile.
Basically, the Medifast meal profile is: 90-110 calories, no more than 3 grams fat, and about the same number of carb grams as protein grams--roughly 11-14 each. Also, 4 gm fiber. And I have to take a multivitamin every day. I haven't listed fiber below--some of these don't have much, but I aim for 4 gm with the fruits etc.
- 1/2 cup of 2% cottage cheese with 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup.
3 gm fat, 12 gm carb, 12 gm protein. (6 gm of the carb is in the honey or syrup.) Calories 121 (21 of which are the honey).
- 1/2 large apple plus 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (the 0 fat kind). (Apple cut up and mixed with yogurt)
0 gm fat, 20 gm carb, 12 gm protein. Calories 128. Could lower carbs by having less apple.
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries plus 1/4 cup Greek yogurt.
0 gm fat, 15 gm carb, 12 gm protein. Calories 106.
- 2 ounces of water-packed tuna, drained (1 small can) plus 1/2 slice of whole-grain oatmeal bread.
2 gm fat, 10 gm carb, 15 gm protein. Calories 110.
- Quaker oatmeal (original, not instant), 1/4 cup dry, cooked, plus 1/4 cup egg substitute, cooked separately.
1 gm fat, 15 gm carb, 9 gm protein. Calories 105. (Personally, I prefer to have a whole egg with this; with a whole egg the combination has 6 gm fat, 15 gm carb, 9 gm protein, cals 150.)
- 1 light string cheese plus 1/2 apple.
3 gm fat, 17 gm carb, 6 gm protein. Calories 113. (Sometimes I double the string cheese because I would rather have more protein than worry about fat, but that's up to you.)
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt (you can tell I like this) plus a few drops vanilla extract or flavoring and 2 teaspoons maple syrup.
0 gm fat, 15 gm carb, 15 gm protein. Calories 122.
- 2 ounces of cooked chicken breast, plus 1 oz. of steamed green beans (from frozen), plus 1/2 slice of whole-grain oatmeal bread.
2 gm fat, 12 gm carb, 15 gm protein. Calories 122.
- An 8-ounce glass of 1% milk.
3 gm fat, 12 gm carb, 8 gm protein. Calories 102.
- An 8-ounce glass of unsweetened soymilk.
4 gm fat, 8 gm carb, 7 gm protein. Calories 100.
- 2 ounces of chopped chicken breast mixed with 1/4 cup cooked brown rice. Warm up in microwave for about 10 seconds.
1 gm fat, 11 gm carb, 14 gm protein. Calories 114. I like some soy sauce with this.
Wow, Jay. You've done a lot of work figuring this out, and that's a lot of measuring you have to do on a daily basis. I have a whole new appreciation for my real Medifast. I bet these would be great snacks in maintenance.
Thanks Riddy! Yeah, it's a lot of measuring, but when I lost weight in the past I did it by counting calories, so it's not new to me. In fact, that was partly why I wanted to do Medifast! No having to count, measure, etc. Oh well, you do what you have to! I use FitDay to come up with the calories and grams of nutrients.
1/4 cup canned pumpkin (only pumpkin--no sugar, etc), 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (0 fat kind), 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup, pinch cinnamon plus other pumpkin pie spices if desired (nutmeg, clove, etc.). Mix lightly in a bowl.
0 gm fat, 14 gm carb, 13 gm protein. Calories: 107.
You can alter the ingredients to taste--add less yogurt, or more maple syrup--but this is nice for times when the pie is tempting you. Has 2 grams fiber plus ALL your vitamin A daily allowance.
Jay
P.S. You can experiment with heating this in the microwave if you want a warm treat instead of cold or room temp.
I could only do Medifast for 9 days and the soy got to me. I knew it was the soy because I had tried a soy shake one time for breakfast and lunch and it was too much for my system. I wish could do Medifast, the easiness of it and I knew it would work (I researched it before trying it).
I'm going to try some of these suggestions (although I can't do too much milk products in a given day).
Hey daw123! Sorry that too much dairy bothers you--it could be the whey protein, or it could be a different component of milk.
Do whole-soy products bother you? I don't have any trouble with soy foods--just with the protein isolate. Something they do to make it into the powder makes it different.
Here are some new ideas:
Turkey breast! Easy to get at a deli counter and almost all protein, like tuna. In fact, some deli meats are ideal for a small snack as long as your serving has fat at 3 gms or fewer.
Make sure, though, that you check out the nutrition facts for the brand you're buying. Total carbohydrates should be zero, and sugars should be zero. If carbs is zero but sugars is low, like 1 g, it could be just a glaze on the outside of the turkey. Some manufacturers, however, have taken to injecting beef roast, etc. with sugar to "improve the flavor." I stick with zero.
This is good if whole-soy doesn't bother you:
- 2 ounces extra firm tofu cubes, marinated and then baked beforehand (could bake a whole package, dice into cubes, and refrigerate to use as needed) and 1/4 cup brown rice. Mix and heat in microwave for maybe 15 seconds? Season with soy sauce, tamari, or flavor of your choice.
3 gm fat, 12 gm carb, 7 gm protein. Calories 112.
- 2 ounces small cooked, shelled shrimp (about 10 shrimp) and 1/4 cup brown rice. Can heat as above.
1 gm fat, 12 gm carb, 13 gm protein. Calories 114.
I had to drop Medifast due to the expense. I am using Vitalicious products (soy) and putting together 100 calorie-ish refuling meals like a Nature's Own Whole Wheat Sandwich Round and a wedge of Laughing Cow Light. I also like string cheese and cherry tomatoes, and have been trying Kay's Natural's products. They are also soy, though. Tasty for the most part. The protein/low carb/high fiber version of Special K is outstanding. A serving, dry is 100 cals. With unsweetened Almond Breeze, it's 140. My shake is half a scoop of Optimum Nutrition %100 Whey, and a serving of Almond Breeze with a serving of flax meal. This is generally breakfast. It's 160 cals, 4g fiber, 13g protein. I added a multi vitamin to my D3 and Omega-3 supplement, just to cover the bases, and I have a traditional L&G. So far, so good.
I'm glad to find this thread! I tried the first two weeks of Medifast, and have been really happy with the weight loss -- but the taste and the expense, not so much. I've been experimenting with subbing in a few MF meals with similar-nutritional-profile options. Are you all finding this as effective as straight MF? What do you think about Luna bars vs. MF bars? I've also found Avia shake powder -- it's 50/50 soy/whey, very high protein and very low carb. Anybody else use this one?
I find that the substitutes that I have listed work pretty well, but the regular Medifast foods, and following the guidelines, work the best. If I didn't have a problem with the protein isolates, I'd be using the regular Medifast foods all the time.
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese plus 1 cup lettuce plus 1 cup cucumber slices plus 1 Tbl balsamic vinegar (put in a gladware container and shake it all up!!). Calories 117, fat 1.4 gms, carbs 10 gms, protein 15.3 gms
Food Substitutions That Are Close to the Medifast Profile
If you come up with novel combinations that work, feel free to list them here.
I have a whole new appreciation for my real Medifast. 
Oh well, you do what you have to! I use FitDay to come up with the calories and grams of nutrients.
Sorry that too much dairy bothers you--it could be the whey protein, or it could be a different component of milk. 
