Medifast - Non-Medifast Brand Foods For Substitution

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Jehna

09-21-2009, 03:02 PM

Last week, we almost ran out of "Official" Medifast foods when our shipments took a lot longer than we'd expected. :snail: :eek: I thought we could have a thread where we share other options to the official foods. I got the idea from the Sub Bar thread. Here's what I posted there:

I downloaded and printed out the Product Nutrition Quick Profile chart from TSFL.com. It shows all the nutritional info on thier foods by nutrition values. It's great! Here's the link:

http://www.tsfl.com/pdfs/resources/Product_Quick.pdf

I take it shopping with me and compare calories, fat, protein, fiber, carbs and sugar for all kinds of things. I've found several products I've added to our repertoire. For example: 4 Old London Brand "Melba Snack" crackers compare almost exactly in nutrition to the Medifast snack crackers, with the exception of 1 gram of fat. And they taste better, the Roasted Garlic ones are Yummy! :hun: And they aren't $15.50 a box!

Give it a shot, and let us know what you find. Maybe we can save ourselves some desperation and a little money, too! :cheers:

Operator265

09-21-2009, 04:43 PM

Thanks for this post. It will come in handy. It could also be a good way of helping folks transition and make the lifestyle change instead of a diet.

Jehna

09-21-2009, 08:00 PM

No Prob! Anything that makes it easier for me, while sticking to my goal, is what I'm after. I'm 48 and struggling way more than I used to have to to get healthy again. I've made myself a Medifast 'Food Category' Nutrition Value Average chart that makes At-A-Glance shopping decisions MUCH easier for me. It might not be for everyone, but I figure if it helps me it might help others; and supporting each other makes it much more endurable! I'll see if the chart will paste here:

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k184/JehnaKai/NutrValAver.jpg

DoonBug

09-22-2009, 07:35 PM

This is GREAT! Thanks so much for sharing. I've found the Whole Foods soy crisps to be very comperable to the MF ones. The key is to buy those snack size ziplock bags and pre-portion them out based on the nutrition guidelines. Delish with a small green salad or raw veggies on the side. Sometimes, I use the ranch flavored ones as "croutons"

RabidAlley

09-28-2009, 08:45 PM

One thing about MF that drives me crazy is how long it takes to get an order! It always takes 7-8 business days between the day I order and when it arrives. It sure seems that they could speed it up a bit!

~Alley
http://rabidalley.blogspot.com/

Pinkadot

10-12-2009, 08:21 PM

these seem okay, theres a lot of campbells soup that would work but the sodium is so high like 900 mg :/
the healthy choice soup has 300ish

3/4 cup KELLOGG'S, SPECIAL K Low Carb Lifestyle Protein Plus
calories 101
fat 3g
carb 14g
fiber 5g
protein 10g
15% vitamin A 35% Vitamin C 4% Calcium 45% Iron

1 cup Healthy Choice chicken noodle soup
calories 100
fat 2g
carb 13g
fiber 2g
protein 9g
28% Vitamin A 2% Calcium

Pinkadot

10-18-2009, 03:50 PM

I looked at the range of nutrients in medifast products not including maintenance bars and it was calories 90-100, fat 0-3.5, carbs 9-16, fiber 3-6, sugar 0-10, protein 11-14, sodium 120-420
this helps when you find things that are at the low or high end of the range
totals for all 5 meals should be : calories 450-550, fat 0-25, carbs 45-80, fiber 15-30, sugar 0-50, protein 55-70, sodium 600-2100, and 100% of vitamin RDA

Slimfast creamy chocolate shake mix high protein (this is the powder mix in the can not the ready to drink shakes) - the protein is a little low so youd want to try and get a little extra somewhere else
calories 110
fat 3.5g
carbs 13g
fiber 4g
protein 7g
sodium 130g
15% vitamin a, 45% vitamin c, 20% calcium, 30% iron

The EAS Advantedge shakes are okay too but 3g too high on protein, 7g too low on carbs and 1-2g too low on fiber - but if you had a combo of one of those and slim fast shake youd be about even

EAS advantedge french vanilla/strawberry cream carb control shake
calories 110
fat 3g
carbs 2g
fiber 1g
protein 17g
sodium 260
20% vitamin a, 45% vitamin c, 20% calcium

its definitely a lot of work to figure out yourself, but its possible. I am trying to find products so I can have 2 MF meals a day and 3 replacement meals - I love the MF system but I am a single college student living alone and working full time so if I have to do extra work to save money I will!

also.. you could measure and mix in unflavored protein and fiber powders into stuff
for example if you had 3/4 cup of the healthy choice chicken noodle soup it would be 75 cal, 9.75 carb, 1.5 fiber, and 6.75 protein. add 1 tsp benefiber powder and 1/4 scoop of natures best protein 100% whey powder and it would be 96.5 cal, 11.75g carbs, 3g fiber, and 12.75g protein

1/2 cup of egg beaters + 4 tsp benefiber =
calories 90
carbs 8
protein 12
fiber 6

use the benefiber + heart health for more vitamins
again a lot of work but possible hehe :D

GETTINGTOGOALIN2009

10-22-2009, 04:29 PM

When I did 100% MF and my shipment was delayed, nutrition support suggested eating 3 full lean & green meals and 2 snacks of 1-2 oz of protein or a glass of skim milk.

I have also used EAS Advantage low carb shakes and South Beach Cereal bars. I am using up what MF products I have left (they are expensive) and I am transitioning to Wonderslim (dietdirect.com) and the stuff is very tasty, same product used for Nutrimed and New Lifestyle. Only dietdirect.com sells it cheaper and 79$ get you free shipping and over 100$ gets you 10% discount.

I live in the western mass area and I always have my products within 48 hours of ordering. MF is a good program but the Wonderslim & Bariwise products are superior in taste and less carbs.

I know a MF health coach that is USING WONDERSLIM! lol

GETTINGTOGOALIN2009

10-22-2009, 04:33 PM

Just FYI- if you ask this question on the MF board, be prepared to be "jumped on and attacked" by a certain few members that take upon themselves to be the Medifast Police! lol

Jehna

10-22-2009, 09:29 PM

GETTINGTOGOALIN2009

10-22-2009, 10:33 PM

I appreciate what Medifast has done for my husband and me but the point is to get healthy, not brand loyalty. When someone "jumps" me on brand loyalty, I question thier motives and look to see if they benefit financially from keeping me(or others) on an expensive program. Most people have to watch a budget, especially right now, and it's about how to get the best results you can in a way that your budget can handle.

I totally agree with you. I also appreciate that I lost weight with MF and it is a good program. But I have now started to mix and match with Wonderslim. It is less expensive & I only have to spend 79$ to get free shipping. When I was on the Medifast boards & I saw people asking this question I always pm'd my response to them because there are a group of MF folks that get all snarky and insulting. Times are hard financially for many people and we all have to watch our money. I know I do. I have found good substitutes and I am using them. The Wonderslim & Bariwise products sold by dietdirect.com are less expensive, taste better, 10% discount on 100$ and free shipping. I WON'T pass that deal up. EAS Advantage shakes are a good substitute and I get them at Walmart. I also bought several box of South Beach ceral bars at Costco.

I am not loyal to any particular brand. I want the best bang for my buck!;)

dakotamidnight

10-22-2009, 10:36 PM

just curious - is it possible to do medifast with foods entirely from regular grocery stores?

Money is very tight for us, and I really need to lose weight for an upcoming surgery.

GETTINGTOGOALIN2009

10-22-2009, 10:44 PM

just curious - is it possible to do medifast with foods entirely from regular grocery stores?

Money is very tight for us, and I really need to lose weight for an upcoming surgery.

There are ways to do a diet that mimics MF.

DebbieC

11-15-2009, 09:23 AM

I'm just posting here to see if anyone has any other input. Sometimes you are away from home longer than expected and need some alternitives. Does any one else have ideas for supermarket alternatives? Just cuious. I tried the South Beach Cereal bars and wasn't real kean on them. But we all have diffeent tastes, I know that. Keep the suggestions coming.

Jehna

11-15-2009, 03:06 PM

WE just got back from a month long trip in our RV, and it was very hard to stay on program without access to a blender and microwave! (The one in our RV just stopped working one day, go figure) I ate a LOT of bars and got really sick of so much sweet & crunchy! Yech!

But I discovered that 3/4 cup of Safeway's "Best of Egg" (Eggbeaters) is equivalent to a MF scrambled egg, and could cook that on the stove. And there are stove top instructions for most things on the MF website. http://tsfl.com/pdfs/resources/Mixing_Instructions.pdf Of course you have to have access to a stove or hot plate! Hotel rooms often have microwaves now, so that might not be a problem for you.

But we ended up eating small Lean and Greens throughout the day, kind of like being on maintenance. I actually lost weight still, although my rate of loss slowed drastically. At least I didn't gain anything back, TG!

DebbieC

11-16-2009, 06:37 PM

Wow that's terrific to continue to loose. Congratulations

Dariann

11-21-2009, 04:26 PM

I am substituting Zone bars but they are higher so I only do one a day and adjust the carbs somewhere, I sometimes use yogart that is 0 fat like some new Greek brands from Costco. Even with the fruit you can be very low in carbs and high in protein. so it is one of my 5 a day.
I use another bar from Costco's that is very close to the prot/carbs/cal etc as MF. I also order from Vitacost on line the diet cookies from a Chef, cant remember his name but they are awesome in taste and order some of the low carb, high protein drinks in powder form from them also. I only eat one of the choc chip cookies at a time cause the carbs for 2 in a pack and 30 gr. and that is too high but one at a time I can still lose. Love them and getting more. The $5 shipping for any total is great also. That is pretty good, even heavy orders. I do not like the premade drinks as they taste bad. MF has the best tasting bars and drinks so the Zone is good and I am able to continue my program with it and use light soups also. At night sometimes I eat real chicken or turkey if I get hungry and eat the super low condiments like cactus (mexican section) and a few olives or puckles to keep the carbs down. I cant find a pudding like choc one that is as good as MF, if you know of any let me know. Over all the MF got me going and I am happy about that. Read my hair post. Hope this helps.

justducky2

11-22-2009, 01:15 AM

The "vegetarian sloppy joe" at New Lifestyle is tvp - texturized vegetable protein (defatted soy flour crumbles, essentially). The cheapest place I buy it at is Winco Foods in the bulk foods section. It is a GREAT sub for ground beef, you would just need to figure out the seasonings. You can also buy tvp at stores that carry Bob's Red Mill - but at a higher price, or at natural foods store. Basically, for a cup of dry tvp, you rehydrate with about 7/8 cup of water. With your seasonings, put it on a bed of lettuce....YUMMY!!!!

Thanks very much for starting this thread. I am type II diabetic, saw my dr yesterday, he said becoming a vegetarian is helping me, but I really really need to do a low-carb plan, as the scientific literature says that low cal low fat diets don't seem to help people get the weight OFF. If I can get the weight OFF it could resolve my diabetes as it is in the early stages. He has several patients that are going to a clinic that provides doctor supported medifast type regime. I'm confident that once I get the weight OFF I will stabilize my weight as that is what eating veg has done for me. My ins may pay for a part as they are now doing so for people who need to take weight off for gastric bypass surgery....so what you are posting will still help me stretch my meager dollars...THANK YOU!

Dariann

11-22-2009, 02:10 PM

I used to be a vegan and was a vegetarian for a long time, now I wont eat soy products. I will do fermented soy but that is harder to found. I think many of us are looking for other brands of protein powder and bars etc. At least I am. What bars taste great and are not Mfast? I have used Zone and like them. I tried some all natural ones but too high in carbs. Want one low in carbs and high in protein and low in calories.

Dariann

11-22-2009, 02:11 PM

@justducky: Glad the soy works for you by the way.

justducky2

11-22-2009, 04:36 PM

@justducky: Glad the soy works for you by the way.

Hi Dariann,

Yes, our bodies all react in different ways...and the soy works for me... but I know quite a few people that it doesn't work for!

And I know that my doc is right...I need high protein, low carb....gonna go to the MF-like clinic on Tuesday, but I'm wary cuz their website looks like a hard sell sales pitch...so I'm contemplating doing it on my own, I just have to be careful due to diabetes and blood pressure meds...they do check with your ins co to see what is covered. I have heard that it covers the medical but not the food. In that case, I'll probably buy an initial order, cuz I have to, then mingle it with Wonderslim to stretch my dollars. I did a similar program in the 1980s and it is incredible...it works.

Can't help you with the bars, unfortunately. I remember finding some homemade protein bars recipes on forums dot lowcarber dot org . I can't remember, for me, though, if they are vegetarian....I can't do meat anymore, for me, it grosses me out.

Take care :D

Dariann

11-23-2009, 11:40 AM

Hi Ducky, Good morning.
Have you checked out the medifast home program with the coaches? The program is free I think, I am not doing that so I am not sure. The centers are good if you need more support than your doctor (to watch your blood sugar and blood levels) family/friends/ and this web site. I think the diet is listed on the web site for home delivery and you get it also when you order the food. They have a medical program for diabetics. Yes it is allot of money the centers. Allot. Can you call your insurance company first.
I am doing a modified medifast and have lost and right now I am maintaning and want to start losing again, I was losing like crazy. Read my post on my hair and other issues.
You do have to be careful and do what is best for you.
I did see a web site with recipes and I need to look for that site again. I might of printed some out. I personally dont like soy, I can do it but dont like it. I like the Zone bars but they are higher in cal/carbs so I dont do more than one a day. But it great to take with me. I get them at Costco's and then get the cookies from Vitacost and do one pack a day, one cookie per meal. I have a ton of protein powders for shakes and I should eat those instead of egg whites and a low carb wrap cause hubby cooks them for me. I always go to the sports bars location and read the labels. Protein/carb/fat ratio. I try to get close to even with protein and carbs like the medifast bars. Not exactly but close. Nothing over 200 cal if at all possble and low carbs, very hard to find.

Why not try the online program first unless your insurance will pay for it. I didnt think they did that anymore. I hope yours does. That would be great. Let us know how it all goes.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. Will look into many.

alienjoe211

11-25-2009, 12:08 AM

Both my wife & I are almost at our goals & are trying to save money by purchasing similar items to MF products. We got a deal on Pria bars at netrition.com. but they don't fill me up as well. We compared nutritional info & couldn't find products that give us the nutrients & fill us for 2-3 hours.

We're going to continue using their products for between meals once we transition into the maintenance phase. It may cost more, but we're looking for results and want to keep the new bodies we've acquired.

DebbieC

11-26-2009, 10:35 AM

That's good to know. Thanks for doing the research.

justducky2

12-04-2009, 05:54 PM

Dariann, thanks for the advice. After doing research, Robard is the manufacturer of the supplements the doctor's office gave me samples of, which is the same company that makes new lifestyle, wonderslim, bariwise, etc., they just private label them (oh - and the doctor's office's version is the higher protein - 27g/meal - like Wonderslim Weight & Inches -rather than all the others' 13g or so/meal).

Oh - I did just find this one company here: bodyandhealthessentials dot com , wow, that does the same shakes - they call theirs NutriBest - for $7.00 per box for 7 packets if you buy 60 boxes!!!!! Wow! That's even cheaper than dietdirect.

I figured that would last for 12 weeks for $420, a heck of WAY less money than the center wanted. Hubby says we can't even do that till January, so I think for now I will follow some of the suggestions here, and go to Sam's and get some protein powder for the meantime: I know what I need - low carb, high protein. And I've been maintaining by being a veg, for me it works...so I just need something to get the weight OFF!

My insurance will only cover 60% of the med services only - not the meal replacements. It's $275 for med history and physical; $385 monthly med fee; meal replacement is $3.85/packet (2-5 packets per day of the higher protein - 27g packets).

So if I did that, for one month I would be paying $231 med and they quoted me $216/mo for 2 packets/day, so $447 out of pocket monthly. Really, the only med thing I will have to watch is if my blood pressure drops, and blood sugar drops, but I can watch both those myself and go to my primary care doc and have HIM adjust my meds.

Thanks for letting me think out loud...

Dariann

12-06-2009, 01:25 PM

justducky2

12-13-2009, 02:38 PM

so are you then doing MF on your own and getting the food from another source? Let us know how you are doing. I will add you as a buddy if that is OK.

Robarts, (sp) I am very familiar with them and like many of the items as far as taste. You can get bars at Costco's with high protein/low carbs and either cut the # of them in a day that you use or cut in half. Take a supplement if need be if the bars dont have vitimins. That is easy enough. Robarts used to make products for a company in Ohio that had many weight loss centers. They didnt private label at first then did. It is hard to found them unless you get them on line or buy from a center. I dont see them in health type stores like GNC. Too bad.

Enjoying this site and your feed back.

Darian, yes, I have decided to to MF on my own. I just don't have $500/mo for 6 months to do it with the center; the main thing that they would be offering me is the weigh-in and the accountability, or if I did the strict fast (no lean & green, VLCD <800 cals/day) then it is important to have the med follow-up with the EKGs. I have the oomph to do MF during the day; and I find if I drink a shake right before I leave work, I'm not insane about munching when I get home because the protein fills me up. Then I go home and fix a sane and healthy dinner for my family, so they are benefitting too. I'll follow up with my reg doc if I need meds adjusted.

PLUS, I could get the NutriBest shakes, 3 months worth, for $420 (Robard is the maker, same as MF, New Lifestyle, and doctors/centers). So I just need to take it one day at a time, and get this done.

I actually went and bought the EAS 100% Whey Protein Chocolate mix from Sam's Club. 130 cals, 23g protein, 3g carbs. I'm very carb-sensitive, so this will work well for me and allow me to eat some limited carbs for dinner. I shake it up with 9 oz water at work; the taste is more like a beverage than a shake; I tried less water to see if it would thicken, but it doesn't. Maybe I'll get some vegetarian thickener and see if it thickens it up. It is not overly sweet, which is a plus, and I'm completely full after drinking it. I also drink hot tea and a cup of vegetarian boullion during the day, too. My boss has some small cans of low sodium V8 that she encouraged us to drink up; I think I'll buy some of those, too, to have at work. Last week was just an experiment (that TOM, not a good time for me to start dieting!), so tomorrow I start full blast and will let you all know what happens next week.

I looked at the bars at Costco, do you recommend a particular one that is high protein/low carb. I couldn't find both those qualities in any of the bars I looked at! If they were high protein, they were high carb; if they were low carb, they were low protein!!! Thanks!

I would love to have you add me as a buddy! :hug:

luvinit

12-16-2009, 10:53 PM

I actually went and bought the EAS 100% Whey Protein Chocolate mix from Sam's Club. 130 cals, 23g protein, 3g carbs. I'm very carb-sensitive, so this will work well for me and allow me to eat some limited carbs for dinner. I shake it up with 9 oz water at work; the taste is more like a beverage than a shake; I tried less water to see if it would thicken, but it doesn't. Maybe I'll get some vegetarian thickener and see if it thickens it up. It is not overly sweet, which is a plus, and I'm completely full after drinking it. :hug:

This looks like a great find! Just missing the all important fiber ;) LOL! Does anyone have any reccomendations for that? Which fiber supplement do you like best? I've also noticed WS is low in fiber too.

justducky2

12-17-2009, 01:13 AM

This looks like a great find! Just missing the all important fiber ;) LOL! Does anyone have any reccomendations for that? Which fiber supplement do you like best? I've also noticed WS is low in fiber too.

luvinit, I dunno. I do eat a nice big salad and fruit for dinner, though.

I do want to warn you about the EAS....it doesn't taste too much of anything. I don't have to choke it down, but don't expect it to be yummy, either. Very thin when just shaken with water. But tolerable and keeps me full. ;)

justducky2

12-27-2009, 12:44 PM

luvinit, what about shirataki noodles?

"Shirataki are calorie free, they are only made of soluble fiber. Fiber is in itself a type of carbohydrate in chemical structure but it has no calories and has no effect on blood sugar so it is essentially inert." - from the Miracle Noodle website - google medifast shirataki to find.

Medifast FAQs say: Yes. You can have shirataki noodles -- serving size 1-1/2 cups (12 oz). This would be considered the “Green” portion of your Lean & Green Meal.

Otherwise, you can make sure you eat fiber rich foods for your lean and green (google fiber rich foods and you'll find lists) or use some benefiber or metamucil....

LizR

01-13-2010, 08:07 PM

bump

Jehna

02-01-2010, 12:29 PM

Due to some issues I'm having with my MF coach (Yet to be resolved), my husband and I placed an order with Dietdirect.com. First of all, "Thank You, Thank You!!" to those of you who recommended it - I never would have known about Diet Direct without you. We have been scarfing down their food ever since it showed up on Friday. It is MUCH less expensive than MF, far better tasting-in my opinion, and I get pasta again, Yes!

Some things to know before you order: the meals that come 7 to a box are smaller than you'd expect. (The spicy cheese n pasta is a lot like chili mac hamburger helper, and yummy if that's a comfort food for you like it is for me) I fixed this by adding 1/2 cup green beans or some other low carb vegetable. The creamy alfredo which comes 3 to a box was a bigger serving, and with some chicken chunks made a great dinner entree. The Bariwise pb&j bar was awesome to someone who hadn't had a sandwich in what seems like forever. The WonderSlim snack bars are good but snack sized, so expect that. The crispy bars are normal size. The WS snack bites are tasty and textured just like apple jacks except savory, not sweet. We didn't like the chips as much, they are crispy to the point of being like a very hard tortilla chip texture, and the flavors didn't come through enough to compensate. My husband really liked the corn chowder, I got a taste and liked it, but not enough to really judge. And, they have desserts! I haven't tried the cheesecake yet so I can't judge it. The chocolate cake has a slightly gelatinous texture, but tastes like real chocolate cake!

I had some technical issues with the website, don't hit your back button it causes problems. So I called it in, which worked great because I got some good advice on what to get. And I got a hard copy catalog which is easier for me, I like to have something to hold and write comments in.

Mavesse

02-03-2010, 07:21 PM

I'm on Medifast right now, and I should preface my comments by saying that I'm very happy with my program.:D

I really love my health coach. Plus, the forums are a lifeline for me.

That said, I do have lots of experience with the Diet Direct products if anyone is interested.

Compared to Medifast, the stuff on the Diet Direct site (I bought mostly Wonderslim, Proti Diet and Barislim brands) is super cheap.

Using the hot cocoa for an example, a box of seven Medifast "meals" costs me $15.50. I think you need to spend more than $250 to get free shipping with Medifast. Each serving has 110 calories, 14 g of protein, 1 g of fat, 4 g of fibre and 14 g of carbs.

The Wonderslim from Diet Direct, however, costs $9.99 for a box of seven. If you spend $99 you get $10 off, and shipping is free over $79. Each serving has 70 calories, 12 g of protein, 1 g of fat, 1 g of fibre and 6 g of carbs.

(I count carbs, because I find it waaaay easier to stick to a plan in a mild state of ketosis. I try to keep them under 90 a day.)

I wonder if the slightly lower calories and protein are why the Wonderslim plan has six meal replacements a day to Medifast's five? But in any case, the Wonderslim program incorporates fruit, and that's just too many carbs for me, so I wouldn't be very successful. But it seems possible that a person could sub in the odd Wonderslim meal without harming their Medifast plan.

I do usually like the taste of the stuff from Diet Direct better. I also find their shipping faster.

Here are some of the Diet Direct products I have tried, with my impressions:

Wonderslim Protein Bars: some are good! They are simillar to Medifast's maintenance, one-a-day-bars. I especially loved the coconut and lemon flavours. Peanut butter was not so good for me.

Wonderslim shakes: very similar in calories and protein to Medifast, but about half the carbs. Taste...I think pretty similar to Medifast.

Bari-Wise protein fruit drinks: I have only tried the Lemon Razzy, and I thought it was pretty good. It was a little bit tart and went down pretty easily. Best of all, it only has 15 g of protein and only 1 g of carbs. A nice, occasional change from the thick, artificial sweetness of shakes. These drinks have a much lighter and fresher flavour and texture than Medifast's fruit drinks.

Wonderslim Cappuccino: Isn't as rich and creamy as Medifast's cap, which I love. The Wonderslim was totally drinkable for me, but not the treat the Medifast version is.

ProtiDiet pancakes: I love them with a squirt of I Can't Believe it's not Butter spray. A real nice change from shakes!

Wonderslim yogurt smoothies: These are awesome. A natural fresh fruit and yogurt flavour...I really wish Medifast would make something similar.

ProtiDiet pea soup: now, I recognize that it's a small population of people who are willing to eat pea soup at all, never mind a diet one. :p But I kind of like the stuff! I couldn't eat it every day, but once a week or so, it's tasty.

Wonderslim cheesecake: This is really a pudding, with a bit of a cheesy tang to it. It's totally edible, don't get me wrong, and a nice change from regular puddings, which can get a little glutinous. But it definitely won't live up to your cheesecake dreams. It's nice once in a while with a diet raspberry jello. I wonder if it would be good mixed with another pudding, like lemon or chocolate?

Anyway, those are my thoughts. It's so weird, but the idea of eating brands other than Medifast feels like cheating to me...I'm an advertising executive's dream. They did a really, really good job of creating brand loyalty in me. But truly, would it make that much difference to sub in and out? I honestly don't know.

Wouldn't it be ironic if all this stuff was made by the same company, and we just pay more for Medifast because of all the marketing? :s:

justducky2

03-14-2010, 03:33 PM

Wouldn't it be ironic if all this stuff was made by the same company, and we just pay more for Medifast because of all the marketing? :s:

YEP. Click here:

http://www.robard.com/Dieter/LCD.aspx

Recognize the boxes? Same as Diet Direct, New Lifestyle, and bodyandhealthessentials dot com.

YEP. All the same company.

dakotamidnight

06-18-2010, 08:43 PM

I'm thinking of starting medifast, with lots of subs of items available at my grocery due to finances.

Any tips or favorite items to use instead?

wannabesomebody

06-18-2010, 11:33 PM

a glass of milk and a vitamin instead of a shake ;) or even ovaltine. I love shakes but heck they are so expensive! Took me a long to figure out it's just as easy to have a glass of milk!

Kris66032

08-07-2010, 07:11 PM

This thread is VERY helpful and informative. As a girl who is just starting Medifast and has a limited budget; I find this info invaluable. So thanks :)

Jermsgirl

08-08-2010, 12:08 PM

How are the ingredients for wonderslim? I noticed on another board that they use sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Is that the case for Medifast? I haven't noticed that on their ingredients. Sometimes paying less doesn't mean it's better in the long run. I'm not a "medifast or die" person, but I think quality is super important. I don't plan on purchasing Medifast after transition. It is expensive and I had a TON of success eating whole/clean foods before starting Medifast (I'm helping a relative out with health coaching which is why I started it). I hope to transition smoothly and not be stuck with bars and shakes forever.

glassbutterfly

08-08-2010, 04:44 PM

YEP. Click here:
robard.com/Dieter/LCD.aspx

Recognize the boxes? Same as Diet Direct, New Lifestyle, and bodyandhealthessentials dot com.

YEP. All the same company.

Yeah. Found that out last week. A good way to check on any new products in the wings. I love just about all of the Bariwise products.

mxochihua

08-12-2010, 05:23 PM

Does anyone know if Fred Meyers or Winco has these?

redbutton

08-31-2010, 05:03 PM

Hello Everyone,
I did a search for medifast substitutions and found this thread and I'm very thankful. I have recently returned to medifast and am doing great on it. But now like so many people in this economy, I am seeing that I may not be able to afford the program long enough to reach goal and I am still a ways away.

My question is for those of you have actually substituted some of the foods, whether it was the bars or shakes or any MF foods:
What did you subsitute with?
How has this affected your weight loss?
Do outside foods that you have tried trigger overeating.

I believe the reason I don't overeat on medifast foods is that for starters, it's expensive and I can't afford to eat an extra pudding or whatever, and also the food is okay and I like it enough . . . but not enough for seconds, lol.

I would appreciate your answers. I really love medifast and if it weren't for my budget I would love to be solely on MF but it's just not possible and I don't want to throw my hard work on weight loss away only because I can't afford the food.
Thank you for responses in advance.

spaghetticat

10-11-2010, 02:33 PM

I am restarting MF today, doing the 5 in 1 and I am subbing in some Diet direct shakes/puddings, hot chocolate and some Oh Yeah! (seriously that is the name) protein wafer bars. I will letyou guys know how it goes!

mom2mollie

10-20-2010, 06:15 PM

lillygirl07

11-01-2010, 12:52 PM

restarting Medifast, work crazy 12 hour shifts as nurse, sometimes find it hard to eat, any suggestions with eating "on the go"

irishchik

11-01-2010, 01:55 PM

I went to the wonderslim website. For a 4-week starter pack, it comes to $260. With shipping and a $50 coupon, my Medifast came out to $262. Plus I ordered through Mr Rebates dot com, and got a 10% rebate on my $262. Am I missing something? It seems to me they're comparable prices. I'm willing to substitute if the WS really are cheaper than MF.

WS is 9.99 per box where MF is $15.50

WS always has monthly sales and coupons and bulk discounts

MF is harder to get coupons for

Most MF coupons can only be used once per person

Most of the rebate places are starting to drop MF as they don't want to renew their contract for whatever reason.

99% of MF users switch to WS due to variety, sales, and better taste.

WS is free shipping

WS gives free samples

WS acutally offers more food in their packages. 4 weeks on MF is 143 meals, WS is 199 meals.

There is another site thats cheap and simple, 4wk kit (168 servings)I have found is at Doctors Best Weight Loss dot com, their 4wk kit is only $199 and free shipping. Their website also has a code for 15% off the $199. This is the same as WS and NL.

HTH

irishchik

11-01-2010, 01:56 PM

restarting Medifast, work crazy 12 hour shifts as nurse, sometimes find it hard to eat, any suggestions with eating "on the go"

I don't know if this is the advice you are looking for, but I have learned to make the meals before hand. For instance the shakes/puddings go in a shaker cup with a lid. The soups and meal items go in another cup with a lid. I shake it all up so its mixed, pack it in a lunch tote and everything is ready for me wherever I go.

irishchik

11-01-2010, 02:04 PM

YEP. Click here:

http://www.robard.com/Dieter/LCD.aspx

Recognize the boxes? Same as Diet Direct, New Lifestyle, and bodyandhealthessentials dot com.

YEP. All the same company.

Same manufacturer, different labels for different companies! However, MF has a different manufacturer which they of course own all rights to.

So far the absolute cheapest, and also simplest, 4wk kit (168 servings)I have found is at Doctors Best Weight Loss dot com, their 4wk kit is only $199 and free shipping. Their website also has a code for 15% off the $199.

I noticed at body essentials states the 4wk kit is only 5 boxes which is only 35 meals. Doesn't make sense to me. $49.95, I think they have a typo and maybe thats only a week.

mom2mollie

11-01-2010, 09:01 PM

WS is 9.99 per box where MF is $15.50

WS always has monthly sales and coupons and bulk discounts

MF is harder to get coupons for

Most MF coupons can only be used once per person

Most of the rebate places are starting to drop MF as they don't want to renew their contract for whatever reason.

99% of MF users switch to WS due to variety, sales, and better taste.

WS is free shipping

WS gives free samples

WS acutally offers more food in their packages. 4 weeks on MF is 143 meals, WS is 199 meals.

There is another site thats cheap and simple, 4wk kit (168 servings)I have found is at Doctors Best Weight Loss dot com, their 4wk kit is only $199 and free shipping. Their website also has a code for 15% off the $199. This is the same as WS and NL.

HTH

Yes, this helps ton! I was wondering about whether I could use another different $50 coupon next month (I found a different one than the one I just used in a magazine the other day). So thankful for 3FC!! Love this site!

mom2mollie

11-01-2010, 09:04 PM

I just went to check Mr. Rebates dot com again, and it's gone from a 10% rebate down to a 5% rebate!!!! Hmmmmm....

irishchik

11-02-2010, 11:45 PM

I did notice MF was still on ebates dot com and mypoints the other day but I don't remember what the rebate or points value was. That might help a little for those that really like MF.

Vanilla3

11-25-2010, 07:04 PM

Thank you for making this thread. Like so many of you, I've been searching for cheaper substitutes for MF w/o screwing up my progress. I look forward to trying some of the suggestions & keep you posted!

Lyre

11-30-2010, 03:11 AM

This is a really helpful and informative thread ... thank you!!

shutterbug35

12-28-2010, 12:00 PM

When I was on MF a few years back, the boards were like someone mentioned - if you so much as ask about cheaper alternatives, you got jumped on. So I quit and pretty much gained all my weight back. So much for support!!

I found cheaper alternatives at mydietshopz

I like that you can get free samples with your order and they have always been nice with fairly fast shipping.:carrot:

ALLAMUCHY

01-05-2011, 01:27 PM

I just joined this website so I am the "new kid on the block." I am a single Mom, lost my job but I have found that the job market other than being BRUTAL doesn't always look at a 48 year old as being a top pick. The young ones keep beating me out to spite my experience so-o-o-o-o.... I need to drop some pounds and get into shape to compete.

This is my wish...... can someone PLEASE help me out and give me an idea of what Medifast deems the ideal daily intake of carbs/proteins/calories???? A sample meal plan would be great but I want to take everyone's AWESOME tips and suggestions and TRY to follow on a UNEMPLOYED SINGLE MOM BUDGET. I can't afford the actual MF plan but I can shop wisely and hopefully accomplish my weight loss goals. The info on the shakes, bars and snacks was invaluable but I don't reallly know how much and when each day.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

I am 5'9" tall, 200 lbs and would like to lose about 50.

choices

01-09-2011, 03:58 PM

Chicks on the medifast,and similar liquid diet plans. Is there much difference with the slim fast drinks,and weight loss plan? Similar? Different?..and how. thanks ;o)

PeggyJean

01-14-2011, 05:57 PM

Thanks to everyone for your posts....I take meticulous notes!!
I am frustrated by the time it is taking to get my order. MF shipped it out the next day but UPS is taking 8 days to get here. I am going to ask the UPS driver if there is a faster way? I am losing my enthusiasm...trying to start own my own and lost some just by following a low calorie diet while waiting....

justducky2

02-24-2011, 02:13 AM

daw123

03-17-2011, 07:49 PM

Hi! Try this link, it gives all the info, you can tailor it to "real" food (it has cals, protein, carbs, and fat gms), or using protein powder from Sam's Club or Costco..

[
Good luck on everything! I'm 46, and I quake in my boots too if I were to lose my job at this age....you are not alone!!

That link helps, however it has 2 extra meals. When I did Medifast it had 5 of the 100 calorie meals (some where more calories, some less, but the majority equalied 100 calories) and one lean and green. For a total of 800-1000 calories, average being 900.

I read this thread because I need to restart. However, the soy in Medifast and cost is detouring me. So I'm going to see what shakes, bars and food I could use. Plan on taking a multi vitamin with my dinner as I usually do, so I don't lose out on that.

daw123

03-18-2011, 11:56 AM

I was wondering about the nutrition, since it's been a while. I'm using the Dutch Chocolate Shake as the guide:

Dutch Chocolate Shake
..........Per Serving.....x5 a Day
Calories.....90.....450
Fat ..........1g.....5g
Sodium.....250mg.....1250mg
Carb.....13g.....65g
Fiber .....4g.....20g
Sugar .....8g.....40g
Protein .....11g.....55g

The Medifast 5 & 1 Plan provides approximately
800 to 1,000 per day of calories
80-100 grams of carbohydrates
2300 mg day or less of Sodium

Can't find the rest.

daw123

03-24-2011, 05:19 PM

I was looking for the post the OP, Jehna, was refering to, and found these I'm new and can't post links, but these are the titles, maybe a search...

Homemade Shakes
Protein Drinks--need advice
This one is a question from someone on another meal plan, but there are suggestions for protien drinks.

Having Problems on Medifast
Post 6 has some great ideas, and 8 and 9.

I've been having a protien power shake I found at the big box store for breakfast. It's the HUGE one and has 26 grams of protien for one scoop mixed with water. It is 140 calories, but I figure it will all even out with other items. And I remember Medifast had one bar for more then 100 calories, which I had for lunch to keep me full and feel like I had more of a meal.
I also found some Fiber 1 bars at a dollar store. they're 90 calores and a bit more carb then I want, but it all evens out.

So far I've lost 5.2 lbs in 10 days. I'm happy.

zoemow

03-31-2011, 03:48 AM

Sequi 2008

04-15-2011, 02:49 PM

Sequi 2008

04-15-2011, 02:59 PM

Hi. Someone posted a pdf link that helped you find comparison items to substitute for medifast meals. Medifast pulled the link and it is dead. Can someone actually show us a link that is accessible or post it up.

Thanks.

There are a number of calorie counting sites that include Medifast information.

It's very easy to find if you google it. (I'm so new I'm not allowed to post links yet.) Use the keywords "medifast nutrition information"

Triton1

04-15-2011, 03:22 PM

Sequi 2008

04-15-2011, 03:29 PM

I'm a newcomer here (this is my first post.) I'm getting ready to start MF, but I'm waiting because my wife wants to start with me (her meals are ordered and on the way.)

In the meantime, I'm "practicing" by following the MF plan using non-MF foods. This will get me into the eating habits the plan calls for.

I noticed in a very early post someone had averaged the nutrition information for various food items. I may have found a substitute for the shakes.

Carnation Breakfast Essentials (Milk Chocolate) with No Sugar Added comes close to the shake averages if you mix it with Unsweetened Silk Organic Soymilk.

The Carnation nutrition information is Cal. 60, fat .5g, carb 12g, fiber 4g, sugar 7g, protein 5g.

Unsweetened Silk Organic soymilk is Cal. 80, fat 4g, carb 4g, fiber 1g, sugar 1g, protein 7g.

Combined is Cal. 140, fat 4.5g, carb 16g, fiber 5g, sugar 8g, protein 12g

The French Vanilla 70 shake is Cal 100, fat 1g, carb 13g, fiber 3g, sugar 9g, protein 14g.

Dropping the amount of milk used from 8oz to 6oz will drop the calories to 120 and the fat to 3.5g. The fat at least is the healthy kind, since it is plant-based fat, not animal-based.

And since this substitution is available in a typical grocery store, it's both cheap and readily available.

Thoughts?

I found a more exact substitution (nutritionally speaking.)

Mix the Carnation Breakfast Essentials with water, but accompany it with two hard-boiled eggs (ditch the yolk, so you're only eating whites.)

An egg white for a large boiled egg is 15 cal, fat 0g, carb 0g, protein 4g.

CBE plus two egg whites totals Cal. 90, fat .5g, carb 12g, fiber 4g, sugar 7g, protein 13g.

This compares favorably to the French Vanilla 70 shake at Cal 100, fat 1g, carb 13g, fiber 3g, sugar 9g, protein 14g.

So far I've only tried the CBE with soymilk (tastes great), but I'll try it with water as well.

Sequi 2008

04-18-2011, 05:21 PM

Both Kashi TLC bars and South Beach diet bars could be used as a substitute for the MF bars (based on nutrition content). The catch is that Kashi/South Beach bars don't have enough protein, and their fat content is a little higher.

Discussion on using alternate bars usually concludes with cutting the bars in half, or using them as maintenance bars. However, I don't think eating half a bar is realistic (they're pretty small to start with), and they're not quite the same nutritional content, anyways.

I'd suggest the trick is to replace the nutritional content of TWO MF bars as a pair. One Kashi bar and 5 large egg whites are the equivalent of two MF crunch bars.

So, for one meal you eat a Kashi bar, and at the second meal you just have 5 egg whites. The nutrition content of a Kashi TLC Honey Almond Flax Chewy Granola Bar is 140 calories, 5g fat, 19g carb, 4g fiber, 5g sugar, and 7g protein. The nutrition content of a large boiled egg white is 17 calories, 0g fat, 0.24g carb, 0.23g sugar, and 3.5g protein.

One Kashi bar and 5 large eggs is 225 calories, 5g fat, 20.2g carb, 4g fiber, 6.15g sugar, and 24.5g protein.

This compares to two MF Strawberry Crunch bars, which would total 220 calories, 5g fat, 26g carbs, 10g sugar, and 22g protein.

MF meals have more vitamins; this can be remedied by having a daily multivitamin.

The idea is that it IS possible to make the equivalent of an MF meal using common foods at the grocery store. Savings can be significant -- I can reliably get the Kashi bars for $3 for a box of 6, or about 50 cents a bar. Eggs cost about 10 cents each at Costco (purchased as two cartons of 18), which also translates into 50 cents each meal.

I used Kashi because they were on sale (at 33 cents a bar!). South Beach Diet bars had almost the same nutrition content and also worked. I heard someone mention that they had gotten bulk South Beach Diet bars at Costco, but my Costco didn't have them.

Sequi 2008

04-19-2011, 04:01 PM

I just think about the price in how much I'd spend in food in a day, I ate out a lot so for me MF is cheaper and all in one spot. It's like $10 a day on food, which used to be the cost of my Coke burrito, chips and guac lol.

Using the shake/bar replacements I found, the MF clone meals run about $2.50 - $3 a day on food. While waiting on my wife, I started by using the faux MF meals (and cheated somewhat, since I mentally didn't consider myself on the "real diet" yet), but still lost 2 pounds in the first 2 days.

I've now started the Medifast plan, so I'll see my results and taste compare to the real thing.

marci65

04-20-2011, 03:04 PM

brownspize

04-20-2011, 04:23 PM

hello everyone....I would like to get opinions regarding WonderSlim meal replacement shakes? Good or bad opinions, please! I'm thinking of purchasing it but need more info from ya'll....thanks :)

Sequi 2008

04-23-2011, 08:33 AM

Sequi, thanks for that very helpful post regarding Kashi and South Beach bars. I have about 5 days left of my MF food supply and then I am going to look I to the others you mention instead. I have only been on a month but I can't afford the MF food consistently.

If you're doing just bars and shakes, the two replacements I found should help out. You might continue to use some MF foods for variety, to keep your diet interesting and thus more likely to continue through the whole time.

Now that I'm trying the actual MF foods, I found that their cheese puffs and soft serves are fantastic, and I can't duplicate them.

Long term, I'm thinking my next order will be heavy on the puffs and soft serves (and any other items I discover I like but can't clone.) Instead of being a month's supply, however, it would probably last me for several months (because my bars and shakes would be fakes).

I'm very impressed with the MF plan. I'm down 8 lbs in 6 days (I'm counting the two days using fake foods.)

Its down to different tastes, however. My wife has been finding the foods overly sweet and some of them are downright terrible (chili, oatmeal.) I didn't mind the chili, but I don't normally eat oatmeal (so I skipped it in my order.)

marci65

04-23-2011, 10:53 AM

I don't normally eat oatmeal either, except in cookie form :D.

I got the chili and chicken rice soup in my first order and didn't like either of them after the initial first tries, even with doctoring a bit with Tabasco or other spices (O, this is different and not terrible...). I ended up selling those on eBay.

Sequi 2008

04-27-2011, 10:37 AM

I'm staying on MF food for the first month, so I have a benchmark for comparison. The first week is the biggest loss, and then you're supposed to settle into ketosis for a slower but steadier burn of 2-5 lbs a week.

2 bars and 2 shakes, then my L&G, then a soft serve or puff seems to be the routine I'm settling on. Kind of boring, but then I'm putting the variety into the L&G meal. It seems to be working for me.

After I run out, I'll start substituting the clone MF bars and shakes, and see if the diet stays on track.

I did get some soups; I'll have to see how to work those in. If I like them enough, I'll buy more of those to supplement the clone bars and shakes. So far, however, they're only tolerable at best. (The MF bars, shakes, puffs, and soft serves are worth the purchase over and over.)

verykeri7

04-29-2011, 11:49 AM

I found this site after searching for "Medifast substitutions". I've done MF twice (present and once in 2009) Both times I've had very good results. I can usually keep the weight off and eat foods strictly from the grocery store. I put the weight back on this time because I ate like a garbage disposal over the holidays. I am finally back on track. I returned to MF 5&1 for a jumpstart.

I do find the MF foods to be extremely expensive. Though I feel they are worth the price because they work very well, and quickly. I'm on my 4th week and have lost 14 lbs.

Once I lose 20lbs I usually start to transition and use substitutions from the grocery store again.

So far these are some foods I've found nutritionally comparable (not perfect but close enough, which still work for me):

Bars
South Beach Diet high protein cereal bars- I like chocolate or chocolate Peanut Butter
Kashi Honey Almond Flax granola bars

Soup
Healthy Choice chicken noodle soup (1/2 can)

Shakes
Whey protein shakes (powder mix- brand doesn't matter as long as they are sugar free -personally I hate the taste of EAS brand which is watery- GNC and Vitamin World have thicker better-tasting options that mix well with water.)

Brownie Substitute
VitaMuffin "Vitatops" Sugar Free Velvety Chocolate -I never knew these existed until I read about them on the hungrygirl website. They taste great and are a good size. I was pleasantly surprised. 23 carbs but most of it is fiber.Only 90 calories. They are not cheap, but still less expensive than MF. The cheapest place to get them is Target. Google them and it will take you to the "vitalicious" site- you can order online direct from the site too- but Target is still much cheaper.

I've yet to find anything that is comparable to the MF cheese puffs. I have to really take a closer look in the organic/health food section of the grocery store and see if I can come up with something that is soy-based and similar.

Since most of the substitutions do not have as much protein as the MF meals I use a whey protein shake to balance things out. When making substitutions I focus more on the calorie and carb count being as close to MF as possible.

Sequi 2008

05-02-2011, 05:07 PM

So far these are some foods I've found nutritionally comparable (not perfect but close enough, which still work for me):

Bars
South Beach Diet high protein cereal bars- I like chocolate or chocolate Peanut Butter
Kashi Honey Almond Flax granola bars

Soup
Healthy Choice chicken noodle soup (1/2 can)

Shakes
Whey protein shakes (powder mix- brand doesn't matter as long as they are sugar free -personally I hate the taste of EAS brand which is watery- GNC and Vitamin World have thicker better-tasting options that mix well with water.)

Brownie Substitute
VitaMuffin "Vitatops" Sugar Free Velvety Chocolate -I never knew these existed until I read about them on the hungrygirl website. They taste great and are a good size. I was pleasantly surprised. 23 carbs but most of it is fiber.Only 90 calories. They are not cheap, but still less expensive than MF. The cheapest place to get them is Target. Google them and it will take you to the "vitalicious" site- you can order online direct from the site too- but Target is still much cheaper.

I've yet to find anything that is comparable to the MF cheese puffs. I have to really take a closer look in the organic/health food section of the grocery store and see if I can come up with something that is soy-based and similar.

Since most of the substitutions do not have as much protein as the MF meals I use a whey protein shake to balance things out. When making substitutions I focus more on the calorie and carb count being as close to MF as possible.

Great suggestions! The soup is almost dead on -- I'll probably use it on weekends. (It's hard for me to split a soup into two meals at work.)

The Vitatops are really interesting. The 5 egg whites trick works with it to make it nutritionally the same as a bar or a brownie.

The idea is that matching the nutritional content lets you replicate the MF program and hopefully achieve the same results. (If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's still a duck! But hopefully a better-tasting, cheaper duck!)

abluvion

05-04-2011, 11:54 AM

It may look like a duck, and quack like a duck... but be careful, it's still not quite the same as a duck.

The problem with creating a plan based on substitutions is that MF is crafted so as to include the necessary vitamins and minerals. On a very low-cal diet such as MF, we have to be careful to get all the nutrients we need from a smaller volume of food. By replacing MF foods with every day items, yes, you will have low-cal and approximately similar carb/protein/fat ratios, but the rest of the nutrient profile will not be there. Though... I guess you can always take a multivitamin... Not sure if it's the same. :)

Sequi 2008

05-04-2011, 02:18 PM

The problem with creating a plan based on substitutions is that MF is crafted so as to include the necessary vitamins and minerals. On a very low-cal diet such as MF, we have to be careful to get all the nutrients we need from a smaller volume of food. By replacing MF foods with every day items, yes, you will have low-cal and approximately similar carb/protein/fat ratios, but the rest of the nutrient profile will not be there. Though... I guess you can always take a multivitamin... Not sure if it's the same. :)

I thought about this issue when I started down this path. The MF foods are indeed crafted, but the vitamins and minerals they have are also artificially added. They're following the same USDA recommendations as the multivitamin manufacturers, so it should be the same.

In addition, that's why I like the Vitatop. Each one has 50% of the vitamin requirements. They're pretty nutritious on paper -- I have to taste one and see if I like them. They're also expensive at 83 cents to $1.50 each, depending upon where you buy them.

Sequi 2008

05-04-2011, 02:30 PM

jinx1969

05-04-2011, 04:51 PM

Wow, I am so thrilled that you all have put so much info onto this!!! I am on day 3 of MF...... I did it a year ago and had to stop without transitioning because I seriously ran out of money! I like knowing I can fudge with it a bit and save some money, and stay on longer this time! Thank you all a million times!

Sequi 2008

05-06-2011, 01:04 PM

I'm getting close to the point of doing a partial medifast and medifake diet, because my original food is running out. I learned some shopping tips that I thought I'd pass on.

The Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle and Chicken Rice soups are interchangeable. BJ's sells them bulk (variety pack) for $10 for 10 cans (each can is two servings.) BJ's also has them in single servings for $10 for 6 cans. You might get them on sale at a grocery store, but soup is usually put on sale in winter/fall.

VitaTops are available in almost every grocery store, in the frozen foods section. It will either be with frozen breakfast foods or with frozen natural foods. Best price seems to be at discount places like Target, although Wegman's has it at the same price. Costco would be cheaper if you can find it there -- it's seasonal and I couldn't find it when I looked.

Best place to get the Carnation Instant Breakfast Sugar Free appears to be Amazon. Grocery stores carry it, but usually have one variety (and it always seems to be chocolate).

Sequi 2008

05-06-2011, 02:10 PM

If you don't like using 5 egg whites as a meal, you could use 3 oz of roasted chicken breast instead. That has 110 calories, 2g fat, 0g carb, and 22g protein (roughly, depending on brand.) The combination will provide a little more fat than 5 egg whites, but more protein.

Personally, I'm more likely to think of 5 egg whites as a meal (3oz of white meat chicken breast is more likely to feel like a snack.) However, some people just don't like boiled egg whites.

For reference, the amount of white meat chicken breast that goes into a L&G meal is 6oz, so this is half that amount.

I've been rethinking this as I've tried implementing it. Maybe using roasted chicken breast isn't so bad. 5 egg whites definitely feels like a lot, so it works as a meal. However, it isn't convenient to have to cook it up and bring it into work. I can keep a bag of frozen roasted sliced chicken breasts in the freezer at work and microwave what I need.

Convenience trumps mathematical precision. (The egg option is cheaper, too, but the convenience is worth something.)

Sequi 2008

05-09-2011, 10:45 AM

For the bars, I've found I don't like the South Beach bars as much as those from Kashi or Medifast. They're not terrible, it's more like they're okay instead of great.

You have to watch the Kashi bars, though. Not all of them have the same calorie counts. Some have too many calories. All taste great.

I started mixing my Medifast and Medifake foods this week. My wife got my extra MF foods to replace foods she didn't like.

Sequi 2008

05-10-2011, 10:11 AM

For several days, I've been using grocery foods to supplement my Medifast meal supply. For breakfast, I eat 5 egg whites. Mid-morning and lunch is a Kashi/South Beach bar and/or a Carnation Instant Breakfast. Mid-afternoon is a MF puff, with the Lean and Green for dinner. After dinner I'm at home and can do any option (MF soup, MF soft serve, grocery soup). I now supplement with a daily multi-vitamin as well.

Weight loss has continued at the same rate, but there's a catch. Getting so much of the protein through egg whites all at once triggers a much harder ketosis reaction. It feels more like when I was on an Atkins diet. Doing pure Medifast is really easy for me - not hungry, no adverse effects, don't feel weird (although I do have less energy), just lose about a pound a day.

Still sticking with it for now, but I'm also considering for how long, and if I'll switch back.

verykeri7

05-21-2011, 11:35 AM

When using the Vitatops it's important to use the ones that are "Sugar Free" otherwise the carb count it too high. The package will say Sugar Free in the upper right hand corner.

Right now I am fully transitioned off Medifast foods. Each Day my eating plan looks something like this:

Meal 1: Quaker Low Sugar Oatmeal: Maple Brown Sugar flavor, 1 cup spiced chai with 1 packet of Splenda
Meal 2: Kashi Honey Almond Flax Bar or South Beach diet chocolate high protein cereal bar
Meal 3: 1/2 can Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle or Chicken with Rice soup, 2 baby dill pickles
Meal 4: GNC sugar free whey protein shake (chocolate, strawberry, or cookies and cream flavor)
Meal 5: Lean and Green: Grilled Chicken breast with spinach and 10 black olives
Meal 6: Sugar free chocolate vita top with 2 tbsp Cool whip free

I am still losing about 2lbs each week and right now I am about 12lbs away from my goal weight of 140lbs.

Eventually I am going to swap Meal 3 for a 2nd Lean and Green Meal

Each Day I also take the following supplements: GNC Women's Ultra Mega vitamin for energy and metabolism, Omega 3 triple strength fish oil, Calcium and Vitamin D, green tea extract

I drink about 90 oz. of water each day and have no more than 2 beverages that contain caffeine each day.

I also do at least 30 minutes of cardio each day. An after dinner walk can really make a difference.

They key is to use Medifast as a jumpstart to change the way you think about food and take the addiction to sugar and carbs out of your system. Once you do that and lose a significant amount of weight on it you can transition back to real food. As long as you keep tracking everything you eat, you won't fall off the wagon.

In my case I know I can't go over 1500 calories a day and I need to eat a low carb diet for life in order to stay slim.

verykeri7

05-21-2011, 11:50 AM

Sequi 2008

05-22-2011, 09:37 PM

Good information, verykeri! That gives me even more variety to check out.

I've discovered that using non-Medifast foods in this way works if I stick to the plan. By calculating nearly exact matches for calories, carbs, protein, fat, and sugar (and keeping an eye on the vitamin RDAs), I can achieve the same results as the Medifast foods. There's a catch, however.

When eating 100% Medifast, I've found that I'm less inclined to cheat. Medifast foods are clearly labelled, and are very different than when I'm eating the Lean and Green. It is therefore very easy to stick to the diet for me (psychologically.) I'm only "at risk" of cheating at the "Lean and Green" mealtime.

("Cheating" is defined here as eating more than I'm supposed to on the MF plan.) It's not like I'm eating candy or fried foods or something. More like a greater amount of an allowed food than I'm supposed to have. I'm not a snacker and not eating carbs or fatty foods.

When I'm using grocery substitutes, it's more tempting to eat more than I'm supposed to. This is especially true because I'm splitting up some of the carbs and proteins into different meals (so it's easier to justify a cheat.) I can counter this somewhat by pre-measuring meals, but some of these grocery meals are much less convenient if I'm making them all the time. (I don't want to boil eggs multiple times a day.)

Obviously, the weight loss if I cheat is less than my loss if I don't cheat. I'm not gaining weight -- I'm just not losing as fast.

I could also attribute it to the fact that I've lost so much weight so far that I'm approaching normal BMI (where I'd expect loss to slow). However, on weekends I have unlimited access to the kitchen and am therefore most likely to cheat. I therefore switch to 100% Medifast on the weekends. And you know what? My biggest loss is on those days I'm 100% Medifast.

Since I'm trying to lose as much weight as possible for a deadline, I decided to bite the bullet and buy more MF meals. I'll defer the experiment for another month. I'll still be doing some substitute meals here and there, but it won't be completely non-Medifast for the next month or so.

So in conclusion, substitution with grocery foods does work if you follow it strictly and don't cheat. But there's also advantages to staying with Medifast if you can pay the price.

I'll definitely be substituting when I start transition and maintenance. I just want another month of a good weight loss.

Sequi 2008

05-22-2011, 09:46 PM

I am still losing about 2lbs each week and right now I am about 12lbs away from my goal weight of 140lbs.

End goal is in sight. That's awesome!

zengoddess

05-23-2011, 02:17 AM

I am going off medifast soon. I plan to:

Use Jay Robb egg white protein, since I love whole foods, I plan to make my own shake

handful of greens, 1/4 cup of almond milk and a scoop of jay robb protein.

40 calories or so for the milk
1/2 scoop of protein powder is 60 calories
greens..hardly any..lol
:dizzy::dizzy:

OR I may cut out the milk, use a whole scoop of protein powder with greens and water. I am used to drinking green smoothie, its sooo good for you. I also was successful with just eating small tiny portions when I ran out of food and actually lost an inch before due to that. llike 1/2 packet of oatmeal with protein powder, a couple pieces of broccoli and some chicken, ..100 calorie cottage cheese snacks. I am really excited about trying the jay robb protein. I am very very sensitive to sugar and medifast had me eating alot of sugar despite the 5 inches I lost in the middle. Also, being pre diabetc and insulin resistance, eating almost 100 grams of carbs is very different for me and I would like to go back down to around 60.:carrot:

Sequi 2008

05-25-2011, 07:29 AM

There's a possible substitute for the MF soft serve. I came across the Healthy Choice Premium fudge bars at Costco yesterday. Each bar is 100 calories, 1.5 g fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 80 mg sodium, 16 g carbs, 5g dietary fiber, 5 g sugar, 4 g protein. The protein is from milk protein and whey protein concentrates.

I'm not trying it for at least a month, but I wanted to point it out for others.

Costco also sells these frozen sorbets served inside half cuts of fruit used as containers. Two of the four types of desserts may be okay as well (but decidedly lacking in protein.). The one in the lemon and the orange are very low in calories, fat, sugar, and carbs. There's little fiber or protein, either. It probably wouldn't be filling long-term, and you'd have to find someone else to eat the other two desserts in the box. But it's another possibility as well (but I'd try the Healthy Choice first and use the IslandWay sorbet as a special event treat.)

EDIT: Nix the sorbet idea. The sugar at 8g or 9g is too high given what little nutrients it's providing. It's only got 50-60 calories, but it's more like just drinking a juice. On the other hand, the Healthy Choice fudge bars might be okay for an occasional treat (although it's slightly low on protein, which would need to be made up somewhere.)

verykeri7

05-27-2011, 04:51 PM

If you are ever out getting ice cream at an ice cream shop, the least evil option is this yogurt called "Only 8". More and more places are starting to carry it.

For a servig size of 1/2 cup 32 calories, 7g sugar, 0g fat, 1g protein. It tastes very good and comes in a variety of flavors.

Healthy Choice Premium fudge bars at Costco yesterday. Each bar is 100 calories, 1.5 g fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 80 mg sodium, 16 g carbs, 5g dietary fiber, 5 g sugar, 4 g protein. The protein is from milk protein and whey protein concentrates.

I like to take those off the stick, cut them up into little pieces and melt 1tbsp of natural peanut buter over it and top with 2 tbsp of Cool Whip Free for a sundae.

justducky2

05-29-2011, 11:36 AM

I'm no longer on the doctor-overseen diet; so now I'm using different things, looking for what's on sale...

For instance, right now, the pudding/shakes my kid loves are on sale at

http://www.dietdirect.com/wonderslim-weight-loss-diet-puddingshakes.html

for $8.99/box of 7, if you buy 12 boxes it goes down to $8.34/box of 7 (and goes down even more if you buy more), free shipping for orders of $79+. I'll look for a coupon code too, before I'm done. Free samples pack for over $49. So, I just checked it out over there....to buy 12 boxes, was $1.23/packet. However, buying 9 boxes, without the quantity discount, makes it $1.28/packet, but comes in at $80.91, so I still get free shipping.

I just got a shipment of Proventive Harmonized Vegan Protein and Genuine Health Vegan proteins+ from iherb.com (I like the vegan proteins because they use natural sweeteners like stevia - however - cut the plain vegan protein with apple juice! Tastes better - just a little watered down will do you). Over $40 you get free shipping, special with the protein+ was a free blender bottle, and a $5 coupon code for being a new customer. I got 3 little freebies in the box too:

http://www.iherb.com/Super-Specials

NLD has a great starter pack for $19.99 with free shipping:

http://www.newlifestylediet.com/detail.aspx?pid=149&cid=11

And then, of course, there are the protein powders at Sams Club and Costco (like EAS or others and protein bars I use for meal replacement - I like Pure Protein) or soy protein powder at Trader Joes. Heck, even Slimfast was rated #2 diet by Consumers Reports recently - a meal replacement diet! Costco has their own version of SlimFast in the Kirkland brand, too
(1. Jenny Craig 2. SlimFast 3. Weight Watchers):

http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/0510/top-7-diets-of-2011.aspx?xid=aol_eh-weight_50-_20100509&icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl4|sec1_lnk3|61972

Note on the Kirkland brand: From this site below, it says that Kirkland has 44 gms of carb/serving! Wow! Way way too high for me. This site is obviously a proxy for their own brand, IdealShape (which by the way says it is less than $1.50/serving, anyone try it??):

http://www.mealreplacementshakereviews.com/kirkland-signature-7-6-out-of-10/

With all these things, I'll follow the basic 5+1 program, with my lean and green being lots of salad, and vegetarian protein (tofu, cottage cheese, boca burgers, greek or soy yogurt). I get tofu for cheap at Asian markets, Grocery Outlet, 99 cent stores. Cottage cheese I buy in a big bulk container at Sams Club (I make a dessert out of it with cinnamon and stevia!); Boca burgers, at Costco (also Morningstar veggie sausage patties - they're DELICIOUS - my carnivore hubby and teenager prefer them to the real thing!!). I buy plain greek yogurt (make my own tzatziki) which is high protein at Costco; Costco also carries Chobani - Sams just started carrying Brown Cow greek yogurt. Soy yogurt I get at Trader Joe's. Yum...Chobani with Kashi GoLean cereal sprinkled over it (get a big box at Costco!!). I buy shirataki noodles (okay by MF program) at Asian markets or Grocery Outlet.

My veggies, I buy at the farmers market, with the exception of salad greens - I buy big bags of romaine (more nutrition ) and spinach at Sams Club.

I've found, to get my hubby and daughter to eat the veggies, I need to wash them and cut them up. It also makes it fast and easy for me to toss an evening salad up. I store them in glass containers (mason jars, or old glass dishes/lids, or a new glass set hubby got me at Costco) because I'm phasing out as much plastic as I can.

Sequi 2008

06-07-2011, 07:29 AM

Grocery alternative for puffs:

Pirate's Booty Veggies -- This is a puffed rice snack made with bits of vegetables (Available at Costco). At Costco it's in a bulk bag, which tempts you to overindulge. Measure it out into single servings, or buy the single serving bags at another store. Low on protein (2g)

Robert's American Gourmet Pirate's Booty Veggie Nutrition

CALORIES FAT CARBS PROTEIN SODIUM
130 5g 19g 2g 120mg

JayEll

06-07-2011, 12:03 PM

I really don't think that is a good substitution, Sequi, because there is not enough protein and too many carbs. A substitute food should have around the same number of grams of protein as carbs, have fat below 3 grams, and have 90 to 110 calories.

I just wanted to mention this because it seems like a lot of the foods people are coming up with are pretty far off by comparison with Medifast foods.

Jay

SpinDizzie

06-07-2011, 05:41 PM

I agree. Aim for quality, nutrient-dense foods if you need to make a substitute. :)

Sequi 2008

06-08-2011, 07:43 AM

Medifast is an engineered food. These are not. I'm still calculating by using a protein heavy no/low carb combination and splitting it up over two meals.

The other meal is either turkey meat, chicken meat, or egg whites. Sorry, I stopped repeating it in every post. The concept is similar to splitting up your lean and green meal, as long as you have them both in a single day.

You can make it more balanced by having half a bar and half the protein in a single meal, but I base that on where I'm eating.

Im also not repeating in every post that you should consider a daily multivitamin if going the grocery substitution route.

JayEll

06-08-2011, 09:36 AM

What you said was, "Grocery alternative for puffs." That food is not an alternative for the Medifast puffs, it is just a junk food!

The point of Medifast is that you eat a certain nutritional profile at EVERY meal, not every other meal or within some arbitrary period. Splitting the lean-and-green meal means splitting all the components of the meal, not eating the vegetables at one meal and the protein at another. Nothing in the Medifast materials I've read says it's OK to eat whatever at any meal, as long as you get them all in "in a single day." It's a meal-by-meal program.

Lots of people read this thread assuming that the information is OK. Coming up with "alternatives" that do not follow the Medifast nutrition profile for meals is not a good way to proceed, in my opinion.

It's all right to experiment with different approaches, just don't put them out there like they are "OK on Medifast."

Jay

Sequi 2008

06-09-2011, 03:00 PM

The point of Medifast is that you eat a certain nutritional profile at EVERY meal, not every other meal or within some arbitrary period. Splitting the lean-and-green meal means splitting all the components of the meal, not eating the vegetables at one meal and the protein at another. Nothing in the Medifast materials I've read says it's OK to eat whatever at any meal, as long as you get them all in "in a single day." It's a meal-by-meal program.

I'm actually writing this in a thread called "Non-Medifast Brand Foods for Substitution." Other than the Lean and Green, Medifast does not endorse use of any non-Medifast foods. It was implied that none of the discussion here is considered "OK for Medifast."

I'm trying to make it Medifast-like, but I don't think I've ever claimed it was "OK for Medifast."

For me, the point of a Medifast diet was to lose weight. I am departing from normal eating habits specifically for that goal. Convenience foods, snack foods, fast foods, and other manufactured foods fall into the category of "junk foods." I agree that it's better to eat whole, unprocessed, nutritionally dense foods. And I will again, after I'm off this diet. Bars, shakes, soft serves, and other highly processed foods fall into the junk food category for me, but I'm eating them on Medifast.

About the only thing from the Medifast diet experience I will continue when I hit goal is the Lean and Green meal. It's gotten me exploring many ways to prepare healthy meals.

Splitting the Lean and the Green is a trick suggested on the official Medifast support board, by the dieticians there. The context was actually for people who were still hungry after eating the scheduled meals. Eating snacks was allowed, but could prevent weight loss. They suggested eating the lean early, either by itself, or in addition to one of the other meals. You would then eat the green by itself at the normally scheduled L&G meal time.

Sequi 2008

06-09-2011, 03:43 PM

domesticbliss

06-09-2011, 04:36 PM

Here are some foods that I found worked:

Fage Total 0% Yogurt
100 Calories; 7g Carbs; 18g Protein; 7g Sugar; 0g Fat
1/2 C Low Fat Cottage Cheese = 80 Calories; 4g Carbs; 13g Protein; 1.5g Fat
Sargento Light String Cheese = 50 Calories; 1g Carbs; 6g Protein; 2.5g Fat *you could have 2 of these*
1 C Eggbeaters = 120 Calories; 4g Carbs; 24g Protein; 0 Fat *cut this down to 3/4 C*

I started looking for food substitutes because I'm thinking ahead to maintenance and I like the structure of the plan, so I'm going to continue to follow the plan, but use regular food in place of most of my supplements. HTH- and I would plan on taking a multivitamin if you're using non-plan food.

MairsieD

06-11-2011, 11:30 AM

Standalone Medifast Meal alternative:

1/4 cup (33g) Breyer's CarbSmart Vanilla Ice Cream, scooped with a melon baller. (Makes approximately 3 balls).

Roll ice cream balls in 2 Tbsp sushi-grade roe (raw fish eggs, mixed species).

Garnish with the head of a Children's Gummi Bear multivitamin, mounted on a toothpick.

Ice cream fish egg balls total 105 calories, 5g fat, 7g carbs, 2g fiber, 2g sugar, and 7.2g protein. This comes close to matching the nutritional profile of a MF bar (the gummi bear head even provides 20% of the daily vitamin requirements.)

CAUTION: Do not eat the toothpick. Although high in non-soluble fiber, it will leave splinters in your throat.

CAUTION: Do not let your kids observe you beheading the gummi bears. They will never look at you the same again.

CAUTION: Do not take this post seriously. I am simply trying to lighten the mood. I have not actually conducted a taste test of this dish.

CAUTION: I'm pretty sure this is NOT considered OK by Medifast. I'm not sure if it's even OK by me. But it's about as alternative as you can get.

Hahahahahahhaa, thank you, I enjoyed this. :)

Lately I've been trying some of the BariWise and WonderSlim bars from DietDirect.com. Good golly Miss Molly! They are delicious. I've also done a somewhat rigorous nutritional comparison (on my blog if anyone is curious/nerdy) and they score pretty well. A bit low on the vitamins, but considering that 4 Medifast meals and a Lean & Green provide over 100%, and that I take pre-natal vitamins, I think they are a good alternative.

Also I got a bag of the WonderSlim Barbeque Snack Bites as a sample with my order. YUM! Maybe its because I'm totally deprived of all crunchy foods after nearly 4 weeks on Medifast, but these were like a dream come true.

Thanks for the breakdown on the Fage 0%, domesticbliss. I love and miss my Fage!

SpinDizzie

06-11-2011, 04:20 PM

I really wish Wonderslim would switch from aspartame to sucralose. Aspartame tastes funny and gives me headache. :P

domesticbliss

06-12-2011, 12:43 AM

glad I could contribute with the Fage, speaking of bars, has anyone tried the Wonderslim Marshmallow Chocolate Cookie, I couldn't even tell it was diet and have been licking the chocolate off the wrappers when I'm done, it's so good!

daw123

06-24-2011, 01:33 PM

Another idea for a substitution for those who cannot do the medifast program for some reason.

Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies - Chocolate Fudge Brownie
Per 1 brownie - Calories: 90kcal | Fat: 3.00g | Carbs: 18.00g | Protein: 1.00g

These do have a TON of carbs, but if you're keeping track (I haven an app on my phone) you won't have a problem. I save this for the end of the day dessert, and if I can't have it because of the carb count, I have something else.

I've tried it by itself and it's fine. I also put a spoon of FF cool whip on it, not bad. I also cut it in half (kind of hard and was very thin), put a drop of peanut butter on it, warmed it up in the microwave for 20 seconds, then added the FF cool whip. This second way needs to be eatten faster then I wanted (I was enjoying the melted PB) because the brownie got hard at the last 2 bites. I cut it in half to try to make it last longer:D

JayEll

06-24-2011, 05:23 PM

Not enough protein. Not enough protein. This is not a substitute for a Medifast meal because there is not enough protein. This is simply a brownie.

Sorry to sound like a broken record about this, but my feeling is, if you're going to do Medifast, do Medifast. It's really about restricting carbs as well as fats. It's about a certain nutritional profile. Anyone can decide to eat a 100 cal brownie--fine--but don't call it a Medifast substitution. This is just my opinion. (and I'm sticking to it! ;))

Jay

daw123

06-24-2011, 05:39 PM

yes you sound like a broken record.

Some of us cannot do medifast because of certain reasons, please do not judge us. :^: We would love to. I tried for 9 days but the soy was just too much for my system. Others cant because of the cost.

Just like the carb count, we have to make sure we make up other factors in the rest of our "meals". I have 26 grams of protien every morning with my morning shake. A majority of the rest comes from my L&G. I'm satisfied with that. And I take a multi vitmain with my L&G.

Maybe this discussion is on the wrong board. Unfortunately I'm not sure where it would go. Calorie counters would say we're doing too low of calories. Low carb would say we're not low carb enough. Medifast says we're not doing enough either. When is enough enough?

We just need a discussion where we can support each other and not get down on us for doing something that will work for us. Please do the same.

daw123

06-25-2011, 09:08 PM

I had another thought from another poster being negative towards those of us who choose to follow their own plans. Ill paste it here.

That's because your not going to find "exact" substitions, so you have to do the best with whats available at the store. Finding a substition does not mean the Exact same, it means finding something comparable and if the totals for the day add up to it close enough for the individual person then that's all that matters.

wildgrits

06-26-2011, 06:05 AM

Not enough protein. Not enough protein. This is not a substitute for a Medifast meal because there is not enough protein. This is simply a brownie.

Jay

I understand that you don't want people to be lead astray.

I think if someone is posting a product on this thread, it is up to the individual to double check the values to make sure it works for them.

Thank you to the folks who are posting nutritional values with the items they suggest.

Sequi 2008 you got me all excited to think I could have Booty just to stomp on my dreams when I checked the values. Shame on you. I totally mean this in jest, sort of.:dizzy:

SpinDizzie thanks for mentioning the sweetner used in Wonderslim. I didn't even think to look and like you that stuff gives me a screaming headache.

daw123

06-26-2011, 10:48 AM

Tis weekend I decided to try the Egg Beater, got the store version. Great weekend breakfast or for something diferent for me.

I choose the. Yoke version.

Cal 30
Fat 0
Sodium 115mg
Carb 1g
Sugars less than 1g
Protien 6g

So I did 3 servings, very fillng.

justducky2

06-28-2011, 12:38 AM

spindizzie and wildgrits, Diet Direct now has some WonderSlim in aspartame-free - it just came out:

http://www.dietdirect.com/wonderslim-aspartame-free-pudding-shakes-weight-loss.html?utm_source=email061711&utm_content=WS140

And I agree, thanks spindizzie, I hadn't really noticed that.

I do buy some vegan protein supplements from iHerb, they use stevia as the sweetener, which I prefer. And I just tasted some "Totally Soy" meal replacement at Sam's Club yesterday (they were tasting it!) and it was good; sweetener was sucralose. However, carbs were not as low as medifast and wonderslim (more like slim-fast carbs).

daw123

06-28-2011, 12:54 PM

Here's another idea for a non-medifast food from the grocery store:

Jillian Michaels Protein Shake Nutrition
Calories 100
Fat 1.5g
Carbs 7g
Protien 15g
Soidum 45mg

I had tried this a few years ago and it's not bad. At the time the calories were a bit low, but in this case, it would work perfectly.

Sequi 2008

06-29-2011, 03:12 PM

I think if someone is posting a product on this thread, it is up to the individual to double check the values to make sure it works for them.

Respectfully, I disagree. If you're choosing to use a non-Medifast substitute I suggest, it is up to you to decide if that substitute works for you. I'm not going to force you to use something that worked for me.

Sequi 2008 you got me all excited to think I could have Booty just to stomp on my dreams when I checked the values. Shame on you. I totally mean this in jest, sort of.:dizzy:

I think you misunderstood my post, and its followup. I'll therefore try it another way.

Have 1/2 serving of Pirate's Vegetable with 3 boiled egg whites (boil an egg and don't eat the yolk or the shell.) Also eat the head of a children's gummy bear daily multi-vitamin.

This provides:
116.6 calories
2.8g fat
9.2g total carbs
1.1g fiber
1.1g sugar
11.8g protein
20% of RDA vitamins (thanks to the gummy bear vitamin head)

This compares to a Medifast Chili Nacho Cheese Puff:
110 calories
2.5g fat
14g total carbs
4g fiber
3g sugar
11g protein
20% of RDA vitamins

Do those numbers work for you? Does that presentation of the numbers make more sense? All I did was divide the serving size numbers for the Booty in half, and add the numbers for 3 boiled egg whites.

The way I actually do it is to eat the whole serving at one meal, and 5 egg whites at the next meal. I do this because it's a pain to split up a serving, and I'm looking for convenience.

NOTE: I know my math doesn't add up. I said 5 egg whites, but 3+3=6. Well, six egg whites is a bit much to eat at a single sitting, but I can do 5.

NOTE: I don't keep beheading children's multivitamins. I actually eat a single daily multivitamin all at once. It isn't necessary to split multivitamins into five pieces and eat one piece with every meal. For some reason, people don't find that last statement controversial, yet they object to doing the same thing with proteins and carbs.

CAVEAT: I applied this technique to only one (admittedly huge) bulk bag of Pirate's Booty from Costco. It was successful, in that I continued to lose weight as I worked through the bag. However, I personally DON'T RECOMMEND doing this substitution AS A STAPLE. Do it only as an exception, or once in a while if you need the variety. If you do try it, pre-measure the servings and don't eat directly out of the bag. Why? -- Because it is too tempting to eat the whole bag. Maybe if you're getting little bags from the grocery store it may work better. After I finished the bulk bag, I didn't get any more. One of my personal objectives is to retrain myself to eat better once my diet goals have been met. Leaving behind snack foods (regardless of their nutritional makeup) is part of that.

It's also worth noting that this Medifast substitute is short on fiber. Among other reasons, fiber is provided to help give you that "full" feeling and get you to the next meal without feeling hungry. In practice, the low fat protein from the egg whites has the same effect. You can also add a fiber tablet if it concerns you (eat it with the egg whites). That lack of fiber is another reason to not do the substitution all the time. A diet high in fiber is good for you by helping to lower your blood pressure, keeps your heart healthy, and helps your digestive system break down fats more effectively (all of which protein DOESN'T do.)

EDIT: Forgot to add the caveat that this substitution is NOT approved by Medifast. This is a NON-Medifast brand food. I know it sounds redundant, but apparently some people miss this point. DO NOT EAT THIS If YOU ARE INTENDING TO STAY 100% MEDIFAST.

Sequi 2008

06-29-2011, 04:03 PM

Actually, I think the statement I'm leading people astray is pretty funny. Sequi is the present infinitive form of the Latin word "sequor," which means "follow, come, or go after."

I'm not leading, I'm following.

I do believe the Medifast diet works, and I've been having good success with it. I have been moving off and on the Medifast-branded foods, but I have been keeping the nutrition counts the same. If you don't like the concept of a substitute, don't use it. Stay 100% on with Medifast products if that works better for you. I was just sharing some things that worked for me when I was trying to save a little money (and also because I like to tinker with things.)

The whole exercise kept me interested and on the diet.

I'm actually going to start participating less and less over time, because I'm starting to achieve my goals. My BMI is now normal, and I'm now fitting my "thin pants." My focus is starting to shift towards maintenance and developing a healthy lifestyle post-Medifast.

While I haven't yet achieved the ambitious goal I originally set for the weight, that goal might actually be too low to be healthy. I'm still on diet for a few more weeks, but my weight loss has slowed down on its own. It's hard to believe I'm down almost 40 pounds in only 10 weeks.

daw123

06-29-2011, 07:53 PM

Sequi congrats on getting there! Thanks for your posts, I like them. :D
I remember reading on the medifast boards that the powder fiber that dissolves into water or food is good to use. I've been using that in the morning with my shake the last few days.

I'm still working on it. Lost 8.3 lbs in 9 days. So it's going good for me. And I'm still doing this diet, which is a great thing for me :carrot:

daw123

07-08-2011, 12:18 PM

I was looking up some ideas for shakes (getting tired of just chocolate) and came across the medifast maintence plan

[can't post a link but you can google it ...medifast1.com/plans/maintenance... there's also a pdf guide on the internet ... medifastmedia.com/med/docs/maintenance_guide.pdf ]

Medifast Maintenance Plan is the 3 & 3 Plan. Which is what I'm doing now.

3 high protien meals--for me low calorie because I want to lose weight with only one L&G at night).
3 daily fueling--for me I'm calling them snacks and dessert:D

So I'm hoping this will help me when I go to maintenance.

daw123

07-08-2011, 12:29 PM

daw123

07-09-2011, 10:53 AM

SpinDizzie

07-09-2011, 05:29 PM

Thanks for the heads-up, Justducky2! :)

bodyTOObootylicious

07-10-2011, 02:01 PM

Another idea.
Since I didn't feel like yet another shake and forgot to buy my liquid eggs, I found my Pure Protien bars. I'm dividing it up into 2 meals.

Each meal will contain:
Cal 100
Carb 9g
Protien 10g

Yes it makes it a very small bar cutting it in half, but I have the Chewy ones and they are chewy so that helps them last.

I did the same thing while waiting for my first delivery of food... I looked at pretty much every bar in the supermarket and having 1/2 a Pure Protein bar was as close as you could get to the nutritional content of the Medifast ones. I had one bar every 4 hours instead of 1/2 a bar every 2.

That being said, my health coach told me not to make any substitutions, BUT I must say the Pure Protein peanut butter bars taste like a real candy bar next to Medifast ones....

JayEll

07-10-2011, 04:31 PM

BUT I must say the Pure Protein peanut butter bars taste like a real candy bar next to Medifast ones....
Do they use artificial sweeteners? You won't find them in Medifast foods.

Jay

Lyn2007

07-11-2011, 01:37 AM

Do they use artificial sweeteners? You won't find them in Medifast foods.

Jay

Jay, there are plenty of artificial sweeteners in the Medifast foods. The crunch bars have sucralose (splenda) and sugar alcohols, the other foods contain acesulfame potassium.

JayEll

07-11-2011, 07:09 AM

Oh, thanks Lynn. I don't use the crunch bars, so I didn't know that. My mistake. The foods I have used seem to be sweetened mostly with fruit sugar. And no aspartame.

Jay

daw123

07-12-2011, 01:40 PM

Jay, you probably don't use this, but DaVinci Groumet Sugar Free has splenda in it. I know some people use that with medifast or even non-medifast food substitions. I was reading the recipe ideas for ideas for me.

I think I had trouble finding it and the ones I saw in the store were 2 or 3 flavors I didn't like. I need to look some more.

shr1nk1ngme

07-25-2011, 12:27 AM

I am seriously glad I found this thread, but sorry I didn't find it sooner! I have never done Medifast before and my package is scheduled to arrive on Monday. I wish I had known about DietDirect and WonderSlim before I ordered Medifast!

I am probably going to switch over after the first month. (Have seriously limited $$ resources!) I have already ordered the puffs and crisps from DietDirect because the Medifast 20 box started kit didn't offer enough variety.

-- ShrinkingMe

daw123

07-27-2011, 11:22 AM

I forgot to mention: The closest thing I could find for a crunchy snack that tasted as good as Medifast cheesepuffs is a brand called "Lesser Evil"

They are in the organic section of the grocery store. Their Lesser Evil Potato Krinkle Sticks "Lightly Sea Salted" have a very generous serving size of 40 sticks and 110 calories, 2.5g fat, 20 carbs, 2g fiber, 2g protein, 0g sugar.

They are not an exact match for the cheese puff because they do not have a lot of protein so you'd need to make sure to add egg whites or some protein in another meal, etc.

They taste awesome and remind me of a cross between a french fry and cheese puffs. Very satisfying.

I found another crunchy snack

Pringles Baked Wheat Stix - Honey Butter
Calories ... 90
Fat ... 3.5g
Carbs ... 12g
Protein ... 2g

This works with my 3 main meals being very high in protien and low in carbs. Plus my vitamin and mineral supplement with my L&G.

There was another flavor at the store, but it was a spicy flavor so I didn't even look at it. They're packaged indivdually so perfect for on-the-go!
:carrot:

Another crunch snack to add to the list.

Pringles Snack Size Containers
They come in 12 snack sizes in a package, each individual snack size package is:
Calories 110
Total Fat 8g
Carbs 11g
Sugars 0g
Protien 1g

Also the Stix I found another flavor PIZZA. It wasn't too bad. I still prefer the honey butter...

Again, these are my dail fuelings, I call "snacks" or 'dessert" and my 3 "meals" are high in protien and healthy. It's similar to what will work when I'm on Maintenance and follow Medifasts Maintenance 3 and 3 Plan. 3 main meals 3 daily fuelings.

I also take a multi vitmain with my L&G to make sure I get all the nutrients my body needs.

Plus my water.

painfullystoic

07-30-2011, 05:40 AM

I just bought 50 billion boxes off ebay over the last few days- I figured may as well stock up. + if I pay - I'm more likely to stick to it in the long run.

daw123

08-05-2011, 12:17 PM

I just bought 50 billion boxes off ebay over the last few days- I figured may as well stock up. + if I pay - I'm more likely to stick to it in the long run.

:lol:
When I tried Medifast last year (but couldn't stick to it because my body couldn't take the soy), it seemed like I had 50 billion boxes too. ;)

I've been trying to stock up on my non-medifast food substitutes and it seems like I have tons of boxes still. I just need to find room for what I have (I want variety) and buy right before I run out.

daw123

08-24-2011, 04:29 PM

SkinnyBacon

09-01-2011, 12:44 PM

Sequi-Your ice cream/ fish egg/ gummy bear substitution idea truly made me laugh out loud. What creativity! Where do you come up with this stuff?? Wherever it comes from- please don't stop.

When I wake up every morning I have a full scoop of IsoFlex whey protein isolate mixed with 3/4 cup of water which I dump into iced coffee.Calories- 110, Fat-0, Total Carbs- 1, Protein 27mg.

My first Medifast shipment has not arrived yet and maybe I will be persuaded to give it up after I read the lit., but I hope not because it is so delicious and along with the caffeine it gives me a happy little buzz.

JayEll

09-01-2011, 01:39 PM

Hey SkinnyBacon,

The only "problem" with your morning drink from a Medifast point of view is that is has too few grams of carbs, of all things! :lol: Other than that, it looks OK.

You could balance it out by using half a scoop of the protein and half a cup of 1% milk, then putting it into the iced coffee. Yum.

Jay

SkinnyBacon

09-01-2011, 10:05 PM

Thank you Jay!

I would say that is a great problem to have. ;) Your advice on adding the carbs will be taken. I don't know why I am so nuts about this protein drink, I'm not even a real 'chocolate' person. I tasted a bit of powder on my hands when they were salty from adding sea salt to chicken and I was in bliss.

Medifast was such an exciting prospect to me that I just went ahead and ordered a month with a custom menu....then I was still so excited that I ordered a month of the WonderSlim from dietdirect. Good thing I have a decent job!!

I plan to use the two brands interchangeably. And yes, Wonderslim was about $100 cheaper and includes more stuff. After all, variety is the spice of life. I have a feeling I will do just fine.

SB

JayEll

09-01-2011, 11:01 PM

I must hasten to add--Medifast doesn't allow dairy, strictly speaking. But, I can't use the Medifast foods except maybe once a day, so I've had to improvise. (I have a sensitivity to the protein isolates.)

I don't think Wonder Slim is comparable to Medifast, but to each their own. Maybe compare the nutrition profile of two comparable foods (bars or shakes) and see what the differences are.

Jay

SkinnyBacon

09-02-2011, 02:01 AM

Hi Jay. Thank you for the useful information. I should probably try strict Medifast for a week before mixing it up at all. I tend to lose weight fairly easily, so my assumption is that an vlc diet would work for me, but of course assumptions are what got me in trouble with my weight in the first place...or maybe it was rationalizations...either way. Your feedback is appreciated.

SpinDizzie

09-02-2011, 02:53 AM

Jay! You're half way! Awesome:D

JayEll

09-02-2011, 07:12 AM

Hey SpinDizzie! Yeah, I am! :cheer2: :cheer2: Thanks for noticing! :D

Jay

SpinDizzie

09-04-2011, 06:42 PM

On my quest to find good foods for substitution, I rediscovered Genisoy. Many of their products reasonably fit the MF foods profile. I ordered the salt and vinegar soy crisps and the deep sea salt soy nuts from Amazon. I'm going to use them in place of my Bites for a month and see how that works. When I run out of brownies, I will try the VitaTops mentioned in this thread. Special K's low carb, high protein cereal is also on my list. I probably would use either unsweetened Silk or low fat, plain yogurt with it.

daw123

10-03-2011, 12:33 PM

I was looking through some of my old Woman's World Magazines, and on one cover was Genie Francis from General Hopsital (she played Laura). She went on medifast and lost 40 lbs and went from a size 12 to a size 2. WOW.

Then they had their own plan. They did a lot of diary, but I think that's because it's hard to get protien in all 5 meals without it. And they added fruit too. Probably to make it look more healthy. Plus probably to up the calories. This so they don't get called out and people saying its a "fad diet", which people tend to do with very low calorie diets/eating plans and haven't tried or researched them.

They had things for the 5 meals like

1 packet of low sugar oatmal or 1/2 cup plain instant oatmeal & 1 cut fat-free milk
1 single serving box or 1 bowl cerial (up to 100 calories) & 1/2 cup fat-free milk
8 oz container of lite yogurt & 1 tangerine
1 protien or energy bar (up to 110 claories with at least 9 gm protien) & 1 lite fruit cup
4 oz container or 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese & 1 mini box or 2 Tbs raisins
1 hardboiled egg & 1 ready pack-baby carrots with ranch dressing or 6 baby carrots with 1 Tbs dressing
1 bag lite microwave popcorn, cooking spray, 1 Tbs Parmessan cheese
1 oz string cheese & 1 small apple
1 packet no-sugar-added Carnation instant breakfast & 1 cup fat-free milk
100 calorie almond pack or 15 almonds & 1 tangerine
1 single serving pouch or 1/3 cup canned tuna or salmon, 2 tsp fat-free vinaegreet & 10 all-bran multigrain crackers
1 single serving containeror 1 bowl canned soup (up to 125 calories)

Then the "L&G Meals were

Quick Omelet: 2 oz lean ham or any lean protien, 3 eggs, 1 1/2 cupts chopped nonstargin vegetables
1 frozen dinner entree (up to 280 calories), 1 cup green vegetables
5 oz chicken breast, lean beef or seafood seasoned to taste & 1 1/2 cups cooked nonstarchy vegatbles drizzled with 5 tsp. olive oil

I found their plan... interesting.

They did have some interesting side notes

In one German study, dieters using a plan similar to Geneie's sharnk their wasts 240% more than folks using a traditional low-fat diet.

Increase your protien intake to about 30% of your total calories and you'll automatically want 494 fewer calories a day, say University of Washing scientiests.

daw123

10-31-2011, 12:25 PM

JayEll posted some idea here that you might find helpful too

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/medifast/243739-food-substitutions-close-medifast-profile.html

daw123

11-08-2011, 01:14 PM

I'm thinking of starting medifast, with lots of subs of items available at my grocery due to finances.

Any tips or favorite items to use instead?

a glass of milk and a vitamin instead of a shake ;) or even ovaltine. I love shakes but heck they are so expensive! Took me a long to figure out it's just as easy to have a glass of milk!

In a Womans' World magazine (yes I love that magazine, it has short quick articles to read throughout the week). It had a "shake" diet. Ovaltine I believe was suggested. As was Slim Fast (which has a high protien version) and even Carnation Instant Breakfast because it had the vitamins and minerals in it. They said the Carnation was the least expensive of them all.

JayEll

11-08-2011, 01:22 PM

Checking out Carnation products, most of them have too high a carbohydrate amount and too low a protein amount to be a good substitute for the Medifast shakes. The exceptions seem to be the no-sugar-added versions, which have closer to equal amounts of both. Just FYI

Jay

daw123

01-06-2012, 03:12 PM

Good point about the carnation. I hadn't looked into it, just thought of it as I was thinking medifast substitutes.

SpinDizzie

01-08-2012, 06:45 AM

8oz of unsweetened Almond Breeze and a half serving of Gold Standard 100% Whey protein powder is 100 calories, 4 carbs, 4 grams fat and 13 grams protein.

daw123

01-13-2012, 04:36 PM

Budding Deli Thin Turkey Luchmeat

Calories 90
Total Fat 5g
....Saturated fat 2g
....Trans fat 0g
Cholesterol 30mg
Sodium 600mg
Total Carbs 3g
....dietary fiber 9g
....sugars 2g
Protien 9g

SLOW EATING
These can be eaten by the slice to make it last longer.

FAST
You can also roll them up and take a few quick bites if you need to eat in a hurry (these are great for fast eating).

.
I had one of these for lunch and had to eat real fast because I had to run an errand for work and then went shopping for my lunch, and ate this pretty quickly. I prefer not to eat quickly, but it's good to know this can be eaten quickly if needed.

trennarene

01-15-2012, 11:43 PM

I was so excited to see someone else using other methods for Medifast. I love the program but the food can become a little boring and expensive after awhile. So I have started baking my own bars, and making my own shakes, ect.. with Whey protein powders. SO I thought I would add one of my FAVORITE new recipes, A high protein, low calorie, low carb Carrot Cake Protein bar. That falls within the medifast programs limits of carbs, calories, and protein.

1 cup oat flour (put plain oatmeal in a blender until powdery)
2 scoops vanilla whey protein (I use body fortress Whey Protein Vanilla)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 egg whites
1 egg white
3/4 cup Stevia in the raw
8 oz pureed carrots (Can use bab yfood carrots too, I used organic..)
2 oz water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix flour, whey protein, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.
3. Mix egg whites, stevia, carrots, and water (optional) in a bowl.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together.
5. Spray 8x8 glass pyrex dish with non-stick butter spray.
6. Pour ingredients into dish.
7. Bake for 20-30 minutes.
8. Cool and cut into 8 equal size bars and enjoy

This is a meal, not your lean and green.

119 calories, 12 carbs, 10 g protein

trennarene

01-16-2012, 12:10 AM

Portable, affordable, and great for on the go, Muscle Milk Light. 100 Calories, 15 grams of protein, and 4 carbs. MUST be drank while cold though! I found mine at Walmart. And I really like the Cafe Latte flavor. But I only do 1 of these a day if done. And a good multivitamin ;) They are around $5 for 4. (here anyways..)