I've just started my weight loss research, and really think MF would work for me. I like how I could lose the weight faster, but I wonder if this isn't taking the 'easy' way out. Some of the personal trainers I've spoken to have basically said something along these lines. They say eating the packaged foods doesn't teach me anything about eating right, and correct portioning, and that I'll just gain it all back when I start eating real food again. Are they right?
I have about 100-110 pounds I need to lose, and I'd like to get rid of it quickly so my hubby and I can start trying to conceive within the next year. I can't help but think that this plan may help me reach that goal, while 'doing it the right way' will mean it could take a couple of years to lose the weight, and maybe prevent us from conceiving (my age is starting to creep up there).
Did any of you feel like it was 'cheating' or taking the easy way out?
I think that no matter what you do, eventually you will have to face the fact that you must learn proper eating habits. If you lose the weight with MF, you might do just fine if you just teach yourself to eat right. That will be harder once you have complete food freedom, when you are cooking and making decisions for yourself off of the diet. If you have any unhealthy relationship with food, you must face it before raising a child, or you will likely risk influencing the child in the same way. Not to mention proper nutrition during pregnancy. I don't think of it as a "short-cut" because every person needs to lose weight in their own way. But if the only thing you want to do this for is to have a baby, then you are maybe not doing it for the right reasons. You have to be healthy, not just thin. Especially if you want to have a child. Because it is all about loving yourself enought to get the healthiest body you can have, to be the best you, and eventually, the best mom that you can be. And a short cut is not a short cut if it puts you back in exactly the same place, and maybe worse off a little while later. Best wishes, and congratulations for taking the first step. Now get going and don't stop!
Oh, I know it's also about being healthy, and not just thin. And that shortcuts only lead to gaining it all back again. My main problem is will power. I *know* how I'm supposed to eat, and how much of it to eat, and what not to eat, but I just end up making poor choices. I think losing the weight while on MF would give me the motivation to actually start following what I know I should do, once I've lost the weight.
Another big contributor is the fact that I have energy problems stemming from having MS. I've recently started back to work after being laid off 2 years ago, and I find that I just don't have the energy to cook when I get home. I was hoping this type of diet would help with that aspect. This is the one big hurdle I really need to find a way to work around/with, because its not ever going to go away. I can only hope that dropping the 100lbs will actually help my energy problem to where I can do more once I get home from work...esp if we do go down the road of having a child, because I'll need all the energy I can get then!
The right way for you to diet is to find a program that you will follow. IF you are successful on Medifast you can transition to a sensible eating plan so that you will not regain. I trust that you will be so happy to have lost weight that you will be ready to follow a healthy eating plan.
Heck no it's not cheating. I'm eating 6 times a day and I'm full and healthy. I'm down 20 pounds and a dress size in 2 months. I'm learning to eat properly and not binge out. This is hardly a starvation diet. I laugh at people that have no freaking clue what this diet is about.
I really believe the concept of "cheating" in weight loss is a detrimental one. Not only does it tie weight loss to "morality" (where doing it wrong means you're a bad person), but also implies that there are a select few limited ways to lose weight and all the rest are wrong.
There is no perfect or one-size-fits-all solution for weight loss (If there were, we would have found it by now). Instead, every method has it's strengths and weaknesses, and which one is right for you, largely depends on your own strengths and weaknesses. You need to find a good (not necessarily perfect) fit for you, and to do that you need to know a little bit about nutrition, the diet you're interested in, and your own physical, emotional, and mental strengths and weaknesses.
A weakness of meal replacement plans is that you generally lose weight in a very different way than you will be maintaining it. Which means you do have to learn different skills for maintenance than you learned and used for weight loss.
Is this a fatal weakness? That really depends on you. You need to plan for and address the weakness, so that you will be able to overcome or compensate for it.
Many people fail because they don't plan for and adress the weaknesses of their strategies, but the failure isn't because of the strategies they used, it's because of lack of planning and preparedness.
Another weakness (and for some people a strength) is that the more rapid weight loss methods are also the most difficult and frustrating to stay one (for some people - others find it liberating). You need to know which is true for you, and how you're going to address the difficulties.
The important part isn't the strategy, it's sticking with the experimenting and making the best choices you can in the moment. Only giving up will guarantee failure.
What I can tell you is that Medifast is the first diet where I'm learning about me, my relationship with food, why I eat, and how little food my body really needs. By taking away a lot of food choices, it's showing me how mental weight loss is. I've never lost this much weight before, and now that my goal is in sight, I'm going to keep going.
No, I don't think it's "cheating" at weight loss. I think it's losing weight in a way that makes sense for me at this time.
If you think Medifast will work for you, give it a try. Commit to doing it for a month, and if it's not for you, don't give up, pick another plan.
It's not easy. It's a restricted calorie diet and like Riddy said, it becomes mostly a mental challenge after the initial hunger subsides. I can't speak for anyone else but for me this diet didn't mean just eating less, it meant eating a LOT less and gaining a better understanding of what constitutes healthy eating and healthy portions. You're really forced to take a hard look at why you're eating what you're eating (in my case mostly junk) and why you are eating so MUCH.
On other diets, I mostly never thought about it. I'd eat what I was told and maybe have some success, but would eventually slip back into old habits. With this, you are either on plan or you're not. There are no grey areas, and there's very little wiggle room. There's an extremely stark contrast between the way you are used to eating, and the way you should be eating.
If it's cheating it certainly doesn't feel like I'm getting away with much.
There are a lot of ways to lose weight and they all have their pluses and minuses. In my experience there was more of a transition from MF to my maintenance plan as I didn't want to continue to eat MF meals forever. So I did MF transition as written and then did a second transition where I weaned myself off of MF meals completely and that entailed a visit to a nutritionist and finding good substitutes and was a lot of effort. People who lose weight by counting calories and eating clean don't have all that transitioning to do. But here's the thing: Who cares about a longer transition if you can't lose the weight in the first place? MF was a miracle for me. I lost 120 lbs in 11 months and didn't suffer for one minute while I did it. For ME the longer transition was totally worth it to get the weight off. "Eating healthy and exercising more" never worked for me. So for me the trade offs were completely worthwhile!
Hey Bluegrass,
I have been on MF for 7 weeks so clearly I am no expert. I have lost 24 lbs and counting. I do not feel like it is cheating or taking the easy way out. It easy as far as having a meal in a bar, shake or soup handy when you need it and not having to pick and choose the "right" thing to eat when face with 100 bad things.
I am dealing with a medical condition as well which causes me to be on medication that saps all my strength by the end of the day and I can barely keep my eyes open so in that respect the easiness of the plan works well for me. In the grand scheme of things though I wouldn't call it easy to stick to when face with "family pizza night" and the like but I know what I need to do for my health so I stick with it and it has paid-off.
Also if you lose the weight you want to lose will your body care how you did it? Having a plan for how you are going to keep it off is the key and you need that no matter how you lost the weight.
One last comment - I have been pleasantly surprised at how much energy I have after doing this plan even though I still am on medication that has a sedating effect I have energy to do things I haven't had in quite awhile and I totally give credit to the MF.
I love to hear how it's going for you and I'll be give updates as I progress as well.
It is not cheating. It is hard work. But, low carb is the ONLY thing that has ever worked for my weight loss efforts.
Here's the thing: I lost 50 lbs on a MF - like plan, and regained it all. I'm an emotional eater, and when I went off, my job was in limbo for about 9 months. When you get off the plan, you have to watch every morsel that goes into your mouth. My clinic said, with a formula they gave us, that to maintain my weight, I could only eat 1300 calories a day. That's a diet!
I'm maintaining, now, but have to go back and lose that 50 again. I kick myself.
...then you're not trying! ha...just kidding. Kind of. But really, I don't find MF to be a "cheat." I just started a couple weeks ago and it's really working for me; and like a lot of other people, weight loss and controlling my eating is a complete mental and psychological thing for me. I grew up in an overweight house with overweight parents, and it wasn't long before I was the "fat kid" in class. So it's been my life struggling with and against food while being an athlete and being surrounded by people that didn't seem like they even had to try to maintain a healthy weight. With MF, I feel back in control, I'm not hungry, and I'm seeing the numbers go down on the scale which keeps me motivated. I know I'm only two weeks in but I think the incorporation of the lean and green meal is showing me new ways to enjoy healthy foods, and that's where your healthy habits will continue to grow (along with drinking more water and eating 5 small meals a day!). Even after you're off Medifast, you should be in enough of a routine of eating something small and good for you every 2-3 hours that you'll keep the weight off. I think that's why MF works, because you're not forced to learn all this new stuff all at one time. It's a process. Just remember that, and good luck!
Is doing MF cheating at weight loss?
