medifast
 

Is anyone using this product? How is it working for you? How do the shakes taste? How much have you lost? Thinking of trying it, but would like some information first.

Thanks

Medifast is similar to Optifast and HMR, but is lower-carb or high-protein (depending on how you look at it) than both the others. I did HMR (and you can read about my success on my web page - click on my user name at left, or by searching for my previous messages on this forum).

I'm also looking into Medifast/Optifast/HMR. I have found some helpful info at XXXXXXXXX; so you might want to try that site as well. Maybe we can end up starting the liquid diet group here at 3FC.
Cheers, LauraD

I think its would be a great idea to start a Liquid Diet discussion here. I just purchased a big box of EAS AdvantEdge shakes. I want to do a modified fast. I think I will have a small dinner with the family. I have been to that Liquid Diet Discussion board, its a pretty active place, do you know of any others we could check out?

I am starting today.
BabySteps

Some boards do have specific Liquid Diet discussion areas. I'm not sure what 3FC's policy is on putting links to other boards out publicly, though, so if you're really interested, send me a PM and I'll point you towards the ones I participate in.

Okay - I saw "liquid diet" and since I've done it, had to answer.

First off - addressing Brian's query about 3FC's policy - if you click on "Register" at the top of the page you can access the forum rules at any time. Basically here are the rules:

With that said...back to the topic of liquid diets. I know that not everyone visits the Ladies who Lift forum but the topic of liquid diets came up in last week's 'weekly thread'. You can find where the topic starts here: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...274#post532274 It was actually BabySteps who brought up the liquid fast topic...a lot of our Ladies who Lift had some great responses - here's mine copied for your convenience.

Just my two cents...

Those are excellent points, MrsJim. There are a few success stories out there, but liquid diets have a very high failure rate. It is my opinion that a liquid diet should only be followed under the advice and supervision of a physician.

I don't think it's something we want to promote, though, and prefer not to create a Liquid Diet forum area.

If there are several people here that are following this type of diet and wish to discuss it within a thread, then that is your choice. We have occasional Slimfast threads pop up from time to time. They generally fizzle out, though, and I'm assuming it's because the participants move onto other diet plans.

Thanks for clearing up the policy question here, MrsJim. Just one more question along those lines: What is 3FC's policy if I am solicited, privately, to provide such information (as opposed to the other way around)? To be honest, I don't believe any site is better than this one (after all, I'm here, eh? <grin>) However, when the issue is support, I feel "the more support the better" and so I visit multiple sites.

Regarding what Suzanne said. The failure rate for medically-supervised VLCDs is about 80%-85%. The failure rate for Weight Watchers, measured the same way, is about 95%-97%. I'm all for providing clear and meticulous warnings about the perils of VLCDs, but let's not overstate them. They are safe, when medically-supervised. They are effective, and for obese folks have been shown to be the "best" approach, as compared to all others.

Mrs. Jim,

I found an old review of Optifast I thought you might be interested in reading, I agree with the review, it is not a good option for someone just needing to lose a small amount of weight, but for those who need to lose much more, it just might be worth a try. This person gave optifast 4 out of 5 stars ;)
__________________________________________________ ______________

It's been 10+ years now and the weight's still off!
May 19 '01 (Updated May 20 '01)

Author's Product Rating ****


Helpfulness of Suport

Pros
A head start to weight loss for the morbidly obese (not just overweight)

Cons
You need to learn lifestyle changes for the weight to stay off; expensive

The Bottom Line
Only for the morbidly obese - and make sure you have a caring physician and staff, not one of those 'franchise' diet docs.


Full Review
I thought that Eopinions readers would like to hear from a successful graduate of the Optifast program!

I was in the Program in 1990-91. That year, I was at a high (I think - I was afraid to get on a scale for years) of 265 pounds when I was accepted into the program. At 5'4" tall and 27 years old, I was wearing size 24-26 clothes and totally miserable. When you weigh that much, it's really hard to get excited about the prospect of a 1/2 to 2 pound a week weight loss, so a program like Optifast can be a beneficial 'head start' for the severely obese person who needs the encouragement of a significant weight loss to carry on with maintaining permanent healthy lifestyle changes.

I must state right here, though - I did the Program as part of an 18-month Stanford University study on weight loss maintenance. Since Oprah had just lost all that weight on the program, naturally thousands of women called to try to enter the study - which only cost each participant $500 (half of which was refunded at the end of the study). I know Optifast costs much more than that in the real world!

If you are planning on doing this program, take a long hard look at the medical facility offering it. As a guideline, I was required to attend group counseling and nutrition sessions once a week. I also had to come in for medical checkups, which included bi-weekly blood work and EKG to make sure everything was okay. It was also recommended that all participants take the prescription drug "Actigall" to prevent gall bladder damage (which was supplied to us by the study at no extra charge).

Two weeks prior to the fast stage, we were all required to keep a 'food journal' where we wrote down every bite we ate and if we were hungry when we ate it. These were submitted to the medical counselor each week.

The fast itself was five shakes, totalling 800 calories per day. I don't recall the exact nutrtional info other than they were made with egg-white protein. I also took FiberCon each day since I wasn't getting any fiber in my diet.

During the program, I kept my own personal journal in which I wrote down my thoughts, experiences and feelings. The first two weeks were definitely the most difficult - I'd say the best thing a participant could do is NOT watch TV commercials or food advertising. It's hard to overcome those old eating triggers.

As far as exercise, we were advised to get a minimum of 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week of walking or whatever - however we were told that the more exercise we did, the better our results would be. Encouraged by my weight loss (10.5 pounds the first week, 20 pounds by the end of the first month) I quickly added time and hills to my daily walking, then joined a low-impact aerobics class at the Rec Center. By the end of the fast, I was going to regular Jazzercise classes five days a week, as well as walking.

At the end of the 12 week fast, I was down to 207.5 pounds. 26 weeks after the beginning of the fast, I was down to 182.5. Currently I am about 152. The point is, I have kept the weight off and stayed below post-fast levels for 11 years now! My photos are posted on my webpage - if you're interested...

So, would I recommend Optifast? Well...

A caveat here - Optifast is NOT for everyone. It is intended for only the morbidly obese - not just someone who has 10-30 pounds to lose. Talk to your regular physician first. You need to have the proper mindset - this is not a magic pill (the proof being that I was one of only 3% of the study participants who kept the weight off by the study's end). Make sure the medical center offering it has a competent staff, adequate medical testing, and spends time with you when you come in. Most importantly, you have to accept that you'll need to change your eating and exercise habits permanently in order for the weight to stay off. Good luck!

Recommended
Yes

Approximate Monthly Cost (US$) Unsure
Food Variety Restrictions You eat the same thing for months
Restrictiveness of Portions Few small portions

Babysteps - actually *I* wrote that review some time ago for Eopinions. Just FYI. :)

Note my caveat at the end of the review - I stand by what I wrote back then. Also note that at the time (don't know if Eopinions has changed since then) the website only gave you a choice of "Yes" or "No" for "Recommended" which is why I wrote the caveat back then.

Bicker - I'd be interested in knowing where you got the failure rate percentages. What time frame does that cover - 3 months after the fast period, 6 months, a year? To me, it's keeping the weight off LONG-TERM that matters. I know that I would not have been able to keep my weight off (and lose more following the fast period - my weight at the end of the 12-week fast period was 205 pounds, at the end of the 18-month study my weight was recorded at somewhere between 177-180 pounds and of course, I've lost still more since then) unless I had taken the initative ON MY OWN to make permanent lifestyle changes.

Mrs Jim,

I knew it was you ;) Thats why I winked :)

BabySteps

The Fat of the Land - Michael Fumato.

There are scant few scientifically-sound studies done, because the big money at companies like Weight Watchers applies so much pressure to keep their failure rate secret.

Me too. The study Fumato referred to was based on two year weight-loss maintenance.

People should ask themselves why Weight Watchers and other programs like it don't publish their success/failure rates. (HMR, incidently, does publish theirs. They're proud of how successful their patients are.)

It doesn't take much to look around and realize that most everyone who tries to lose weight fails, given that overweight has a majority in this country now. I know it is hard to believe, but medically-supervised VLCDs are indeed proven to be the best approaches for the morbidly obese. I sure had a hard time believing it. I tried everything before I tried this (except surgery), and this worked. Two years later, well the proof is in the pudding, eh?I agree. I had to make the decision to do the VLCD and to comply with its tenets. I had to do all the work to adopt a new, healthy lifestyle. The VLCD just made it more readily sustainable, since it got me to a point where I could begin deriving new motivation from previous success well before I ran out of the motivation I started the effort with.

Ah yes...Fat of the Land...one of my favorites!
 

I am VERY familiar with the Fumento book - I probably have quoted passages from it, or recommended it, dozens of times here at 3FC. I believe this is the passage you are referring to...page 160 of the hardcover edition (the chapter titled "The Profiteers").

After that there's a chart from the Consumer Reports survey - I'll have to scan it and try and attach it as a jpg... and following the chart Fumento goes on to say:

Incidentally, the study I participated in - which was on weight-loss maintenance, conducted by Stanford University was actually commissioned by Sandoz/Optifast. Apparently, after the study was concluded, Optifast decided that they didn't want to use it - like I said it was a MASSIVE study involving 1,000+ women (I was VERY lucky to be able to get in at all - the announcement was made in the local news media and literally THOUSANDS of women jammed the phone lines as this was right after Oprah's big loss on the program) and the overall 'success rate' at the end of 18 months was a less-than-spectacular 3-5%...remember, just because a study is commissioned doesn't mean the entity that commissioned it has to USE it, especially if they don't care for the results...so I suspect there were other studies done that were never actually published afterwards. (The only reason I know the results myself is because they were sent to the participants who stuck with the study the entire 18 months).

Mrs. Jim,

You are one informed lady! Is there nothing you havent heard of :)

BabySteps

The book clearly shows numbers for HMR, Optifast and Medifast in the 20% range, and Weight Watchers and others in the 5% range. Fumento equivocated the objective numbers with his own personal opinion, but in saying so he was condemning all approaches, because all approaches suck, from his point-of-view. Remember, however, that when all programs are gauged by the SAME success rate criteria: VLCDs, 20% successful; Weight Watchers and others, 5% successful. No getting around those facts.

Yes, the success rates ALL suck. When faced with lots of bad choices, the correct approach IMHO is to choose the BEST choice of the lot.