Medifasters Jump into January
 

Are you on Medifast or considering it? This is the thread to be in!

At the moment we are posting in this old thread but will all be here in two days.

Come and join us!

I guess I am the first, but shhhhhhh it isn't January yet!
I've had a constant battle with my weight which seems like forever. I've lost alot of weight on different plans. They all work.
I like medifast because I don't have to count anything, add numbers or scan the supermarket for foods to eat. I shake it and drink it and that is it.
Of course I am hungry ( day two) because I've been slamming every christmas cookie and treat into my mouth for the last few weeks.
When I got on the scale yesterday I was horrified at the number and knew that I made the right choice. I need a quick loss for motivation only.
In the end as I've known many times before, it is the maintaining that is the hardest part.
Good luck to all
Keep shakin`

January FIRST! 2008! This'll be the year that WE ALL DO THIS!!!
Whoo HOOOO!!!
--gaak -- too much egg nog flavor drops in my vanilla shake ---
Maya
:)

I'm so glad I found you! I decided to try medifast after losing about 45 pounds last year on another plan (and gaining 20 pounds back over the holidays). My doctor recommended medifast and after researching it online I think it is going to be a great choice! I'm excited to get started. My order should arrive on Wed. so I will be starting then! I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone. :)

Andie

I asked this on another thread but will ask here just in case someone is on right now...

I am getting ready to order!

Few opinions please...

the oatmeal, any flavors you do like better than others? Any you don't like?

The chips and crackers, are they in place of a meal?

I read that Genie Francis mixes coffee into her vanilla shake. Anyone try this? I normally would never order vanilla but this sounds like it might be good.

How many puddings should I get? Do you have it every day?

The hot drinks, do you order them?

Lastly, any problems with auto ship??


Thanks!!!

Hi Everyone!
 

I'd like to join your group. My name is Beth and I've been around 3FC for quite some time but never really posted about MF because it used to get a bad wrap. I'm so glad to have found you all.

A little about me... I live in the midwest but my DH and I are on a quest to move out of the snow belt. I'm 45 years old and work as an artist. My heaviest "recorded" weight is 235 but I'm very sure I hit waaaaaaaaaaay over 245 at one point. I started MF because my mom went on it at her doctors recommendation. She's now lost over 90 lbs. and is off her high blood pressure and diabetes medication. I was so impressed with her and how well she's done that I decided to go on MF myself. I started in April of 2006 doing the 5 and 1 plan and by November 2006 I'd lost over 50 lbs. I liked it because I felt like I didn't want to have to count calories or points. I think of it like "cat food". My cat eats what he gets and no more. That's how MF worked for me, it was my "cat food". Don't get me wrong, it wasn't always a bed of roses and I did have times where I went off plan and had to go through the dreaded first three days again but all in all I found it to be the easiest plan I've ever followed.

At 165 lbs (in November) I'd not hit my original goal but really needed to take a break from MF. During my losing phase I discovered and SCOURED 3FC to learn about maintenance. I discovered the whole foods and weight lifting sections. I learned what I needed to maintain my loss and have been really happy staying within 5 - 8 lbs. of my "stopping" weight.

I was not careful over the holidays this year and I'm back up to 178 so it's time to begin again and hit my original goal of 145 - 150 (I'm not really sure about that #). Today is day #1 AGAIN, LOL, and I'm excited to finally get to my goal weight. It's been fun to go from extremely tight 22's (should have been buying 24's) to loose 12's. I'd really like to get into single digits - if I can, that would be incredible.

Sorry for the lonnnnnnnnng post and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Beth

Hi Brooke,

I really like the Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal. It's the closest to "plain" for me but I always add extra cinnamon and 6 chopped pecan halves. (I deduct them from my lean).

The chips and crackers are not a meal. They don't have the same balanced nutrients that the meals have.

I love the Chai Tea.

Never used auto ship so hopefully someone else will chime in about that.

-- Beth

Welcome all to the thread!
I know how you feel, my CinnamonGirl (LOVE THAT SONG!!! ALWAYS wanted to be a Cinnamon Girl!!!), as I hit my high over 243! Welcome and Happy New Year to all!
Maya
:)

Here we go! Happy 2008!

I see that a lot of people on 3FC are using Medifast. :) Can somebody tell me a little about it? Do you eat real food or just drinks and bars? Is it a jump start to quick weight loss or something you are on for a while?

Thanks! :newyear:

BabyNicole, on the main 3FC Page, many of the diets are reviewed. Suzanne and Jennifer did Medifast. Click on this for their review.

Thanks, that answered all my questions! I've decided that's not for me...right now anyway. ;) But, GOOD LUCK to everyone! :hug:

I love love love cinnamon! I used to eat old fashioned oatmeal for breakfast every morning. No sweetener, just about a tablespoon of cinnamon per 1/2 dry oats. It was sooooo good!

Cinnamon is really good for you. It helps to control blood sugar levels.

Happy new year everyone!

May I join in on this thread? I'm re-starting Medifast today. I have three glorious days all to myself to settle in, and hope to be in the groove by Friday, when a fresh crop of hungry houseguests arrive! :dizzy:

I have been following the progress of Medifasters here for a while. What a great group, with so much success between you! So, you inspired me to place an order about two weeks ago...And here I am, ready to roll!

I have a feeling we all have a wonderful year ahead :)

All are welcome, even if you PLAN to be on MF but haven't done it yet!!!
We can all DO this!!!
OK, so my exercise for today is SHOVELLING the driveway! Yup, around 5 inches so far, and more on the way! I'm out there every 2 hours to sort things out...
Anyways, Happy New YOU 2008 everyone!
Maya
:)

I was just doing some digging and found this:


I love my medifast, but I'm considering supplementing medifast with items from this company. Their variety is better. I was hoping for cheaper, but the prices are about the same. Plus medifast has coupons and they don't.

What do you all think?

Ok, I cannot add the link because I have less than 25 posts. I didn't realize that my post count was so low!! The site is new lifestyle diet. If you look at the foods that they have. Dulce de leche caramel pudding? Oh yeah baby!

They have some "meal replacement" in the form of solid food too. Sloppy Joe's........

Hi there!
Of course, everyone is free to choose what they want to do! For me, though, MF is a medically-designed, balanced diet that needs no other supplementation. And, of course, if I want the full MF benefits, I need to be on MF 100%. So, although the info you have provided looks really interesting, I think I'll be sticking to MF 100% for the time being! I also think that mixing and matching products from different companies might get just a bit too confusing for me.
If you DO supplement, let us know how things go!
Maya
:)

There are a lot of MF off-shoot groups that do just what you're thinking of doing. For me I didn't really want to deal with adding up nutrients and calories between plans to make sure I was getting enough of this and not too much of that. However lots of people are doing that and if you can make it work for you I think that's just fine.

Some people need to be 100% on plan and others can tweak the plan to their needs. My only caution would be to wait until you've been on MF for quite some time so you learn what your body responds to before you start tweaking things. It's really easy to start substituting this for that and adding here and there. If you're not careful you can end up being off plan enough to throw yourself out of ketosis and become discouraged with MF in general. I'm not saying YOU specifically will do this but I've seen it happen to many others.

I do tweak the plan but it's worked for me so I'll continue tweaking until it stops working for me. I add 2-3 oz. more protein to the plan. This is how that protein breaks down: I add 6 pecan halves to my oatmeal (this satisfies my "crunch" need) and I add chicken to the chili along with lots of spices to jazz it up. I used to buy a store brand equivalent soy crisp in place of the MF crisps but found they were a trigger food for me and I had to cut them out all together. This time around I'm not even going to try them. I don't limit my dill pickle snack as strictly as MF does (might have three spears instead of two if I'm having a bad day). But I did have to cut out all peanut butter as a snack as that also would send me into a craving tailspin. I do a lot of weight lifting and found that adding this additional protein helps stave off hunger and cravings.

You have to find what works for you and that might change over time. Like someone once said in another part of 3FC "you are your own experiment".

--Beth

P.S. I forgot to add that by tweaking the plan the way I do (I'm obviously adding calories) I don't lose as quickly as those that stay on plan 100%. For me that's fine and I don't really care. As long as the scale's going down NOT UP that's all that matters to me.

Daughter engaged!
 

I tried to post and it didn't work, at least I don't think so, it may double post.

My daughter got engaged last night!! Talk about motivation!

My only issue is now my husband and 2 other daughters want to join me and that makes MF too $. :mad: 2 kids in college and a wedding... grrrrr...

So, we have decided to do our own version with steel cut oatmeal, slim fast and lean/green.

Spryng, what did you buy exactly if you don't mind?? :)

I gather that the calories in the MF meals are 100 each correct? So, 500 calories plus another 500 for the lean green???

Thanks for the help!

Happy New Year! I start in the AM, at a party as I type this. They are all watching football so I brought my ibook! Checking out wedding stuff online!

Hi there!
I think your biggest issue won't necessarily be the calories, but the carb content. IF you can keep your carb content down to 100g or less per day, and SUPPLEMENT with a multivitamin daily, you should be in the same fat-burning state (ketosis) as you are on MF. Also, try to keep your fat content down, because in a fat-burning state, your body will burn dietary fat first, then body fat. SO with lots of dietary fat, you won't lose very much body fat.
Other than that, you will be JUST fine, I'm sure! Oh, and congratulations on the great news!
Keep posting!
And Ms Cinnamon, good for YOU for finding out that balance that will work for you. I don't think weight loss is a race, because the maintaning of the loss is the key for all of us! Keep posting such great posts, cause you have lots of info!
Maya
:)

Hey Ladies---

Just found out my first order of medifast shipped today!!! I am really excited. I expect to be starting on Thursday.

Amy

Hey! I am here and back on despite some major temptations today. My houseguests decided spinach artichoke dip would make a good lunch today. I could've killed them but I do understand. One of them is on LA Weightloss and is getting back on tomorrow so I know she has plenty of suffering ahead too. Bwa ha ha ha ha........:devil:

So far so good. I haven't been hungry today (probably due to the excess in calories I consumed last night) but still tempted to eat socially - that's a big issue for me. I just put a chicken breast in the oven so I can eat a little earlier than the family and not be tempted while I'm getting the girls' food ready. DH is having shrimp tonight (and even cooking it himself) and I don't tolerate it well so it's not a temptation at all.

And the bad news....I failed my licensing exam AGAIN. Long story short (if I've told you before you can stop reading here), I am degreed in one engineering concentration but made the switch after 10 years of work to a completely different area of work. So now, ummmmm.....almost 20 years post graduation I'm trying to get licensed in the new area. It's almost like getting another degree and this was attempt number 3. So I'll go after it again in April. There will be lots of studying this weekend but no Skittles this time. ;)

Here's to a wonderful, successful (in all areas of our life) new year!

Maria

Like someone said, I will definitely go at it with the MF for awhile. As I get bored with it, I will probably look at the other NLD foods to mix with it. Their plan is basically the same. 6 meals consisting of 5 of their stuff and 1 lean and grean meal.

I started on Saturday 12/29 and last night I went off of the plan. I had Doritos, pizza, and fudge. I couln't resist! There were food commercials on TV. So I decided to read a magazine. There were food ads and recipes in those so I decided to read a book. The book talked about food. It was torture!!

But I am back on track today and am getting ready for my L&G meal. I really like the tomato basil veggie burgers, but don't have any right now. I just have the plain and they are aweful.

Sorry Maria but great attitude! You'll get there!

I think that most everyone will be starting diets tomorrow! Most won't make it past a few weeks but we will!!

Oh NO Maria -- so sorry to hear about your bad news.
Maya
:)

I will definitely make it past a few weeks! I tried to start right before Thanksgiving and that was like setting myself up for failure!!

I've given myself a few more months to drop the weight and if I don't, I'll probably have to take blood pressure medicine, which I really really really don't want to do. That stuff is bad!

MCZ, I don't think it takes much to lower BP. Maybe 10% which you can do!!!

Are you going to watch Biggest Loser tonight? I am hoping it will help.

Happy 2008 everyone. I can't wait to get my first order. It's suppose to arrive on the 3rd, but I keep hoping and checking to see if it has arrived early. : ) Remind me of this excitement in about a week. : )

I'm nervous that I'm going to be starving and be tempted to go off plan. I guess I have to KNOW that the first few days ARE tough and just plan on extra willpower and determination. As you can see, I'm getting married in April and I want to be more comfortable w/ my weight.

It's not really about a certain number with me. It's more about being comfortable in my own skin and not tugging and pulling at all my clothes. Can't wait for that time to get here.

Andie, I just realized that we'll be starting at about the same time....I guess we can use each other to get through the first days. :dizzy:

Hey Mellissa,

If you can make it through the first few days (three for some - five for me) then you actually start to lose your appetite. Lots of people start forgetting to eat (if you can even believe it!) but it's really true. I have to watch the clock and make myself eat on schedule or I'd miss meals.

You'll do great!

--Beth

Hey everyone!! Can we have an agreement that we won't post food porn?? Eating off plan is one thing - discussing it in detail is BAD! Thank you!

So I'm on day 5. Things are going well food wise. DH and I didn't end up going to the party last night. It was less about the available food and more about being antisocial because we're fat.

Today was a very bad day. I checked on my daughter's myspace, which I do on occasion (and she's aware of that). I found out that she's been sneaking out of the house at night with her boyfriend. I'm not sure if she's had sex or not. We talk and she told me she hasn't, but the notes were very suggestive. She has definitely engaged in some sort of activity. I can't talk to her right now because she's at her dad's. She's only 14. My very first thought was, "I get to eat." My second thought was NO! So yeah, I was in deep denial - I've seen too much about that kid in the last week or so. She has always been my sweet girl and I was so in love with her. And yeah, I still love her, but she is not the person I thought I was raising. Sorry to dump, but this is where I go to get support and keep the crap out of my face. And yes, I'm on plan.

mkb,
I'm SO SORRY!! We were pulling for you! Chin up chickie. Time to hit the books once again. By the time you pass that test, you'll be the HOT Engineer!!

Welcome Newbies!
Keep Shakin

Ms Michelle: :eek:
Man oh MAN -- you need this: :hug:
Reminds me of the time when my 15-year-old niece brought home her 21-year-old boyfriend. Her mom, my SIL, had to make sure she knew about birth control (did Depo-provara thing -- what else could she do? She lectured, but once they are outside with their friends, well...). It all worked out, in any event. I guess you can only do so much, and then they are going to do their own thing regardless of what you've tried to teach them. You can only hope that some of what you've taught has sunk in just a little bit, so that they will make the right decisions in life...STILL, :hug::hug::hug:
Maya
:)

I didn't know that it was on.:(

Aw Michelle...being the mom of a teen should be universally acknowledged as the hardest job in the world. I am humbled by your bravery in taking on this challenge...I would have fled once she hit puberty, probably because I remember what I was up to at that age :o

I hear you on the food porn issue, too. For me, reading about food is almost as hard as seeing it on TV. I'm always looking for safe places to hang out online for that reason. That said, I would love to see a thread dedicated to what people are having for their Lean and Green. I could use some ideas for that.

Well, I have almost made it through day one: A huge accomplishment for me!:carrot:

I have done Medifast once before, and last time, I found days one to five the hardest. Luckily, I'm in a pretty low-stress situation, off from work, alone in the house with only myself to take care of. My challenge today is I had two naps, and now I'll likely be awake for several hours past my last supplement.

Good night everyone!

Thank goodness, a new thread. I was getting way too lost in that old thread. What if we have a new thread every week? Ruthxxx, I applaud your initiative in starting a new thread.

I'm so glad to see everyone back over here. Welcome to those of you who are new! Someone mentioned that they might get bored with MF. Well, even though I have my ups and downs I never feel bored with this diet. Wearing size 12 jeans is exciting. Even more exciting is the fact that I feel confident that I will be wearing size 10 jeans by mid-January.

This is day 88 of MF for me. I have lost 49 pounds so far. That sounds amazing, but did you see Biggest Loser tonight? Wow, 29 pounds in a week for one of those guys? How amazing.

Hey Letting - I'm glad you're back! Yeah I saw it! That big black guy looks like my husband (umm...except DH is white). They are both the same build and WERE the same weight.... I just loved that mom in the pink - how cute is she??

Maya, You're sweet as always. DH and I were just talking about taking in some foster kids, maybe even siblings. We have so much - I want to share.
But now I feel beaten down. If she's doing this at 14... I learned a lot about that kid today. She also told people she stole my car and drove it to school, but she turned around and brought it back so she wouldn't get in trouble. That's all well and good except I drive a super charged stick shift. She can't drive it and I would hear it if she tried. I don't know what to do, think, or say.

Melissa, I have a few recipes that I scoured from the Medifast site. PM me with your email address and I'll send what I have. Maya and Letting probably have a bunch too. Yeah, I'm with you. I come here to keep motivated to stay ON plan, not go OFF! When you have kids you'll have no choice but to stay with them. There's a law...Eh I'm half kidding.

BY the way Melissa, love the avatar.

Hey there, Ms Michelle! Not having the joys of adolescents, I don't know what to tell you except that I have learned NEVER to believe what my niece says (as a general rule) with respect to stuff like driving and showing-off for friends. But the sex-thing is stressful. I know my SIL was going bananas. I don't know what I would have done, so you have my thoughts and my sympathies.
Oh, and what's the story behind your avatar? It just CRACKS ME UP!!!!
Later, all
Maya
:)

I have 3 daughters! 24, 22 and 19. I have to go to work but I'll be back later! Good girl not eating!! Don't let her do that to you. :p

Hi all,
I am so glad the holiday's are over..!
Back to being serious. I took a few days break from MF ( I am not going to say what I ate.) and have started back in earnest again. Cleaned the fridge and kitchen of 95 percent of non-plan items. Remember I still have DH to feed. But with the weight I lost,from before. I can say this is the first holiday in a long time without a 10 lb weight gain. My supervisor at work noticed that I had lost weight and asked me if I had lost 20 lbs! I told him it was not that much, but thanks for noticing!
Still lacking in water consumption, but trying.
This was the first year in a long time that my office was fairly subdued with holiday food. Previous years there was just a ton of it.
I was lucky they had the holiday catered meal on my day off.
(it was awful last year)
My brother who had the lap-band 2 years ago has now put on alot of weight back, so just remember that you don't have to have surgery to lose weight.
His wife had gastric-bypass and has put weight back on too. It is amazing to me how much food they can put away when we go out to eat.
I think that MF is a great plan and it works for me.
The hardest part is sticking to it.
I do tweek it occaisionly, my vision is bad so I add carrots once in a while to my vegetables, I take lots of vitamins for that too. About once a week I subsitute a cup of lowest fat yogurt, like activa for a shake to keep the digestive tract going.
I eat sugar-free jello everyday and celery and lose!
So just remember chickies to take it one day at a time and don't punish yourselves for any little deviances. One meal at a time.
I only caught some bits and pieces of Biggest Loser and still have it on the Tivo to watch later but 20+ pounds in one week is a little extreme don't you think? The extreme excercise you could never keep up with in real life, and I would be afraid of being injured. I applaud that lady in the pink shirt for she is 3 years older than me and she is doing it. bravo!
Anybody have any idea where I can find that Walters, Walthers low calorie salad dressing, been looking all over, and I guess I will have to resort to the internet, but hate to pay the shipping.
Michelle, get tough, put your purse and your car keys in your bedroom every night. Disconnect one of the wires to the starter and take in the house with you. Install a kill switch with a code. Assign your daughter extra school work, cut off the internet access , take away the cell phone, put her on a exercise program, (and do it with her) keep her so busy so she won't get into trouble.
Thats what they did with me, they sent me to summer school, fat camp, swim team 5 nights a week and kept me so busy that I was too tired to get into trouble.
My SIL's kid took the family truck without permission and got into an accident that killed a kid in the truck with him, (rolled it) and the consquences of that night lasted for YEARS...court, insurance, lawsuits, etc...
Put your thumb on her head and leave it there, you don't want to be a grandma when she turns 15 do you?
Lets all keep Michelle in mind and pray for strength and patience for her.
Anybody make new years resolutions? Hey Maya, how was your new years
The house finished yet?
Fab50TX