Sure! First, what I do is definitely not the official Medifast plan, and other real Medifast adherants would certainly tell you to just stick to the plan as written. And if you can do that, it may well be the fastest system, but I know a considerable number of people end up quitting because of how strict it is. And with my plan, I've lost 25 lbs. in 11 weeks, which averages out to 2.27 lbs. per week, although it's usually 1-1.5 lbs per week (with a bigger drop at the beginning, as with most diet plans), so I'm sticking with it!
With the official Medifast plan, you eat 5 Medifast items per day, and one "lean and green" meal with very strict guidelines. What I do is combine 3 Medifast items a day with other foods, keeping calories at or under 1200 and (most importantly) keeping carbs under 100 g, and aiming for about 80. You have to stay under 100 to keep in that fat-buring state, so I try to stay well under it. So I have Medifast items for breakfast and as two snacks. Then I usually have a Morningstar Farms Grillers Classic veggieburger (that one specifically, because it only has 5 g. carbs) with a slice of cheese and a little ketchup and mustard for lunch. Then I have a normal dinner, without the starch - like a "lean and green" but without quite as many rules! I'll have that Dreamfields low-carb pasta, pasta sauce, etc. which are out according to the official Medifast plan, but as long as I count all the carbs and make sure I'm getting balanced nutrients, it both works and is healthy. Then, the KEY, is every night I have some chocolate! About an ounce of many gourmet chocolate bars has about 15 g. of carbs, and if you eat it slowly it's really all you need. If I'm out and tempted by sweets, I just remember that I get to have chocolate back at home. Following this plan has been really, surprisingly effortless. The first week was hard with the usual carb withdrawal - I felt vaguely sick for a few days. But after that, I have not been tempted to cheat, and I only get hungry right around mealtimes. Oh, and I actually have taken 2 day off where I ate whatever I wanted - Thanksgiving and my birthday - and am planning to take off Christmas Eve and Day, and even with that I lost weight both of those weeks. So, that's a really long answer to your question! If you feel you can stick to the official Medifast plan, it will definitely work, but if you want something less strict that's easy to stick to, this has worked for me! (Oh, I started at 201 and am now at 176, so results may not be as dramatic for you since you are starting at a lower weight.)
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