Commitment to Medifast
 

For the past week or so I have been reading threads here and doing research on Medifast, to see if it's the right thing for me. I talked to my mom about it, and decided to take the plunge and order the first month.

I have been doing pretty good just counting calories, but I feel like Medifast will help me lose faster as well as lose healthier and in a more controlled way. Right now I eat too many carbs and I know this is a problem for losing weight in my problem areas.

So I'm so excited I just placed my first order and I can't wait for it to arrive!

Medifast is truly the easiest most satisfying program I have ever done and I have done them all.....

Welcome Kellye! I am so happy with my decision to start the Medifast program. I've just finished my 7th week and am officially down 20 lbs today!

txmom is totally right - it's easy, it's satisfying, and the results speak for themselves!

My unsolicited tips:
-Commit 100% and let the program do it's magic.
-If you don't like one of the packets, put it aside and try it again a few weeks later. You'll be surprised how your tastes change!
-Track your food. MyMedifast has a good tool to record your 5&1's. Log all your packets and your Lean and Green and your water!

Good luck! I can't wait to see your progress once you get your food!

Thanks, it's great to get tips from people who've been doing it for awhile.

The only thing I worry about is getting enough water, I have heard that you have to drink a low while on this plan, and I've never been a big drinker. I have maybe two drinks a day, and that's only if I have something particularly salty for dinner.

But I bought a gigantic case of water on sale at Target today, so I'm trying to train myself to drink more before my order arrives.

The water is tough, but you'll build up a tolerance for it, and your body will start asking for it if you don't have enough. If I'm somewhere without a limitless supply of water, I'll start feeling thirsty before I realize it.

Welcome to the medifast group. I think you will be very happy with the program. I find it so simple to stay on and that helps me though the tough times.

Hi everyone,

I am going to join Medifast next week (on payday, lol!). I gained 20+ lbs over the last couple of years, and after gaining/losing 10+/- lbs the past year, I want to commit to losing the weight for good. I have been on my own calorie-counting diet for the past 2 weeks, but haven't weighed myself - based on my clothes, though, I've probably lost 3-4 pounds, which puts me right in the neighborhood of 150-152 lbs. My goal is 135, which is a weight I previously maintained for approximately 5 years. Looking forward to comparing notes on Medifast!

I just got my shipment today, and tomorrow is my first day. I'm really looking forward to getting into the program and being a part of something that I'm confident will work.

Still, my only apprehension is not knowing if I'll be able to drink that much water. Anyone know what happens if you drink too little?

Welcome to medifast. I LOVE this program!

This advice is from my doctor who got me started on the diet. You can get dehydrated easily on this diet so it is important to drink all 64oz of water. If you just can't stand that much water then you can flavor the water with flavor infusors, crystal light or make very light iced tea. Not strong tea because the caffeine intake should stay low (< 300mg). He also gave me a 16oz water bottle so I know I need to drink 4 bottles a day. It is pretty easy to keep track that way.

Well, I have those 16.9 oz water bottles, this is my second day and I've managed to fit all 64 oz in. I find that the more water I drink, the thirstier I get!

Also I can't stop peeing :(

Keep up the great work. I have to use the bathroom on this program more than when I was pregnant!! :dizzy:

I placed my order today - can't wait to get started!

Good Luck to both of you. Medifast is certainly working for me. I've slipped a few times and still lost close to 25 lbs in about 16 weeks. That is very good for me. I'm trying very hard to stick to it 100% and last week lost 2.5 lbs. I'm convinced it certainly does work.

Since being on the program (1 week) I have lost total of just under 5 lbs, though my official WI isn't til tomorrow, maybe I can get past the 5 lb mark.

I'm really loving this program, it does work! I don't feel hungry all the time, and I can really dig the extra energy. I didn't get the 3 days of tired I keep hearing about, so that's kind of nice.

Although I do have a funky sweet taste in my mouth a lot of the time!

My only problem, which I knew was gonna be a problem, is that I cannot fit that my water into my life. The first couple of days I forced myself, and I was peeing constantly, stopping on even the drive home from the grocery store, twice!

I'm having such a hard time finding the willpower to force myself to drink such large amounts of fluid. Often I find myself with an hour before bed, chugging at least two bottles of water. Ugh.

Thanks for the encouragement! I have to admit I'm a bit down since I've only lost 2 pounds in the last 3 weeks of calorie-counting - here's to hoping Medifast works for me, too. I did lose about 7 lbs last year through a meal delivery service (over about 8 weeks), but I had to quit because I moved and could no longer get the food in my new location. :(
That's great, congratulations! I'm still waiting for my order to arrive. :cool:

Medifast is totally different than counting calories.

When I lost the first 30 or so pounds, it was with counting calories and eating small portions of things that I wanted, even it was something that was maybe not the healthiest, I could allow myself to have a small amount of it to kick cravings, and I usually would be great with that, I never screwed up.

With Medifast, I can only eat things that are in packages, except once a day. Not being allowed to have certain things even in tiny amounts is really a killer for me. I think it's like a make or break thing for me, cause today I really screwed up. I was on plan all day, until I had to stop at the convenience store for a couple of things, and at the front entrance right when you walk in was a big display of Valentine's candy.

Somehow, I stupidly bought a box of chocolate covered cherries and brought it home, I only had one but that's way off plan! And that one little screw up, which wouldn't have made a difference at all counting calories, as long as it didn't send me over right? Well being on Medifast it feels like a step back a week. And that feeling of being lost off-plan made me feel like crap, then I ate a third of a tin of hash. Yeah not on plan either!

So now I wonder if even though this program is great (and it has done wonders!) that maybe something so restrictive isn't good for me personally. It just doesn't seem to foster healthy eating habits in my mind if one tiny thing can screw my whole vision up!

Ugh! I'm gonna stick with it though. But I think if I have a little misstep in the future, that I'm just gonna do the same thing as if I was counting calories, and chalk it up to keeping the binge-monster at bay. Better one chocolate covered cherry off plan and back on, then a whole box of them cause I've given up!

Kellye - Sounds to me like you are on the right track with having a small amount of a treat food to avoid a binge. I LOVE medifast. It has been the only diet I can stick with for a long time. The restrictive nature is what helps me stay on plan. I like not having to make decisions and still know I am on a healthy eating plan. Also I am not hungry on medifast so I don't feel the need to start a binge.

That being said everyone is so different both in how their bodies work and their personality. If medifast's restrictive plan does not work for you then there is no problem going back to calorie counting. After all you lost 30lb calorie counting and that is major success! If you do go back to calorie counting then remember the parts of the medifast plan that worked for you. You can keep using some of the products and incorporate them into your calorie counting.

The important thing is to find a program that works for you in the long term so that you are happy and healthy!

Thanks, Liz. I know it's a great program, so many people have such great results! And I have too. I guess I just spent too much time on the boards over there reading posts, and it seems so strict!

Like it's totally frowned upon to even THINK about how good some foods are! I agree that restrictive really does work well for some people, it can be far easier if you know that some things just aren't allowed.

But at the same time, the posters over there can seem like those monks that don't eat or drink or anything. Like they're just too good to even consider eating anything that's not OP lol.

I guess for me, just knowing that I have the option of having an occasional cookie keeps the desire to actually eat it away. But when I'm told flat out that I can't have it, it's all I can think about!

I got my food today - starting the plan tomorrow! :carrot:

Kellye:
I lost half of my weight by eating Medifast, the other half by simply cutting my intake of food and lowering my carb consumption. I, too, had trouble with drinking that much water, so I'd drink some water and enjoy adding crystal light to it. That's allowed with Medifast. Liquid is liquid. I also enjoyed one tall diet decaf soda daily.

As far as the medifast board is concerned, it did not work for me. I like it here very much.
Theresa

Hear, hear. I've been good about staying on plan, except that I did eat one (1) of the chocolates (a little less than the size of a Hershey Nugget) that my friend brought back from Italy. The, shall I say, disapproval I got from one of the Medifascists was a bit surprising.

I like it here far better too.:D

LOL

Haha Yes! Thank you. It just seems like people would gain far more benefit from a bit of understanding over a bite of chocolate than to torpedo them. Right?

On the serious side, I had to leave that blog. Due to the compassion I have for people and my desire to help, I'd come to the defense of some who were attacked. This put me at odds with a certain bunch. It became difficult for me to lose, transition and maintain. In the end I had to leave that website.
Theresa