This is my first day on Medifast, and I know that I shouldn't give up on it after just one day, but I am seriously considering it even though I bought a months supply. I might just return what I can and exchange the nasty stuff I opened for better, edible items. If I switch, it will be to South Beach because I have been successful on that diet before and I was never hungry. I am starving on Medifast today.

Here are my meals for today:

1. Cherry Pomegranate Shake- I LOVED this. Very satisfied. Blended with ice and water.
2. Honey Mustard Pretzel Sticks- Disgusting!!! I had to fight to even put them in my mouth, don't even ask about swallowing. Very difficult to eat b/c of taste and texture.
3. Chili- I literally almost vomited when I ate this. This chili looked like vomit before cooking, and after cooking it looked like dog food. Taste was horrible even though I added spices, and texture was how I'd imagine dog food to be. .
4. Brownie- So after two horrible MF meals, I am in need of something remotely good. This brownie was so good. Very satisfied with it.
5. Dutch Chocolate Shake- It's comparable to slimfast dutch chocolate shakes. I think I like this one better. It was okay. I blended it with ice & water.

• Lean & Green- 7oz Chicken breast & 1/2 cup steamed broccoli.
• Water- Way more than the recommended amount b/c I was starving all day

So, based on my opinion of the above food, do you think that I will like any of the other MF meals? Any advice on what to stay away from?

I guess what I'm looking for is justification to continue starving myself on MF. I can see results on South Beach without starving myself and be able to eat GOOD, REAL food, but it might just take slightly longer than MF.

The only diet that is going to work for you is a diet you can stick with and learn from.
Personally myself I have gone from calorie counting to medifast to wonderslim to atkins(just started atkins). I feel for myself I HAVE to eat low carb. There is just no otherway.

That being said if you are not currently in ketosis(the mild state MF puts you in) once you do switch to using fat as your fuel you will not feel hungry, but that takes anywhere from 3-5 days to get into, so the first few days can SUCK bad.

You won't really be starving yourself, in fact you might feel in about a week, annoyed at knowing you have another 2 packets to eat. Hope this helps! No matter what you choose- YOU CAN DO IT!

I wrote the original post in the midst of my frustration, but taking a few minutes to think things over, I think I really need someone to just remind me of what the end prize is.

I know if I stick to MF, I will see results. I'll stick it out for at least two weeks. I'll exchange the things I don't like. In two weeks if I still feel the way I do now, I will finish out the month and won't order more, and I'll switch to South Beach. If I change my mind in two weeks and decide to stay on MF, I'll order more meals.

I'm just really hungry right now and sick of water

Thanks for that information. I'll keep on MF for at least two weeks and see how it goes.

(((hugs))) Delayed gratification can be SUCH a pain in the butt sometimes.. Have you considered going for a walk? Sometimes exercise can actually help control your appetite. Also if you feel you "HAVE" to eat, try a dill pickle spear or some sugar free gelatin.

You are right- hang in there and you WILL see results. With the nutrients the way they are- there is no way you won't be losing! Sorry you are having a frustrating day- I have had many, but in the long run feeling hungry today won't even cross your mind when you are looking and feeling fabulous and healthy!

It's a matter of finding which foods work for you. I love love love the brownies and the banana pudding. Half of the crunch bars I love, and the other half is meh. I've learned to like the diabetic shakes as sometimes I need a lower carb option.

I also bake bread bars on Sunday using Medifast meals and they are pretty yummy. I use them as my breakfast meal through the week so I don't have to think in the morning!

The soups require a good bit of work, and I hear the chili does as well (i.e. soaking them over night, simmering on the stove etc). I haven't tried the chili yet, but I plan to when I have more time to play with it.

When I started, I was hungry too. But then I found out I was shorting myself on the lean and green meal. My biggest suggestion for hunger is to make sure you are getting the right lean, green and fat options. It's my biggest meal of the day. It's one lean meat and three greens and possibly fat option may need to be added. My dinner last night was 6 oz of chicken (weigh after cooking, 6 oz cooked is a lot!), 1 c lettuce, 1/2 c bell pepper, 1/2 c celery and 2 Tbls dressing (eating chicken requires a fat serving).

I cook up my meat ahead of time. My fridge has containers of 6oz of chicken (needs 1 fat serving), 7oz of shrimp (needs 2 fat servings) and tuna salad. I make the tuna salad with 2 of my green servings and healthier mayo so I can just put it on lettuce and add black olives. Canned tuna needs 2 fat servings, so I use mayo for one and olives for the other.

Once you find the food you like, then you are on the fast track! There is nothing saying you can't have brownies five times a day (and there are people who do that very thing!).

Everyone's tastes are different, for example, I love the chili and ADORE the honey mustard pretzels. The chili, I mix up in the morning and add chili powder and crushed red pepper, then let it sit until around 1 p.m. when I have it for lunch.
They key is to find the things you do like and STICK with them. Really, find a program you like and STICK with it. Switching after just a day seems a little drastic.
Your tastebuds will actually change too and some of the meals you didn't like at first, may actually become your favorites. Now I realize none of this is gourmet, but the results are worth it. I have been on this for three weeks and have lost 14 pounds.

Thanks everyone for the responses. I'm so thankful these boards are here for me to vent my frustration last night, and I appreciate the responses from people who can relate.

Today is Day 2 and I actually feel FULL from the MF meals! Wow! I can't believe this because it's such a dramatic change from how I felt yesterday. I'm glad I didn't give up. So far today, I ate a chocolate mint bar, hot cocoa, and tomato soup. I also had a dill pickle spear between one of the meals, but I could've done without that. I'm doing great on water too, which btw has always been a problem for me, but before I started MF I bought a 2L water jug to make sure I'm drinking enough. It's working.

spaghetticat- I will start walking my dog at least every other day. She's a pekingese who doesn't need walking very often, but I think a few times a week will perk up both of us. Thanks for the understand and encouragement.

Lilyheart- Thanks for the tips, I'll keep them in mind. So, you eat more than 1 green servings a day? I will have to try that. Don't the MF "directions" say only one green serving a day?

jillybean6354- You're right. Switching after one day is drastic. I was very frustrated last night. Today I feel different about it and I'm sticking with MF. I knew the meals weren't going to gourmet, but I just didn't prepare myself for my experience yesterday. I'll try some of the tips for the chili, because I love chili and want to make MF chili work for me.

Your Lean and Green is supposed to be a serving of lean and THREE servings of vegetables. Your first day you shorted yourself two servings of vegis. The volume of the three servings makes a huge difference in how you feel.

Don't forget your healthy fat, either. Your body needs it and you need the fat to help you feel satisfied.

You may feel like crap for a couple of days while your body gets used to the lack of carbs but it goes away. Read your QuickStart guide one more time to be sure you're getting all the food you're entitled to. This is one diet where having less does not get you better results.

Glad you are sticking around, I need the support here and am distracting myself by reading as many threads as interest me. I'm on day 3 of being OP...I started last week but cheated here and there. I can tell the difference on my face and my handyman even noticed!

WOW, can you come over and cook?? How do you make the breads?? I didn't like the chili either but now I will try it with what you described, thank you!

I admit that Medifast is NOT gourmet food. In order to succeed I needed to change how I looked at this. I looked at those little white packets as medicine to cure my weight problem and other problems that may occur due to my obesity. Heck, I would have eaten the boxes this stuff came in if it would help. That is just my opinion.
Now if you want basically the same weight loss results and better taste, then I suggest you try Wonderslim through dietdirect.com. It is less expensive and tastes better.
I see you list 1/2c of broccoli. You should be eating 1 1/2c of cooked vegetable. Don't short yourself of any food. The calories are very low and you need the nutrition.

Medifast has now added a few more snacks to their list.
1/2 oz shelled pistachios, walnuts, almonds
1T low fat peanut butter.

I don't cook which just means what I do is really really easy! I'll put it in the other stickied threads so I don't threadjack. (adding to both the lean and green and Recipes for Medifast Users threads. Look out there!)

Yay, yes it's three greens ! Sometimes it seems like too much food! If you don't have a Quick Start guide, you can find an electronic version on the medifast1 site. I can't posts links yet, so let me know if you cant find it. In the middle-ish of the guide it talks about what is acceptable for your leans, greens, and fats. Make sure you get your fats if it's in the column that requires fats. Your body does need some fat to stay healthy (iirc it's the gall bladder that requires the fat and without it, the gall bladder will fail which is not fun).

Here is a few more hints I've gotten from the Medifast site:
You can split your greens around (e.g. eat a serving of celery in the afternoon and have only two green with your L&G meal). Splitting your meat+fat is NOT recommended. Your body needs 10g of Healthy fat all at the same time (I'd have to look in the book to remember what healthy fat is, but I know it's not saturated fat... I think it's the mono one). So be sure to eat the full meat and fat potion together just to be safe.

It does get easier and tastes can change (what is gross today may be yummy next month). I've found myself craving less 'junk food' etc. In fact, I went off plan last weekend (on purpose, long story) and found it hard to find things I wanted at places I used to love. Fries tasted bland!

There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Before I came back and read the latest responses here, I was looking over the quick start guide and realized I shorted myself on the greens!! I can't believe I missed that because I read it like 5 times.

I've had a headache for the past 24 hours, but it's lightening up now. So in summary, Day 1 was horrific, Day 2 was good, and Day 3 was unpleasant. The only time I was hungry was in Day 1. I think MF will work for me