Hello everyone. A friend of mine suggested medifast to me today... she has been doing it 2 weeks and lost 12 lbs already etc. I am skeptical though and wanted to do some online research.
So I looked at the site and read everything, it "sounds" good... However then I googled reviews for it, and am reading horrible reviews. So I figured I would come ask here and see what everyone things.

I read stuff about being constipated? is that true?

Hair falling out??

Food tasting HORRIBLE??

Hard to stick with??

and gaining all the weight back after??

Any input on any of this would be great!! If I decide to do it, it wont be till next month, so we can scrounge up some money etc... so I have this time to research lol!
Ive been doing WW and had success in the past with it, but Im not having any luck this time.

Thank you everyone for your input!

I have been on Medifast since Sept 20 2010 and have lost 62 lbs. It is the easiest diet that I have ever been on and it really works great.

It is not uncommon for people on Medifast to be more constipated, but this has been alleviated for me by taking a probiotic everyday and drinking 100+ ounces of water a day.

Overall I like the food, but your taste buds really do change on it. I write popular blog that has recipes you can make using the Medifast food. Many people don't care for the Oatmeal, but I love them. There isn't any of the Medifast food I have tried that I hated.

I haven't found the diet hard to stick with, but you have to be 100% commited to it. If you cheat, it will mess it all up because you may easily be knocked out of Ketosis and go through the **** week again. (The **** week is the first 3-5 days that it takes to get into Ketosis.) There isn't much forgiveness in the diet for eating off plan food.

Hair loss - I have experienced this but it isn't because of Medifast. Anytime you have rapid weight loss you are at risk for hair loss. Could happen on any rapid weight loss diet. People report that Biotin helps with this.

I am still in the weight loss phase with 60+ more pounds to lose, so I don't know personally about how I will do after. I do know that there is a transition plan once you get to goal and a maintenance plan. I think the bottom line here is to complete the full transition plan and when you are off Medifast (or any other diet) if you go back to the way you ate that got you fat, you will regain weight. If you adopt healthy eating and exercise habits, you will maintain. On Medifast you eat a Lean & Green meal everyday which helps teach you about healthy eating.

Feel free to check out my blog & you can see more about my journey on Medifast: newbeautifulme.blogspot.com

Thank you for your input and your blog... ill go take a peek at that.
I think one thing that is making me nervous is reading the boards on here, and people back in 08 or whatever post about going on the program or whatever, but their current siggy ticker thing is at the start of a high weight, or barely down etc, so it seems like either A. people arent sticking to it or B. it doesnt stay off.

I will continue to do more research before I decide, but keep your thoughts coming anyone who reads this lol!

Thanks again!!

CodyJo is spot on. Here's the thing: you have to WORK on maintenance. I see a doctor as I'm on a VLCD (600 cals a day), and I've already taken classes to figure out how many cals a day I need in maintenance to keep my weight off. That's where most diets fail. Medifast is a tool to get the weight off....but you have to know how to maintain your loss. I will only get 1300 cals a day in maintenance and I have to weigh myself every day, and journal my food every day. I am very sensitive to carbs, so I'll always have to be lower carb.

Medifast, New Lifestyle, Diet Direct....they all work to get the weight off if you are 100% committed. But you have to have your head in the game and be willing to work at the end and for the rest of your life to stay slim. Best wishes.

Hi CodyJo,
Hubby and I have been on it since last June. He is down 115lbs (and he cheats a bit too often), I am down 73 lbs.
I have never found an plan so easy and am rarely hungry(only when I forget to eat after too many hours) so I love it. We haven't exercised yet, just started today actually.
No hair loss, no problems really at all.
We both have about 30 lbs to go and think we will do the recommended maintenance after and since 90% of the food really is great tasting, can see it being my snack food after we are done.
Hope you give a try;o)
Susan

I'm not on Medifast and never have been, but one thing to remember when you read online reviews is that the majority of them for almost any product are going to be negative. That isn't necessarily because the product is terrible; it's just that people who are reasonably satisfied with something aren't usually moved to talk about it, while people who ha-a-a-a-a-te something want everyone to know. The others are people who lo-o-o-o-o-ve something and want everyone to know that, too.

When reading online reviews of anything, take the average of the "Yay, it's great!"s and the "Boo, it's bad!"s, multiply by twenty, and you'd have a more accurate representation of the vast middle of the road where most users would rate their satisfaction with something.

I'm in my 4th week of Medifast, and I recommend it!! It's strict, but it's easy to follow. I stopped being hungry on the 4th day.

I haven't been on it long enough to address hair loss, but I have read a lot of threads about those concerns on the private Medifast users forum (which is SO HELPFUL), and the consensus is that hair loss is not normal.

There are also TONS of women on there having tremendous success, including lots who are years into maintenance.

I'd recommend giving it a shot for at least a month. I think you'll fall in love with the loss. If (and only if) you stick to the plan, the weight basically vanishes.

I also agree with Nola Celeste — unhappy people are far more vocal than the satisfied.

I have not had this issue and can't imagine why someone who is on plan would have this problem for long. Maybe at first if you aren't used to eating a lot of fiber but on medifast just the meals alone get you 20 of the recommend min. of 25 grams of fiber a day. I never get less than 25 grams of fiber a day on this program- sometimes I get up to 40 grams of fiber a day on medifast and still am "going" on my normal schedule.

This can happen with ANY diet. Yes some people have noticed hair loss BUT the hair always grows back out from the people I have spoken to- it's just cuz of the change in diet.

From what I have learned it's such a PERSONAL taste preference issue. Like for me I LOVE the parmesan puffs and don't like the nacho ones- BUT my friend is the other way around- go figure. It's a lot of trial and error when it comes to what you do and don't like. I recommend when you first start trying one of each item until you have sampled everything. THEN you can return what you don't like in exchange for what you do like and then change your order up for the next month. Each month I've tried a few new items and for the most part I'd say 75-80% of the products I have liked.

The first few days are the hardest but after that it's much easier to stick with IMO. Things to help you stick with it are to check out the tips at the mymedifast.com site and drink lots of water, do NOT skip meals, do not wait too long between meals, etc.

Medifast doesn't just end when you get to goal. You MUST MUST MUST go with the transition and maintenance phases of the program that allow you to slowly stop eating 5 medifast meals a day and eat only food you prepare. I think the first week of transition adds more veggies, then the next week a piece of fruit, etc. The only people I know who have gained it all back did not do transition OR they just started eating how they used to before Medifast- which obviously doesn't work. Hence why you are supposed to think of losing weight and your eating as a life change- not as a temporary thing.

I definitely recommend Medifast BUT you must follow the plan!

I pretty much blogged the good, the bad and the ugly during all my time on Medifast (and still going, once I get over this flu). I put food reviews up as well in case that would help. It's definitely the easiest "diet plan" I have ever been on, it works if you stick to it. And like any other "diet" or "lifestyle change" if you lose the weight and then go back to eating the stuff that got you to gain weight to begin with, you'll gain it back. You do have to change the way you eat (healthier and reasonable portions).

Do you get a complete plan if you sign up online? I checked out all of the products on ebay and it made my head spin. I am wondering how all of this is set up if you don't go to a center.

It seems really confusing, but it's not. You need 5 Medifast meals per day, and all their meals are interchangeable. I don't find that it really saves you that much by buying on eBay. I go through ebates.com, which lets you use a $50 coupon plus you get 5% cash back. I don't recommend signing up for VIP. You do get two weeks of free meals that way, but you can't choose them, and I hated almost all the meals that came in my free pack. If you us the $50 coupon every time, which are super easy to find, you save more that way than with VIP.

With your first order will come the papers that tell you how to do the plan (really easy — 5 MF meals, 1 lean and green, and a set of max and min values for calories, carbs, fat and protein.) They're also available online, though, so if you find a good deal on eBay, you really don't need to go through MF at all.

Search online for a medifast health coach to help you through it! I think ALL if not most of the health coaches are people that lost weight on MF and then decided to take the classes to become a coach/salesperson. Kinda like Mary Kay or Jenny Craig. try ahealthcoach4me.com