I finally went to the "free consulation" that Medifast offers and I am super excited and down at the same time. The dietician that evaluated me told me that the program would cost me over $1100 up front, plus the cost of food.

Where ever I looked online, all the postings and threats, I could not find any mentioning of this. Then I found their online website and it does not seem that one would have to pay for anything except the food.

What are your experiences with this? Did you have to pay a chunk of money up front? What are the advantages of going to a center vs online?

I am also checking out Jenny Craig next. I am curious to see what they would have to say, though I think I already made my decision. Please give me your input as I am very interested in your experience and opinion.

Thank you all

I just ordered the food from the website after reading (obsessively) about it. I was not charged anything up front.
But in fairness I have just started it this week so I can not say if the centers offer an 1100 dollar advantage

I think the difference is in that at the center you get counselors, so you're paying for people there to be accountable to you for your weight loss. I just ordered through the website and all I paid for was the food. I used to do the Metabolic Research Center, who has counselors also, but they didn't help me.

Yeah I would have to agree with desilu0. I think it is because of the counselors. I just ordered mine off of the phone number that was on the online website and talked to a rep. And i paid for just the 4 weeks of food. I didn't do the V.I.P. because I saved more money by just ordering it for the month. In the V.I.P. you can't take advantage of the monthly coupons which I personaly am going to need. I did have to pay for the shipping but even having to do it that way I still came out much more cheeper and will be getting my order in 2 days. best of luck to you

Personally I have met a few people not happy with what they have gotten at the centers. One woman I spoke to said she just goes there- they weigh her- and that's it. I don't know about you but I'd rather SAVE $1100 and I can weigh myself weekly.

I go to the mymedifast site and love it- there are tons of supportive people there- and there is also a section where only the certified nutritionists and trainers can post and you can ask questions there and receive professional answers and it's all FREE.

IMO save your money- $1100 is at least THREE months worth of food. I do the medifast VIP and as long as you order $250 worth of food a month you get a standing order. I currently order only 16 boxes a month and when you do the VIP the first 2 months you get 1 week of free food with each shipment and THEN on the 3rd month you start getting discounts- so my last order with the discount was $240 and if I calculated correctly my next order for the month will be around $225.

I suggest trying it on your own the first month- IF going to mymedifast.com and doing it on your own doesn't work THEN I'd look into the $1100 for the center. But like I said before- many people do fine without the centers. I've already lost 13 lbs in 6 weeks- I know that's on the lower end BUT I also have PCOS and I have had a day here or there where I have eaten a meal off plan- depending on how much you have to lose you can lose a lot more.

Thank you all so much for your input. These were about my thoughts too and I am glad that it was not just me feeling this way. I think I will be starting my diet on the medifast website. That way, I can get Hubby started the same time as well, which will make things a lot easier.

I wish all of you the best of luck with your weightloss. I know this is going to be a difficult journey but I am confident if we put our minds to it we can do it !!

Hubby and I are doing it but we joined up through a health coach. I am 73lbs down and hubby is 120 down in same time about 7 months. I recommend doing it through a health coach so you have access to support and how to fix the food correctly, that helps a lot. Another plus is to become a health coach and that has made our food free for last 4 months because everyone else wants to know what we are doing and now we have a built in support system in my neighborhood.

I've never heard of the center thing but I don't think I'd do it. In another post someone mentioned someting like TOPS, I dunno what that is either I'm giong to look into it tonight.

I'd say just get a Health Coach.I'm sure if you search it online you can find one.
My mom is one so I know they exist and are free, she's the one that got me into MF. Anyways They are kinda like the people that sell Mary Kay but they have taken classes on nutrition and how medifast works, my mom is getting certified soon. you can find her at gaylene dot tsfl (which stands for take shape for life) dot com, or a health coach 4 me (all one word) dot com. If you'd rather get a health coach near where you live I'm sure she'd point you in the right direction.

We're not supposed to talk about people that sell the product or give links but if you're looking for someone who knows what they're talking about to help you with the product vs ordering online vs paying $1000 I think it's worth looking into.

I made an appointment to go to the center near me, but the staff member I spoke with was so unprofessional, I canceled it. If they can't handle being polite to people interested in using their services, then I can only imagine how they are with actual clients.

I think buying the products from the website and using the free coaching program (Take Shape for Life) is the better option. The centers just take advantage of people, I think.

I found out that I have a center very close to my home, but I am not getting involved with a center. I am shocked to hear about a possible $1000 price tag, plus the cost of food. No way can I make that type of financial commitment to the program. Yes, I am worth it in theory, but I have other bills to pay also.

I ordered 2 weeks worth of food online -- first 2 from the MF site and then another 2 weeks worth from my randomly-selected Health Coach with TSFL. The coach took about 1.5 weeks from placement of my first order to contact me. He has tried to call me, but I am not interested in having a male coach. I am sure that he has experience dealing with both men and women, etc. but that's just how I feel.

If I really needed help, I might reach out to him. I have found the community boards on the MF site to be helpful for reading and getting ideas. I've posted there a few times.

I found the MF website to be very helpful, along with the boards. At this point, that's working for me. I had about 10 pounds to lose and so far I have lost 4 pounds in 3 weeks.