Well, I totally disagree that it is "designed to fail" or "toxic." But, I lost 59 pounds on Medifast (lost 64 before that by counting calories), it took 8 months and after that I did regain a lot of it, about 40 pounds. I did transition but I had a very hard time sticking to it. However I will say when I began eating carbs again the weight came back very quickly. I still think it is a good program but only IF you do the whole transition and maintenance program and don't go back to carby foods.
As with any diet you will gain the weight back if you go back to eating the way you did. It is that simple. I lost 70 pounds on MF and have NOT gained anything back. I did follow their transition program and have been in maintenance for over a year. I do not eat like I used to, but I also do not eat MF foods anymore. It is a total life style change. Losing the weight was the easy part...keeping it off is a whole other ball game.
This is my first post and I created an account just to let people know that if you really want this, it can be done. You don't have to fear gaining the weight back if your ready for some serious life long changes.
Yes, I went on medifast too. First, It REALLY screwed up my reproductive health. I suffer chronic pain now to the point where I am disabled because of the soy. I lost a bunch of weight, probably between 60-70 pounds. I ended up gaining it all back and more.
Medifast is based on starvation. Ketosis is basically a starvation state. Once you get real food your body is going to pile it on and hold on to it harder than if you had never gone into ketosis. Your body thinks you are dying. It's going to do what it can to save you. I never recommend ketosis based diets to anyone.
I lost 80 pounds on MF back in 2010 and have regained all of it; however, I stopped cold turkey and didn't do the transition. Had I done that, I would probably not have gained it back. Going from no bread, pasta, fruit, etc, and then eating whatever I wanted was too much for me at the time. I restarted this week and hope to have more success.
I lost all that weight and regained it ALL back; the only weight I kept off was the weight I lost becoming vegetarian.
Because it is the only thing that put diabetes into remission, I am going to have weight loss surgery. I figure I'll be well-prepared for the pre and post op diets. It's just what I've got to do on my journey to be well and keep my metabolic syndrome at bay.
I have to say, with any diet program you cannot expect to lose such a great amount of weight and return to your old eating habits that got you to your starting weight in the first place. Once getting off a diet like MF its important that you watch your portion sizes and maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. The reason why anyone gains weight is you're eating more calories than you are burning. I'm on my last week of MF and will be doing my own eating plan and continue my weight loss journey. I think it's important to remember that after getting off any diet plan make sure you're getting in whole grains(brown rice, whole grain pasta, cereal), fruits, veggies, and try and have protein with every meal(low fat/no fat yogurts-oikos, chobani, chicken, seafood), eat 5/6 small meals every 2-3 hours and get in your water. When you eat healthy you will notice that you're eating so much food. You will be getting wholesome quality calories instead of calories with no nutritional value, such as a cookie with 200 calories.
Lost weight on MF, transitioned according to the plan, and now I exercise and keep a close eye on my caloric intake. I do not eat MF products. I am still at my goal weight and recommend MF to anybody who intends to use it as a tool, and isn't simply looking for some way to magically stay thin without working at it.
MF works but you can't simply lose the weight and think you're done. If people put as much effort into long term maintenance as they do into making excuses, it would work for them, too.
I lost 34 pounds on Medifast and then stopped using it after I was laid off in October. Over a 2 month period I stopped *most* of my good habits - I did try to eat 6 times a day, but I ate carbs and sugar and wasn't always good about portion control. I gained back about 10 pounds (I will weigh tomorrow so it may be a couple of pounds more or less). I have a new job and one of my priorities with my first paycheck was Medifast food - I am excited to be restarting tomorrow!
I know the next 3 days will be tough as I get back into fat burning mode and stop using food/overeating as an emotional crutch, but I also know that after that 3 days I am not going to have to deal with hunger. It's an amazing diet that way - it levels out my blood sugar which regulates my hormones and my emotions and makes me a more practical, level-headed person who is unlikely to eat impulsively. And because I will have positive reinforcement from the scale pretty fast, that will add to my motivation.
I agree with the poster who said it's a tool - it's an amazing tool and I expect to keep using it until I hit my goal weight, and then use it if I ever have a slight gain around the holidays, etc. This is what my health coach does - she lost 75 pounds and has kept it off 6 years except for an occasional 10-lb holiday weight gain. She gets back on the 5 and 1 plan when that happens, and she's back to her stable weight in a month. She does still eat 6 times a day, and she lives a healthy lifestyle... so as other posters have said, there is still discipline involved after transition.
I did medifast in 2009 and lost 80 lbs in 5 months. I did a reduced transition. I added carbs in much faster than they recommended since I wanted to start running. I kept the weight off for over a year and then had an asthma attack due to an allergic reaction to chemicals my husband put down on the lawn. It took me another year to get my asthma under control, I could barely walk down a hall way without being out of breath, needless to say I could not exercise and I gained the weight back. I am finally ready to recommit and get back on track.
I did it a few years ago and lost weight quickly, but stopped after about 6 weeks because my hair started falling out! So much so that it totally freaked me out. It thinned out a lot and I was really upset. Most of it came back but it took a little over a year.
I ended up losing about 12-13 pounds, but then gained 30 over the next two years. Just did my first week on Ideal Protein because one of the girls in the office is doing it and we agreed to help each other stick to our goals. I plan to do IP for two months tops then transition off and onto WW.
I've gained about 20 lbs over the last 4 years after a move away from my friends, family and career of 24 years. I have tried various 'diets' and exercise plans only to lose 5-10 then gain it back. I just started MF 2 weeks ago and so far so good. I am cheating a bit so my loss is a little slower, but I'm hoping it will make my transition more realistic...at least for me. Any others out there who had a slower weight loss due to cheating but found it easier to maintain for the long haul?
I regained some, but not all, because I did not transition properly and started eating too many carbs. For the carb sensitive, like myself, I think the key is not adding carbs back quickly, if at all. When I get to goal, I am going to transition to Paleo or Primal and NOT add back any potatoes, wheat, grains, corn, etc.
