Help: 5-1 Or 4-2? Medifast Meal Plans
 

Good evening all,

Hi, I need help, I've tried signing up for TSFL and contacting a coach but no one has responded to me... so I'm searching these forums... To start, I've had a problem with being overweight my entire life. I am diagnosed with IBS and Hypothyroid.


My journey started in 2010, I started eating healthier, exercising and being a lot more active - I've only been able to shed off 5 lbs within 3 years - The lightest I've ever weighed was 123lbs - this was during my wisdom tooth removal (2011), I had nothing but liquids. The best I've ever looked was the summer of 2012, I started P90X/INSANITY, leaned out and developed muscle but still weighed 135 lbs. With my height being under 5 foot, I am borderline obese. I tried to lose weight the healthy way but 3 years passed and 5 lbs loss just isn't doing it for me. So I will be starting Medifast this month. I'm just wondering how the 4-2 meal plan works? I exercise twice a day, which include home workouts - Insanity (45 mins) or P90X (1 hour) then go to the gym later at night for about an hour - I try to do both cardio and weight lifting in a day - so if I had a P90X workout, I'd do cardio at the gym with squats. I enjoy exercising - it helps with my IBS being that it relieves stress. My work life has minimal activity as it is a desk job. I wake up around 6AM and sleep around 10-11PM.

My overall question is will the Medifast 4-2 plan work with my exercises? Thank you so much for your help!!! Very much appreciated.

I know medifast doesn't recommend exercise for the first three weeks or if you are currently exercising they ask that you reduce your level until your body adjusts. I'm in week 2 and before starting I walked 4 miles a day. I did reduce my walk to 1 per day and am looking forward to finishing off week three to work my way back up.

I have a coach you could connect with and I know she would respond look on the TSFL site and look for Jennifer Freeland - she is my coach and she is VERY responsive.

I kept up my 2 hour workouts when I started. The first week was great, I guess my body was in shock, but the second week changed. My coach pretty much begged me to take the following week off completely, but I couldn't do it. I agreed to 50%. Once I changed, my fat loss was more efficient, I lost faster and the icing on the cake was that I felt great again :-) so I would definitely recommend shortening your workout, or it could and up working against you like it did me. Good luck!

Thanks for all your advice!!! I'll decrease my exercise routine. When could I get back on it? After 3 weeks being on Medifast? What would be the better exercise to be on medifast? Cardio or weight lifting? Thanks!!

I stopped exercising for 3 weeks now I am back to it. You will feel somewhat weak the first few weeks.

I am on the 4 and 2 plan, recommended by my doctor because she worried 5-1 would be too little calories for me to start with...I have a LOT to loose and I like to also do weight training so I like having the extra protein. I may eventually switch to 5-1 when I plateau ...

Were you on the 5-1 on your first 3 weeks? Or 4-2? Thank you so much for you input!! I think I may start on the 5-1 for the first 3 weeks - then move onto the 4-2 and add exercise in and when I plateau - switch to the 5-1.

Thank you so much, all this info have been a load of help!!! I'm excited to take this journey.

I started on 4-2 on Feb 7 and I am still on the 4-2. Every once in a while when my schedule is hectic I do the 5-1...but most days I make sure to get both my lean and greens in.

I would definitely consult with a coach about which plan to join...Starting out at 5-1 and then going to 4-2 will be an increase in calories it might make the weight loss screwy but I am not sure.

I definitely need to find a coach, I'll email my non-responsive coach and see if she's still interested in coaching me. If not, I'll find one. Thanks so much for your input. Did you find that 5-1 has enough food to last the entire day?

If you follow the rules of eating every 2-3 hours and get enough sleep you should be able to do the 5 - 1 and be satisfied. It will take a few days to adjust but I am never starving.

I've been doing the 5 and 1 for three weeks now - a down 13 pounds and am completely satisfied with the amount of food. The only time I have found a feeling of hunger is when I am late for a meal. I have my phone programmed to remind me every 2.5 hours to eat giving me 1/2 hour play time. If I go past that - I definitely feel hungry but other than that I'm good to go.

If you are having issues with coaches - I LOVE mine - she is so responsive look up jennifer freeland.

Sounds good! I'm giving my current coach an open week.. haha if she doesn't respond I will most likely contact your coach. I have so many unanswered questions. But 13 lbs for 3 weeks?! That's amazing! Congratulations, I could only dream of losing that much. Are you adding exercise in as well? If so, what are you doing specifically? Thanks!

That sounds great! How were the first few days? Thank you so much for your help! You've been tremendous with answering a lot of my questions. I really appreciate it.

I will be adding the treadmill in this week. I used to walk 4-miles a day but when I started MF my doctor and coach both said to reduce that. So, I went down to 1 mile at a leisure pace. I'm so excited about getting my 4-miles back. I will also be adding Yoga on DVD at the end of this week and the beginning of week 4. Once I get 40 pounds down, I have a friend at work who is a trainer and he will work with me in strength training - I can't wait for that -told him to yell at me as much as he wants.

But, I have lost without anything more than 1 mile a day at about 2 mph.

That's amazing!! Okay, I'll definitely contact your coach by the end of the week - I need some direction with exercise - I don't know whether to decrease on cardio or weight training. That's great to hear! All your hard work will be well worth it in the end.