It is awesome to see new names join this thread, we are getting a head start on New Years resolutions. I start week 4 tomorrow and I am feeling much better in general, and my jeans are not nearly as snug. Can't wait till I go down a size.
When I travel I generally have oatmeal for breakfast and hot cocoa for my last meal, both using the coffee pot in the room. I have bars or puffs for other meals. I prefer lean and green for dinner, but will have it for lunch if there is something social.
My main issue is waking up hungry in the middle of the night. Anyone have ideas for that? I am a poor sleeper anyway, menopause, and some nights the hunger is enough to keep me awake and restless.

Hello everyone! My name is Steph and I lost about 60 pounds on Medifast several years ago on the 5 and 1 plan. When the support boards disappeared it really broke my heart. I needed that support! I floundered and have regained 45 of those pounds over the last several years. I know this might sound weird but I still have some of those old Medifast foods from back then. I just kept them in the back of the pantry in their boxes all this time, thinking someday I would get back to it. Everything I have read says that expired Medifast packets are still fine to use, but might lose their vitamin potency. They taste fine so far. I mainly have a lot of hot cocoa, shakes, smoothies, chai, and orange drinks. I know that is not enough variety to make me happy, so I ordered some Wonderslim and other similar items from diet direct. I got several boxes of bars, cereals, pretzels, pancakes, and a few other things plus they were kind enough to send a sample of a few items like oatmeal and soup. Now I feel ready and have enough solid food in addition to the Medifast liquids to get through a month or maybe more. I know the Wonderslim is not exactly the same, but I think it will be close enough and I will take a multi vitamin to cover my bases. Does this sound like a good plan? I plan to do 5 meals plus a lean and green type.

I do think part of why I regained is also that the calories were so low and not sustainable. I used the tracker on the Medifast forum back then and often would be 800 calories a day. I am going to add a little more carb-free extras this time around (maybe a string cheese or slice of meat, some cream in my coffee) to get my calories around 1200 which is my doctor's recommendation for lowest calories, but keep the carbs under 100.

Today is Day 1 and so far I had coffee with cream, a MF dark chocolate antioxidant shake, and a Wonderslim lemon bar. I think I will try the chicken noodle soup for lunch, some pretzels for afternoon snack. I need to figure out dinner. I would love to hear what you all are eating. I enjoy reading daily menus so feel free to share yours.

Hi ladies-

Glad to see we have some new people in the group. Welcome! We are all (I think) somewhere in month 1. I am finishing up day 11 myself.

I was having some difficulties coming up with a L&G that doesn't take much effort in view of my super busy work schedule. I was also having difficulties squeezing in my healthy fats. I think I found my yummy "miracle meal" that will carry me through-- TACO SALAD!

1 lb. 90/10 organic, grass fed ground beef
1 packet organic southwest seasoning
Cook & divide evenly into 4 small containers.

1 serving taco meat
2 cups lettuce
1/2 c. diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp. Guacamole
1 Tbsp. Lowfat sour cream
1 Tbsp. Salsa

According to MyFitnessPal (my preferred food diary), this yummy dinner only has 125 calories, 6 g carbs, 6 g fat and 9 g protein. I cook ahead, and have dinner for 4 nights. I could eat taco salad all day long, so hopefully this will be the L&G silver bullet to get me through the next many months.

I also just spent about 2 hours planning my next Medifast shipment. I want it to ship this week since I only have 2 weeks of meals left (I'm throwing out those chili puffs-yuck) and don't want any issues over Christmas.

I'm ordering something like 17 boxes of food, and then 3 boxes worth of individuals (21 "meals") so I can try each one. They're only $0.20 more per serving, and I like I can get a sampler of sorts.

I don't see the benefit of ordering through TSFL vs. Medifast so I'm sticking with the latter. I don't need a coach--I have you ladies for support! Would love input if there are other benefits of which I am not aware.

What are your thoughts on everyone posting our food diaries here daily? I haven't done since last week, but I think it will keep us honest!

So far today:

Original pancake - Bummer bc I thought we had sugar free syrup in the house, but was mistaken. Still, pretty good for my first try.

Mixed Berry Smoothie - Liked it, but still prefer the shakes.

Peanut butter crunch bar - Always a fav

Cheddar cheese popcorn (snack) - love this

Taco salad (L&G meal) for lunch

Still have 2 more meals to go!

[EDIT: Had the sour cream and chive mashed potatoes, and chocolate pudding]

Loving the plan so far, and absolutely can't wait to get down to my goal weight. One day at a time...

LaurieEJ and StephGetsHealthy ~

I am so happy you joined us! All of us will be better at doing this by exchanging ideas, venting our emotions and learning new techniques!
Just keep coming back!

StephGetsHealthy ~ I was of the understanding that the Medifast products retained their potency for 18 months post their expiration date. However I know how expensive these products are...and the WonderSlim were created with different eating plans. I used them on the 7 products a day plus one Lean and Green. However, in my case, my losses were much slower than using purely Medifast on the 5 and 1 plan. However, you need to follow your doc's recommendations.


TwinCa~ So glad you found a Lean and Green that will work for you. I do think that you need a little more beef to meet the 5 oz. cooked serving per MF recommendations. Other than that, it will be perfect for you.

I also use the StarKist large tuna packets which are just shy of the 7oz. portion. I mix that with 4 Tbsp Hidden Valley Yogurt Caesar Salad Dressing (matches the fat requirement) and 3 cups of mixed salad - it is addicting!

I have finished my 6th week on Medifast and have lost 17.3 pounds! I read many of the different boards everyday- there is even a contest on the Chicks for a Challenge thread called Delicious for Christmas. It is a lot of fun and you win 1st, 2nd or 3rd place stickers to put in your signature. Check it out.
For the newbies here, after 20 posts and 20 days on these 3fatchicks boards, you can then create your signature and insert your tickers if you so choose! I find these so much fun to change at every week's weigh in.

I am highly motivated everyday (still in the honeymoon phase). I have survived Thanksgiving and my birthday thus far. Of course the biggie is Christmas, but I am confident that by following this plan one day at a time I can survive. January and February are typically difficult...but hey I am getting way ahead of myself. I only need to worry about today.

We are all here for one another. No need to worry about tomorrow.

Is it bad that I woke up and weighed and lost nothing (after 1 Day) and feel discouraged? Somehow I thought I would get a few pounds right away
My menu yesterday was coffee with cream, a MF dark chocolate antioxidant shake, a Wonderslim lemon bar, WS chicken noodle soup for lunch, another bar, then for dinner was a plain burger seasoned with salt and pepper with cheese and one can of green beans. At bed time I had a WS pudding. I was so hungry all day I wanted to eat but I stayed on plan. I drank a lot of water and got up to pee all night long. What am I doing wrong?

StephGetsHealthy ~ You are not eating enough! You only had 4 meal replacements and a Lean and Green! Did you weigh your meat? That is imperative. You should be using a 93/7 ratio of fat...and was the cheese full fat? According to the Medifast materials - no cheese as I understand it. Was the cream fat-free?

I know you want to do this right...so if you want to get the full effects of weight loss, you should be following the program. Is your scale accurate? I know it is tempting, but weighing in everyday really messes with your motivation. Once a week really allows you to see your progress.

These are just my thoughts, my humble opinion. Just trying to figure out why no loss.
The first 3 days on this program are tough. Once they over, it gets easier....

Thank you morning Glory. I need input like yours. I did not weigh the meat. Do we have to weigh the food we eat that is not from a packet? It was a regular sized burger patty, I think it was 85/15 lean. I added the cheese slice (80 calories no carbs) to get my calories up to 1200 like my doctor asked. He said I could do Medifast as long as my calories are not under 1200 by adding things without carbs (like the cheese and the cream, which was half and half cream.) I did have 5 meal replacements though (shake, 2 bars, soup, and pudding). I wonder if my salt was too high. The burger and green beans both got salted. Do you think I should see a change on the scale this soon? Maybe tomorrow? I will not salt my food today.

oh sorry, I just re-read and saw your recommendation to only weigh once a week. That is hard!!! My whole brain is focused on dieting and losing weight. I will try though!

StephGetsHealthy~ Okay, now I understand. Yes, you should still be weighing your foods not in packets...like your main proteins. The food scales are not expensive...just get a digital one that weighs in ounces and grams. You should be having 5 ounces of beef, 6 ounces of chicken or 7 ounces of seafood and fish. Just read the materials from Medifast or WonderSlim.
Depending on the type of protein you use, then either 0, 1 or 2 fat allowances are allowed.

But again, follow your doctor's recommendations. Maybe use myfitnesspal app to monitor your calories, protein, fat and carbs...that will give you a good picture of your daily food intake.

I know you expected a big (or at least some) loss!. Not sure why...Just watch your salt intake.
I bet in a couple of days you are going to see a big whoosh!!!

Just keep it up...you can't not lose...it will happen!

Hi Stephgetshealthy - Hang in there, and don't get discouraged. It's an overall trend from week-to-week that matters.

I agree that one or more of the following may be an issue:

(1) Salt. The first week is mainly water weight loss, and salt causes water retention.

(2) Food weight. As Joyce said, no more than 5 oz of cooked burger. Consider going down to 90/10 beef if possible.

(3) Calorie count. I think it is *great* you're doing this under doctor supervision. That said, note that most of us are consuming about 850 calories/day. If you are consuming 1200--50% more--your weight loss will be slower. That is not bad (and frankly, healthier), it'll just be slower. It's a calories in, calories out thing.

(4) Cheese. Oh, how I love cheese. Any cheese. But, alas, cheese is not on the Medifast approved list. If I am wrong, would love to know.

(5) Current weight. You have no stats listed. Pounds seem to come off faster, the heavier you are (thank god).

Finally, coffee might mess with your metabolism (admittedly, no data to support that). I know it's technically allowed, as are diet soda and other drinks. I'm not messing with any of it. Water only for me. For water consumption, I have a 25 oz plastic cup. I try to drink about one full glass (20 oz or so) with each "meal." That puts me at a gallon or more of water per day.

Does anyone know the deal with ham? Not on the Medifast list, presumably bc of the extremely high salt level (and why it is so yummy). We're having a Xmas ham, so I'm going to live a little that day, and consume a small piece along with a big salad and veggies. Carbs not an issue, only the salt. My Xmas gift to myself, I suppose.

Hi all

Thanks for all the motivation. I just finished week 2. Starting weight of 163lbs
Week 1 : -5.3lbs
Week 2 : -1.2lbs

I know I lost and should be happy but feel like it should have been more. I'm committed to keep going. I will start light exercise this week. I see that others have less weight loss in week 2 and then sometimes it increases again in week 3. Anyone else experience this?

Good job to you all. We can do this!!!

Medifast Center weigh-in (-7d.): 246
Medifast Day 1: 244
Medifast Day 4: 237
Medifast Day 12: 233 (-11 lbs--hooray!)

Here's my food check-in:

1. Dutch chocolate shake.

2. Maple oatmeal - Gave it another shot and finally got texture correct! Looking forward to trying other Flavors in next delivery.

3. Honey Mustard Pretzels.

4. L&G Taco Salad

5. Chocolate brownie.

6. Cookie dough bar.

At least 100-120 oz of water.

Hi all! Wanted to say hello, just registered today and re-committing to the MF program. I've tried MF in the past and was able to lose weight. However, I have several food sensitivities and the soy in the prepackaged products hurts me. I have sort of "reverse engineered" the macros in the products and have been able to eat the calorie, carb & protein ratios tostay on the program with "regular" food in the past. For the record, the prepackaged food makes it much more convenient , but I'm just unable to digest it.

Am I in the right place, or since I don't buy the meals and I not allowed ?

cbi3 ~ Welcome!

Of course you are welcome here! Whatever works...we are here for you!
Have you checked out the new Medifast Optavia line - that may be doable for your soy sensitivities - not sure, though.
Either way, the Medifast is just a tool we are using to get to our weight goals. It is the head game that we need to concentrate on. Discussion is so key, as well as accountability!

All of us have a past...we want to forget that, forge a new path to health: both mental and physical. We can and we will...one day, one minute, one moment at a time!