Hi! I'm intrigued by Medifast, especially after the review here on 3FC, but I have some questions/concerns that hopefully someone can answer!
1-Can you drink coffee and diet soda on this plan?

2-Can you chew sugarless gum (because I've read it gives you bad breath!)?

3-Do you find eating such a restrictive diet increases the frequency and/or severity of your binges (if this is an issue for you)?

Thanks!

Hi Gypsy!

I've been on Medifast for two weeks and so far I'm loving it!

1- Yes, you can! They recommend drinking a maximum of 3 caffeinated drinks a day, though, as the low calorie diet will make most people more sensitive to the caffeine. I actually stopped drinking tea and diet sodas when I started, and surprisingly I haven't missed them at all!

2- Yes, you can! Sugar free gum is an approved "snack" on Medifast. You are allowed one approved snack a day, and 3 pieces of sugar free gum equals one snack.

3- No, I'm actually never hungry. I haven't binged once in the two weeks I've been on the plan. I don't even really feel like it's restrictive. They have an awesome variety of Medifast meals, so I don't get bored with the food. And the lean & green isn't too different from a normal meal, except there isn't any starches like bread or potatoes.

If you want to lose weight quickly and in a healthy way, I'd definitely recommend Medifast.

Good luck with your research! And if you decide to go for it, we're all here to help you along the way!

I second Lili's emotion!!!!!!!! It even does really well with difficult access to a kitchen during the day. I have to lunchbag it to work for 12 hour shifts and it is working out great.

PS: I love your screen name. I'm thinking about taking up belly dancing later to help with my stomach muscles and my bad back.

Thank you for your answers! I'm really interested, but I am concerned that I won't be able to stick to it and I'll end up bingeing and gaining even more weight than I lost. Does anyone know of any studies on Medifast's long-term success?

I'm not sure about any specific studies, but it has been clinically tested by Johns Hopkins University Hospital and shown to do very well, especially with diabeties.

I've not had any serious problems with eating, just bad habits. I can say that I have been very surprised by the fact that I don't get hungry on this diet. In fact, sometimes it's difficult to be sure to get in all the meals I need to. A couple of times I had to slam down a shake right before bed to be sure to keep from dropping too many calories.

Looking at the transition booklet(you can get it free on-line), I feel that once you've developed the disipline and habits in the weight loss phase then begin adding in the regular food, you should be able to keep it up in the maintenance phase. Also, you will still be able to order MF products anytime in order to suppliment your diet. I guess if you did start gaining you could just use a little more MF until you get past it.

If I see anything about other studies I'll be happy to share it with you. Good luck on your decision.

I am a night binger...I get home from work and usually head straight to the food.

Now I have only been on the plan 1 week, but I haven't had one binge (unusual for me), for two main reasons. First, the cost of the program has helped with my dedication and motivation. I'm not saying it is excessively expensive, but I don't want or like to waste my money. Second, I'm just not hungry in the afternoon like I normally am. Which really perplexes me, to tell you the truth. I've eaten low carb before. I've eaten big breakfasts and decent lunches, hoping I wouldn't be that hungry and could eat "normally" for dinner. But neither worked as well as this is working for controlling my hunger. To be truthful, though, the first three days were hellish...I was very hungry and obsessed with food. Now, on day 7, I'm not.

I wish you luck with whatever decision you make. I'm glad I made this decision and hope to continue with it at least for the next few months.

Abovethe din--The Transition Guide is on the mymedifast site in the Shop Online tab under Materials-Accessories and Guides. The items that are shown For $0.00 can be downloaded free. I just printed them out on my computer.

Good Luck.

I went off and didn't gain at all. I continued to count calories, taking them up and was worried about gaining but continued to lose although very slowly.

Thanks. I still haven't decided if I should do it. I guess I could try it for 2 months and then transition. I really enjoy exercising and I wouldn't want to give that up, so that's another worry I have.

Gypsydancer,
I'm reading up on it too, I have been doing some other diets and not doing so well lately. Did you decide to try it? I am interested.
thanks
miri

Oh, and Gypsydancer....

You don't need to give up exercise. medifast ENCOURAGES IT... they just ask that during the first 3 weeks you cut back if you are a rigorous exerciser, and if you don't exercise YET they ask that you wait 3 weeks. That way you aren't taxing your body by both cutting calories AND going into heavy exercise mode!

I run, use the elliptical and free weights, etc!

Good luck!

Seems very odd that all these new people posted today saying the same thing, all within the same hour. Just a reminder, health coaches are not to recruit members on 3FC.

ETA: This post looks odd because the posts I was referencing have been removed. Yeah!