Hi all! I'm thinking of starting on Medifast to get a jump start on losing weight and then at some point switch to something like Weight Watchers or calorie counting. Has anyone done that? Good or bad idea?

I have about 75 pounds to lose. I'm in a terrible rut. I'm a fan of WW and think it is a pretty good way to help you learn how to eat for the rest of your life. I lost about 60 pounds on it over the course of a year about 10 years ago. But since then, I just haven't been able to get back on the WW wagon (and I've tried). When I think of rejoining it just seems too much of a hassle getting started - have to calculate points again, figuring what foods work and don't work for me, planning meals. A meal delivery plan like Medifast, NS, etc...are very tempting because they are simple. I've never done one before though.

My issue seems to be lack of discipline and a very busy life (work full time, long commute, 2 small boys...) Part of me says just buck up and get committed to WW but another part of me says that won't work but I need to do something.

Thanks for listening.

Hey Maurene!

I have some friends who were actually WW trainers for a long time. And then, after they stopped doing that, they gained weight. Recently they tried to get back onto WW, but just couldn't manage to follow through. They decided to try Medifast, and have been quite successful.

But that said--I'm wondering why you would want to start with Medifast and then switch. Medifast does have transition and maintenance plans, once you lose the weight you need to lose. And changing over to WW--well, I think you could expect your weight to bounce a little. They are really different programs.

Are you sure that you can't make WW work for you? Because here's the thing with Medifast: You get one meal of "real food" a day--the rest is their packaged food, and each Medifast "meal" is around 100 calories. Getting started is the hard part--you can expect to feel hungry and even light headed until your body's metabolism adjusts. If I had a full-time job outside of home, I'd take a long weekend to start Medifast, just so I wouldn't feel so bad at work.

On the other hand, Medifast does work! If you stick with it. You might want to do some reading on their website to make sure you know what you're getting into. And, I'd say order a 2-week package to start with, in case you find it's not for you.

Also, many people don't know that they can customize their first order--you don't have to take the "starter pack" exactly as is. So if you suspect there are meals you won't like, you can substitute for those you think you will like.

I wish you a lot of luck with your weight loss! I hope these ideas help you decide what to do.

Jay

My plan is to lose as much as possible - or at least get down to my initial goal weight which is my WW lifetime weight. I'm a "lifetime" member of WW. What that means is that I can go back to meetings for free (and get updated program material for free), as long as I weigh in once a month and stay at goal or below.

I lost 50 pounds on WW @ 10 years ago - pre-kids. This time, I'm having a hard time pulling it all together to lose on WW....not to mention, I can't get to meetings. So, MF is just so much easier for me. I've lose 13.2 in 3 weeks. And really, with WW's latest points plus plan, its all about eating healthy as well, cutting out the crap (I'm not sure if it cuts out as much carbs). Who knows, maybe I won't do WW, but, at least it would be free and I could have some face to face time if I want it. If you have not been on WW, you need to lose at least 5 pounds I believe before you can attain "lifetime" membership. Just mentioning that in case you plan on switching or doing both plans at the same time. I will say though, the bars and such are pretty dang good, I might keep getting those for snacks!

At some point, it would be interesting to do the points conversion on MF just to see how it shakes out.

Thanks for the feedback.

Jay- that is an excellent question about why I would want to switch. I guess I have this bias against meal-replacement plans - thinking that they don't teach you how to eat once you lose the weight. But honestly I know nothing about Medifast's tranistion and maintenance plans.

vball- I'm so glad to hear I'm not alone in not being able to sucessfully rejoin WW. Good luck on Medifast!

I still haven't made up my mind. I think mostly I'm overwhelmed by all the weight I have to lose. It took over a year for me to lose 50 lbs on WW. And its discouraging to think of how long it will take me to lose 75 lbs. I know it is worth the effort but I just can't seemed to get started.

Don't be discouraged - in fact - be ENcouraged! If you have the will power (which, sounds like you did for a whole YEAR on WW)...you can lose even more weight within the same time period. Or, just aim for 50 in a quicker time frame. Little steps. I was telling a co-worker, who was successful on MF about WW. I just lost 13.2 pounds in three weeks. In WW, I would lose maybe 3-3.5 pounds the first week (I'm female). Then, probably a pound/week after that. Then, towards the end, I might lose .3 or .5 pound...and get happy when I didn't gain anything. He seemed surprised, and yeah, on MF, if you let the plan work and can really stick with it....you'll probably average 3 pounds per week.

It took me a year to lose my 50 (on WW) as well....I'm right there with you. This is so much easier for me - I don't have to think about what I'm going to do for lunch and snacks at work. I look at my MF meals and just pick some out and go. I plan one meal per day - I'm able to feed a healthy meal to my kids - or - if I give them something "not so healthy", then I eat something on my own. And, at work, I can work out on my lunch hour or work through it....my lunches are small and easy! Do I sound like a MF commercial or what?!

good luck with your decision. feel free to PM me if you have more questions about comparing.

I just left Weight Watchers for Medifast. I'm in my 3rd day with Medifast, so still getting the hang of it. I lost a lot of weight about 5 years ago on WW, but with the new Points Plus plan, I just couldn't seem to make it work. I only lost 10 lbs from December to now, and weight just bounced up and down. I'm sure it was me, but I've heard others say this too. Good luck to us both, I'm goin' for the gold with Medifast!

Medifast Transition and Maintence Plan
http://www.medifastmedia.com/shared/...ance_guide.pdf