The Medifast diet has been my key to weight-loss success. I lost over 50 pounds and I have kept it off.
As long as I can remember I have had a problem with my weight. I tried a number of diets — including Atkins and Weight Watchers — with some success, but they all required a level of self-deprivation which I could not sustain, and inevitably I would regain any weight I might have lost.
Last Spring, my daughter was pestering me to try the Medifast diet, telling me how well she was doing on it. Needless to say, I was extremely skeptical given my experiences in the past. However, Gabby is quite persistent, so I let her place an order for me figuring I would try it for a few days and when it failed, I would give any leftover food to her since it was working for her. (She went on to lose 60 pounds or about one-third of her weight!)
Despite my half-hearted commitment to the program, I immediately saw weight loss day after day, and I was surprised by how easy it was.
More after the jump.
On the Medifast diet, you eat low-carb portion-controlled meals every three hours plus a small “lean and green” meal (fresh vegetables and proteins) along with some optional snacks. I soon realized that the only times I was actually hungry was when by force of habit I neglected to eat for three hours.
There are about 70 different pre-portioned meals to choose from. Most of these are certified Kosher by the Orthodox Union. (Note that the “Vegetable Chili” is not listed since it contains beef stock and should be avoided by vegetarians and observant Jews.)
Some food is ready-to-eat (candy bars, pretzels and the like) and some requires preparation in a blender, microwave or stove-top. Each meal has similar nutritional values, so you can pick whichever one piques your interest, or even combine them to increase the variety of possible dishes using recipes that can be found online at fan websites. For example, you can combine pancake mix and brownie mix to make chocolate cake, or banana smoothie mix with pancake mix to make banana bread.
When I would see someone having a high-calorie treat like ice cream, pizza, muffins, pretzels or candy bars, I wouldn’t be jealous. Instead I would say “That is a good idea. I can do that too. I think I’ll grab a Medifast Caramel Crunch Bar” or mix up some soft-serve ice cream with Medifast powder in a blender or fry up a Medifast pancake with chocolate chips. Instead other people would be jealous of me seeing me eat what looks like a candy bar in the middle of the morning or afternoon. People might think I am glutton for eating all the time, but what do I care when I know that I am moving from “obese” to “overweight” to “normal”.
The Kaiserman JCC held their “Biggest Winner” contest during this time and I was proud to take 1st place having lost 14.83% of my weight during the contest.
As I reentered the “normal” zone, I used the Medifast transition plan for about a month, and have now successfully maintained my healthy weight for the last few months.
Gabby has now become a Medifast coach and is helping other people achieve their weight loss goals on her website. The coaching is free. You only have to pay for the food.
Weight loss has changed our lives and we would love to share our success.
