The “Fast” in Medifast: Quick Results or Slow Starvation?
The Medifast system has been around for decades. It used to be people had to get it through a weight loss clinic or their family doctor, but nowadays Medifast has a website and appears to be doing a brisk business. So what is the Medifast plan, and how does it differ from other diets? Well, here are the basics. Whether it’s right for everyone, I can’t say. As with every diet, there are pros and cons to this system.
The Basic Premise
Medifast is a diet plan based on portion-controlled low-fat prepared foods. The plan works by regulating the diet and limiting caloric intake with a regimen of scientifically prepared foods. The balance of proteins and carbs in Medifast meals is calibrated to protect lean muscle mass and promote fat loss. There are specially designed meals for men, women, and diabetics.
Medifast dieters eat six meals per day: five pre-packaged Medifast meals and one “lean and green” combination of five to seven ounces of lean meat or meatless protein and three servings of approved low-carbohydrate vegetables. This is the only meal that diet followers must prepare themselves.
The diet is designed to produce a state of mild ketosis in the body, which means the low calorie intake and balance of proteins and carbohydrates in the meals trigger fat loss in the form of a release of free fatty acids from the body’s fat cells. These fatty acids are converted in the liver into energy molecules called ketones. Medifast claims that a typical diet follower loses two to five pounds per week.
The Upside
If you think you might want to try Medifast, but are dubious about buying two weeks worth of food, you can call and request a sample meal. Each sample costs $2.50, but at least you’ll know what it tastes like before springing for a variety pack.
Diet followers don’t have to worry about what they are eating. Aside from the one daily “lean and green” meal, every meal is pre-mixed and measured by Medifast. The company is sensitive to dietary restrictions and offers kosher-certified and vegetarian options.
Medifast meals are quick and simple to prepare. In most cases, dieters just add water to a mix and then microwave or refrigerate the meal. For people with little time to spare, this is dieting made easy. Asides from the one daily “lean and green” meal, there are no menu plans to follow, groceries to buy, or meals to cook.
Medifast dieters eat six meals per day, or roughly every two to three hours. The frequency of meals helps avoid empty-stomach sensations—and prevents the “starvation mode” metabolism that results from skipped meals and hinders fat loss. There is no need to take a vitamin supplement while on Medifast, because the prepared formulations provide the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of all major vitamins and minerals.
According to the website, eating on the Medifast plan should reduce average monthly food costs. Medifast estimates that their variety packs cost dieters about $11 per day, compared with $16 per day, their estimate of ordinary Americans’ food outlays.
The web-based support system, MyMedifast, provides tools and suggestions for using the program, and allows dieters to communicate and share tips in various diet-oriented forums.
The Downside
You have to buy the food and remember to reorder regularly. The company suggests reordering at least one week before you need your next supply. If the Medifast plan doesn’t work out, you may be stuck with a minimum order of two weeks worth of prepared meals.
Low calorie diets are hard to stick with. Medifast’s 5 &1 Plan (the main weight loss portion of the program) provides 800 to 1000 calories per day. For most people, that means cutting their regular caloric intake in half, just like that.
Prepared-food diets are hard to stick with. Think of all the family and community events that involve food. Dieters have to plan ahead and fit in their prepared meals while avoiding the offered food. Dieters must pack a suitcase of food if they go on vacation, and avoid the temptation to try any local fare while on holiday. Not only are the logistics sometimes difficult, the lack of real food can be a real problem. Dieters have to say goodbye to most actual foods until they reach their fat loss goals and are allowed to transition out of the 5 & 1 Plan.
Medifast allows one “snack” per day, but the options are pretty underwhelming. These “special treats” include: up to three pieces of sugar-free gum, two dill pickle spears, or three celery stalks.
Dieters have to remain vigilant even after transitioning off of the weight loss program. The severe calorie restriction and prepared meal strategy makes it all the more likely that dieters’ weight will yo-yo back up when they get back on real food.
The Bottom Line
Medifast is a strict, carefully controlled weight loss system that seems appropriate for extreme situations. I would recommend Medifast for someone who has a major weight problem, possibly accompanied by type-2 diabetes, and suggest that they use it to lose weight steadily under the supervision of a doctor. For those of us simply looking for a way to lose that extra fat, I would recommend a diet based on real food and a simple, effective fat-loss strategy.
My choice is Fat Loss 4 Idiots, a diet strategy that promotes fat loss by combining real foods in a specialized way that revs up the metabolism and “tricks” the body into burning fat, rather than storing it away. FL4I is not a low-calorie, low-carb, low-fat, or low-anything diet. It simply recommends eating certain kinds of calories at certain times, and after 11 days on the diet, you get three “free” days. To me that seems a lot more realistic. Medifast may work in a clinic setting, but out in the real world, I want a plan that allows me to go out to a restaurant every so often!
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