How long have you been on the Atkins diet? Most people lose on this plan. It's my understanding that exercise is recommended when dieting. So, I don't think this is a mistake.

I've been losing by switching from regular soft drinks to diet, cutting back on portions, watching the fat intake (reading label after label after label) and trying to eat more fruits and vegetables.

I havent heard of Medifast---but, honestly, I don't think there's a magic bullet for losing weight. Most people who go thru these quick weight loss pills and drinks usually gain it back over the long haul. Sorry, don't mean to sound preachy, but I know a lady who tried some herb weight loss pills--------had some major things go wrong with her stomach. She lost weight, but then has gained it back plus more weight.

You don't have that much to lose----why not join us on the board----some are doing WW points---others are just cutting back and eating sensibly. And the support is great!

We were on the medfast its good but you only can buy there stuff. We had more too lose then you do. Mine cost me about 500.00 amonth and dh was 600.00 a month it was good. But you can;t eat any thing but there stuff. It is mostly shakes.
We had to go off of it because it cost to much for us. It works but we had to go off of it because it was coating us to much. WE are on the South beach diet now. I agree with the person above. This is my fist time here . But have been around awhile. I think i may like this one.

I was on Medifast about 15 years ago and did quite well
at least for the short term, 6 or 8 years. I lost about
30 pounds rather rapidly and kept it off with a lot
of self-discipline. But I guess there was a fat person
still trying to come out and I have gained
about 100 pounds in the past 10 years (long story - some
health problems/stress...).

Medifast worked well for me because it was so structured. I
was under a Dr's care. She prescribed Prozac at the time
(before we knew about some of the problems with Prozac)
because of Prozac's appetite suppressing capabilities.
The weigh-in worked great. Having to get on the scale every
week in front of someone makes a difference. I may join
Weight Watchers just for the weigh-in. If I remember right,
the first 3-5 days were extremely difficult. Required almost
super- human self-discipline. But after that, I was okay.
If I had it to do over again, I would probably do it again.

I just did a search on "medifast" to find a post such as
yours. Because I'm planning to do something similar again.
But instead of Medifast, I plan to try something called AHS
- I just bought the packets on EBAY today.
Guess they will take a while to be delivered. I may buy
some protein shakes at the grocery store so I can get
started while I am motivated. I play to try to go it alone
without the Dr. this time.

It might not be the cheapest weight loss management plan on the makret but speaking from experience it does give fast results. It inspired me to make a blog site about it actually. Check it out at the link below and it will give you more information. It is a much safer diet than a lot as it just replaces foods rather than entire meals.

Here is a link that might be useful: Medifast Plan of Attack

I did the Medifast diet about 20 years ago, (under doctors supervision) lost about 25 pounds in short period of time and then my whole system seemed to go into shock !! I got sick at the drop of a hat. Colds, flu, and virus that came down the pike, I ended up with it. So, I went to another physician who ran tests and told me that the Medifast diet weakend my immune system and to get off of it and stay off of it. I don't know if this is general or individual. I got off of it and eventually my body recovered. I tried atkins and lost weight with that, but gained it back as soon as I started to add carbs back in my diet.

This time around it is about portion control and excercize. I eat anything I want to, but I weigh and measure every bite that enters my mouth. I don't eat sugar much, but if I do, then it is very infrequently and only a small serving. If I crave something sweet, I will go and buy a fresh pineapple or some fresh oranges or grapefruit. That really satisfies the cravings that seem to come along now and then. And the plus side of that is that they are good for you.
I hated to excercise, but once I got into the habit of it, I like doing it now. And since I have lost my first 30 pounds, it is easier than before. I actually had a young man whistle at me the other day. He hadn't seen me for a few months and said he nearly didn't recongnize my new thin frame. That really gave me the boost I needed to continue on my journey.
I recommend a Way of life food plan that you can stick with for life. You won't stay of Medifast forever, but if you eat sensibly and keep your body moving, you can eat anything you want to in smaller amounts. No deprivation or boredome there. I have even eaten a serving of Tiramisu and still lost nearly a pound in a weeks time.
It is all about common sense and not about lining the pockets of those diet gurus. That's my opinion.

There are plenty of websites that have wonderful recipes and journal opportunities. I am not sure if we are allowed to post websites here, but if we are I will be happy to share my favorites with you all.

Helen

Helen, I don't think there is any rule against it. Some of the sites that have been mentioned before that have online journals are:
Fitday.com
My-calorie-counter.com
Mypyramid.gov
Sparkpeople.con

Wow! Helen you got a whistle? That's such a great affirmation!

Fitday is where I keep track of my food intake. And my weight loss. I set a goal of just 5 pounds each month and if I lose more, then wooo hoo, I am a happy camper !! So far I have surpassed my 5 pound per month goal.

For some really wonderful food make overs, visit www.hungry-girl.com Through that site I have learned a lot about what to eat and what to walk (NO, run) away from.

Spark people is a good site too.

What really bothers me are those diet plans that cost bunches of money and then when you stop following their plan, the weight piles back on. So, I really feel that if you simply get used to eating smaller portions and moving that body, you can and will lose the weight. Personally, I really feel that too many folks are looking for a magic bullet, when they can do this on their own using good old fashioned common sense. Make healthier choices. Whole grains, fruit and veggies and go light on the fatty meats. Lean meat, chicken, fish, and pork are wonderful, but leave off the enormous amounts of gravy. I love gravy and will be satisfied with just enough to compliment the food I am eating. There is no need to drown a nice piece of meat with gravy or a sauce. Just a few tablespoons will add that wonderful taste without compromising your journey to good health.

Helen

Helen, I agree. After the crash diet, like Medfast, HCG, or whatever, then what? You will have to learn to eat sensibly to maintain your weight from then on. So why not just start eating sensibly now?

It's been a while since anyone posted on this thread so I figured I'd bump it. I've been on the Medifast now for almost 3 months. I think I've lost about 25-30 lbs. Don't really know as I've never had a scale. When I started Medifast, I had about 80 lbs. to lose. The first week was very hard and I had horrible headaches but... wow.... did I feel good after a bit... a still do. My body is used to smaller portions now which were my main problem. I have not gotten sick or weak. I guess it's worked well for me. I do see a change in my bowel function. I'm going a lot less than I used to and I come from a family of 'poopers'! My thought was, I would do Medifast until I reached my 50# loss and then switch to WW. Figured I'd get my body used to eating real food again (though I do have 1 real meal a day- usually 2 veggie burgers over a salad with oil and vinegar or grilled tofu which I love with asparagus and zucchini). I can say I don't get hungry anymore. At least, the hunger pangs are very slight. I've done Jenny Craig in the past and lost 70#. Loved it, too, and was doing well until my brother died. Then all hell broke lose! I was always thin though I never thought I was (yes, body image problem). I gained weight with my one and only pregnancy and never lost it... and so my battle with my weight has been for the last 14 yrs.! I do exercise (walk a lot) but having had back surgery last summer slowed me down a bit. I'm back to walking, though. Medifast..... not for everyone. My sister could never do it! I have will power and can struggle with the small amt. of food allowed. My sister would collapse! I thought I would, too, at the beginning but I've pummeled through! I look pretty good and feel great! I will not do this diet for life as I know it's very limiting- only 800-1000 cal. a day- but for a kick start, it's awesome! WW will be what I do for the rest of my life. I need something to obssess over in order to keep the weight down and being acct. to someone besides myself will keep me in line! Sad but true... Good luck everyone. I know it's a daily battle!

Wow Orie, that is a great story and glad that you are having such great success. Do you think you will manage to keep it off once you do ween yourself off the diet? This is when most people eiter make or break their diet.

Do you think I could make a post of your success on my website? Medifast Diet Plan

Hi! Yes, I think I will keep the weight off. It has been more difficult because of my lack of activity because of the back surgery but I am walking again and upping my miles. Exercise is a must for anyone trying to lose or maintain weight. I used to be very active but a lot of the activities that kept me 'smaller' I can't do anymore. My weight problem comes from loving breads. I don't care for sweets and eating regular foods is not my problem. I just can't have bread in my life! This, and the lack of activity is how my weight came on. I had never had a problem before until I got pregnant... then everything changed. We moved to another state, my lifestyle changed and I had a new baby, didn't know anyone and my family was in another state. These last 14 yr.s have been a struggle with my weight. Though bread had always been my downfall, the fact that I exercised my @ss off kept me thin. Now I have to work harder at it... and I'm older! I love Medifast. Just got this months package! I think another 2-3 months of this should do it. Like I said, bread is out of my diet and because I have lost weight, I have less stress on my back and have been able to increase my exercise. The smaller portions have helped shrink my stomach and like I said, I don't feel starved... I just feel.... normal. It's done wonders for my emotional well-being, too. I feel good. I AM an emotional eater and I am NOT an emotional eater! Go figure! I've been known to not eat because I'm stressed and I have eaten to de-stress. I will always battle this. It's just my person. I do know I need to de-stress by exercising instead. You feel so much better after! Anyway, I have nothing but good things to say about Medifast so far. I need to check their maintenance plan.... I haven't done that yet.

- I started watching what I eat when I ordered my food on June 29th. I have been heavier but I started my weight loss at 244.5 lbs. I officially started Medifast on 7-2-09 and that morning I was 242.4 lbs. It was just WONDERFUL starting this diet with three days of picnics by the way. So as of this morning, my weight was 229.4 lbs. 13 lbs in one week. My coach is ecstatic. My primary goal is 30 lbs in 30 days and then follow that up with getting to 200 lbs.

I have heard people talk about 2-3 lbs a week. Let me first say that Im a 35 y/o male with a thryoid condition. I have just started taking my meds the same time as I started the diet (Hypothyriodism). I also do heavy civil construction for a living so sitting at a PC all day isn't something that hinders my weight loss. But the biggest reason I see that I have lost weight so far is the fact of the only thing I have cheated with was when I licked some sauce of my finger after cutting my daughter's meatball on 7-4. THATS IT! Not one single cheat. I have stuck to the plan as they advised. I think that singular fact is the key to my first huge week.

mercuryhot- you'll do great on this diet. I've been on it now since April. I don't know what I weighed going in but it was over 200#... not much over but enough to scare the heck out of me. I wanted to be thin again. I don't own a scale, never have, actually. I go by my clothes and can gauge more or less what I weigh by the clothes I fit in. The scale is my enemy because I could be shrinking yet it doesn't show on the scale. That's very disappointing to me. Anyway, I think I'm down maybe 30-40 lbs. I don't know. I can get in clothes I wore when I was about 165#... I've had problems exercising because I had back surgery last yr. and it's been slow-going. This week I re-tweeked by back so I didn't go for my walks. Exercise certainly helps!! I haven't cheated either except I did have a breath mint the other day and it wasn't sugar-free! Oh well. I needed it bad though! I find the Medifast foods give me this milky taste/breath. Esp. after the shakes and oatmeal. I love the diet, though. I don't get hungry anymore. It's amazing. I almost have to remind myself it's time for a meal. Good luck and stay on it. Be fit and healthy.