With everything else that you need to keep track of, do
you really want to add "counting calories" to your list? If you have
better things to count but still need to lose weight quickly, consider the
Medifast Diet plan. The packaged food approach to dieting does all the
calculations for you and promises that you will lose 2-5 pounds a week.
The Medifast diet was created by Dr. William Vitale in
1980. Initially, he sold his products only to diet doctors, who then resold them to
their patients. Over time, this changed into a direct-to-consumer business
model driven by a highly functional web site for ordering the meals, although you can still buy Medifast meals through diet doctors.
When you are on the Medifast diet, you eat five
pre-packaged Medifast meals a day, plus one meal of your own making. This homemade
meal consists of a lean meat or fish plus a salad or green vegetables. They
call this their "5 plus 1" plan, where the plus 1 is your "lean
and green" homemade meal. You are also required to drink six 12 ounce
glasses of water every day.
The beauty of the Medifast plan is that your food intake
is tightly controlled for you. You eat between 800 and 1,000 calories a day, which is
how the 2-5 pound weight loss happens. This is a pretty strict diet, and is
outside the "safe" level for dieting according to the U.S.
Government.
You can order your Medifast food from a diet doctor near
you, or just use the Medifast web site. Not counting your homemade "lean
and green" meals, a month of Medifast food costs about $300 a month. Takes
you back to those dormitory meal service plans, doesn't it?
The Medifast food is well balanced, and extremely low in
fats and carbohydrates. In addition to your 6 glasses of water, you are allowed
non-caloric beverages like tea and diet sodas. The Medifast site warns that you
may become more sensitive to caffeine during the diet, so watch your coffee
intake.
Life during your Medifast diet will be someone different.
You are eating food that you ordered days or weeks earlier. You are drinking A
LOT of water (this very low calorie diet will put your body into ketosis, so water
is essential). Since you are consuming so few calories, physical exertion will
be more difficult and you may feel tired, light headed or achy at first. After several weeks
on the diet most people can resume their exercise regime.
Once you have reached your target weight, you begin a
4-week to 4-month transitional period. During this time you taper off your
dependence on the Medifast foods and re-introduce regular meals. You continue to limit
your calories, but now through portion control and choosing your ingredients
wisely.
Have you tried the Medifast Diet? Click on the Comment
button and let us know your favorite foods!
WannaBuddy.com -- you can find a buddy at WannaBuddy!