How to be successful with Medifast

I guess if you judge in terms of pounds, I am a Medifast success story. But I think the real success is in how I have changed my life. I am much healthier, have much more energy, am much more confident, and see food (and how it relates to my body) in a whole new way. I finally believe that I am worth something and I am just as important as anyone else. I will offer tips and advice on how to be successful with this diet in the following article.

As simple as it sounds, follow the instructions and trust the process: When I tell people that the first piece of advice I would give is to follow directions, I am sometimes met with sighs and eye rolls. But I have a lot of experience on this diet and on weight loss forums and I can’t tell you how many people (myself included) think they know more than the doctors who developed Medifast.

It’s so tempting to look at the plan, know you’re eating six times a day, and think you can do better. Countless people cut back on the number of meals they eat or substitute one of the Medifast meals for one of the larger, fresher, “lean and green” meals. I can tell you with 100% certainty that the weeks I lost the least amount of weight were the weeks I skipped meals or skipped lean and green meals.

You’ll only consume 1,000 to 12,000 calories per day with Medifast, so there’s no need to cut back anymore. If you do, you risk slowing down your metabolism and fooling your body without the nutrients and energy it needs. Eating so often may seem weird at first, but you get used to it quickly and there’s a reason the diet has been designed the way it is. It’s been repeatedly tested by institutions like the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and countless others have found success, so trust that you will too and stick with the program even if you balk at six meals at first.

Know yourself well and do what works for you: Some people like to be around others when dieting and others feel that it is a personal process and prefer to do it alone. No matter where you are on this spectrum, you can make this work for you. The company’s website offers tons of free support, resources, and advice. You can interact with others online or in person. Accountability really helps and while I am by no means joining a group, I have found these resources quite helpful.

Some people are introverted and uncomfortable having to interact. That’s perfectly acceptable too. The company offers you tons of resources that allow you to go solo if you want to.

Finally I would say know where you have failed before. I know I need a lot of variety. Therefore, I add “safe” ingredients to my foods, such as sugar-free syrups, whipped cream, and fat-free cheese, etc. I knew this would be necessary to get on with this and it certainly hasn’t slowed down my progress at all.

Don’t let the traps derail you. Accept it and move on: It is a fact of life on a diet that you are going to cheat. It is highly unrealistic to think that you will never have a bad diet day. Perhaps you eat at a restaurant and opt not to go “lean and green.” That’s perfectly fine and not a big deal. However, it becomes a big problem when you let it get you down and repeat the process the next day.

When you cheat, just shrug it off and promise to do better tomorrow. It’s not the act of cheating that sabotages you, it’s allowing cheating to become a habit or a derailment. Essentially, you are trying to get into the habit of a new lifestyle. This will happen as you start to have many more good days than bad. So don’t let the bad days feed on themselves and prevent this from happening.

Understand how ketosis works: Ketosis is the metabolic state that makes this diet so effective. Because Medifast is low in carbs and high in protein, your body will burn fat instead of carbs. And, when you reach this state (which you can test with ketone strips), you’ll have less hunger and more energy. The best way I can put it is that once you’re in ketosis, you don’t think about food as intensely as you used to. You don’t think so much about diet anymore. You start to lose your cravings and generally this is when you hit your stride.

Obviously, this is your goal and where you want to stay. When you cheat, it takes 2-3 days to get back to this state. And, while you can test yourself, you can usually feel ketosis when you’re in it. So, use this as a motivation, and know that if you fail and are eliminated, all you have to do is regroup and continue.

Know that it is the small victories that change your life: Lots of people are intimate and shut down on diets. They feel very pressured and give up before they even start. What you have to realize is that it is the small victories that count, the victories that repeat and add up. Two pounds becomes five and then ten. Ten becomes twenty. Keep repeating your success until you reach your goal. Don’t look at it as a big, big change. See it as baby steps over time.