The Medifast Plan

The Medifast plan is the only diet that Johns Hopkins has researched and recommends. It has been used in the past as an in-patient plan. The results from this plan that I found on the web are amazing. It is often used for patients considering gastric bypass or lapband procedures. I was going to try doing it on the web, www.medifast1.com, but discovered that Medifast centers are opening in the FL and TX regions. I found that one opened 20 mins from my house in December!

I made an appointment and met with the Medifast staff on Saturday, February 9, 2008. They used a body weight analyzer to determine what my weight consists of: water, fat, muscle, etc. They then determined that my optimal weight is 140 pounds. My starting weight on their scale was 220. You will see as I post my weights that I will post my scale weights at home, which run 2-3 pounds less than their scale. The great thing about the Medifast center is that a doctor is supervising the center. You have bloodwork done every couple of months. They take your blood pressure every week when you weigh in. Also, they have a written guarantee of how long it will take me to lose the weight! They told me that they could guarantee that if I followed their plan, I could be at my optimal weight in 26 weeks! August 9, here I come!

The plan was expensive. It was $1485 plus the weekly cost of food (which is around $70/week). The way the plan works is this. Every week you weigh in and buy your food supplements for the week. The food supplements are all in powdered form and include hot teas, shakes, soups, puddings, and fruit drinks. The only exception is the meal bars, but you are only allowed one bar per day. You are required to eat 5 Medifast meals per day (for me, 1 bar, 2 shakes, 1 pudding, and 1 soup) and one "lean and green" meal, which is a large protein serving and 3 green veggie servings. I am planning to do 6 oz of chicken and 1.5 cups of green beans for my typical lean and green meal. You are required to drink a minimum of 2 liters of water per day (and you can use iced tea or crystal lite for this), and you are only allowed TWO diet sodas(diet coke!) per day. You must eat every 3 hours. I'll post some meal schedules in case anyone wants to see what a day is like.

This is basically a modified liquid fast. Can it be done? Stay with me and see!