I’ve been on the medifast diet plan for about six months am approaching a 60 pound weight loss. I know from my own experience the kinds of questions someone researching the program may have. Here is my overview which will hopefully give you a glimpse of what to expect on this plan.

Medifast is a prepackaged diet plan. There are a wide variety of different safe foods from which you can choose. The program offers women’s, men’s, and diabetic programs. However, most people (myself included) are on the five plus one plan. Because this is both the plan with which I have personal experience and the most popular, this is the plan I’ll be discussing.

One attractive thing about medifast is that you eat quite often. This helps me with cravings and hunger. You chose five safe medifast meals per day and you prepare one larger, main “lean and green” meal on your own. This main meal is typically lean protein with vegetables, fruits and whole grains. I make this process easier with a George Foreman grill and bagged salads, fruits and veggies.

The program does offer a lot of variety in the prepackaged meals. There are eggs, oatmeals, soups, stews, chilis, crackers, bars, puddings, shakes, lattes, cappuccinos, and fruit drinks, etc. Most of these foods are pretty good as offered. I often add even more variety by adding sugar and fat free syrups (I like caramel and cherry) to many of the products. I also like to add fat free cheese, sour cream and salsa to the eggs, chilis and stews. There are also many recipes readily available that allow you to take the medifast meal ingredients and make them into something else entirely like cookies, muffins, cakes, etc.

Most people typically will purchase the four week package which contains over 140 meals. This gives you everything you need to get started. You’ll only need groceries for your lean and green meals. In my opinion, this program is very convenient in that there are no points to tally or calories to count. You just chose from the safe choices that you’re given and prepare your main meal. Many of the products are pretty much grab and go.

Price wise, medifast runs about $8-$10 per day which is less than I was spending on groceries and occasional lunches out. There are usually coupons and specials available as well.

The company states that typical weight loss is about 2-3 pounds per week. My typical weight loss has averaged about four pounds per week but it has varied. Plus, after I started to see results, I began to add regular power walking and exercise into my plan and this has no doubt contributed to my success.

I have tried and failed at many diet plans previously. I feel that I have had success this time because I was able to eat carbs and snacks, the program was convenient and I was given many safe choices from which to choose. Thankfully, I can now focus more attention on healing my body, my daughter, my upcoming wedding and adding exercise and toning into my life.

Lindsey Price has lost almost 60 pounds on Medifast. She is also the author of the ebook “Getting The Most Out Of Medifast” which includes tips, recipies and coupons. To get a free copy (immediate download / no information required), click here You can also visit her diet review website at http://geniefrancisdietreview.blogspot.com/

There are no hidden secrets or cures for weight loss, it is a simple matter of arithmetic and body manipulation. We have all heard of faddy diets and weight loss programs that promise the world, but in fact there is only one answer and that is to eat less energy than you expend. However, there are also other factors that speed up the process and help maintain the weight loss. Namely exercise and general physical activity.

Firstly, the body needs around 2000 calories for women and 2500 for men. This figure is taken from the generic population on average and is not an exact figure that will apply to each individual. The reason for this is, simply, that we all have different levels of activity in our daily lives, however this is a good rule of thumb in which to calculate, roughly how much we should be eating in order to maintain weight.

How does exercise help in weight loss?

What is important to understand is that in our daily lives we need to reach a certain physical activity level in order to maintain or lose weight. It is no good eating less but as a result possibly doing less exercise. In this case, the body will burn the energy more slowly and if very little is eaten then the body may go into “starvation mode” where the energy is preserved and other functions slow down. The more exercise that is done the more weight will be lost in conjunction with a safe reduced energy intake of around 500 calories depending on how much weight is too be lost. It is not advisable to go above this.

Exercise, comes in various forms and some types expend far more energy than others, for example, climbing stairs burns off energy more rapidly than slow walking. But in order to maintain a realistic, steady weight loss it is probably more suitable to aspire to a 30 minute brisk walk each day to maintain weight and up to an hour for weight loss (or the exercise equivalent) e.g. 30 minutes more intensive exercise excluding normal daily activities.

The metabolism is the process in which energy from the food we eat is broken down and used by the body. Exercise speeds up this process and can keep the speed up even hours after the physical activity is over. An important feature in undertaking exercise is that it builds muscle tissue in the body which, in turn, utilities and burns energy quickly. The larger the muscle surface area of the body, the faster the metabolism. Exercise also inhibits the appetite with the release of endorphins.

Other Health Issues

There has been much research into the independent risk that obesity lends to coronary heart disease. Other associated health problems include high blood pressure, cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. Regular physical activity lowers cholesterol (by increasing “good cholesterol”) and increases the effectiveness of the heart muscle. So, other than assisting in weight loss, exercise also has a very important role in heart health.

Exercise is key in a weight loss plan, but also must be maintained after the weight has been lost in order to prevent further weight gain.

Y.M.Kelly has a degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics. To start losing weight and improving fitness please visit: http://fatlosssolutions.blogspot.com