What Makes The Medifast Diet Program Different From Other Diets?

medifast dietThe Medifast diet plan consists of three stages.

You start with the very low calorie weight loss phase; when you have reached your ideal weight you move into the Transition phase and re-introduce normal foods into your diet; then you go to the Maintenance phase and Exercise phase.

The Medifast diet is fairly unique in that it is recommended by 15,000 physicians across the US who supervises their own patients on the program.

It has been researched and proven in studies conducted by major teaching hospitals in the US.

The products are available through four methods Medifast Weight Loss Centres, internet and national call centres, the network of physicians and direct-sales distributors, called health coaches.

Five of the six meals allowed in a day feature Medifast products. These are basically meal replacements, based on whey protein, and there are more than 60 choices like shakes, puddings, bars, oatmeal, soups and eggs.

The sixth meal is one you prepare yourself – Medifast call it Lean and Green, referring to the controlled portion of lean meat or fish accompanied by salad or vegetables.

The Medifast diet’s “5 & 1 Plan” makes weight loss simple and easy, and is actually helping you to include a healthy “main meal” into your diet. Initial weight loss is fairly fast, which is encouraging and motivates you to keep going.

You can expect to lose 2 to 5 pounds a week in the early weeks of the Medifast Diet Plan, although this rate will probably get lower as the weeks go on. Medifast claim you will retain muscle mass, which is likely because of the high protein component of the diet.

When you reach your goal weight you start on the Transition phase of the program. This phase allows you to re-introduce the fruits, low fat dairy, whole grains and higher carbohydrate veggies that were not allowed during the weight loss phase.

Extra calories are added gradually to let your body adjust. You are encouraged to develop healthy habits, like portion control, so that you maintain your weight loss.

During the Maintenance phase, you continue to retain your weight loss through healthy food choices and exercise. You experiment with calorie totals to find your ideal number and maintain your ideal weight. Regular exercise is emphasized as being necessary for a healthy lifestyle.

Basically, the Medifast diet is a high protein, low calorie diet (only 800 – 1,000 calories a day are allowed in the weight loss phase).

The meal replacements, only available through one of the four Medifast outlets, will cost you around $80 a week. You then have the cost of your sixth Lean and Green meal on top of that. However, no additional vitamins or supplements are needed with this Plan.

This Medifast diet plan would appear to be a weight loss program that you could lose some serious weight with. With exercise, you will burn fat and build muscle with the high amount of protein.

There is lots of additional support by phone, online and in person to help you. If you don’t mind eating their meal replacements five times a day, and only have one “proper” meal a day, this could be the way to go.