Progress...

I never intended this blog to be a running diary of my progress using these alternative food items to the Medifast meals, but another blogger who calls themselves the "Diet Skeptic" has mentioned my lack of follow up posts on their blog post Diet Skeptic Does Medifast.

I was intending to simply post my own choices of foods that could simulate the nutritional components of the Medifast meals at a considerably lower cost. I figured that I would add to this menu as I discovered more options and I did, briefly. I also intended for those of you out their to use my menu as a launching pad for your own adventures and not rely on my continued presence to make your daily decisions. I spent time doing research about the nutritional components of the foods and I guess I just assumed that the rest of you would as well and not simply take my word for it.

That said, let's get to the point of this post. I found that my substitutions did provide the same weight loss progress that I had seen with "real" Medifast meals, but I stopped following that diet altogether after a few more months and I will explain why. I stand 6 foot 4 inches tall with some muscle and even at an ideal weight of 190-210 lbs(depending on muscle weight), 1200 calories a day was starting to take its toll on my energy level, emotional state and overall well being. My BMR(base metabolic rate) requires 2430 calories a day just so that all things including my thought processes work correctly. I have a career that is in a highly technical field and requires my absolute attention to detail and creative problem solving; both of which were suffering under the continued lack of adequate caloric intake.

 I still eat healthy, just under 2000 cals/day and concentrate on the factors that were employed by the Medifast diet which are low fat, low calories, high protein, and low carb/GI multigrain options. I am happier, more emotionally stable and I definitely have more energy.. which brings up another point. Since 1200 cals a day aren't really enough to allow for proper exercise, I was able to start using my treadmill again, working in my yard, doing Tai Chi and other things which simply weren't possible using the Medifast diet plan.

I still think the food choices I posted are applicable, and I use them in my current eating plan when I need a snack, but they are not nearly enough to replace a healthy meal.

That is all. Now go read and research for yourselves and don't wait for me to post again on my progress. I am going to be busy living my life.

My Medifast Journey First Phase

I like so many others before me and along side me have a weight problem. I have run the gauntlet that so many others have attempted of the various “solutions” out there for weight loss only to be beaten down with no chance of emerging victorious on the other end. We have been sold on many approaches to weight loss, all appealing to the very cause of our dilemma. These approaches target our desire for a quick-fix, no-effort solution, but that is the very mentality that got most of us into this situation. Atkins, Nutrisystems, Weight Watchers and South Beach just to name a few are legitimate weight loss solutions, but require discipline, effort and oh yeah, money! They do work…unfortunately for most people, only for a short while. This is mostly due to discipline I imagine as it is an extreme change from the eating habits that are to blame-for me anyway. I had limited success, but success nonetheless with them all, but lacked the discipline to stay with them and fell back in to the old habits and yes, the weight added up and up and up. I decided that I was going to be content with who I was and how I lived and tried to convince myself that if others can be happy with their bodies, then why can’t I. It’s B.S. That’s why I can’t and I won’t. It seems to me that if I want to justify being unhealthy, morbidly obese, depressed and gluttonous, then I should just adjust my mental attitude to accept who I am, as I am and be resigned to it. Again… B.S! For me, the turning point came when I had a 2 hour flight on a small airliner and was stuck in the back of the plane sitting in the middle of 2 other passengers and having to hold my arms in and my legs together for the duration in what can only be regarded as a very painful, constricted posture that left my back and knees in as worse a state as I have ever experienced. I was scheduled to take another flight in 4 months, but this one would be longer and with multiple legs. There was no way I would ever put myself through the discomfort I had felt and so I was determined to find a new way to lose weight, but it would have to be something I would stick with and could manage.

After a week of research and many questions being asked, Medifast was my final decision. This blog isn’t about why I chose Medifast, but more about how I am making the plan work for me. The idea of Medifast is to dramatically reduce the daily calorie intake to just above starvation level, but at the same time, enough to keep bodily functions stable. This is a very fine line for me because my BMR is 2450 cal per day and Medifast demands no more than 1200 cal per day and no less than 1000. Anything below or above and results suffer. If I were content to eat at my BMR rate, then I would need to be absolutely serious and dedicated to an exercise regimen; but if that were possible, I would probably not be overweight. The Medifast plan states that you should not do any exercise for the first 3 weeks and only light 30 min. sessions after that. Any substantial calorie burn can knock you out of the plan limits. If your body goes below the daily intake, then your body will start burning lean muscle instead of fat to survive.

Ok… let’s get to the meat of this blog post. I lost 60 lbs. in 3.5 months and then plateaued. Ok, it happens. I should mention that I also drink alcohol in the evenings, but it is straight Vodka and no mixers. This doesn’t affect me so much, but because of the way alcohol is metabolized, Alcohol calories will burn before fat calories and this can slow down the results. Well, I don’t mind the slower results as long as there is loss taking place. Back to the point. The plan says that you get 5 Medifast meals per day and one Lean/Green Meal of food you provide.  I didn’t like the idea of spending $330/mo. On Medifast meals in addition to grocery shopping for L/G foods on top of that. The Medifast meals are approximately $2.30 per meal. In addition, they are mostly dehydrated/powdered meals that are edible, but they don’t inspire extra portions (probably by design). After 3 months, I learned the little tricks to make them tolerable, but for the expense, they just didn’t cut it. I started researching alternative meal suggestions and found that a lot of people felt the same way and had already started substituting their own discoveries. What I learned during this period is that Medifast is about values per day, that is, a certain amount of Calories, Carbs, Fat and Protein. The individual Medifast meals have the same nutritional values (100-110 cal, 14-15g carb, 11-12g protein and 1-2g fat) and all the meals are interchangeable so what this tells me that if there are other combinations of foods that meet these values, they should substitute successfully. This is the premise that I used to Transistion off the Medifast meals and it seems to work. One thing to consider is that some of my substitutions have slightly more fat, but I make up for that on my L/G meal and sometime, I don’t have all 5 substitute meals so it’s a wash. Also, the Medifast meals combine to give you your recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals so I take a daily supplement to compensate. Of course, the price of my substitute meals is half the cost or even less per meal and in some cases, the carb count is lower, which is also a good thing. This is a win/win in my opinion.

Listed below are some of my substitute meals for the Medifast Plan. Bear in mind that some slightly exceed the calorie amount or carb amount of an individual Medifast meal, but when combined with others that have lower cal or carbs, it evens out at the end of the day. What I am trying to accomplish with the 5 Medifast sub meals is no more than 550 cal, no less than 40g protein, no more than 15g fat and no more than 75g carb per day. I play with the L/G dinner contents to balance it out so that my daily totals fit the Medifast guidelines. I will continue to add more recipes as I discover them.

Alternate meals for the Medifast diet plan

Rice Cake Tuna Sandwich – 120 cal   7g Carb   12g Protein

2 rice cakes (Quaker – Plain, Lightly Salted)

½ can Tuna (Chunk light in water)

1 Tbsp. Mayo (Amazing Mayo – Walden Farms)

Shake 110 cal   3g Carb   17g Protein

1 - 11oz. EAS AdvantEdge Carb Control shake

Shake   90 cal    4g carb    12g protein

2 scoops Biggest Loser Protein Powder

Beef Jerky   110 cal   5g Carb   19g Protein

1.4 oz. Beef Jerky – original flavor (Great Value – Walmart)

Peanut Butter and Bread   125 cal   18g carb   9g protein

2 Tbsp. P2B peanut butter powder

1 slice Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain bread

1 Tbsp. Walden Farms Strawberry Jelly

Yogurt 100 cal   5g carb   18g protein

6 oz. Open Nature Greek Yogurt (Safeway)

5-7 drops Stevia sweetener or 1 Tbsp. Walden Farms Maple Syrup.

Peanut Butter / Chocolate on a shingle   87 cal   10.5g carb   8g protein

1 Tbsp. P2B Peanut Butter powder

1 scoop Biggest Loser Protein Powder

1 plain rice cake (Quaker – lightly salted)

South Beach Snack Bar   100 cal   8g carb   6g protein

Cheese Sandwich   100 cal  14g carb  5g protein

2 plain rice cakes (Quaker – lightly salted)
1 wedge laughing cow light cheese spread

Cereal  102 cal   1g net carb   10g protein
1/2 cup Sensato High Fiber Hot Cereal - Flax, Strawberry
5 drops Stevia or 1 pk Splenda or 1 Tbsp Walden Farms Maple Syrup