As indicated Ive got a lot of questions. While I was debating the whole surgery thing I found out about a program called medifast. I have been doing it since 4/11 I have lost 36 lbs and think I may be able to lose my excess weight if I were to continue. My concern is that eventually I will enter what they refer to as transition, when you are once again able to eat real food, and Im not sure that I will be able to do so in moderate quantities. Another concern is that I have read in some places that when people eat real food again they are very quick to regain the weight. In looking around this forum it seems that most people eat around 800 calories a day which is about what I am eating now on mf, which makes me think the weight loss will be the same. Do any of you have any experience with the medifast program?

With every weight loss plan I've done, I've done great until I was in a long stall or maintenance. It was really easy to slip back into old habits and the weight came back plus a few of it's friends. Now, my stomach is altered for life and even if I want to eat more, I can't.

For me, this was the only way to go. I just can't put my body through another yo-yo diet and I want to get healthy. The physical restriction is fantastic and exactly what I need at this stage in life.

I am sure whatever you decide is what will work best for you. Good luck!

I did Medifast for 3 months, lost 22lbs, and promptly gained it all back + 15 more within a year after quiting (I couldn't eat another one of those packet foods/soy Protein bars....yuck!!! It gets old fast).

I am just like lipsticklady...until the size of my tummy is smaller, all of my loses will be for not. I am doing this to maintain losses from years ago and stop gaining weight back, and to continue to lose down to my goal.

Here's my thoughts, though the decision is yours... yes you will lose weight on Medifast...but how will you maintain it? Have you never lost weight on another diet and failed to maintain the loss?

But on the other end of the spectrum...here is a gal who lost the weight with medifast and is maintaining, but she has severely changed her eating habits for life. http://gardengirlkp.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html

In my experience, and according to a lot of research, diets do not work for the majority of people.

In a study my surgeon told me about, 2% of morbidly obese people trying to loose weight are able to keep the weight off with diets and exercise. The other 98% gain it back. Many gain it back, plus more.

yeah, the stat I've ready most is less than 5% of people keep weight off with lifestyle cx's alone...

I agree with lipsticklady!! I think that's the story we all can relate to. Well most except 2%!!

As indicated Ive got a lot of questions. While I was debating the whole surgery thing I found out about a program called medifast. I have been doing it since 4/11 I have lost 36 lbs and think I may be able to lose my excess weight if I were to continue. My concern is that eventually I will enter what they refer to as transition' date=' when you are once again able to eat real food, and Im not sure that I will be able to do so in moderate quantities. Another concern is that I have read in some places that when people eat real food again they are very quick to regain the weight. In looking around this forum it seems that most people eat around 800 calories a day which is about what I am eating now on mf, which makes me think the weight loss will be the same. Do any of you have any experience with the medifast program?[/quote']

How many diet plans have you been on? I think that has to weigh in (ha ha!) to your decision. So many of us have been on dozens of diets only to fail and gain back what we lost plus some. Maybe you'll be one of the 5% that lose the weight and keep it off. You'll never know unless you try. I was on Medifast in the early 90's. I lost 40 pounds and got to my goal weight and kept it off for several years until injuries, illness and bad eating started packing on the pounds.

I agree w lipstick lady. Too many programs and lot the weight over and over. It has always come back.

I did Medifast and lost 100 pounds. After I went into transition, I gained it all back in less than a year. If you can make the mental changes needed to sustain long-term, Medifast is great. I found out that I needed help, and the sleeve is the method I'm using to control my eating long term.

What you guys are talking about is exactly what I am concerned about. I have successfully lost weight before, its just that eventually I fall off of the plan, whatever the plan is at the time, and I fall off hard. My weight has been an issue for me since I was young, realistically I have worked to lose it for the last 14 years, but have tried really hard on and off for about 5 years. I have noticed that I am able to lose weight (never all of it) and then I quit and gain it all and then some. Thats why Ive continued with the process for wls. I just thought maybe if I lost it all that wouldnt happen? Like I would be so happy with my new body I would forget how much I like food. Plus having lurked on this board and read some of the stories I am currently petrified of the surgery.The bad part is I dont think I have it in me to go through another gain and try again, its just too emotionally exhausting. I think I might be looking for people that have done mf and ended up taking this route anyway because I feel thats where Im headed.

I did a similar program with my primary care Dr. and I lost 60 pounds in a relatively short amount of time I would say seven months... And I kept it off for several months but the weight slowly creeped back on.., I am scheduled to be sleeved On June 11th... So I agree with the other people that you can lose weight on a particular program but it's the transition into normal life that is hard to keep the weight off... Having a smaller stomach will limit the amount you eat... which makes maintaining the weight easier... I also think that you know when it's your time to go through with WLS.. For me I was ecstatic when I lost the weight but miserable when the lbs came back on.. Also the hormone gherlin is reduced significantly with the surgery so hunger will also be less... Some Even say they are never hungry after having the sleeve... Which will be a blessing for me Good luck in your decision making process

If you can lose weight without wls, keep it going. Just get support for helping you maintain it...go see a dietician, a nutritionist, a trainer...doing it on your own is so much better, in my opinion.

Best of luck to you. Please read, research, and prepare before you have wls...and even then, you aren't really ready till you wake up from surgery...just my opinion. Do what is best for you...good luck!

I lost 100 pounds plus with mf and gained it back and them some

Every time I joined any kind of "program" (Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, etc.) I did have short-term successes. I lost weight, thought I had fixed myself, and was depressed and saddened to find that not only would I fail to keep the weight off, but it seemed like every blessed bloody pound came back carrying three or four of its closest friends and neighbors who all wanted to take up residence wherever there was room.

For me, the roller coaster of emotions and weight loss/weight gain got to be enough already. I know without a doubt--WITHOUT A SHRED OF DOUBT--that if I don't restructure my stomach with WLS, I will never get the upper hand on my weight. Not permanently. Not reliably.

Am I nervous about going under the staple gun? Of course. But I've done my research and my surgeon is well-respected and has lots of experience. Am I scared I'll somehow find a way to self-sabotage and fail again? You bet your sweet patootie I am. That's why I'm going through with the sleeve. It has to be out of my hands; I have to surrender control of my food intake until I can reset my headspace to see food as a fuel rather than an emotional outlet or boredom-bandage.

As it says above--when WLS is right for you, you will know it. Trust yourself to make the best possible choice. If now isn't the time for you to get sleeved, you can always try MediFast and see how it goes. For me, it would be an exercise in futility, but that doesn't mean it will be that way for you! And if MF lets you down, if the weight comes back (or comes back with friends and neighbors), the sleeve procedure will still be here. I know that once you give yourself time to think about all your options and all the pros and cons, you'll make the choice that will be right for you. Good luck!

Every time I joined any kind of "program" (Jenny Craig' date=' Weight Watchers, etc.) I did have short-term successes. I lost weight, thought I had fixed myself, and was depressed and saddened to find that not only would I fail to keep the weight off, but it seemed like every blessed bloody pound came back carrying three or four of its closest friends and neighbors who all wanted to take up residence wherever there was room.

For me, the roller coaster of emotions and weight loss/weight gain got to be enough already. I know without a doubt--WITHOUT A SHRED OF DOUBT--that if I don't restructure my stomach with WLS, I will never get the upper hand on my weight. Not permanently. Not reliably.

Am I nervous about going under the staple gun? Of course. But I've done my research and my surgeon is well-respected and has lots of experience. Am I scared I'll somehow find a way to self-sabotage and fail again? You bet your sweet patootie I am. That's why I'm going through with the sleeve. It has to be out of my hands; I have to surrender control of my food intake until I can reset my headspace to see food as a fuel rather than an emotional outlet or boredom-bandage.

As it says above--when WLS is right for you, you will know it. Trust yourself to make the best possible choice. If now isn't the time for you to get sleeved, you can always try MediFast and see how it goes. For me, it would be an exercise in futility, but that doesn't mean it will be that way for you! And if MF lets you down, if the weight comes back (or comes back with friends and neighbors), the sleeve procedure will still be here. I know that once you give yourself time to think about all your options and all the pros and cons, you'll make the choice that will be right for you. Good luck![/quote']

I love everything you said i felt like i wrote this three weeks post op and no regrets!! Down 30 pounds

Oh yeah I tried medifast and at about day 5 I started cramping all over. Leg cramps and my stomach muscles were constantly cramping. Thought I needed more salt but that didn't help so I added a banana to my diet every day and still had constant muscle cramps. So I went off medifast. I couldn't live with muscle cramps plus most of the food they sent me tasted horrible! I wasn't on it long enough to loose much weighty but I lost plenty of money on it.