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?

My mom and I did Medifast. The food was, frankly, gross. But then there is only so much you can do with soy. We stopped after about a month. The only diet plan I was ever able to stick to was the new Weight Watchers. The problem was - I didn't lose any weight! They let you eat too much! I think it works well for people who are already in maintenance, or who want to only lose 5-20 lbs.

With every other diet I tried over the years the result was the same as everyone else's. I hit a plateau, got frustrated, ended up gaining back what I lost and then some. It's a vicious cycle. But I'm not giving up. I want to have a better quality of life and be healthy. The way I see WLS is that it was the next thing for me to try since the non-surgical solutions weren't a solution for me. I'm trying not to worry about "Will this work? What if it doesn't?!" because the defeatest attitude is woefully sabotaging.

Put one foot in front of the other and say to yourself I am worth all of this effort!! Whichever diet or lifestyle change works for you, stick with it until you get to your goal.

I have a friend who lost a lot of weight on Medifast. She is maintaining through a Paleo style diet. She has a gluten allergy so that eating plan works for her and she loves her results. She wears a size 4 or 6 depending on the brand. For me, I have been overweight since childhood and needed a drastic intervention. However if you can lose weight and change your lifestyle to maintain that loss w/o surgery, you should. This is a permanent and drastic surgery. It was right for me but is not right for everyone. Good luck in whatever you decide.