The Medifast program is not simply a diet. In fact, the Diets In Review website describes the program as a "meal-delivery service that offers all the benefits of a personal chef, shopper and nutritionist." On the plan, you choose the meals and snacks that match your taste preferences. To ensure successful weight loss, Medifast does not allow dieters to add many extra calories to their meals. In fact, condiments are carefully measured and monitored on the Medifast diet.
Daily Diet
Your daily diet on the Medifast plan consists of five prepackaged Medifast meals and one "lean and green meal." There are a wide variety of prepackaged Medifast meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Meal choices include soups, oatmeal, eggs, shakes, pudding, desserts and beverages. The "lean and green meal" should consist of 5 oz. to 7 oz. of lean protein and three servings of vegetables. This meal can also include up to three servings from the approved list of condiments.
Condiments
Since certain condiments can add a significant amount of fat and calories to a meal, Medifast limits the amount of condiments dieters can use. As a general rule, Medifast claims that one serving of a condiment should not provide more than 1 g of carbohydrate. Dieters should limit their condiment intake to three or fewer servings per day.
Sauces
Serving sizes for most sauces range between one teaspoon and one tablespoon. One serving of barbecue sauce, catsup, cocktail sauce, or wasabi is one-half teaspoon. However, one serving of fish sauce, horseradish, yellow mustard or marinara sauce is one tablespoon. Depending on the brand and type of salad dressing, serving sizes range between one and two tablespoons. A serving of butter is just one teaspoon, a serving of cream cheese is one tablespoon, a serving of mayonnaise is just one-half tablespoon and a serving of sour cream is one teaspoon.
Herbs & Spices
One serving of salt is just one-quarter teaspoon and one serving of pepper is one-half teaspoon. One-half teaspoon of cardamom, cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger, nutmeg, ground oregano, paprika, pumpkin pie spice and turmeric also count as one condiment serving.
Optional Items
Along with the five Medifast meals, one Lean & Green meal and three condiment servings, dieters also have the opportunity to consume one optional item per day. These optional items include three celery stalks, one sugar-free frozen fruit pop, one-half cup of sugar-free gelatin, three pieces of sugar-free gum or mints, two dill pickle spears, one tablespoon of peanut butter, 10 whole almonds, seven walnut halves or 20 pistachio kernels. If you have reached your maximum serving of condiments for the day, consider using these optional items to flavor foods. For example, add chopped pickles to a salad, peanut butter to toast or almonds to oatmeal.
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