The Medifast diet is simple: drink five meal replacement shakes daily and have one portion-controlled meal. The Medifast plan can be used to lose weight before bariatric surgery or as an alternative to bariatric surgery. Unlike DIY plans, this plan is designed to provide all the nutrition you need to stay healthy while you are losing weight. The plan also teaches you how to reintroduce food as you near your goal weight; the more weight you lose, the longer the transition period lasts.
Features
Medifast is a medically supervised low calorie diet. The Medifast 5 & 1 Plan, the most common plan, consists of five meal replacement products daily plus one "lean and green" meal that consists of protein and vegetables. As the patient nears his goal weight, he enters a transition period where the number of meal replacement products is reduced as the intake of regular food is increased.
Facts
Medifast 55, Medifast 70 and Medifast ready-to-drink shakes contain between 90 and 100 calories, from 0 to 1.5 grams of fat, no cholesterol, 190 to 250 mg of sodium, 370 to 450 mg of potassium, 12 to 14 grams of carbohydrate, 3 to 4 grams of fiber and 11 to 14 grams of protein. They all contain significant percentages of vitamins A through E, K and the minerals calcium, iron, chromium, magnesium, copper, iodine, chloride, manganese, phosphorus, molybdenum, selenium and zinc. The 5 & 1 Plan provides an average of 800 to 1000 calories daily.
Significance
People who follow the Medifast 5 & 1 Plan lose an average of 3 to 5 lbs. weekly depending on their starting weight. The Plan is recommended only for people who are at least 30 percent overweight. An alternate plan is available for people for whom a low calorie diet is not appropriate, seniors and people with other medical conditions such as diabetes.
Types
All of Medifast's meal replacement products are nutritionally balanced and provide similar nutrition. Meal replacement products include shakes, other drinks, pudding, bars, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, pretzels, cheese puffs and soups. Medifast provides a list of acceptable protein, vegetable and fat sources for the lean and green meal.
Benefits
People who wish to use the Medifast plan should visit their physician for a full checkup and laboratory testing to find out if this plan is right for them. Health insurance may cover the cost of the checkup, testing and Medifast products in some cases.
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