The Medifast diet is not bad for most people, but you should obtain approval from your doctor first. On Medifast, you eat five meal replacements per day, plus one self-selected meal consisting of 1 to 2 cups of non-starchy vegetables and 5 to 7 oz of lean protein. As listed on the Langone Medical Center website, side effects of the Medifast diet include dizziness, constipation and fatigue.
Calories
The Medifast diet only provides 800 to 1,000 calories per day. However, Medline Plus recommends women eat a minimum of 1,200 calories and men eat a minimum of 1,500 calories per day. Therefore, the Medifast diet can be bad for you if you do not plan your meals carefully, according to Langone Medical Center. Despite the low calories, each Medifast meal replacement is fortified with vitamins and minerals to help you get the nutrients you need.
Better For Weight Loss
The Medifast diet is good for weight loss; in fact it works better for weight loss than a food based diet, according to a study from the Medifast Research and Development department and published in the March 2010 issue of "Nutrition Journal." In the study, 90 men and women with a BMI between 30 and 50 followed either the Medifast diet or a self-selected, reduced calorie, food based diet for 16 weeks. After 16 weeks, the Medifast group lost 12.3 percent of their bodyweight and the food based diet group lost 6.9 percent. During a 24-week weight maintenance phase, the Medifast diet group regained more weight, but still lost more weight overall.
Health Problems
If you are overweight and have a health problem, the Medifast diet is not bad for you if have a doctor's approval. Medifast features weight loss programs for overweight adults who have diabetes, arthritis, heart problems and for women going through menopause. It offers a medical and non-medical plan. With the medical plan, you lose weight under your doctor's supervision and she chooses which plan is right for you. With the non-medical plan, you consult with a Medifast support counselor either online or in-person to make decisions about your diet.
Diabetes
A meal replacement program like the Medifast diet plan is good for people with diabetes under a doctor's supervision, according to a study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and published in the January-February 2008 issue of the journal "The Diabetes Educator." In the study, 119 overweight, diabetic subjects followed the Medifast diet or a diet based on recommendations from the American Diabetes Association. After 34 weeks of the weight loss program and 52 weeks of weight maintenance program, the meal replacement group lost significantly more than those following the ADA diet, even after one year of weight maintenance.
References
- Langone Medical Center; Medifast Diet; Maria Adams; April 2011
- Medline Plus; Tips For Losing Weight; October 2009
- "Nutrition Journal"; Efficacy of a Meal Replacement Diet Plan Compared to a Food-based Diet Plan after a Period of Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance: A Randomized Controlled Trial; L.M. Davis, et al.; March 2011
- Medifast Health; Medifast Health Questions; May 2010
- Efficacy of Meal Replacements. Versus a Standard Food-Based Diet for Weight Loss "The Diabetes Educator"; Efficacy of Meal Replacements Versus A Standard Food-Based Diet For Weight Loss In Type 2 Diabetes: A Controlled Clinical Trial; L.J. Cheskin, et al.; Jan-Feb 2008
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