At its core, Medifast is really a low-carb diet. I find that a lot of people are a bit surprised by this, myself included. I used to think this was your basic low-calorie, restrictive diet, but there’s a little more to it than that. All foods are very high in protein and fiber while being relatively low in carbohydrates and sugars. This is the formula that puts your body into fat burning mode and it is a very important part of the equation. Someone asked me the other day exactly how much of each part of the equation you take each day you take Medifast. I will answer this in the following article.
Example of a Medifast menu with daily protein content: Probably the easiest way to get the point across is to go through a typical day on medifast and then figure out the daily content from there.
Below is a sample menu showing protein, fiber, sugar and calorie content (in grams). Remember that each day you will be eating five of the diet’s smaller prepackaged meals and preparing one “lean and green” meal. You have quite a bit of freedom and can make your own decisions. But the company gives you some guidelines. They want you to eat lean meat or vegetable alternatives, and they want you to eat three servings of glycemic-friendly vegetables.
Food ——– Protein —– Fiber ——- ————– ———Sugar—-Calories—-
Oatmeal———————11———————–5— ———————————1—————- ——–110
Chocolate Shake————-11———————–3——— – ——————–9—————————- —- 90
Chili——————-11————————— — 5———————1———- ———– ———–110
Crunch Bars—-12———-4—————— —-2——————- —–110
Lean and Green Meal ——-This will vary depending on the meal you choose. ———————-
Cinnamon Chips—————————4————————————–1——— – —————————————-3———————- – -70
As you can see, on this typical day we consumed 49 grams of protein, 18 fiber, 15 sugars and 490 calories. But we haven’t reckoned on our sleek and green yet. There are many options here and as long as you eat a small serving of meat or meat substitute and 3 servings of veggies, you’re fine. Some people do this with stir-fries. Some make a casserole or stew. And some will cook up a more traditional meal with side dishes. No matter how you cut it, they want you to eat 5-7 ounces of meat or its substitute. In general, every ounce contains 7 grams of protein. So if you had a 6 ounce serving you would be consuming 42 grams. Add that to the smaller diet meals you’ve already eaten and you have a grand total of 91.
This is pretty close to diets like South Beach and Atkins, where many people aim for around 100. As you can see, you’re getting a very generous amount of protein that should easily get you into fat burning mode (ketosis). unless you cheat a lot on your lean and green meal and are loading up on carbs at that point.
Thanks to Lindsey Price