I often hear from people who are considering going on the Medifast diet but who have a lot of “what if” scenarios going on their head. They often have a lot of questions like: “what if I get hungry?” Or “what if I cheat?” Or “what if I want something sweet?” This article will focus on what happens if you are craving sweets while on Medifast.
First of all, you should know that there are a lot of sweet and dessert type options right on the menu that you are allowed and encouraged to eat. And you are allowed five such options a day with no cheating whatsoever involved. For example, the shakes are sold in sweet and rich flavors like dutch chocolate, banana and french vanilla. The oatmeal comes in flavors like maple brown sugar and blueberry. There is banana and vanilla pudding flavors. There are chocolate chip pancakes and brownies. Plus, there is soft serve ice cream in a variety of dessert like favors such as peanut putter and coffee. Finally, almost all of the protein bars are sweet and come in flavors like chocolate mint, caramel, and lemon meringue.
I know that many people crave dessert type foods when they are on a diet, but frankly, you should be able to satisfy your sweet tooth without cheating at all because so many (if not all) of the prepackaged diet foods have sweet flavorings. While you probably will opt for a more substantial meal for lunch (like the chili or soup), having one of the sweeter options for breakfast and snacks is fair game.
Also, you are allowed a couple of snacks per day outside of the five prepackaged meals. (So theoretically, if you are including the two snacks, you are eating a total of seven times.) Two of the allowed foods that you can snack on are sugar free popsicles and sugar free jello, both of which come in a variety of sweet, fruity, and chocolate flavors.
Finally, there are some recipes that allow you to make cookies, muffins, and cakes using the prepackaged meals as ingredients so you should be able to satisfy your sweet tooth off of the regular menu without needing to cheat all that much. Speaking of going off the menu, if you chose to do that, don’t beat yourself up. Just start doing better as soon as possible. For example, if you just need a slice of full fat or full sugar cake or something similar, just vow to get back on your diet tomorrow. To me, it’s not a big deal to eat sweets on this diet every once in a while. The company realizes that people want this or they wouldn’t be ordering all of the those chocolate, peanut butter, mint, and fruit flavored items. Most people cheat every now and again and they go right on to have great results. The real danger is not in the sweets but in not getting back on the diet when you stray off for just a day or two.