Because many people lose weight very quickly on Medifast, there’s one question that seems to pop up quite a bit — How safe is Medifast? Let me just say upfront that Medifast is quite safe, as long as you are following the rules and don’t have any health issues that would be contraindicated for Medifast use. I’ll cover some of those issues in this article.
If you are generally in good health and not pregnant, then dieting with Medifast should be just fine. Medifast has been around for over 20 years and it is designed by doctors and nutritionists. It’s also been a part of a number of clinical studies, particularly at John Hopkins. In fact, for years, the only place you could actually get Medifast was at your doctor’s office. Now you can order it yourself, but it is always a good idea to discuss any diet plans with your doctor before you proceed.
Don’t Skip Meals
Medifast is carefully designed to be followed as outlined in their planning material. This calls for five Medifast meals each day and 1 Lean & green meal, which is a meal that you put together yourself from fresh vegetables and a good protein source such as poultry, fish or beef. There are meatless options to choose from as well.
since Medifast is very low calorie (about 1000 per day), it is important that you do not skip any meals. It’s quite okay to combine two Medifast meals together if you had to skip a meal, but you want to make sure you get all of those meals eaten so that you get enough calories and the right quantities of nutrients.
It is also important to eat your lean & green meal, as that’s the one meal per day in which you are getting fresh food, and lots of fiber to keep you regular. The protein at that meal is very important too. When dieting, it is always important to consume enough protein, otherwise your body may resort to using muscle tissue rather than fat for its energy source. So don’t skip meals!
When not to Use Medifast
Now for the bad news. If you have Type 1 diabetes or are currently pregnant, you should not use the Medifast plan. There are also some contraindications for some other health issues as well — such as liver or kidney disease; clotting disorders; a recent stroke or heart attack; cancer; steroid use; and, lithium use.
So if you have any issues like these, you should definitely talk to your doctor before embarking on any weight loss plan. And if you were thinking about Medifast in particular, it’s important for your doctor to get to know the program so he or she can decide whether it is appropriate for you.
Other than some serious health conditions though, most dieters do quite well on Medifast and have a lot of weight loss success pretty quickly, while also avoiding being hungry all the time. And if you have any health concerns, Medifast has tons of information available to help both you and your doctor figure things out. They even have lists of common allergens that show which of their foods contain them, so if there’s a problem food that you need to watch out for, Medifast can help you avoid taking any chances.