The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[SharonR]

I have been seing a lot of people on the board talking about taking in less carbs and trying to figure out how to lower their over all carb intake while being on Medifast.

I am reading the latest book out by Medifast called " The Secret is Out~ The Medifast Diet" In the beginning of the book they explore Myth's. And I qoute.

Myth 2 ~ Cutting Carbs is the key to wight lose.

Reality~ The bottom line is cutting calories.

Whenever counting fats, carbs, or points the bottom line to making all diets work is cutting calories. That is, taking in fewer calories than the body uses. End Qoute. They go on and on from there.

We all give our two cents on the board, sometimes on a daily basis but it might not be exactly what the doctors who designed Medifast had in mind. We need to give them a little credit for all the research that went into creating this program and not question the carbs as much as counting the calories.

I would Highly Recommend that you buy and read this book, it has a lot of insight.

[Unca_Tim]

It's been stressed over and over and over (did I say over?) and over again on this forum, that this is a "balanced" low calorie diet.

With the recent popular success of "another diet" people always try to equate the two and there's really no similarity between the two.

If you ate 1000 calories/day of lard a month, you'd probably have similar weight loss as being on Medifast. That doesn't mean you'd be very healthy.

calories in/calories out = weight loss

[DogMa]

Yes and no. I think those of us who've had success on Atkins or other low-carb programs would disagree. (I think even Medifast would disagree that it's as simple as calories in vs. calories out. If all calories were created equal, you could just eat 800-1,000 calories of whatever you wanted every day and lose weight just as quickly as you could on the program. Trust me, I was eating that little before Medifast, and it doesn't work.)

The fact is, as "balanced" as Medifast supposedly is, all Medifast products are not created equal and they don't have the same balance of nutrients. Some have 10 grams of carbs, some have 16 and the bars have even more. They're supposed to be interchangeable, but there's a huge nutritional difference between eating five chilis or oatmeals a day and having five shakes or broccoli soups a day.

[Sarya]

I also want to say that I am watching carbs because the medifast nutritionist suggested they be kept between 80-85 g a day if you experience trouble. More than that and you run the risk of falling out of the mild ketosis that is a key part of the Medifast plan.

So while I agree that I don't think the secret to weight loss is _just_ cutting carbs; I think you need to weigh your daily meal plan and make sure you haven't inadvertently pushed yourself out of the protein:carb:calorie:fat ratio MF reccommends. This is very easy to do if you eat oatmeal, pudding, a bar, and minestrone soup in the same day. The nutritionist even mentioned in one of her posts that you shouldn't have minestrone and a bar in the same day if you are having trouble losing weight because it can take your carb count too high.

For the past month my cravings and inability to stay on plan have been off the chart. My weight has fluctuated constantly, and I've been feeling more tired and stuff. For the past 4 days I have very carefully kept my carbs within the reccommended range. My energy has come back; I feel better; my skin is clearing back up; and I can actually fight a craving and it's not so difficult I want to cry.

[alpha femme]

the general idea is that the body will use carbs as fuel first. if the carb intake is relatively low, then the body will start to use fat stores. is this accurate? no one will ever know.

[VTGirlie]

Certainly higher protein intake decreases muscle loss when you are losing weight, and it is the quality of the food on this program that helps people look so phenominal when they are done!

I could easily eat 600-1000 calories a day on a "pop-tart" diet, but that doesn't mean I would look or feel good.

And, I agree that lower carbs certainly seem to help those cravings. I have truly noticed an "addictive" tendency in myself when I cheat and eat too many carbs. Cheating by eating extra veggies or protein doesn't really affect me very much, but adding in a piece of bread or a serving of starch, or even (GASP) something sugary will send me down the slippery slope to the bad place.

That said, this is definitely not Atkins or even South Beach, and trying to make those work with Medifast is confusing to say the least!

[Sarya]

I've noticed people talk a lot about net carbs now because of the other two diets. It can get very confusing. "Well this has 2 net carbs in it, why can't I have it?" I don't like that whole net carb thing. It seems to haven given some people license to ignore all of the other nutritional facts of a product by deciding that the only carbs that count are the ones you can't rationalize away.

[MARIE]

(not great for you) CARBS BEGET (more of those kind of) CARBS!

Meaning, for me, sugar and "white" carbs definitely make me want more. Carbs actually increase the seratonin levels in your brain and make you literally feel better, so our brain wants more and more often. (My husband is a marriage and family therapist...through his work, I have learned a ton about the brain and it's amazing chemicals!)

Anyway, last week we were at the movies and I was starving and my own poor planning-I forgot to bring a shake. So I did eat popcorn and while I felt bad, I figured it would just be part of the scheme of things and I still lost 3 lbs. that week. As all have said, the key to going off-plan is to just go right back on. (I am saying that to myself!)

[DogMa]

Carbs sure don't work that way for me. Over the years, I've learned one thing: When I eat carbs with abandon, I require prescription anti-depressants. When I control my carb intake (whether through Atkins or Medifast), I don't.

[Mike]

I've noticed people talk a lot about net carbs now because of the other two diets. It can get very confusing. "Well this has 2 net carbs in it, why can't I have it?" I don't like that whole net carb thing. It seems to haven given some people license to ignore all of the other nutritional facts of a product by deciding that the only carbs that count are the ones you can't rationalize away.

Usually when net carbs are listed its for the good of those watching their insulin levels. Just because it says net carbs doesn't mean that those carbs aren't digested and used as well. Sugar alcohols are taken out in thenet carb values, but they are still used by the body (just slowly). Dietary fiber is the only thing to truly discount because it is not digested.

[DogMa]

On my Atkins group, we subtracted fiber but counted the sugar alcohols as half.

Although I still say if you eat enough of 'em at one time, they're not around long enough to worry about.

[Arklahoma]

So True, DogMa!!!

[alpha femme]

mmm... pop tarts. frozen pop tarts....