The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Kathy]

I started medifast 2 weeks ago tomorrow. The first week went great. I lost 15 pounds! I have followed the program faithfully, have not cheated even once but now things are not going so well. I have not lost one single pound since a week ago Sunday. What am I doing wrong? I have tried to stay positive and thought maybe it will just take a few more days to get the weight loss going, but truthfully I am getting depressed now. Maybe this is not going to work for me, is that possible? Any advice that anyone can give will be appreciated. I am going to need some help to keep motivated through whatever is happening to me. I have read lots of posts and it seems everyone is loosing lots of weight during their first weeks.

[Nancy]

Kathy ~

You did have a super initial weight loss and some people have a temporary slow down about the third or fourth week.

Did you start exercising too soon?

Did you make any changes in your meal plan?

Hormonal influences can affect weight loss, lack of sleep and not enough water can do it, too.

Give us an outline of your daily schedule.

[cydj21]

Kathy, don't give up faith! The rate at which we lose varies for everyone...for instance I lost 7 lbs the first week (less than half of what you lost the first week) followed by 7.5 lbs during week 2. It took me over two weeks to lose the 15 lbs you lost in one week! Following my first 14.5 lb loss, I slowed down to a 2lb loss, followed by a 6 lb loss, then a 1 lb loss, then 3 lbs, then 3.5 lbs....get the picture? I know it isn't easy to hear that we all lose weight in different ways at different rates, and those rates are always subject to change...but it's the truth! I have lost 30 lbs in 7 weeks and you have already lost half of that. You are doing wonderful!

If you are following the plan faithfully and drinking lots and lots and lots of water, you can't not lose....or win, whichever way you prefer to look at it! Keep following the plan and don't give up. Try to weigh yourself less often. Drink more water. Stay positive. You can do this...you have already been a success! We're all here rooting for you...keep the Medifaith and Medifast will not let you down.

[DogMa]

It took me over a month to lose 15 pounds!!! If you haven't changed anything (exercise, etc., as in Nancy's post), your body could just be needing a little breather. Losing 15 pounds in a week is a huge adjustment.

[Kathy]

I did a little exercising one night but then I read that I should wait for 2-4 weeks so I have not done it again. I have not changed my meal plans. I do 5 meal replacements and eat the lean and green for dinner, but always eat it for the last meal about 5-6 pm. I was sick for 3 days last week and had a hard time drinking my shakes or eating bars. I tried but could not do it, but did not eat things I shouldn't. I maybe drank 2 -3 shakes a day for those days, but that only lasted until Friday and then I followed my meal plan again. The only thing I am wondering about is that my L & G had been difficult since I am vegetarian and do not eat meats, cottage cheese or eggs. I did go shopping on Sunday and bought some meat substitutes to eat with my salad and am trying to go by the calorie and carb contents to use them. I total up my calories and carbs for the day and they are running at 80 - 83 carbs per day and 600-650 calories per day. I drink my first shake about 6:30 am, then eat a bar at 9-9:30, shake at 12:00, shake at 2:00, shake at 4:00 and then my L&G at about 6:00. These times are approximate because my work schedule may have lots of meetings and I eat and drink between them, but it is pretty close. I realize that I am often doing my meals less than 3 hours apart, but don't know how else to get them all in during the day. I try not to eat/drink anything after 6:00 because that is what I want my new eating habits to be when I am transitioning back to eating when I reach my goal. Which BTW is to loose 80 lbs, so it's not that I am one of the lucky ones with not much to loose.

[Nancy]

Kathy ~

It's fine to have your meals closer together - some people try to have theirs about 2 or 2.5 hours apart and like you, try to avoid eating very late in the evening.

You may not be getting enough calories in for your lean and green meal. It would be a good idea to talk to your Health Advisor for some ideas or call the Medifast Nutritionist to get some one-on-one help with meal planning. If you do a search here on our MakeMeThinner Forum, I've listed some meat options but if cheese and eggs are not options for you, you could consider using tofu.

[DogMa]

OK, someone else will come along with more, but a couple of things.

First, 600 calories seems too low. I think we're mostly between 800 and 1,000.

Second, I understand not wanting to eat late, but this isn't like other plans, and you really can't do that. With so few calories, you just can't afford to go 12 hours without eating. You're just begging to go into "starvation mode."

Third, I think when you're sick like that, all bets are off. If you're eating only 600 calories a day and then you had some days when you had even LESS, you're again running the danger of your body thinking it's starving.

Finally, you talk about calories and carbs in the meat substitute, but not protein. You don't want to get too little protein or you'll lose more muscle mass.

[Nancy]

Sorry, my phone rang and I had to go before I finished my post up there...

here are some other protein subs

1 oz. Of Nuts

1 tbsp of Peanut Butter

¼ Block Firm Tofu

1 2”x1” piece of Soft Tofu

Do you use Bocca Burgers? or Morning Star meat substitutes?

We used to get Garden Burgers here in the northwest but the company went out of business. Drat! They were excellent!

Robin's correct, a 12 hour fast will leave you feeling pretty puny. With Medifast, we need all 6 of our meals. Our body will use every bit of the nutrition to maintain its muscle mass, to repair itself and provide us with good energy levels.

I have a Medifast meal just before I go to bed or else I awaken with low blood sugar, can't back to sleep, and feel lousy.


I know what you are getting at regarding night time eating. I was the worst offender of them all. I wanted to not eat after supper either but I find that if I limit myself to eating only low fat, low cal foods such as vegetables or a Medifast packet, then I able to adhere to my new healthy habits for weight management. The Medifast meals are low in calories and fat.

Most people eat an evening Medimeal.

[Serendipity]

All of the advice you're getting here is great, but I just want to add that I had a 14 day plateau after my initial week. I lost 14 pounds the first week and then nothing for 14 days. Since then I've had 2 other plateaus that I would consider long - 13 and 12 days! Now, look down at my ticker.....see? This plan works! It works! It works! It works! Just stick to the program, no cheats, and you will soon be off of this daggone plateau and on your way down again.

Good luck.

[Kathy]

Thanks to everyone for the responses and support. My mind tells me this will end soon and I will start loosing weight again, I am just reacting emotionally. I did not think about not eating enough calories as being part of the problem. I will try to watch the calories, carbs, protein and water intake more carefully and see if that helps. Most of all I will be patient and know that this will end and I will loose the weight. Hopefully soon I will be able to post a change.