The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[elines]

Ok this is probably going to be a politically incorrect question here, but I have to ask it. First let me say I love Medifast, I did it 18 years ago and went from 187 lbs to 120 lbs, now 18 years and 2 children later I've been struggling with losing even 5 lbs. I came back to medifast and in just over a month I've lost 15 1/2 lbs. I'm truly loving it. Anyway along the path to gaining some of my weight back I came upon Herbalife. It did not work for me, but I notice that their Protein Bar's appear very similar to the Medifast bars (don't have time right now to type all of the ingredients) but dollar for dollar you get 14 bars for $16 versus the 7 Medifast bars for $15. Does anyone know why? I'm very afraid to replace my one bar a day with the Herbalife ones for fear of messing myself up, but it sure is tempting from a cost perspective. Plus they taste great.

[ascicles]

Personally, I've been using South Beach brand bars for months and it hasn't been a problem. They are similar in every area except for potassium, so I take a potassium supplement.

I can buy 30 South Beach bars for the cost of seven Medifast ones.

[alpha femme]

i used the sb bars, too-- or the quaker q-smart bars when i can find them. as long as i stick the the usual 1-a-day rule, it's been fine.
in fact, the sb bars are a lot lower in carbs but have the same amount of protein as the mf ones.

[Prancer]

ooohh sneaky little secrets.

[DogMa]

I used the Q-Smarts, too. They don't have the high fructose corn syrup that Medifast bars have (yes, the company said they're getting rid of it, but they haven't done it so far despite all Dr. Andersen's talk about the evils of HFCS) and they're far lower in carbs. They do have sugar alcohols, though. And they can be hard to find (but I got 'em for really cheap on clearance at a few stores around here, so I stocked up).

[Mike]

Not to be a spoiler here, but since this is a site hosted by TSFL people, perhaps PM's would be best on questions like this one. Just trying to avoid the whole issue of how not to spend money on what got us all here in the first place.

[elines]

All -

Thank you so much for all of your responses. I think I have my answer.

[DogMa]

No one's saying don't use Medifast. But I, for one, have made no secret of my problems with Medifast bars from the beginning. For me, the choice was find another product or just avoid the bars completely. I think that's the case for several people.

I feel it's dishonest to NOT occasionally talk about this stuff. I lost about 70 pounds and reached goal. Did Medifast help me do that? Yes, of course. But it would be dishonest and misleading to pretend that I only used Medifast products to do it. I truly believe that if I had continued eating the Medifast bars daily, I would NOT have reached goal. They interfered with my weight loss, and I'm guessing I'm not the only one.

When people have problems losing on the program, one of the first things they're told is to omit the bars. Or to reduce their carb levels (and since the bars are so much higher in carbs than the other products, that would seem to be the best way to do it). And Dr. Andersen spoke at length back in June about the evils of high fructose corn syrup and how he blames it for the obesity problem in America. So I think it's fair on a Medifast support site to discuss the bars and their ingredients, and even discuss alternatives we've used.

Edited to add: I stand corrected. I'm told the bars no longer contain HFCS. I can't say for sure since I haven't ordered any for months and don't intend to order them in maintenance, though (although the Web site still lists it as an ingredient, so I don't know). I prefer to eat even other brands of bars only rarely now.

[Mike]

This is my stance on the issue. Since this is a Medifast Support forum, and we are here to support people who are using Medifast products, and the people who bring us this forum to do so, using money from their own pocket, I feel it isn't right to tout non-Medifast products.
My analogy is this, when you go to speak with your Ford dealer about purchasing a car, he is not going to tell you that you really should go see the guy at Nissan because their car is cheaper.
He's going to explain to you how his Ford is actually a vehicle that is put together better, and will serve your needs better in the long run.
Medifast products are designed to work together. They are specially formulated. Granted, some use other products, and perhaps for THEM, it worked.
All I am saying is that this is not the place, in an open forum, to talk about how you should not use or buy Medifast products.

[DogMa]

To use your analogy, if I were at a Ford dealership, and a customer saw that I had a certain model and asked my opinion of it, I would tell that customer the truth. If I had problems with the car, or it was poorly rated or whatever, I would say so.

No one said not to use Medifast products. In fact, everyone who posted USES Medifast. But that doesn't mean we all think that everything Medifast does or produces is perfect and beyond reproach. If the company uses an ingredient that even its medical director opposes, I see nothing wrong in saying so.

Again to use your analogy, that Ford dealer is a salesman. Of course he's going to say his cars are better, safer, etc. Chances are, he's going to tell you things that might be, let's say, less than truthful in order to sell you a Ford and keep you from going to the Nissan dealership. So is that what people on this forum should do, too? I come here to share information and support with people who USE Medifast. I'm not interested in reading a bunch of posts from salespeople who will tell you whatever they think you want to hear so that you'll buy their product. I don't ask a car salesman for advice on what car to buy, or for emotional support in my car-buying efforts. And I don't post here to get the company line or to be sold a product.

[alpha femme]

i think in order for this forum to work-- and for the people who do make their living off of it to continue to do so-- then honesty is key.
otherwise, it becomes another shady weightloss gimmick.
clearly, with so much success on here, that is not the case!

we shamelessly promote davinci, torani, the magic bullet, etc.

everyone has different needs and tolerance levels for carbs. some (like me) could not stay in ketosis with the mf bars. it was nice to know i had another option. i love the damn lemon bars, and there is no comperable "after market" (to continue the car analog) so i wish they made one with fewer carbs....

i don't think that one or two people not buying the bars will have a dramatic impact on the site or the livelihood of those using tsfl as a career option. i DO think that our open and honest policy, our willingness to discuss not only what we like but also what we do not, will make more people feel like they can trust the information they get from this site.

[Unca_Tim]

I understand and appreciate both sides of this debate.

We were hesitant to even start this forum, until we realized that Medifast products and the TSFL philosophy would stand the test of time.

"Personally", I would have to say that the jury is still out, whether a single bar/day could affect your weight loss. It may or may not be a fact that with certain people, this may be the case.

Anyone that thinks this, is welcome to post their thoughts here, and discuss how a different approach has appeared to provide a solution.

In fact, if we don't allow this, we would be screening any negative effects that an alternate approach might have.

The only downside of this for us (in a business sense) is the next post may be "Cheap alternative to Medifast Shake" or "New Quickie Soups half the price of Medifast". So you can see we may be getting close to the edge of "the ol' slippery slope".

From my experience on many other forums, I vowed to never delete/edit a post here on MMT (other than inappropriate language or personal attacks). The longer a thread runs, the more the truth comes out and I have all the confidence that this program is by far the best.

So, just be aware of both sides of this issue, and post what you must.

[Serendipity]

I for one have had a Medifast bar every day and I think my results speak for themselves. Everyone is different, I know this, but I also see many people stop the bars during a plateau and then begin to lose again.....they jump to the conclusion that it was the bars that were holding things up.....well......not necessarily and in my not so very humble opinion, probably not at all. I never skipped a bar to get a plateau to end and ALL of my plateaus have ended.....hmmmm food for thought.

As for the free speech issue.....I've been a member of at least 2 other forums that didn't allow free speech. Not good. For one thing, a moderator reads all the posts, so there is a delay in posting. The dialogue is severly limited because of the delay. For another thing, you feel like you need to edit everything you say, and always have in the back of your mind....."will this be censored?", so you don't often say things that really need to be said. Here, I feel like we can communicate so much better by having a free forum.

Another thanks to Nancy, Terry, and Unca for that.

[Elizabeth]

Unca, you da man! Thanks!

[DogMa]

One small postscript. According to Take Shape for Life, the Medifast bars DO still contain high fructose corn syrup. The company says it's working on removing it, and will do so sometime next year.

But for now, anyone who wishes to avoid HFCS should be aware that the bars contain "small amounts," according to the company.