The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[DogMa]

Maybe what people ate before is part of the difference. I mostly low-carbed for years before Medifast. So no HFCS, sugar on very rare occasions, mostly fresh, whole foods (my mainstays were eggs, steak, chicken, seafood, fresh veggies and butter - and later on, low-carb tortillas that had trans-fats, so I made sure they were limited). My aim here has been to lose the weight and MAINTAIN my health, since I was pretty darn healthy before I started.

My concerns are the ingredients in some of the foods (and Dr. Andersen apparently shares those concerns, since he talked quite a bit at the conference about the evils of HFCS and how it's making America fat; I really wanted to ask him about that but didn't get a chance, but I'm tempted to e-mail him and ask) and the loss of muscle I've experienced since starting because I just haven't had enough calories to maintain the workouts I was doing before. I'm struggling right now to build up my muscle again and find the right level of calories to sustain my workouts.

And I'll back Manly on this. I, too, eat a non-Medifast bar pretty much every day. No HFCS, fewer carbs, the same level of protein, and it's from a company I trust (as much as I trust ANY company, Medifast included; Medifast is far from infallible - look at the problems people have had with inconsistencies in some of the packets, or the recent issue with the maple brown sugar oatmeal).

BTW, certified kosher doesn't make a product any healthier. It just means it adheres to certain religious dietary restrictions. Plenty of unhealthy foods are certified kosher.

[DogMa]

BTW, I really don't mean to sound so negative or at all anti-Medifast. I'm really happy with how much weight I've lost. But I'm really NOT happy about how much flabbier I've gotten. Before this, I was fat but pretty firm and much stronger and more active.

[mousehouse62]

I know this is a little long but it is good reading concerning HFCS.
Thanks for all the posts concerning this subject. It is wonderous what a person can find out if they just look long enough and ask the right questions.

Is one type of sugar worse for you than another?
According to recent New York Times report on high fructose
corn syrup (HFCS), the answer may be "no."
But I don't think it's quite so simple.
Even if you've never heard of HFCS, you've almost certainly
eaten it. This highly processed, chemically altered
sweetener was created by a Japanese scientist in a lab in
1971 and has been used in almost all processed and
prepackaged foods ever since.
HFCS consumption has skyrocketed in the last 25 years, up a
whopping 1,000 percent since its creation. And no wonder!
You'll find it in everything from soft drinks and yogurt to
cookies and crackers. In fact, HFCS now represents more than
40 percent of the caloric sweeteners added to foods and
beverages.
Is it a coincidence that this country's obesity rates have
more than doubled during that time period? I don't think so!

HFCS is bad for your health -- and your weight -- in several
ways.

Let me explain.

First, you'll usually find large amounts of HFCS in energy
dense foods -- those that are high in calories but not much
else. That's just another name for foods that are processed,
junk, and high in refined carbohydrates and sugar.

And we know that when people eat energy dense food, they
tend to take in more calories than people who eat higher
amounts of what I call nutrient dense food.

That's because nutrient dense food gives you more bang for
your nutritional buck. For example, the classic energy dense
beverage, a soft drink, weighs far less than a pound of
asparagus but has a lot more calories.

So if you eat a plant-based, whole-food diet of fruits,
vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains, you can eat
a lot more and weigh a lot less! (Not to mention avoid
nearly all the age-related diseases like heart disease,
cancer, diabetes, and dementia.)

Of course, the obesity epidemic has many causes, including
reduced levels of physical activity, increased portion
sizes, eating outside the home and at fast-food restaurants,
and our overall "toxic food environment." But we do know
that the introduction of HFCS into the food supply is
associated with the beginning of the obesity epidemic.

Don't believe it?

Well, consider this: Even a slight difference of an extra
100 calories a day can add up to a 10-pound weight gain in
just one year. And the average American drinks 440 12-ounce
cans of HFCS-laced soda each year!

The second reason that HCFS is bad news for your waistline
and your health?

It makes you eat MORE!

Yes, you read that right. HFCS actually increases your
appetite. Here's how.

Regular table sugar is 50 percent glucose and 50 percent
fructose, while -- as its name implies -- HFCS is 55 percent
fructose and 45 percent glucose. Doesn't seem like a big
difference, but it can have HUGE effects on your appetite.

When you eat fructose, it doesn't set into motion the
chemical reactions and hormones that tell your brain you are
full. For instance, fructose doesn't stimulate insulin
secretion or the increase in leptin (the hormone that makes
you feel full). While glucose is transported into the
brain, affecting brain signals that control or limit
appetite, fructose is not.

Plus, fructose doesn't reduce ghrelin, a stomach hormone
that stimulates appetite. And fructose may also decrease
adiponectin levels, which is a hormone made by fat cells
that helps make you more sensitive to insulin and helps
control your weight and appetite.

What does all that mean? Simply put, when you eat more
fructose you don't feel full -- so you keep eating!

Finally, HFCS isn't just bad for your weight, it's bad for
your health in general.

Here's an undisputed medical fact: You can survive on an
intravenous drip of glucose. But replace the glucose with
fructose, and you'd get a fatty liver.

That's because fructose is the source the chemical building
blocks of cholesterol and triglyceride production. And
fructose just isn't digested, absorbed, or metabolized in
the same way as glucose. Instead, it goes right to your
cells without the help of insulin.

The result? Fructose moves right into fat production -- so
it spikes your triglycerides but lowers your HDL ("good")
cholesterol. It also increases your levels of small, dense
LDL (called LDL-B) cholesterol, which is much more dangerous
than regular LDL ("bad") cholesterol.

The science is clear: Fructose consumption is associated
with insulin resistance, increased calorie intake, impaired
metabolism, weight gain, high cholesterol, and high blood
pressure.

And there's one more problem: The corn used in HFCS is
typically genetically altered -- it has 13 carbon molecules,
not 12. And we have no good long-term data on the effects of
eating all that altered corn!

By now, you can probably guess my bottom line: Avoid high
fructose corn syrup!

Easier said than done? Not necessarily.

Take these steps to reduce your intake:

1. Minimize your intake of all sugars, whatever the source.

2. Remove sweetened drinks ("liquid candy"), including sodas
and sweetened fruit drinks.

3. Eat a whole-food, real-food diet with plenty of
vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts, and seeds and
healthy fats like olive oil and fish oil.

4. When you do use sugar, choose natural sweeteners such as
those found in fruit. (Yes, fruit contains fructose, but
it's also rich in antioxidants, fiber, and other healthy
compounds.) Or try agave nectar, a natural sugar that your
body may metabolize better.

5. If you see a food with "high fructose corn-syrup" on the
label, put it back on the shelf. You will be doing yourself
a favor.

If you weren't aware of HFCS and its potential risks before,
you certainly are now. I hope you'll use this new awareness
to improve your diet -- and your health.

What do you think?

Have you had problems with HFCS before? Has consuming HFCS
made you fat or destroyed your health?

Or, has stopping consumption of HFCS-containing foods and
beverages helped you improve your health or lose weight?

[DogMa]

I don't disagree with any of that, but is there a source for that? I'm guessing it's copyrighted, so it should at least be attributed ...

[mousehouse62]

Yes, there is a source.
There is a doctor named Dr. Mark Hyman
He wrote a couple of books, the last one called "Ultra-Metabolism.
I get a weekly email from him and that is where this came from.
Thanks......

[DogMa]

Thanks. (And sorry, force of habit. Attribution and copyright law are pretty big in my job. )

[mousehouse62]

NP.....thanks for tagging me.....
I was so engrossed in reading that part of my thinking.....
well, I probably had to pee again and so there went that thought! :00
Have a superb night!

[Nancy]

It is an excellent article - thank you for sharing it.

It is precisely why Terry and I eat natural foods whenever possible and avoid all processed junk. (except for when I decide to have something really nasty and skanky like the chocolate covered cinnamon gummy bears - which is rare!).

Dr. Andersen assures me that MF is endeavoring to eliminate it. Here's a direct quote from him: "We are planning on getting HFCS out of the bars. Fructose in limited amounts is OK! Dr.A."

I am thankful that we are becoming more aware of what we eat, how often we eat and what kinds of foods we eat. It is a process. I am growing in my understanding of why I eat, what to eat and have made great strides in adding exercise to my daily routine. My lifestyle has changed dramatically from my former ways - it is paying off in terms of my health and I love it!

[DogMa]

Thanks, Nancy. Please keep us posted. Regular fructose doesn't bother me, as long as it's in very limited amounts - it's just a sugar, but with the diabetes in my family, I stay away from all forms of sugar where I can. It's the HFCS that's the real problem for me.

I'd love to have the bars again, since the ones I'm using only have two flavors. But I just can't until they change the ingredients (and maybe in the process reduce the carbs in 'em, too; if I'm going to have the extra carbs, I'd MUCH rather have the soy crisps!!).

[ascicles]

I'd MUCH rather have the soy crisps!!).

I'm still waiting for a meal version of the soy crisps. We need to make this happen!

[alpha femme]

mmmm... if they made meal versions of soy crisps i'd never complain about being plateaued again.

ok, yes i would!

[caligirl]

Medifast is far from infallible - look at the problems people have had with inconsistencies in some of the packets, or the recent issue with the maple brown sugar oatmeal.

What happened with the oatmeal Also, I've just ordered the lemon bars. Can anyone give me a review of them for us non-choco-nola-holics out there?
Thanks!

[DogMa]

The lemon bars are my favorites of the bars, actually. Just a little tart, and a nice change from all the chocolate. I miss them.

They left out the flavoring on a batch of the maple brown sugar oatmeal. It was NASTY.

[caligirl]

FYI, I was able to order lemon bars on medifast.com yesterday...

[DogMa]

I have some in my cabinet. I just won't eat them.