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Medifast diet
"Ignoramus8847" wrote in message ... On 9/16/2003 10:24 PM, Jennifer Austin wrote: The diet only works if you are willing to change the habits and lifestyle that made or kept you obese. I only know a few people who were long term successful with HMR. The people I know who gained all of their weight back had 2 things in common - they didn't attend maintenance classes long enough or at all, and didn't keep up the 2000 cal/wk. of exercise. Why did they stop? Didn't they value what they accomplished? To me, regaining my weight is my biggest nightmare. i I try not to get into too many reasons why people stop because it usually turns into someone feeding me a bunch of excuses that I really don't sympathize with. Some have been quite honest about the fact that they thought losing the weight was going to be all they had to do in spite of the classes and the constant education about the need for permanent lifestyle change. Jennifer |
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Medifast diet
"Ignoramus2551" wrote in message ... In article , Jennifer Austin wrote: I try not to get into too many reasons why people stop because it usually turns into someone feeding me a bunch of excuses that I really don't sympathize with. Some have been quite honest about the fact that they thought losing the weight was going to be all they had to do in spite of the classes and the constant education about the need for permanent lifestyle change. I see. I wonder what kind of excuses. Couldn't they think through their situation rationally? None of these excuses would stand the light of day and they committed an obvious mistake. Why would that be? Were they stupid? Were they not trying to do some introspection? I am not trying to be smug here, I am very afraid that one day somehow I will again lapse into self denial and regain my fat, with disastrous consequences for my entire life. i 223/178/180 Denial pretty much explains it all as far as I'm concerned. No need to really change your lifestyle because dropping the weight will fix everything. Not everyone is introspective when it comes to dieting, hence the high failure rate of most plans. Plenty of people try HMR thinking it's an easy way to lose a lot of weight and once it's done there's no need to keep up any actual effort or work. Cut back on exercise, go back to old eating habits, don't go to maintenance class, the weight creeps back - blow off the first 5 pounds, when it gets to 50 blame the diet. |
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Medifast diet
On Fri, 19 Sep 2003 22:43:18 -0500, "Jennifer Austin"
wrote: "Ignoramus2551" wrote in message ... In article , Jennifer Austin wrote: I try not to get into too many reasons why people stop because it usually turns into someone feeding me a bunch of excuses that I really don't sympathize with. Some have been quite honest about the fact that they thought losing the weight was going to be all they had to do in spite of the classes and the constant education about the need for permanent lifestyle change. I see. I wonder what kind of excuses. Couldn't they think through their situation rationally? None of these excuses would stand the light of day and they committed an obvious mistake. Why would that be? Were they stupid? Were they not trying to do some introspection? I am not trying to be smug here, I am very afraid that one day somehow I will again lapse into self denial and regain my fat, with disastrous consequences for my entire life. i 223/178/180 Denial pretty much explains it all as far as I'm concerned. No need to really change your lifestyle because dropping the weight will fix everything. Not everyone is introspective when it comes to dieting, hence the high failure rate of most plans. Plenty of people try HMR thinking it's an easy way to lose a lot of weight and once it's done there's no need to keep up any actual effort or work. Cut back on exercise, go back to old eating habits, don't go to maintenance class, the weight creeps back - blow off the first 5 pounds, when it gets to 50 blame the diet. I don't think it's nearly as straightforward as this. Lifestyle means a lot more than just diet and exercise or indeed anything related to healthy living. I can think of more than one person I've known IRL who lost all their excess weight and promptly regained it because they were'nt prepared for the fact that being slim isn't enough to solve problems they have in other areas of their life. IMO it's essential to realise there could well be other things besides what you eat to deal with when you reach goal - anti climax being one of them. I try and think about this now and prepare for it mentally. janice 233/161/133 |
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Medifast diet
On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 02:30:02 GMT, "DB" wrote:
Does anyone know anything about Medifast diet (Medifastdiet.com)? Medifast is one of the three most successful commercial diets available, behind Health Management Resources and Optifast. I used HMR, which unlike Medifast, does not rely on ketosis. I had great success. While I didn't do Medifast, I'll be happy to answer any specific questions you may have about such programs, in general. -- ¤bicker¤ "It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan People are, of course, welcome to place whatever irrelevant limitations on their ability to enjoy something that they wish. |
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Medifast diet
On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 08:48:42 -0400, jmk
wrote: When I was driving home yesterday I heard and interesting program on Talk of the Nation (http://www.npr.org/programs/totn/index.html) about weight loss drugs. The guests seemed to agree with Jennifer's statement about Medifast -- they work when combined with counselling/maintenance classes and they don't work so well long-term if people don't make changes in their lives. Indeed. That's true of any approach, really. If you just "go on the diet" for a while, and then go back to how you were eating before, it shouldn't be surprising that you'll regain the weight. Programs like Medifast, Optifast and Health Management Resources (HMR) typically require participation in on-going support counseling aimed in that direction (though, of course, they can't force participants to learn what is taught -- it is a two-way street, as always wish such things). -- ¤bicker¤ "It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan People are, of course, welcome to place whatever irrelevant limitations on their ability to enjoy something that they wish. |
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Medifast diet
On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 21:24:20 -0500, "Jennifer Austin"
wrote: I'm on HMR (Health Management Resources). I believe they are similar but I do not know what Medifast's plan entails so I cannot say beyond the fact that they both use meal replacements. The most significant difference between the two, from what I understand, is that Medifast relies, at least in part, on ketosis. I only know a few people who were long term successful with HMR. raises hand grin The reality is that HMR has the best success-rates of any commercial weight-loss program, according to Consumer Reports. (Unfortunately, they haven't done a study recently, so the data's getting a bit old -- however, it seems to me from what I've seen of the program over the past few years that their success rates could only be increasing. However, as you pointed out, the principal responsibility is still on the patient, not the program.) -- ¤bicker¤ "It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan People are, of course, welcome to place whatever irrelevant limitations on their ability to enjoy something that they wish. |
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Medifast diet
On Fri, 19 Sep 2003 20:00:44 -0500, "Jennifer Austin"
wrote: "Ignoramus8847" wrote in message ... Why did they stop? Didn't they value what they accomplished? To me, regaining my weight is my biggest nightmare. I try not to get into too many reasons why people stop because it usually turns into someone feeding me a bunch of excuses that I really don't sympathize with. Gosh. Been there. Know EXACTLY what you mean. I've noted that these are often the same folks who, at the orientation, complained loudly about the taste of the shakes. I wonder if there is a connection. -- ¤bicker¤ "It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan People are, of course, welcome to place whatever irrelevant limitations on their ability to enjoy something that they wish. |
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Medifast diet
On 20 Sep 2003 03:20:54 GMT, Ignoramus2551
wrote: In article , Jennifer Austin wrote: I try not to get into too many reasons why people stop because it usually turns into someone feeding me a bunch of excuses that I really don't sympathize with. Some have been quite honest about the fact that they thought losing the weight was going to be all they had to do in spite of the classes and the constant education about the need for permanent lifestyle change. I see. I wonder what kind of excuses. Couldn't they think through their situation rationally? That's asking a lot, sometimes, with such an emotion-laden subject as eating. People eat for a variety of reasons beyond sustenance. None of these excuses would stand the light of day and they committed an obvious mistake. The same could be said about any excuse for anything unhealthy. Why would that be? Were they stupid? Were they not trying to do some introspection? I am not trying to be smug here . . . I don't think that question is as outrageous as it may seem to some. In this specific case, we know these folks spent an awful lot of money on this program. However, despite that, see above, how emotion-laden the subject is. -- ¤bicker¤ "It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan People are, of course, welcome to place whatever irrelevant limitations on their ability to enjoy something that they wish. |
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Medifast diet
On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 02:25:39 GMT, Steve Knight
wrote: When I was driving home yesterday I heard and interesting program on Talk of the Nation (http://www.npr.org/programs/totn/index.html) about weight loss drugs. The guests seemed to agree with Jennifer's statement about Medifast -- they work when combined with counselling/maintenance classes and they don't work so well long-term if people don't make changes in their lives. I think it also requires a lot of exercise to keep from loosing muscle. Some, yes. "A lot." Not-so-sure. -- ¤bicker¤ "It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan People are, of course, welcome to place whatever irrelevant limitations on their ability to enjoy something that they wish. |
#10
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Medifast diet
On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 02:30:02 GMT, "DB" wrote:
Does anyone know anything about Medifast diet (Medifastdiet.com)? Any hint/info/personal-experience will be much appreciated! Hmmm... I put "my story" up on my web site so I don't have to post it all the time, but maybe every-so-often it is okay to repost it: A little about me and my journey. I'm 39 and happily married. I've been obese most of my life (not just "my adult life") except for a three year period in the late 1980s and early 1990s. After many attempts to get my weight under control, I was able to lose 75 pounds on Weight Watchers, and keep it off for three years (which, I'm told, weight-loss experts consider "practically forever"). I kept to the program very closely ("diet exchanges" back then), drank lots of water, did a five mile walk three times per week, and basically starved myself, to a great extent, down to 175. I kept the weight off through diligence, watching everything I ate, and maintaining my walking regimen. About ten years ago, I took a job as an international management consultant, which put me in a different city, just about every day or two, 200+ days per year. It was nice to see the world, but the disruption to my control over my intake and expenditure of calories was immediately noticeable (by all except me, of course). Over the course of a year, I gained the weight back, and over five years of this job, I managed to top-out at over 265. I, of course, made many attempts to get back to a healthy weight. I tried Weight Watchers again, but for some reason it didn’t work this time. My suspicion is that I had decimated my muscle mass the first time, and so my old approach wasn't suited to overcoming both that and addressing the weight problem as well. The less I ate, the less my body burned. I had become more efficient. :\ I tried Atkins. I was relatively successful, losing 35 pounds. However, I'm in that 10% minority that reacts negatively to Atkins, and my cholesterol shot through the roof. My doctor took me off Atkins. Other efforts were ineffective, or only temporarily effective. I was on Meridia for a while, and lost about 15 pounds, but gained it right back after I stopped taking the drug. In 1999, my wife and I started practicing yoga. Yoga is one of those wonderful activities that can work well regardless of your current physical condition. I gained a lot of flexibility, and a little bit of strength. As I got better, I started noticing a small pain in my leg. It eventually grew to a shooting pain. It wasn't debilitating, but it was annoying. Doctors were puzzled. It didn't fit any condition they could think of. I had x-rays and did physical therapy, in addition to continuing my yoga, for many months. Eventually, the orthopedist "gave up" and sent me for an MRI, figuring that there really couldn't be anything there that would be illuminating, but it was a necessary step before recommending exploratory surgery. I was on the treadmill in physical therapy when the orthopedist received the MRI back; he sent the PT right in to get me OFF the treadmill, telling me, "You're done here." What they found was Degenerative Disc Disease, with multiple manifestations throughout my back. One disc had ruptured and was applying extreme pressure to my sciatic nerve. The doctors were amazed that I was still able to walk. Remember, I was not only able to walk, but I was practicing yoga several times per week, at a moderately advanced level. Indeed, it was the yoga that was keeping me from being in as much pain as they would have expected to see given the problem I actually had, which is why they had such a hard time diagnosing it. I was referred to a neurosurgeon who showed me the extent of the problem. He pointed out the ruptured disc and said, "That's what we're going to fix now." Then he pointed to another black splotch, "That's a couple of years down the line." Then another, "That's a couple of years after that." And so on. I asked him what could I do to avoid these future back problems? He said, "Absolutely nothing. You have DDD; you will have these problems." The only thing I could do was delay the inevitable, through a combination of strengthening my back muscles (which, of course, the yoga was already helping with) and losing weight. He guessed that if I lost 30 pounds, it would push that next problem out from two years down the line to maybe five or ten years down the line. After my surgery, I did physical therapy for a while and then went back to yoga, slowly. However, that next back surgery was still looming for me. Finally, after a trip to Egypt (see my web site for a cool travelogue of that trip) that reinforced how much LIFE I was missing out on because I couldn't do so many things due to my weight, I was ready to try to lose weight again. This time I was dead serious; the stakes were too high. I did a lot of research. I investigated drugs, surgery, and every regimen I could get my hands on data for. In the end, my decision would be governed primarily by one metric; the ultimate success rate metric for weight-loss: percentage of weight-lost maintained over a two-year period. The program was a medically-supervised very-low calorie diet, through a clinic of Newton-Wellesly Hospital, here in Massachusetts, operated by Health Management Resources. Their "success rate" has been pegged by external researchers at about 22% (compared to 5% for Weight Watchers, for example). I spent about 13 weeks on a primarily liquid diet of protein shakes, working up from 5000 calories per week to about 8000. I built up my exercise from about 1200 calories per week to about 2000 calories per week during that time. I lost about 45 pounds, and had a completely different outlook on life. I was feeling stronger and better than I ever had on other diets, which did not take into consideration the amount of protein necessary to safeguard muscle mass. Rather than running out of steam, I was just getting started. I had been supplementing the liquid shakes with pre-packaged low-cal entrees at times ("never get hungry" was the rule), and my second 13 weeks build on those to a greater extent, as well as adding in fruits and vegetables over time. After about seven months I had lost all the weight I had gained over the previous ten years, and was back to 175, the top of the "healthy range" for my height. I transitioned into maintenance, and kept up my calorie balancing and exercise regimen, averaging about 3000 calories of physical activity per week, spread among walking, biking, hiking, yoga, Viniyasa (power yoga), and later kayaking. I feel that the focus on getting enough protein, and making sure I was doing enough weight-bearing exercise, was key in helping me continue to lose weight, until I reached what I consider an ideal weight for me, which I reached about a year ago. I've fluttered around that mark since then, but haven't gone more than +2 or -2 from there, now being sure to balance my expenditure with adequate intake each week. So, that's my story, what I hope can be considered a success story, in time. Having gotten to a healthy weight once before, and maintained that healthy weight for what many consider the long-term, I feel confident that I'm much better positioned this time. I lost remarkably little muscle mass this time. (Indeed, I had to lose some, since my muscle mass when I started was higher than my current total weight!) I'm building up muscle, which will help me burn-off any excess caloric intake that happens to slip by my vigilant food journaling, not to mention safeguard my back from the disease that threatens it. I haven't checked with my neurosurgeon since I lost the weight, but I suspect that my next back problem is far more than ten years away at this point. My weight management program relies heavily on use of meal replacements (such as protein shakes and low-calorie pre-portioned entrées), fruits and vegetables, exercise, and support. Weekly meetings help reinforce what we've learned and what we live, and each week we undertake exercises -- specific challenges -- around one of the keystones of the lifestyle we now embrace. For example, one week, the assignment was to have two "high PA" days -- days with greater than average exercise expenditure. The weekly meetings were very helpful. I also draw on the support of my wife, who undertook the same challenge I did two years ago, and lost 65 pounds herself. While the meetings are helpful, they're not free, and they’re not all that convenient -- sometimes I think that the time I spend commuting to and from the clinic could be better spent exercising! So, a couple of months ago, we start supporting ourselves to a greater extent. I'm active in a few online weight-loss support forums. I feel that these forums are excellent ways of both getting the support you need to lose weight, but also to maintain the healthy lifestyle that you've adopted. -- ¤bicker¤ "It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan People are, of course, welcome to place whatever irrelevant limitations on their ability to enjoy something that they wish. |
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