Getting Off the Diet Merry-Go-Round for Good

Can Medifast keep you off
the diet merry-go-round
for good?

Today's guest blogger, Pat Cowan, is currently following the Medifast 5&1 Plan. Like many of us, Pat has been on the diet merry-go-round for most of her life; so she has a realistic fear of gaining some or all of her weight back once she reaches her goal.

Part of the appeal of Medifast for Pat is that the program provides clear guidelines for transitioning off the food plan and maintaining her weight loss forever. But the fear of regain is real.

In Pat's own words ...

We all know about regain. Some of us are using Medifast precisely to combat a regain. And the comments:  "I tried (name your diet program) -- it was okay but then I gained it all back and then some more."  Or, "the diet food was great but when I went back to my own food I gained weight again."

My thoughts are: "I'm terrified. I don't want (another) regain. I don't know what I'll be able to eat once weaned off the 5&1.  I can see today that if I stray, it costs me on the scale. Will my life be like that?  Every restaurant meal taking a toll the next morning?  Every party or family gathering a place to be wary of calories floating in the ether and implanting themselves firmly on my hips?"

Pat Cowan

I already figured out I can't eat "my own foods" (a.k.a., what got me into this mess in the first place). I already know how to tweak our favorite recipes to make them less fatty, less salty, more nutritious. I already know that I'll need to measure my protein until I can trust my eyes to portion correctly. I already know that certain foods are sadly gone forever except for a VERY select few times.

So what's my fear?  Well for one, what will my day look like?  I'll still have my normal breakfast (egg beaters).  I'll still have my snack bars at 10 and 3.  Lunch???  Now I do a hearty MF meal over spaghetti squash. I'm guessing I can make my own sauce -- ground turkey with Rao's -- measure it and calculate it and that'll be good. Tuna fish is a favorite and on a revolution roll will be fine.

That leaves dinner. I don't think we'll get to change it very much from what we're doing now for our lean and green.

And a brownie before bed, of course.

Is that how it's going to be?  Why am I so afraid of it?  We're already doing mostly everything anyway.   I wonder if these feelings are normal? Will I look back on these words next year and chuckle?

Your guess is as good as mine.

My thoughts: Like Pat, I was nervous that I might regain my weight after Medifast. I had been "successful" on so many diets -- from Weight Watchers to Jenny to Nutrisystem -- but gradually the pounds always reappeared... and then some. I am now one year post-Medifast and am still maintaining my ideal weight thanks to following the healthy habits I cultivated during my 5&1 weight loss phase and learning more about the fallacies of low-fat dieting and the role of refined carbohydrates in causing insulin resistance and fat retention.

So I'm placing my money on you, Pat. You've got this girl!




More from Diet Skeptic:

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Why Fat Head Pizza Is the Holy Grail of Low Carb Pizzas 

The Shocking Truth About Imported Olive Oil 

Making Cauliflower Rice in the Vitamix 

Why WebMD Doesn't Want You to Get Well


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