Can you cheat on Medifast and still lose weight?
I often get asked how much cheating is allowed on Medifast or if you will still lose weight if you cheat. Well, I guess that depends on what you mean by cheating. Because technically, I’ve been cheating on my diet the whole time. However, I think there is a safe and effective way to do it, which I will discuss in the next article.
Understanding how Medifast really works: The reason this diet is so effective is really threefold. First, you simply eat fewer calories than usual because the foods are low in calories and carbohydrates. Second, you eat six small meals throughout the day, which helps speed up your metabolism and fight hunger. Finally, as you eat fewer carbs and more protein, your body enters a metabolic state called ketosis, which encourages your body to burn its own fat.
Ketosis really is the promised land of this diet and where you ultimately want to be. You can test this using ketone strips – which will tell you definitively if you have reached this state. (You can get them at most any drugstore or super center.)
Does Cheating on the Medifast Diet Take You Out of Ketosis?: You will stop losing weight as quickly and drastically if you fall out of ketosis. However, the good news is that it only takes a few days to bounce back. So there’s really no need to panic if you notice from the ketone bars that you’re out. And you’re much more likely to get out of this state if you cheat by eating carbs. You’ll be in much better shape if you cheat on protein. So it’s technically better to sneak in a nice juicy burger than trying to sneak in a donut or a slice of cake.
The cheat that I think actually helped me lose weight with Medifast: Okay, now I’ll admit that I don’t always stick to things as intended. But I’m smart about it. I add things to my prepackaged foods several times a day. What I mean by this is that I add fat and sugar free syrups to shakes, puddings and cappuccinos. I also sometimes add skim whipped cream. I also add skim cheese, sour cream, and hummus to chili, eggs, and soups/stews. I also sometimes add sparkling water to shakes for a fountain soda. I use the dry pudding ingredients to make “safe” muffins, cakes and biscuits.
In short, I give myself a lot of freedom with the foods, but I try to use ingredients without fat or sugar when I do this. It gives me more variety and makes me more excited about eating the foods.
The liberties I take with the lean and green meal: Each day you will eat five prepackaged meals on this diet and prepare one meal yourself. (Some people will skip this meal, but you shouldn’t because I believe it will slow down your metabolism. I’ve experimented with this and it almost always slowed down my results.) You should eat lean protein and low-glycemic vegetables and in the greater part of me is sticking to it. But if my family eats sliced steak, sometimes I won’t make a chicken breast just for myself. Or, if my family has sweet green peas, I won’t give them up because they have a high glycemic index. And sometimes I don’t refuse a burger if I remove the bread.
I find that if I eat a “lean and mostly green meal” I do pretty well. And even with the small gaps, I’m still eating WAY less calories and carbs than normal. And if my weight loss is any indication, I’m doing just fine.
#cheat #Medifast #lose #weight