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11/02/2015

Does Medifast Work For People Who Aren't Obese?

I sometimes hear from folks who are in the very enviable position of not being all that overweight. Still, they want to make positive changes in their bodies and they would like to be at their most ideal weight. Many are under the perception that prepackaged diets may not be appropriate for them because they aren't considered obese or even very overweight.

I heard from someone who said: "I am not grossly overweight, but I'm not completely happy with the way that I look. Since I've turned 40, I notice a definite difference in my body, especially in my thighs, belly, and butt. I have tried spot exercising, but I still have excess fat in areas where fat should not be. I believe that if I lost 10 - 15 pounds, I'd be much happier with my appearance. And, I'm very intrigued with the Medifast diet. But, I'm wondering if it works for someone who isn't hugely overweight. You always see people who've lost over 100 pounds. I don't even come close to that category. Do they even make a plan for someone who isn't even approaching obese?"

There are no weight loss requirements for this diet. And the packages aren't broken down by how much weight you need to lose. Essentially, the packages come in 2 or 4 week increments (where you'd get enough food to eat five meals per day) and you simply buy the food as long as you need to. There's really no commitment.

Obviously, different people lose weight at different at different rates. I've heard of people who have only needed one monthly package in order to lose their target amount of weight, but I suspect that this is more the exception rather than the rule though.) With the stated ranges being 2 - 5 pounds per week for the first two weeks, you'll see that the mean is around 3 pounds. After that the range is 1 - 2 pounds.

This person's weight loss goal was 10 - 15 pounds. If you calculated the mean weight loss for her (which may not be completely accurate, but makes calculations easier), she'd loose around 9 pounds in one month. As I alluded to, some people lose more weight and some people lose less. Some people have weeks where they are on the high end of the range and weeks where they are on the low end. You really won't know until you begin.

Generally speaking, many people usually find that the earliest pounds come off the fastest and the easiest. That's because you've shaken things up calorie wise. At a calorie range of around 1200 calories per day, a day on Medifast is going to be much less than most people's daily calorie intake. Our bodies generally get used to (and learn to live on) the amount of calories that we are in the habit of taking in. (That's why those last ten pounds can be so hard to lose.)

But when you begin a diet, you've interrupted the status quo, which is often why many people see quick results in the beginning. Another thing that this diet has going for it is that it is high in protein so it encourages lean muscle which also helps to burn more fat. So to answer the question posed, Medifast generally works well for people who aren't very overweight. In fact, those folks reach their weight loss goals faster than those with more to lose simply because they didn't start with a huge goal in the first place.

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