Archive for the ‘Popular Diets’ Category

Meal Plan Diet – Why It’s For You

Monday, March 22nd, 2010
Lynne Jones asked:


A meal plan diet is a healthy choice for long term weight loss. There are hundreds of diet plans to choose from. Some have weathered the test of time and others are just popping onto the horizon. If you’re like most people you have gone from plan to plan looking for the right one to fit you. The plan itself can be the biggest determinant of whether you lose weight or not. Regardless of what it promises, if it is poorly put together, you won’t lose weight. Run the other way when you see a diet plan that promises to lose weight quickly and easily. Weight loss is hard work; it takes discipline and determination. It is much harder to lose weight than it was to put it on. The most effective diet plan is one that allows you to lose weight and keep it off.

A meal plan diet has many advantages:

Helps you to eat healthy. When planning meals, you pick foods from each of the required food groups to make up each meal. When you eat healthy, your body works better and learns how to burn fat more efficiently. When your metabolism increases, you burn more calories.

Gives you flexibility. You can vary the types of food you eat as long as you stay within the boundaries of the meal plan diet. Foods that on some diet plans might be called cheating, you can eat, because by incorporating some of these ‘wants’ into your meal plan, it just becomes part of the meal. You can’t have pizza every meal but you can make the plan a lot easier to stick with by including some of your favorite foods in moderation.

Helps with portion control. Many times we know how many calories we want to eat for the day but we struggle to get the right mix of nutrients. How many calories from fat, carbohydrates or fiber do we need? A well designed meal plan diet will plan all that out for you.

Saves money and time. By planning your meals ahead of time, you can save money at the grocery store by not buying food on impulse. You make your list and stick to it. Planning your meals also keeps you from eating fast food, even if you pick something off the healthy menu.

Most meal plan diets recommend that you eat several small meals throughout the day. This keeps your body’s metabolism running at a higher rate, thereby burning calories more efficiently. 5 meals made up of about 300 calories each gives most people the needed calories to stay healthy and feel full and just few enough to be able to lose weight.

A computerized meal planner is a valuable tool in a meal plan diet. It is not enough to know that we need to eat 1500 to 1800 calories a day. A meal planner will actually tell you what you should eat, how much of it to eat, and when to eat it.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Is the Medifast Diet Easy? Two Shocking Facts That You Probably Didn’t Know About Meal Replacement

Sunday, March 21st, 2010
Tina Bardo asked:


In this article we are going to take a look at one of the most pressing questions many potential “medifasters” ask on their way to losing weight and feeling great! “Is the Medifast Diet Easy….or am I going to feel HUNGRY all of the time?” Let’s be honest. No matter HOW much you want to lose weight, feeling hungry, tired and depressed because your body feels STARVED of it’s proper nutrients is NO fun, right? I’ve been there if you haven’t….and can tell you from first hand experience, it’s NO fun at all! So continue reading as we explore the benefits of a meal replacement diet, and see if it’s the long lost answer YOU’VE been looking for on your weight loss journey. Read on..:-)

Am I going to be HUNGRY all the time on Medifast?

This is a GREAT question, and while I can’t get inside your head obviously….I can tell you that for myself (and 99% of the folks I talk to)…the answer is a RESOUNDING no! Why is that you ask? It’s quite simple. Medifast provides for 6 meals over the course of a day. 5 of these meals are replacement meals ( shakes, bars, etc) and one of the meals is going to be a lean and green selection that YOU prepare of your choosing. (fish, beef, chicken, tofu, etc)

Ok….Sounds Good but How Can You Drink SHAKES All Day?

Another great question….and SOME meal replacement diets are exactly that! The Medifast menu extends FAR beyond simple shakes, and WELL into just about all kinds of foods you would find yourself ordinarily eating. There are over 70 selections from the replacement menu, and only a VERY small fraction are shakes! Eggs, soups, bars, puddings, coffee and fruit drinks and much, MUCH more. And don’t forget, as we’ve just seen above, you are going to be having a “normal” meal everyday as well…just with a HEALTHY bent for a change to keep you looking GREAT and feeling even better to boot!

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Is Medifast the Best Meal Replacement Diet? 3 Reasons Why We Say Yes (& So Too Will You)

Sunday, March 21st, 2010
Tina Bardo asked:


What is the best meal replacement diet? And is picking a program where the calories are already counted and measured the best way to lose weight fast? How about taste? Or cost? Or success rate? In this article we are going to take a closer look at why we believe the Medifast diet is the BEST meal replacement program on the market today, and why over 15,000 doctors, (and over one million dieters!) appear to agree! Read on..:-)

Reason #1: Medifast is Scientifically Formulated, Nutritionally Balanced and Super Successful

Aren’t all meal replacement diets created equally? Absolutely not! The truth? Some nutritional bars, shakes and snacks you’ll find in health food stores ( and supermarkets) are LOADED with fat, calories and carbs. Some programs are actually designed for bodybuilder who want to GAIN weight. Others are simply made to taste good…and “trick” you into thinking you are on a diet. Medifast is designed specifically for folks who NEED to lose weight…and does that one job amazingly well.

Reason #2: Medifast is Proven To Work (in the lab….AND in real life as well!)

Yes, the average weight loss in the lab (during the famous John Hopkins University Studies) was well NORTH of 50 pounds a person. Equally as impressive? The real world weight loss stories of people like you and I. Medifast is low calorie, high protein and low fat. You WILL lose weight on this diet if you follow through!

Reason #3: Cost!

Yes, the economy is bad, right? We all agree that times are tough. The cost of Medifast? About 10 bucks a day. Or 300 a month…and that includes your 5 Medifast meals per day. ( you are only responsible for your one lean and green self prepared meal) The truth is…most of us spend more than on junk food on a daily basis….turning that modest investment into long term health, wellness and a GREAT body now is a smart savings for sure!

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Is Medifast a Nutritionally Sound Diet?

Saturday, March 20th, 2010
Jenni Kerala asked:


The Medifast diet program was created over 27 ago, as a healthy and nutritionally sound diet plan to be followed while under supervision of a physician. It was prescribed by doctors to overweight patients, with their progress tracked by weekly visits. Since it has become available to the public, and sold online, people have questions about whether or not Medifast is a nutritionally sound diet, as most meals are replaced by a soy protein meal substitute such as a shake or a soup.

Medifast is a very low calorie weight loss program. Most dietitians suggest that you don’t drop below 1,200 calories when dieting, however this program only provides between 800 to 1,000 calories each day. In spite of it being a very low calorie program however, it does provide high protein levels and the foods are complete as far as providing all of the Recommended Daily Allowances of minerals and vitamins. Based on this, the Medifast plan is a solid program that does provide nutritionally complete foods. Something that could make this program less nutritionally sound is keeping your powdered products past their expiry date, as this could cause your product to lose some of its goodness and nutritional components.

Weight loss is inevitable when calorie intake is restricted, but many dieters find it difficult to stick to very low calorie plans. While the meal replacement plan cuts calories, this high fiber and high protein diet also reduces hunger, which can help dieters stick to the program. Part of the success of this plan is that meals are consumed more regularly than normal, which helps stabilize blood sugar levels as well as controls hunger and cravings.

Normally, it is safe to stay on the plan until you reach your weight loss goals unless you become pregnant or your doctor indicates that you need to start using the maintenance program. If you have a lot of weight to lose and you plan on staying on the weight loss plan for longer than sixteen weeks, Medifast recommends that you should continue your diet under the supervision of a doctor.

Ultimately, it works out that the Medifast diet is balanced, and provides all the nutrients your body needs to sustain your energy and strength. The main thing to note with this diet is that its important to follow the weight loss phase properly. As it is already a low calorie diet, you want to make sure you eat your lean & green meal each day. You also should not skip meals.

Fit Yummy Mummy!