When I was initially having a lot of success with Medifast, people would sometimes ask me if I had any secrets to share. It was almost as if they thought I cut corners or ate less than I was supposed to over-exercise. None of these things was true.
I recently heard from someone who said, “I see all these before and after photos of people who have lost a lot of weight on Medifast and they make it look easy. What’s your secret to making it really work? Because I’ve never had a diet that worked for me.” It worked that way and I doubt it’s possible.”
To be honest, there is no deep secret. And the success stories you often see worked hard for results that came over time instead of overnight. When you start to think that there are secrets to any diet, you start to believe that people know something you don’t or have something you don’t. None of these are true either. With that said, I can offer you some tips that can make approaching this diet easier and less intimidating, which I will do below.
Know that you probably already have everything you need to make Medifast work: I can’t tell you how many people tell me they will start the diet at a more opportune time. They will say that they have a stressful month or that the holidays are coming up. They will admit that they are waiting to make a New Year’s resolution or are looking at their calendar for a time when the coast is clear.
The thing is, a completely free calendar and a stress-free life is too much to ask for most people. And if you’re waiting for the perfect time to start a diet, that time may not come. Promise to do good enough. You don’t need to perfect yourself to lose weight on this diet. You just need to be consistent.
You also don’t need to think that you need superhuman willpower or the ability to starve yourself or understand complicated instructions. They send you everything you need with your package, including long addresses and your food. You also have access to free advice and resources if you want or need them.
Plus, you don’t need to buy special foods for your lean, green meals. Simple foods with good recipes will do the job. There is also no need to buy expensive work equipment. A pair of sneakers will do the trick. Keep things simple and know that you probably already have what you need.
Don’t feel intimidated or need any special knowledge, willpower, equipment, or food. You really don’t. Don’t think about it anymore or make it more complicated than it is and take it day by day.
Don’t think you have to be perfect to be successful: Sometimes people admit to me that when they look at all the Medifast success stories, they feel intimidated or imagine themselves a failure before they even start. They think things like “that could never happen to me.” Or “I’m not as confident as they are.”
Here’s a secret if you want to call it that. Not everyone who is very successful with Medifast fully believes in it at first. Many just decide to give it a fair and long try to see what happens. People also imagine that successful Medifast dieters never cheat and are never hungry. This is also not true. I suspect that almost everyone cheats. But the difference between cheaters who let deception derail them and those who continue to be successful is that the successful understand that tomorrow is another day. They understand that even one day of cheating a little on Medifast is better than one day of eating whatever you want with total abandon. Small changes and momentum can make a big difference. When you cheat, just promise to do better tomorrow and move on.
The real secret (if any) of Medifast: Actually, I don’t think there is any real secret. I think the key is good old-fashioned common sense. Success lies in sticking with it. This diet creates a calorie deficit and a state of ketosis to help people lose weight. So as long as you eat the foods that are shipped and use reasonably good judgment with your lean, green meals, you really should get some decent results.
Until you get the results you want, keep going. In this way, those pounds lost per week quickly turn into 10 pounds, 20 pounds, 50 pounds and more over time. But you can’t win if you don’t play. And you can’t get back in the game (when you cheat) if you stop playing. It really is that simple. Truly successful dieters just keep going until they reach their weight loss goal. And they take it day by day.