How Long Does it Take to Lose Weight on Medifast?
I get a lot of questions meant to determine what people should expect in terms of a weight loss time frame on the Medifast diet. People want to know how long it is going to take until they start losing pounds or seeing a real change and improvement in their body. Without knowing the circumstances of the person involved, it’s hard to answer this question definitively. But, I can offer you general guidelines based on what I’ve seen for myself, have heard from others, and have read about clinical studies. I’ll share these things with you in the following article.
How Soon Should I Start Seeing Real Weight Loss On Medifast? When Should The Pounds Start To Come Off?: The exact number and time frame that everyone experiences varies from one person to another. However, generally speaking, most people are able to get into ketosis anywhere from three days to around a week’s time. Ketosis is where your body isn’t getting the carbs that it has been used to and so it turns on its own fat for fuel. This sounds gross, but it’s good in terms of weight loss because it makes things go more quickly and more dramatically. If you aren’t sure about this, you can use ketone strips to see how close you are to getting in this state, but most people will tell you that this is worrying too much. Provided that you are able to get into ketosis within the first week, you should begin seeing weight loss and pounds coming off soon after this.
I know that it can be tempting to weigh yourself every day, but this really isn’t all that necessary. The diet really is designed for you to not need to over think it too much. You’re provided with enough food to eat the Medifast diet meals five times per day while eating one “lean and green meal” that you make yourself. You are given pretty specific guidelines about this lean and green meal and it’s advisable to follow them as closely as you can, especially in the beginning before you’ve reached fat burning mode. You want to keep your vegetables as low in carbohydrates as you can. Some veggies (like sweet corn and snap peas) contain a good deal of sugar. If you’re looking for quicker results, you’ll want to limit these because they can slow your being able to get into ketosis.
Most people in ketosis generally lose anywhere from 2 – 5 pounds per week, at least in the first couple of weeks. After that, it can taper off. There are variations on these numbers, of course.Over the time that I’ve been on this diet, I’ve seen a lot of variations from week to week. But typically, when I see low weight loss one week, I’ll have much higher weight loss the next week so that it all averages out to be relatively the same.
If you’re wanting to lose a certain amount of weight (whether it’s 10, 20, 30, or 50 pounds,) you can typically take your average weight loss per month and then estimate how long it will take you to get there. For example, if you want to lose 40 pounds and are averaging around 10 pounds per month, then you’re looking at about 4 months.
When Should I Begin Seeing Some Differences In My Appearance And How My Clothes Fit When On Medifast?: Obviously, most people’s attitudes toward this questions are “the sooner the better.” No one wants to do what they are supposed to do and then not see changes on the scale and in the way that our clothes fit. I did see some looser fitting clothes and changes in the scale after one week. And, these changes built upon themselves over time so that the end result became more and more dramatic. And, it can be important to see these quick results because you are reassured that this actually might work and it encourages you to keep going.
But, sometimes we become so focused on this that we make the process one that is not pleasurable. There is no need to put additional pressure on yourself. Many studies have shown that this diet is designed to work. If you follow the directions and eat the food, you should be able to get into ketosis. Once this happens, you should start to see those results that we all want.
But, you can help yourself in other ways also. Adding in even a little bit of additional movement certainly can’t hurt. As I said, I did get reasonably quick results in the beginning. My clothing was more lose and the scale showed what I wanted to see. But, I didn’t begin to get those long, lean lines that I had always wanted until I added in just a little bit of exercise. Having a sleek and fit appearance has become more important to me than what the scale says.
Still, I understand that we all want quick results. It’s my experience that results on Medifast come soon after you ketosis is achieved. If you are able to stay in this state, the weight loss should continue, although it may slow or taper off after those first few week. However, exercise can help tremendously with your body’s appearance. A lower weight with a body that’s not toned is arguably not reaching its entire potential. You don’t need to do anything undesirable. Just taking a walk holding hand weights certainly counts. The whole idea is to make small changes that you can live with and form new habits with. This is when the real results and the real changes begin, at least in my opinion.
