More helpful suggestions

Fat-Burn, Eating Out & Other Suggestions

This is information from Tammy, a Registered Dietitian on the Nutrition Support Team at Medifast.  It has some great tips, tricks and information concerning the program, including tips for dining out.  Let me know if you have any questions! 

For best results, it is best to follow the 5&1 Plan as written. As you may know the plan is designed to provide 800-1000 calories per day, less than a total of 100gm of carb per day to induce and keep a body in a fat burning state while providing >72gm of protein to preserve lean muscle mass.

1) Skipping any meals or skimping on the L&G meal portions (protein, vegetables, and healthy fat servings) can drop your calories too low and can hinder weight loss results. Also you will be compromising your nutritional status as well as the meal plan; it is nutritionally balanced as written. Therefore, if anything is left out - you have also left out vital vitamins, minerals, protein, etc.

2) Eating foods that are off plan and quite high in carbohydrate content (such as rice) can stop a fat-burning state. Starting and stopping a fat-burning state can hinder weight loss results. It is best to follow the 5&1 Plan and remain in a fat-burning state during the weight loss phase of your program.

3) Exercising too much while following the 5&1 Plan can also hinder weight loss results. Medifast recommends no more than 45-minutes of vigorous exercise per day while following the 5&1 Plan to create a proper energy balance of calories in versus calories expended. Longer durations of exercise can cause too large of a caloric deficit which can halt or hinder weight loss.  Contact your health coach if you do longer endurance type exercise to adjust your program!!
4) Using too many condiments. Medifast recommends using up to 3 condiments per day for best results. You should have the condiment list, please call me if you cannot locate it.

Keep in mind the rate of weight loss is dependent not only on meal plan compliance but also other factors such as:

    * gender
    * age
    * medical conditions
    * medications
    * level of physical activity
    * body composition
    * menstrual cycle (if applicable)
    * starting body weight

I should also have the approved vegetable list. Although the Medifast Chicken & Wild Rice soup does contain a very small amount of peas and carrots, they are not on the vegetable list for the Lean &Green (L&G) meal as they are too high in carbohydrates in this volume (1/2 cup servings).

Many people do choose to consume restaurant salads; some can be very deceiving!  However, here are a few that fit the guidelines or close to the guidelines.  See chart below.

As you know, many other restaurants are out there too, however not all will share their nutritional information. So, beware when dining out!! Not all the "healthy sounding" entrées and salads are really "healthy" in terms of calories, grams of fat, carbs and protein. It is always best to control your environment and choices by either packing your L&G meal (if you're able) or ordering something you known in terms of the nutritional information. Keep in mind too that a lot of these salads listed above are very high in sodium content. So, Medifast would not recommend using these salads frequently or on a daily basis.

For best weight loss results, Medifast would recommend following the 5&1 Plan as written and not incorporating foods that are "off plan." I hope this information helps. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance to you.

Restaurant/Item                                                                                      Calories                  Carbs      Protein                    Fat           Sodium

                                                                                                                                                (grams)   (grams)                   (grams)   (mg)

McDonald’s

  Caesar Salad w/ grilled chicken, no dressing                                 220                          12            30                            6                890

  Bacon Ranch Salad with Grilled Chicken, no dressing                 260                          12            33                            9              1010

Chick-Fil-A (you need both items for a your meal)
  Char grilled Chicken Garden Salad, no dressing                           180                            9            22                            6.0             620

  Char grilled chicken filet, no bun, no pickles                                  100                            1            21                            1.5             610
  Total Nutrition for Salad + Chicken fillet                                           280                          10            43                            7.5           1230

Burger King
  Tender grill Chicken Garden Salad, no dressing                           240                            8            33                            9                720

Wendy's (you need both items for your meal)
  Chicken Caesar Salad, no dressing                                                 180                            8            25                            6.0             660

  1 Ultimate Chicken Grill Filet, no bun                                                               110                            1            22                            1.5             610

  Total Nutrition for Salad + Chicken Fillet                                          290                            9            47                            7.5           1270

To Your Health!