The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[DntCryLilEmoGrl]

found a lady's blog claiming she is a clinical psychologist and she is writing a book ..well to quote her

"I'm here to write a book about eating disorders. My contention is that every woman has an eating disorder-- not necessarily anorexia or bulimia per se, but a fixation on food/ weight/shape that is unhealthy, unwanted, and undying. This is a forum in which I may present some of my ideas (from the media/ personal stories/ experiences) that, with a touch of editing, will magically gel into said book. I'm most curious about your reactions and personal experiences. Oh, and for what it's worth, I'm a clinical psychologist. "

here is what she posted about medifast


Product Review: Say Goodbye to Hunger?
The Medifast Diet keeps popping up on my computer, begging me to take a look. Finally, I acquiesce. I’m invited to try a diet that eliminates decisions, freeing me from the calorie- and carb-counting I’m presumed to do on a daily basis. The solution? They count for me, and I get roughly four. . . of each.

The program consists of five Medifast meals per day, accompanied by one “Lean and Green” meal (“lean protein and salad greens”). The Medifast website states: "The clinically proven results of Medifast are designed to create a healthy gap between the calories you take in and the amount your body burns, thus promoting natural weight loss." According to my calculations, and based on the roughly 3,500 caloric-deficit needed for a pound of weight-loss, that’s a “gap” of 2,333 calories a day. If you were eating 2,500 calories a day (and maintaining your weight at that figure), you’ll now eat 167. I don’t see any program-recommended exercise, except for that suggested during the post-diet, “weight-maintenance” stage. In fact, the website states that, “Unless you are already exercising, you should not begin an exercise program in the first few weeks of weight loss.” Clearly, with a deficit of 2,333 calories a day, you’re not going to be able to run that far.

The website advertises that “Medifast programs have been recommended by over 15,000 physicians.” What physicians are recommended this program, given that most people in-the-know do not recommend more than a 1-2 pound weight-loss per week (and this is up to 5)? I also wonder what kind of chemicals, fillers, and multisyllabic ingredients they’re passing off as a meal (the site indicates that most products use “acesulfame potassium” as a sweetener).

The copy promises you’ll never get hungry. That "fast" is part of the product name doesn't bode well for you feeling satisfied. And, anyway, how is this even possible? If you’re eating 2,333 calories per day less than you’re burning, I’d think you’d be hungry! And so do they, to some extent: The FAQ’s page encourages users to take an antacid to deal with persistent hunger pains. Other potential side effects they list? Diarrhea, gurgling stomach cramps, constipation, bad breath, feeling cold, skin rashes, heartburn, and hair loss. All this for short-term weight-loss. After all, even the Medifast people recognize the difficulty of keeping off weight, once you’ve completed the program. The site states:
You will maintain your success by making long-term changes in your lifestyle such as healthy eating and consistent exercise. You may also need to work on how you cope with life so that you don't reach for food when you are experiencing stress, depression or other emotional needs.
If you could do all this, you wouldn’t be turning to Medifast in the first
place. . . .


and here is the comment i left


hi drstacyny,

My name is Jenn, I am 21 , and was obese @ 230 (im only 5ft) and felt horrible physically, and yes my being overweight was an emotional issue. My cousin , my aunt , and myself started this diet on May 15th, to this day im down a total of 43 lbs. I am going to be very honest. I was skeptical of this diet, and even concerned about not eating but one "real meal" as you might think it a day, and 5 meal replacements a day. But I am living proof that the diet does work (and if you want me to refer you to a forum full of people also making huge progress and keeping it off for extended periods of time , as in years) i most certainly can. The diet is recommended by physicians and not just for diabetics or people with heart disease, though with my aunt she has both and it does work for her as well. The diet doesnt replace food. In fact there is a whole transition period of about 1-2 months where you slowly reincorporate food back and learn to make healthier decisions. No medifast isnt for everyone. There is a lot of food I havent had in a long time, like pasta (and i am italian so i do miss it!) but ...it is all about will power. Some people lose better other ways. I lose better this way and this diet has changed my thinking of foods. or as you might put it..fixation with foods. I was suffering from binge eating disorder for a long time do to a lot of emotional events that happened in my life. My dad's sudden death pushed my weight well over 200 lbs when he died in 03.

As far as any health issues or side effects.. well as far as my digestion track goes i rarely ever get problems... if anything i had more issues with indigestion before starting this diet.And as cheesy as it sounds i feel less tired and more energetic. I have 2 nephews who would make me want a nap after 10 minutes before i started this diet. Now I go swimming with them on the weekends and get to have fun with them.

I think it is good to be skeptical of something like medifast..or any diet for that matter. However I think maybe you should try and get more information. say from a nutrition. or even call medifast because i believe they have nutritionists or nurses that can answer questions you have about the diet. or find a physician that specializes in weight loss (maybe one that recommends medifast and is well informed on the diet). Just so you know i am a real person...and i do not work for or am in anyway afiliated with medifast..just someone trying to get healthy my weightloss blog is online at <my extrapounds blog here> and my email is <inserted my email here> if you want to ask me anything further because if your planning to right a book...you shouldnt just get one side of things...you should get complete info.


im posting the link to her blog in my extrapounds blog. i just get frustrated when people make such assumptions..i know we have all dealt with these naysayers before..if anyone else wanted to comment on her blog like i said the link will be on my extra pounds blog thats linked to my pro on here

[Serendipity]

Jen,

Amazing....just gotta shake my head.

I will certainly look into this web site and I will answer this misinformed wanna be author......your answer was very good and hit on most if not all of her issues. I just can't believe anyone could just pooh pooh it like that....let me see.....is she a little OPINIONATED???

Does she post your feedback?

[Prancer]

WOW how is it she can cretique a program she has never tried and doesnt even know??? The FAST I have assumed refers to how FAST we lose not FAST as in dont eat. Her calculations are also a bunch of bunk. They dont even make sense. She also needs to keep in mind is says UP to 5lbs a week. We all here tend to avg 3 which is the healthy range. Now I'm all fired up and made.

[DntCryLilEmoGrl]

yeah i was quite fired up..and yes jo she does let it post comments...and jenn i agree..none of her calculations made sense and the woman cant even use proper grammar and spelling...

[ascicles]

Even though I disagree with some of her points, she makes a lot of valid ones. Honestly, I don't think that Medifast is the miracle diet plan that a lot of people do. It's great for me because I am losing a lot of weight that I had never been able to lose. I don't, however, think that it is a tremendously healthy way of dieting, regardless of what Medifast would like me to believe.

It also does tend to backfire quite a bit on people who can't maintain after their loss. That isn't to say that it happens everytime, but with this kind of diet, that is the way it works.

[TheShadow]

Well, any diet will "backfire" and people will gain it back if they just start eating the way they did before. That's how we got fat in the first place. All I know for sure is that this diet has worked for me where nothing has before (except good ol' fen-phen, and we all know how that turned out). I admit that at this point I have been plateau'd for about 3 weeks and I am getting a little bored with the food. But I have learned that this "way" of eating, tiny meals many times a day, with tightly controlled carbs, works for me and I will use it as a model for my future eating plan as a lifelong thing. I plan to incorporate a wider variety of veggies and include fruits and whole grains, a la South Beach, but I will keep the general structure the same.

What gets me about this person's blog is that there doesn't seem to be any real understanding by the "psychologist" of the science of weight loss and metabolism. Did they even research why 15,000 physicians and bariatric specialists are recommending the program or even read the Johns Hopkins study?? And to suggest that ALL women have an "eating disorder" is ridiculous. I have never had an eating disorder, not now or at any time in my life. I have a slow metabolism due to hypothyroid disease and I like my beer. That's how I got overweight. I left a post on her blog.

[alohacate]

I left my two cents for this "Dr.", thanks for sharing this!

[Mike]

I think the key to the whole problem with what she was saying is that she doesn't have all of or the correct information about the diet. Its good to be skeptical, and its better to know that this diet doesn't work for everyone.
She obviously hasn't done much homework... it appears that all she did was look up a few things from the medifast website.
As a scientist, I am much more prone to disregard someone like this for someone who actually does some real research.... and this is what I teach my students.
And by the way... thanks Emo for your reply... go get em.

[GucciGoo]

Her response:

Medifast Response
My August 29th post on Medifast appears to have hit a nerve. While I typically haven't commented on older posts, I feel it's important to address some of the reader comments that now appear on this post.

I am happy to hear that some readers have lost significant amounts of weight on Medifast and even happier that they report being healthier and feeling more energetic than they did before. I have consistently written that the subjects of eating and weight-loss are largely idiographic, and it makes perfect sense that different philosophies/approaches will work for different people. If Medifast has worked for you, feel free to stop reading here.

That said, as I wrote in an email to one reader, my personal experience working with patients (some of whom have had bariatric surgery, some of whom have clinical eating disorders, many of whom use food emotionally) is that there is very commonly a long and painful road of yo-yo dieting, which wreaks significant emotional havoc on them. By the time they see me (or my colleagues), they have tried numerous diets (some VLCD's), have lost weight, gained it back (plus some), and are absolutely dejected and demoralized. Through the years, I have also seen many patients who suffer from anorexia, bulimia, and EDNOS. This is the bulk of the readership of my blog (as judged by comments and emails to me). For these individuals, too, their relationship with food is an incredibly deep and emotional one and not one that can be addressed simply with a food plan or other behavioral measures. This does not, in any way, suggest that I believe that people cannot lose weight on Medifast. As some of you have reported, there is often a substantial weight-loss associated with VLCD's--and how could there not be?

To clarify a point on my post, I was not saying that Medifast allows only 167 calories per day. What I was saying is that in order to lose five pounds per week (as the Medifast website states is possible with the plan), you would have to have a deficit of 24,500 calories per week. You do the math. I have consulted with physicians and nutritionists on diets such as Medifast. As with everything, there are varying points of view. I will not, however, accept a doctor's approval of a diet plan as carte blanche to plow ahead. If you recall, Bextra/Vioxx/Celebrex, Fen-Phen, and even Thalidomide were once approved for use.

A couple of readers have questioned my credentials: I am a psychologist, with a master's degree in exercise science and a doctorate in clinical psychology (with an emphasis on health psychology). You're absolutely right that, outside of what's provided to me by the physicians and nutritionists with whom I consult, I do not claim to have specialized knowledge of specific nutritional programs. What I do claim to have knowledge and training in (and experience with) are the psychological factors that influence eating, dieting, and weight-loss cycles. In my experience, programs like Medifast are not a long-term solution to the psychological antecedents and sequelae of eating disorders. They may, however, work for you.

I do appreciate controversy. Without different (and often opposing) ideas, it is difficult for us to move forward as a science and a society. Attack my ideas as much as you'd like--I'm happy to provide a forum for you to do so; however, please, as I have advised before, challenge the ideas and not the writers. When attacks become personal, they are unnecessarily hurtful and obscuring of our ultimate goal.

[GucciGoo]

*yawn*

[alpha femme]

i haven't said anything, because i think many of her points are valid--
but i have my doubts about this woman's credentials, so i'm not entirely certain how seriously anyone should take her.

the biggest clue is with her "doing the math." the math changes for each person, because minimum calories needed to maintain weight differs with... (you guessed it) weight. a 350# person needs to take in at least 3500 calories a day to maintain their weight. a 200# person needs 2000 calories. taking in the same meals each day, the 350# person will typically lose an extra 3# a week for a while.

so... i guess my point is this person doesn't sound "clinical" in any way, and probably likes feeling like she can jerk people's chains. either that, or she's a post-grad student feeling her degree out. this isn't an attack on the individual. it's just that i've seen a lot of studies and spent the last 6 years with someone who did very similar work.

[Mike]

I totally agree Alpha.
If they were a true scientist, they would use a true scientific approach to backing up their statements (as I teach my 7th and 8th graders to do).
As I stated previously, if she is going to write a book criticizing diets, Medifast included, then she needs to do exhaustive research on the diets and see what the "true" results are.