The Medifast diet has proved successful for hundreds of people over the past year.  My own sister-in-law has now lost over 70 pounds on the Medifast diet.  She said the food was good and the best part was that it helped her make a complete life change with her eating habits.  The Medifast diet plan starts out by providing the foods you need to lose weight, and then teaches you how to make good food choices to continue to lose weight.  Medifast even provides you with a coach to help you be successful in reaching your weight loss goals.

How does it work?  The Medifast weight loss program put your body into a metabolic state called ketosis.  Your body is tricked into burning its own fat reserves that it usually holds onto.  You eat several times a day to keep your metabolism burning regularly.

The Medifast diet can also be tailored to those with special needs, like those with diabetes.  They have created plans called the Medifast Plus for Diabetics.  It has been proven to help those with diabetes to lose more weight and control their diabetes than other diet plans.  Researchers released the results of a weight-loss study that found that after 34 weeks, diabetic participants using Medifast’s portion-controlled meal replacement program lost twice as much weight and were twice as likely to complete the study as participants following a standard food diet based on the dietary guidelines of the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

While on the Medifast diet plan, the company says that it is common to lose two to five pounds per week, which could equal up to 20 pounds per month.  Even if you lost on the lower end, you are still losing about eight pounds a month, which could add up to 96 pounds a year.  This diet provides all the nutrition you need in order to stay on it for a long period of time so that you can reach the goals you have set for yourself.

As with all diet plans, you are advised to consult a doctor before starting any diet.  The Medifast diet has been approved and endorsed by doctors and because of the terrific results seen across the United States, has even been featured on Good Morning America.  You, too, could have this same great success!

a2Z Deals has all the latest Medifast coupons.  If you’re considering this diet, you will find every Medifast coupon to get the best possible deal.  Good luck dieting in 2010!

With the help of a physician, you chose a meal plan that will work best for you.  Once you have selected a meal plan, you will be able to choose from over 70 delicious Medifast Meals including shakes, soups, stew, chili, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, fruit drinks, iced teas, hot beverages, bars and puddings.  You also get to choose your “lean” meats and “green” vegetables and healthy snacks.  All in all, you are able to eat regularly and in a healthy manner specifically designed for adults in your stage of life.

Medifast also recommends that you have an exercise program that fits your needs.  Once again, you will need to work with your physician to find what will work best for you in your weight loss goals, but even those over age 70 should be exercising to some degree. 

The Medifast for Seniors Program has proven successful for many adults over 70.  We would recommend it if you are looking for a healthy, reliable weight loss program.  If you are considering trying the Medifast weight loss program, there are coupons and specials available.  Click here to get $50 Medifast coupons.

Medifast can help you or your teen achieve the healthy weight that’s right for you.  Maintaining a healthy weight allows you to live life to the fullest.  More than 60 Medifast Meals are available on this plan to complement your healthy eating meal plan.  Medifast has been recommended by over 15,000 physicians and proven successful in multiple clinical studies.

The Medifast for Teens Program works by structuring a Weight Loss Plan or a Weight Maintenance Plan.  To start, your Body Mass Index is calculated so that you can determine which plan to choose.   Medifast recommends you consult a physician or pediatrician to help determine which plan is best for you.  The Weight Loss Plan is to help you reach your goal weight by promoting gradual weight loss through healthy food choices.  The Weight Maintenance Plan helps you maintain your current weight as you grow taller through healthy eating choices.  The Medifast Meals used for either plan will provide you with convenient, great-tasting, healthy, portion- and calorie-controlled foods that can be used either as add-ons or as snacks.  The Medifast for Teens Program is high in fiber, combining the unlimited use of whole grains, fruits and vegetables with fiber-rich Medifast meals.

The Medifast for Teens is a great program tailored specifically for those with a busy lifestyle.  It is especially important to teach teens who are struggling with weight loss early in life how to eat healthy and maintain a healthy lifestyle.  We would highly recommend this program to all teens looking for success!

If you are considering starting the Medifast Diet Plan, you can find valuable coupons online to help you save money.  Click here for free Medifast coupons.

A good diet plan for those with type II diabetes is one that works along with your medicine and helps you lose weight in healthy way. Better plans do all that plus help decrease or even eliminate the diabetes medication, lower the blood sugar levels, lower cholesterol and triglycerides levels. A plan is no good if you can’t stay on it long enough, so the plan meals must have sufficient choices for variety and taste.

Recent studies suggest 2 programs have done well for this:
1. Medifast: 2 Weeks of Free Type 2 Diabetes Diet Food Coupon + Free Shipping
2. Nutrisystem: 3 Weeks of Type 2 Diabetic Diet Plan Coupon + Free Shipping

Medifast Type 2 Diabetes Diet Plan Study Review
A recent study at Johns Hopkins University compared various aspects of Medifast and American Diabetic Association (ADA) recommended diet for type 2 diabetes patients for 34 weeks. The study concluded that nearly quarter of the users on Medifast reduced or completely eliminated their diabetes medication, compared to NONE on the ADA recommended diet. In addition, those on Medifast lost twice as much weight, and twice as many participants stayed on the program as compared with the ADA program. Plus 28% more people lost at least 5% of their original weight on Medifast than an the American Diabetic Association (ADA) program.

How do they achieve such consistent and effective results? Simple: They use low glycemic carbs that taste good, fill you up and offer variety (meals, shakes, bars, …). Their low glycemic food help maintain blood sugar levels and insulin – a key in diabetes management. They also control hunger and keep you feeling full for longer time.

In addition to their free food offer, you can also use $50 off Medifast Coupon + Free Shipping to save money.

NutriSystem Type 2 Diabetic Diet Plan Study Review
Dr. Gary Foster of Temple University School of Medicine published a detailed study in Journal of American Medical Association comparing NutriSystem D and the diabetes support and education program (DSE). The 3-month study showed that the Nutrisystem D participants lost 16 times more weight, reduced blood sugar levels 5 times more, and had greater reductions in cholesterol, triglycerides and A1C levels compared to the DSE group. NutriSystem D is a low glycemic diabetes diet nutritionally-balanced and conveniently pre-packaged structured plan that can help with weight loss as well as blood sugar / insulin level control.

Here is one more money saving offer for them: NutriSystem $50 Off Coupon + Free Shipping.

People with type II diabetes have to do a balancing act with carbs, proteins, fats and calories, while keeping the blood sugar in control. These 2 programs show good results in this balance. Consult your doctor and pick the program that is right for you.

The Medifast website has many choices for food selection, including diet shakes, diet bars, prepared meals and more.

Medifast goes one step ahead of NutriSystem by also offering a free copy of “The Secret Is Out: The Medifast Program” Book, Free shipping, plus 5% off all future purchases.  It is surprising why this deal is not posted all over the place.  On Medifast’s official website, look for this 2 week free deal hidden away at the bottom of the page.  Click on it and at the check out, simply choose Auto Ship.  You can cancel your auto ship at any time, and still keep your free diet food.

• Medifast $55 off $255 coupon with free shipping: Click on the link on the left to see Medifast’s coupon code for this deal. This is a good deal for repeat customers.
• Medifast $100 savings coupon + Free shipping: This is a better deal for those who are trying Medifast diet for the first time. Essentially, they are giving 1 week’s complete supply of diet food free with 4 weeks of purchase, and give free shipping. The savings add up to just above $100.
• Medifast Diet $35 off $140 coupon: This is not as good a deal as above 2, but still a good deal if you need o purchase a 4-week diet variety pack. This one does not require a coupon code, clicking the link shows the page with reduced price automatically. Shipping is not free, but it can be if you buy a total $200 worth of food.

By the way, Medifast came up with some new products called Medifast Plus. I have not researched it yet, but I hope to find out more and report my findings here in the future.

The goal of the maintenance phase is to keep your desired weight that you achived through Medifast weightloss plan for the rest of your life. Hence the goal of this phase is simple: Not to gain wait. Remember that you took in less calories that you burned during the dieting phase? In this phase you ensure that you can keep the calorie intake similar to what you burn to give your body a steady state of weight.

As you did with the 5 & 1 plan (5 lean meals & 1 green meal), you can continue eating 6 meals a day, snacking every 2-3 hours. But now, you can cut back on the Medifast meals to just 2-3 times a day. Happily eat fruits, low fat dairy, whoile grains and even high carb vegetables as long as you stay within your personal daily calorie limit.

How do you know you are keeping those pounds away? Simple! Weigh yourself once or twice a week regularly to give yourself feedback if you need to make any adjustments in your calorie intake. It is best to weigh during the same time of the day each time for consistent reading. I keep a scale in my bathroom, and just step on it every now and then in the morning while brushing my teeth. Keep it convenient, and in no time you will be doing it regularly without any effort put into it.

If you see an upward trend, and if you exceed your desired weight range, no worries.  Do what is called a Medifast Blitz, where you follow the Medifast 5 & 1 plan for just a few weeks to reach your desired weight.

Just like you did during the 5 & 1 dieting, keep drinking a lot of water during transition and maintenance. water helps your body cleanse the toxins, helps keep your skin looking fresh and healthy, and maintain muscle tone. Dring at least 8 glasses of water (64 Oz). You can also drink any other calorie-free drinks like tea, diet soda etc if you like.

The study shows that those that get support along with their weight maintenance strategies succeed much more easily. Help from a frend, co-worker or a family member can  help you at your goal easier. Some people prefer formal weight maintenance groups like WeightWatchers but that is not necessary for everyone to achieve the goals.

Final tip is to include a little exercise as part of your day. Park your car farther at work or when you go for shopping. Use stairs instead of elevators. You will be surprised how much your body will pay you back for these little exercises.

To summarize, you can keep your pounds away with the Medifast diet maintenance plan by following some of these tips:

• Eat healthy breakfast everyday
• Eat low fat meals 6 times a day + eat fresh vegetables. Simply keep your calorie intake to what you burn
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water everyday
• Add exercise to your regular day
• Monitor your weight and act early if you see the upward trend
• Get support

I wish you good luck in keeping your weight to where you want it to be! I know it can be done and done easily: I am doing it, so can you…

When you reach your weight loss goal, you follow the maintenance plan. In this phase, you start eating the foods you did not eat during the dieting period. Some examples are whole grain, dairy products, and high carb vegetables. A controlled transition gets your body used to the high calorie foods and carbs so that you ease into the maintenance through this transition.

For Medifast weight maintenance, each week you increase the calorie intake by adding a new food group each week. the length of the transition depends upon the amount of weight you lost: For 50 or less pounds, use 9 weeks. For 50-100 pounds loss, use 12 weeks. Anything more, use 16 weeks.  The transition period is divided into 4 stages:

1. Stage 1: Add vegetables
2. Stage 2: Add fruits
3. Stage 3: Add dairy products
4. Stage 4: Add whole grains

Stage 1 Medifast Diet Maintenance

In this stage, you can add any of your favorite vegetables that you were holding back so far. You can eat your 5 Medifast meals as usual, with 1 lean & green meal, and 1 cup of vegetables of your choice. You should increase your calorie intake to 900-1050.

Stage 2 Medifast Diet Maintenance

Add fruits in this stage. Fresh fruits are always better, but if you go with canned fruit, do make sure to get the ones without added sugar. Now you can eat 4 Medifast meals, 1 lean & green meal, 1 cup of vegetables and 1 medium size fruit. Te calorie intake stays 900-1050.

Stage 3 Medifast Diet Maintenance

Now you add dairy products like low fat yogurt, milk or other milk products. You can should everything from stage 2, and add a 1/2 cup low fat dairy product. The calorie intake increases to 1000-1150.

Stage 4 Medifast Diet Maintenance

In this final stage, add whole grains, which can be a slice of bread, half of english muffin, a cup of high fiber cereal, half a cup of whole wheat pasta, and half cup of brown rice. You should east 3 Medifast meals, 1 lean & green meal, 1 cup vegetable, 4-6 oz of not fried meat, or seafood, 2 fruits, 1 cup dairy and 1 whole grain of whole grain. he calorie intake now goes to 1350 to 1500.

After this transition, you are in weight maintenance phase. You will stay in this healthy phase to keep your weight at your goal without ever having to go on a diet. We will discuss the maintenance mode in part 2 of this article.

Medifast diet plan is simple: Eat 6 times a day, snacking every 2-3 hours. No calorie counting, no points system, no diet pills. Of course that is not the whole story. 5 of the meals are from their specially recommended items, like shakes, bars, drinks, oatmeal, chili, soups, pudding and more. These you can snack every 2-3 hours.

The sixth meal, called lean and green meal, can be 7 ounces of chicken, turkey or fish, or 5 ounces of lean beef, pork or lamb. Grill, bake or poach meats using non-stick spray. Salt, pepper, herbs and spices may be added if desired. You may also use ketchup, mustard or barbecue sauce.

The green part of the 6th meal is Salad or Vegetables: Either 2 cups of salad greens and up to ½ cup raw vegetables, or up to 1 ½ cups cooked vegetables. You may also use low carb salad dressing to go with it.

Since Medifast diet consists of healthy eating, and that you eat every 2-3 hours, you do not crave food, go hungry or feel laking energy. You can purchase their prepared meals of Medifast’s low calorie diet to be successful with this quick weight loss diet plan.

Drink a minimum of 64 ounce of fluids daily, preferably water. You may stay on the healthy diet until you have lost your desired weight and then go on to weight maintenance.

Medifast diet for men is a program designed specifically for men. No all major programs offer special programs for men, so this is especially a good choice for men. (Nutrisystem for men program is another good one to look at). With no calorie counting or point system Medifast has received good reviews from both men and women.

Medifast is running a special for giving a 1 week of diet food free with 4 weeks of supply. Get this Medifast diet plan deal by clicking on the link.