(quick help) Leaving Medifast for Primal page

[sacredgrooves]

I have been on Medifast since the beginning of the year and ready to make the leap to Primal. It definitely dropped the weight, 6'2 male started at 244 lbs and currently 205 lbs. After reading this site a while and running across a blog detailing the ingredients and potential issues it is worrisome to say the least. I planned on going Primal after the Medifast "transition" phase, but decided the time is now. I have already been eating a lot of meat and veggies for dinners, but have a few questions to determine what intake I should have.

I currently eat 800-1000 calories a day, but on a Primal scale it should be in the 2500 range. I believe I should just add in a couple hundred calories a week until I reach that level. Sound right? I have been done with grains and extensive carbs for a couple months so no worries on carb flu. I plan on staying in the 75-90 carbs per day range until I hit my goal weight of 190.

What are some good higher carb primal foods to recommend? I need to fill a 60 gram void by removing the Medifast meals (I was getting around 15-20 carbs from veggies and condiments). I also need to add more healthy fats so favorite recommendations there would be great. I have some coconut oil, creamer and milk, bought a couple avacados today, will be eating more meat (a lot of bison) and eggs than previously.

Any advice you can give to walk away from the chemical diet and into a natural way of life on short notice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[healthy11]

Here's my advice:
1) Don't count calories... just eat primal 2-3 times/day
2) Your meals can just be meat, veggies, and fat. My favorite fat is butter (Kerrygold). Plus the fat you'll get in your meat.
3) Include tubers such as sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and squashes about 3 days/week, perhaps on workout days. Or bananas.
4) If you drink coffee use heavy cream or half n half.
5) Keep it simple and enjoy!

I love eating this way! Good luck and good decision to stop Medifast!

[Fantazmic]

I agree

Dont get too scientific about it

Just plan your meals...there is heaps of info on here about meal plans and just eat healthy and the rest will follow

and whatever you do....stop those medifast shakes...they are so bad for you !! Apart from anything else the emulsifiers and chemicals are so so bad for you...if you want a shake try Marks Primal Fuel I have searched everywhere and his is free of most of the nasties.

[sacredgrooves]

Ok, sounds good. I feel like I escaped prison and not sure which way to run lol. I am not hungry so I guess it went alright today.

[Damiana]

1000 calories? That can't be healthy.

If you need primal carbs, go for the tubers or sugary fruits like apples and bananas.

[magnolia1973]

Just a few words of advice....
You may not need 2500 calories a day. You may need more or less, depending on activity. You will very likely be able to eat more than 1000 calories a day though.

Don't get discouraged if you gain a little weight at first. Don't give up. Healthy weightloss coupled with a healthy diet can be slow. The good part is that the primal diet is really easy to stick with for a long time provided you don't tweak it too much. So... if you are doing it right, once you get used to what is eliminated, it's really like not being on a "diet". But for some people, weight kind of trickles off. My weight kind of fluctuates and goes up a bit, then down etc. Not like a yoyo diet, but it can take me a couple of months to lose 5 lbs. I'm OK with that. I feel like I eat a lot- Ihad bacon, eggs and paleo blueberry muffin for breakfast.

Realize that you can't go wrong by eliminating processed crap. That said, when you start to nourish your body, it may want nutrients and you might do weird things like eat a whole chicken.

At some point, you will feel awesome.

Also, don't neglect the exercise (basically slow movement, sprinting and weight training). That's how you gain weight but magically your jeans get too big. Good stuff, increasing lean mass is as important as fat loss.

Mostly, be prepared to commit to this. But realize you are committing to something that is much easier than eating 1000 calories a day. You are committing to treating your body really well...however, the number on the scale may move more slowly. Fine new indicators of success- health, energy, mental wellbeing, clothes fit, and STICK IT OUT.

Practical suggestions:
Stock your fridge with primal favorites. You hate fish? Buy beef. You hate brocolli? Buy asparagus. Eat your favorite primal foods.
Watch the nuts.
Paleo "treats"- muffins etc. are really good, but honestly for weightloss probably WORSE than their gluteny counterparts. Don't try and recreate SAD meals (like my breakfast is probably a don't- bacon, eggs and a blueberry muffin) on the regular. I made muffins because I was sick of meat, eggs and veggies. I do a primal treat maybe a couple times a month. Really work to satisfy yourself on fruits, veggies and meats.
When you get tired of bacon and eggs and steak and salad, go looking for new primal recipes. Try new meats and vegetables.
Carbs are not banned. But different mixes of carbs work for different folks.
You will mess up. You will eat some pizza or some ice cream. Make your next meal primal and move on.

You will do great- just be patient!

[healthy11]

Yes, 1000 calories is ridiculously low!! I don't count calories, but imagine mine are probably around 2,000 on average ...more or less on whatever day depending on my hunger level. Some days more, some days less. Learn to listen to your body for real hunger. A good tip that helped me was to wait at the first sign of hunger and then eat a little while later when you're truly hungry.

You may gain a little bit going from 1000 calories to anything, including Primal. Your body is going to need nourishment for awhile to recover from Medifast. Nourish it without worrying about eating to much.

I have found it's very hard to gain eating Primal, but like Magnolia said takes a little bit of time to lose for some. I've lost 30 lbs in 2 years, which many would consider way too slow, but the difference is that I love the way I eat, I'm satisfied, I can do this forever, and for the first time in my life I know I won't gain it back!

Yes... primal/paleo treats should be saved for when you are at goal weight and even then can be dangerous! I made gluten-free waffles and then couldn't stop eating them...lol. Carbs are addictive!

[sacredgrooves]

This all wonderful information, thanks! I dropped the majority of the weight I needed to already, but probably have another 10lbs to reach the point of no discernable fat. The time on Medifast was 5 of their "meals" and one basically primal dinner I made myself per day. I am just looking to replace those 5 crap meals with all "real food" and finish off my weight loss and improve overall health. The whole lifestyle makes perfect sense to me and I look forward to learning a lot more about it!