Medifast Alternatives - What Other Weight Loss Programs Are Similar to Medifast? (or Cheaper)

Paleo Weight Loss :

In this article we are going to quickly cover some alternatives to Medifast, as many of our readers are not only interested in losing weight, they're also interested in making sure they understand all of their options before they begin! Sound like you? Great, read on as we take a closer look!

Medifast Alternatives - What Other Weight Loss Programs Are Similar to Medifast? (or Cheaper)

Okay....so are there any good alternatives to Medifast?

Of course there are, yes. Dieting is actually a pretty simple formula, and when you cut down on all of the outside "noise" and fad science, it simply boils down to calories in, versus calories burned. Medifast is a low calorie, high protein diet, and any diet that espouses the same fundamental philosophy would be considered an alternative worthy of consideration.

So the Atkins diet...and similar high protein weight loss programs are similar?

No, not really. Atkins and South Beach and those style diets focus a lot on calories from "fat", and Medifast does not. More analogous diets would be Optifast, and other meal replacement programs that are primarily low calorie, liquid based programs.

How about those nutritional bars I see in convenience stores? Is that similar?

In theory, yes. However most of those foods are NOT nutrient dense foods, and instead...are often super high in calories, and are simply "glorified" protein heavy candy bars that are very rich in sugar and artificial fillers.

The bottom line?

Most of the programs that are TRULY analogous to Medifast require a doctors prescription to acquire. (as did Medifast for many years as well) The simple truth is that while there are many paths that one can take to lose a lot of weight, there are only a "few" really good, solid and enduring programs that are proven to work long term. As a side note, Medifast costs about 10 dollars a day (not including your ONE self prepared meal per day) and comparatively speaking, this is normally LESS than most people spend on "normal" foods on the daily diet that made them heavy in the first place! 

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The Truths About Low Carb Cereal

Paleo Weight Loss :

Low carb cereals are not a myth. They can be conveniently found in many supermarkets across the country as well as online. Unfortunately, these cereals are not quite as popular as I would want, but the options are there. If you are finding it difficult to find somewhere to purchase the cereal, then read the section below on how to make your own using low carb recipes.

The Truths About Low Carb Cereal

You can make these cereals pretty easily. Start off with some of your favorite nuts. Put them into the food processor and blend until they are roughly chopped. Then if you want, you can add a little dried fruits. Dried blueberries and strawberries are best. Then place a serving of the nuts and dried fruits into a bowl and add some coconut milk. As an alternative to coconut milk you can add almond milk instead. Normal milk contains sugar whereas coconut milk and almond milk do not. Soy milk also contains chemicals that are harmful to your body. That's why we do not recommend using soy products on a low carb diet. Some manufacturers have come out with coconut almond milk blends that are both healthy and also really tasty.

If you're not a fan of the processed nuts approach, then you might be happy to hear that there are other options too. You can make a hot cereal simply by using some mashed pumpkin and adding some flax meal and coconut milk. Mix the ingredients well and heat in a pan or microwave. This provides a good alternative cereal for a healthy, grain-free, low in carbs breakfast. I like the soft consistency of the cereal and having something warm in the cold mornings during winter is always a plus. Unfortunately it does take a bit longer to make than normal cereal, which can be eaten dry or with some milk.

You might be wondering why more people don't make healthy, great-tasting cereals. The simple fact is that most cereals that we are used to eating contain grains, which in turn are high in carbohydrates. So, to make a low carb cereal, you have to use a food product that doesn't involve the usual oats and flours most cereals are made of. Generally, we end up turning to nuts. Nuts have a crunchy texture and pretty decent flavor without all the carbs. The downside to this is that eating too many nuts can be detrimental to your weight loss regime. Although nuts are low in carbs, they are also high in calories. They are still healthy and good to eat, but you should remember that they might slow down your weight loss. For example, one cup of almonds or peanuts is around 800 calories. There are also problems related to allergies with nuts, which puts off a lot of people!

All in all, these cereals are the perfect Atkins diet, South Beach Diet, or Paleo breakfast if you can find it or if you can make it. I would suggest searching the web for independent food manufacturers who are dedicated to bringing great products even if they aren't the most lucrative options around! Our health matters! If you can't find cereals to buy, then try one of the recipes I've described above. I think you'll find that spending the time to make them is worth while!

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What Is the Paleolithic Diet?

Paleo Weight Loss :

There is always a need to focus on your diet for a healthy lifestyle. Eating habits and the food that you consume have a huge impact on your health. The popularity of diet and nutritional plans has increased drastically over the years.

What Is the Paleolithic Diet?

However, every plan has its advantages and disadvantages. Following a particular diet plan needs a lot of care and attention so that there are no adverse effects on your health. There are several points that need to be considered when selecting a diet plan which suits your needs and requirements.

What Is Paleo Diet?

Some experts suggest that the best way to stay healthy would be to follow the eating habits of our Caveman ancestors. They have developed a modern nutritional diet plan which is based on these eating habits.

The Paleolithic Diet is also referred to as the Stone Age, Caveman and Hunter diet. This diet plan involves consumption of certain meats and plants for healthy eating purposes. The plan was designed to take us back to our basics in order to promote a healthier way of eating and living.

The concept of Paleo diet was first brought to light back in the 70s. There has been a lot of research on this concept. The Paleo diet works on the assumption that the modern humans can also adapt to the eating habits of our ancestors from ten thousand years ago.

The Diet

The diet plan incorporates foods that are commonly available. These include fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, roots and meats from animals that feed in pastures. The plan excludes food items like grains, dairy products, refined sugar and salt along with processed oils as well.

Nothing to drink besides water is allowed by most variations and as for sweeteners, you are allowed limited portions of honey. Some diet plans do allow some flexibility but others are stricter. They encourage fasting as well in many cases and allow nothing more than raw foods.

The Effects on Health

The Paleolithic diet will obviously have an impact on your health. The effects need to be monitored regularly so that the positive effects are maximized. There are some limitations of this plan which have to be kept in mind.

These limitations are important to note because they could have a negative impact on your health. A more extensive plan will have a more drastic effect. The Paleo diet plans are sometimes flexible so you can even customize them to suit your needs.

Experts believe that the Paleo diet is better than the Standard American Diet because it focus on a natural diet. Refining and processing the food is avoided so that the benefits of these foods can be capitalized upon. Others tend to criticize it because they feel it is not a comprehensive plan and needs more research.

Supportive Arguments

Those experts who support the Paleo diet consider it to be a healthy diet plan. They have pointed out that this plan helps in reducing health problems like cardiovascular diseases, inflammations and blood pressure.

The plan also helps in weight loss and improves athletic performance. They say that this plan incorporates the optimum diet that an individual needs. These supporters are widely promoting the Paleolithic diet plans.

There are several books and researches which have been published by those who support the Paleo approach. They criticize the general eating habits that are prevalent in our society for being the major cause of heart diseases, diabetes and obesity.

Opposing Arguments

The arguments in support of the Paleolithic diet have been based on facts and statistics. However, there is still a lot of controversy regarding the plan itself. The evolutionary logic of the plan has been questioned by many experts.

They have argued that we have adapted to a wider diet which includes grains and dairy products. These food items are also part of a healthy diet and cannot be ignored completely. There are many other foods which have been added to our diet with the help of agriculture and animal domestication.

There is also the fact that most of the foods that are available to us are no longer the same as they were. Even the natural foods have evolved with time while others are not available to us in the same natural condition.

The Conclusion

Despite all the arguments against the Paleo diet, it still appears to be one of the best diet plans available. It is also a fact that every plan has its benefits and drawbacks and we need to capitalize on the advantages.

This plan emphasizes a natural diet which is extremely necessary for a healthy lifestyle. It allows flexibility so it can be altered to suit our requirements easily. The plan focuses on optimum diet in order to counter health issues as well.

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How to Lose Weight Doing the Paleo Diet

Paleo Weight Loss :

Perhaps you've heard of the Paleo Diet. Perhaps you haven't. Maybe you're someone who's grown tired of fighting a never-ending battle of the bulge, a battle that you're losing, and you're looking for a new way of healthy eating that will help you get in better shape. It could even be that you've heard a lot of hullabaloo about eating Paleo foods and simply want to learn more. Whatever your reason is for coming here, we're here to help you determine if the Paleo Diet is right for you.

How to Lose Weight Doing the Paleo Diet

The diet takes its name from the Paleolithic period of history, which lasted for approximately 2.5 million years and ended around 10,000 years ago. The Paleo Diet has also been called Neanderthin, the Stone Age diet, the caveman diet, and the hunter-gatherer diet.

In simple terms, the Paleo Diet is one that is based on consuming the foods that our hunter-gatherer ancestors supposedly ate-things like fish, grass-fed meats, fruits and vegetables, and nuts and roots. It does NOT include grains, refined sugars, salt, or processed oil. There is also some debate as to whether or not dairy products (milk, cheese, butter, yogurt) should be consumed. In a nutshell, the diet is high in protein and low in carbohydrates.

So are you wondering what you can eat on the Paleo Diet? Specifically, you can eat meat, fish, eggs, vegetables and berries, fruits and nuts, and dairy-depending on whether or not you are lactose-intolerant. You can NOT eat grains (barley, wheat, rice, etc.) and corn, starchy vegetables like potatoes and yams, refined sugar, legumes (beans, peanuts, cashews, soy products, etc.), and chemical food additives. If you must use salt, do it in moderation. The same goes for processed foods and artificial sweeteners like aspartame and the like. Think about it this way, basically you can eat anything that our ancestors could catch with a spear or pick from a tree or bush.

By eating a diet that is high in protein and low in carbohydrates and processed foods, your body will turn to burning fat for energy. This is because it will no longer rely on sugars, starches, and complex carbohydrates for energy. This means that after your body uses the energy in the foods you've consumed, it will then use the stored fat in your body for energy-hence the subsequent weight loss that comes with eating a high protein, low carbohydrate diet, such as the Paleo Diet.

In summary, eating a high protein low carbohydrate diet like the Paleo Diet, or even adopting it as a lifestyle rather than a diet, will allow your body will become better at burning fat and help you shed your excess weight easily.

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Best Way to Lose Belly Fat After Baby

Paleo Weight Loss :

The average weight gain during pregnancy is 25 to 35 pounds. If you were overweight before becoming pregnant you may have gained more. We are all familiar with the phrase, "eating for two," and sometimes it is very much the case once you realize just how much weight you have gained after having your baby. Regardless of how many pounds you put on, you definitely want to find a way to lose belly fat after baby.

Best Way to Lose Belly Fat After Baby

The good news is that the fat surrounding the belly (visceral fat) may be some of the first fat to burn in comparison to other areas of the body. The fat around our stomachs reacts better in terms of physical activity. As you lose weight, you will more than likely notice the reduction in your belly before any other area. Let's take a look at the best way to get started.

Your Way of Eating is the Key

80% of your weight loss will be determined by your diet. The term diet is not meant in terms of the fad diets you may come across. The term is meant as a lifestyle change. For example, some people become vegetarians or a raw foodist. Others simply choose to eat healthier. Those are examples of eating for life and not for the short-term.

One diet that I've been reading up on is said to make losing fat almost effortless. It is called the paleo diet or caveman diet. This way of eating avoids grains, processed foods (bread, baked goods, pasta, etc.,) and refined sugar. The food eaten in this diet include lean meat, fresh veggies, fruit, and nuts. I suggest doing much more research on this diet, but in my opinion, it is probably one of the best in terms of weight loss.

Perform the Exercises that Burn Fat Best

Women tend to enjoy cardio exercises much more than lifting weights. While cardio can help you lose weight, it backfires if you become a cardio junkie and never perform strength training. Too much cardio can cause our bodies to take energy from our muscles. However, we should be building more muscle as it is much more effective in burning fat. One pound of muscle burns more calories than one pound of fat.

You can combine cardio and weights for a full body workout. This is better known as interval training or circuit training. It is an efficient fat burning workout that takes no longer than 45 minutes per session.

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Forego Dieting And Choose A Healthy, Sustainable Weight Maintenance Diet Instead

Paleo Weight Loss :

Are you dieting? In today's vernacular, dieting has come to mean trying to lose weight. Yet Diet is the food and beverages you consume, and can lead to weight loss (Paleo Diet, South Beach Diet, etc.), weight gain (bodybuilding diet, etc), or weight maintenance (any healthy diet).

Forego Dieting And Choose A Healthy, Sustainable Weight Maintenance Diet Instead

While it might seem like it's all just playing with semantics, there really is a big difference between the two. If you're dieting to lose weight, you're probably making a mistake - most dieters find themselves trapped in the 'yo-yo diet' syndrome, forever losing a few pounds then gaining them back over and over again, often with the result of their weight slowly increasing overall.

Most diets start you off heavily restricting calories and drinking a lot of water. Restricting your caloric intake heavily only works for a very short time - usually your body will slow down its metabolism (the rate it uses energy at) by the end of the first week to compensate for the reduced intake. You may lose a pound or two of true bodyweight, but most of the loss will be from the increased water intake.

You body is truly efficient in its operations, and water is the single most important part of your nutritional intake. People can go up to about 30 days without food, but your system would shut down without water for 6 or 7 days. As a result, your body stores water based on need and available supply. When you drink more water regularly, your body doesn't see the need to store as much of it, so it releases more of its water stores. Since you've increased your water consumption while dieting, your body is lighter more from carrying less water than from burning body fat.

And what happens when you've reached your weight target and end your diet? You go back to your 'normal' number of calories, but now your metabolism is slower so you're actually creating a bigger caloric surplus than before you started dieting. Unless and until your metabolism catches back up, that excess will be stored as body fat as insurance against the next caloric deficit. And it's the same with water - if you start drinking less, your body will go back to storing more of it.

Net result? In short order your weight has gone back up surpassing your starting weight, and you're facing another weight loss diet. Not really what you were hoping for, was it? It's time to break that cycle and get to and maintain your healthy bodyweight.

To start, evaluate your current eating habits and make any necessary changes. You should be eating 3 meals a day, each with a mix of fibrous carbohydrates, quality protein and some healthy fats. Replace white bread with whole wheat, including any buns, etc. Be sure to have a good breakfast - not sugar-laden cereal, salt-laden instant oatmeal or toast & coffee. Instead go for bacon & eggs, oatmeal & eggs or a grapefruit & a protein shake, for example.

Lunch should be tuna, salmon or a small portion of lean red meat, with a side of roasted or steamed vegetables or a salad - but skip the useless calories of the thicker dressings and opt for either oil & vinegar or just a drizzle of olive oil. Supper should be fish, chicken or lean red meat and green vegetables or beans. For best results, fill half the plate with steamed green vegetables.

If you find you need a snack mid-afternoon or after dinner, choose fruit, unsalted peanuts or walnuts. Just remember that while healthy, each has calories so limit the amount you allow yourself. If you're still peckish an hour before bedtime, treat yourself to a cup of cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is high in the phosphoprotein casein, a slow digesting protein that not only helps to curb your hunger but keeps the body burning more calories while you sleep as it your body digests it.

Check your weight about once a week to see if you're headed towards your weight loss goals. It's always best to check first thing in the morning upon rising, before getting dressed. Your weight fluctuates by a few pounds throughout the day, so best to always check it at the same time of day, and doing it first thing helps to eliminate fluctuations based on that day's food intake.

If you're making progress, just keep doing what you're doing - don't make any changes to try & hurry the process. Let your body adapt and continue at it's own preferred rate. On the other hand, if you're not yet losing, try either reducing the calories slightly at each meal, or replace a bit of the carbohydrate portion with additional protein.

Once you're at your target weight, keep monitoring yourself for another few weeks. If your body is still dropping weight, up your portions slightly until you reach a maintenance level. Now when you reach the weight you want to stay at it's easy to maintain, since you're already eating right to maintain that weight - no further changes are necessary as you're now living a more fit lifestyle and eating a healthy diet. And should you slip up the odd time, increasing your exercise level, even going for a couple of walks a day, can usually help to cover up your caloric indiscretions!

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6 Negative Effects Of Eating Fast Food

Paleo Weight Loss :

1. Fast food has a very high energy density. About 65 percent higher than a typical diet and twice as high as recommended healthy diets which makes us eat more than we otherwise would. Energy density refers to the amount of calories an item of food contains in relation to its weight. Foods with a high energy density confuse the brain's control systems for appetite, which are based solely on portion size.

6 Negative Effects Of Eating Fast Food

2. British researchers from the Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Center and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have determined that repeated eating at McDonald's or KFC or Burger King, people are more likely to gain weight and become obese. This is because fast food not only contains many more calories than traditional food, but also is more likely to undermine normal appetite control systems.

3. By eating a Big Mac and fries, the body consumes almost twice as many calories as you would if you ate the same weight of pasta and salad. Fast Food restaurants feed the obesity epidemic by getting people to eat many more calories than they need through persistent advertising.

4. McDonald's, KFC, and Burger King menu items using nutritional data from the fast food restaurants' Web sites, found that when we eat high energy density foods, we don't reduce the portion size so we get a lot more calories than we need. Our current society possesses a weak innate ability to recognize foods with a high energy density. Food intake is assessed by the size of the portion, yet a fast food meal contains many more calories than a similar sized portion of a healthy meal. The conclusion is we are all being fooled into eating too much food.

5. People get fat eating regular portion sizes, but since the food has a high energy density, people gain weight. In evolutionary terms, the human appetite was designed for low energy density foods. In other parts of the world where these foods are still the dietary staples, obesity is virtually non existent. Our bodies were never designed to cope with the high energy dense foods consumed in the West. That is a major reason why fast food in contributing to the major rise in obesity.

6. Another fact is that fast food may speed up people's risk of clogged arteries that can lead to heart attacks. Researchers at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in San Francisco have demonstrated that a certain type of fat, called oxidized fat, can accelerate the buildup of plaque in arteries. And many types of fast food such as hamburgers, pizza and French fries are loaded with oxidized fat. The conclusion is fast food meals are high in saturated fat and low quality carbohydrates, white bread and lots of soda. Our bodies require fiber and more healthful types of fats. Fast food represents a dietary pattern that is the opposite of what is recommended for a healthy body.

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What Are Good Foods To Eat For Weight Loss? - A Few Examples

Paleo Weight Loss :

Eating to lose weight sounds counter-intuitive doesn't it? After all isn't eating excessively what leads to weight gains for many of us? The advice to eat less and exercise more to reach your weight loss goals is extremely common. But perhaps the problem is more what we eat than the amount. Perhaps too why we eat over much, if we in fact do, is because of what we are eating. Maybe other foods would be more filling and provide longer lasting energy.

What Are Good Foods To Eat For Weight Loss? - A Few Examples

There are a few different authors and researchers who take a view sympathetic to the latter points. My experience tends to support these views as well. The type of food, the type of calories we consume has more of an impact on our body composition than just the amount consumed.

So you ask: what should i eat to lose weight? It's actually not too complicated. Most of the common meals we all consume on a daily basis, in part due to government recommendations, are based on a few different products. Unfortunately these products aren't conducive to maintaining an ideal body composition. For example corn is a major ingredient in most food products found in grocery stores. Soy and wheat are others. In order to lose weight or maintain an ideal body composition it's more beneficial to base our meals around some of the following foods:

1) Meats: Chicken, beef, fish etc.

2) Greens: Lettuce, spinach and similar leafy greens.

3) Root vegetables: Carrots, parsnips, turnips etc.

4) Nuts: Pecans, walnuts and almonds among others.

5) Some squashes such as butternut and acorn squashes.

6) Low glysemic impact fruits like: Blueberries, strawberries and raspberries.

When eating food products like this we're more likely to consume fresher, higher quality meals that contain less processed foods. These meals also have a reduced impact on blood sugar compared to what some call the Standard American Diet (SAD). This reduced impact on blood sugar means that our production of insulin is reduced and less glucose (perhaps none at all) from the blood stream is converted to fat deposits. Sounds like a good thing to me! Just think of all the meal possibilities available. Omelets, sausages, bacon and such for breakfast. You can even make lower impact pancakes from almond or coconut flour and top them with mixed fruit. All types of salads for lunch and a hearty steak dinner in the evening. If you're not convinced I'd encourage you to do a little research. This type of eating is sometimes called paleo or primal but you can just call it your own.

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