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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Intermittent Fasting For a Lean Hollywood Body!

Paleo Weight Loss :

So you want to lose body fat right? Of course you do, most of us wouldn't mind dropping some of that unsightly muscle-masking blubber. Being lean is a top priority if a Hollywood Body is your goal - and I'm sure it is, because you're sitting there reading my site.

Intermittent Fasting For a Lean Hollywood Body!

Most of you are aware of the following, but let's reiterate:

"In order to lose weight, you must create a calorie deficit (burn more calories than you consume). This is a true statement.

The problem lies in the discipline or methods used to do so. Sure, you can count calories 7 days a week, eat every three hours, and drive yourself somewhat crazy. Or you can simplify the process and relax a bit, still knowing you're bound to drop fat. Sound good? Enter: INTERMITTENT FASTING.

A Simpler Approach To Effective Fat Loss

You may have heard of intermittent fasting (IF) because as of late, it's become a fairly popular weight loss technique and for good reason. Fitness expert Brad Pilon is probably the most innovative when it comes to the subject. Check out his blog for more info on the matter than you're likely to read all at once, but it will lay out the science and logistics behind IF to a far better degree than I could relate. He is the go-to guy for IF! His eBook is one of the best purchases I have ever made. It's not your typical eBook - this information could be what takes you to the next level of fitness!

Intermittent fasting is exactly what it sounds like: sporadic periods of no food. For our purposes, we are not talking about lengthy fasts either. I recommend going anywhere from 14-24 hours, and a maximum of 36 hours, but 36 is pushing the limits and not necessary. However, you can choose to do so without encountering the negative benefits. Anything beyond the 36 hour mark and you begin to risk the things you're probably worried that a 6 hour fast will create.

On that note, what about all the fitness sites that are telling us that we have to eat every 2-3 hours? Their claim is that by skipping meals or waiting too long between meals, your body will go into starvation mode and your metabolism will come to a screeching halt. This, my friends, is simply not true, and IF is not unhealthy. Far from it. The 6 small meals a day approach is currently very popular amongst the fitness community. But where did this all start? Is there actually a solid foundation backing this theory, or is it just word of mouth and then the general consensus assumes it to be true? Fitness Blackbook has a short post with some good points that question the veracity of this theory.

This isn't to say that it's a bad approach to weight loss. It can work, but remember, the bottom line is that whether you eat one meal or ten meals a day, if a calorie deficit is not created, you will not lose weight. Personally, I can put down food! No really, I can eat like a horse. So eating six meals a day could easily add up to a very large number in the calorie department. If your daily caloric goal is 1800, six meals a day would be 300 calories a meal. So this method requires a great deal of portion control and discipline. Sometimes, you just want to eat with somewhat reckless abandon, so to speak. IF makes this possible, while still creating a calorie deficit.

If Muscle Gain Is Your Goal, I Recommend The More Meals A Day Approach

If you need to pack on mass, and some of you do, getting doses of protein many times a day is an effective way to go. This is from personal experience as well as factual information. I will gain muscular size faster when I eat 5-6 times a day with protein at every feeding.

But if you're happy with your size and are aiming for fat loss, both methods will work, and I have truly experienced the quickest fat loss and lowest body fat levels when performing some sort of IF.

Methods Of Intermittent Fasting

Eat Stop Eat
Brad Pilon's tried and true method of fasting allows you to "Stop Dieting and Start Living." Depending on your goals, the main principle is to do 1 or 2 24-hour fasts per week. It may sound like Hell, but it's actually easy once your body adapts. Say you eat dinner at 7pm on Thursday - you would then fast until 7pm on Friday. Water, tea, and coffee (black) are allowed. After the fast is over, you resume your normal eating habits as if the fast never happened. You do not go to the McDonald's drive-through and order 10 things from the dollar menu, unless you want to ruin your hard work. Detoxification is an added bonus to this, but the main goal is creating a caloric deficit over time. Think about it. Hypothetically, say you normally eat 2000 calories a day, every day. That adds up to 14000 calories per week. If you fast 2 days, that would reduce your caloric total by 4000, which is over a pound of fat, and more weight on the scale (a pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories). So in a week, you've leaned down over a pound of fat by simply eating normally 5 days of the week, and fasting the other 2. No need to worry about creating a deficit every day, just maintain discipline for two days. Even one day of fasting using this approach will compound into good results over time.

Eating Window
Not the official name, but it makes sense to me. I used this approach last summer and got down to sub 5% body fat. It's my favorite way method of IF. Basically, you will eat between certain hours, and not eat during other hours. For me last year, I would eat my first meal at 1pm, so breakfast was 2 cups of black coffee and that's it. Coffee actually suppresses my appetite and obviously the caffeine helps in regards to having energy. So making it to 1pm was no sweat. In fact, I would perform a morning workout around 10am, fasted, and without food after for a few hours. And no, I did not lose muscle. I will touch up on this in a moment. I would eat meals between 1pm and around 11pm. That's 9 hours where eating is an option, and 14 where it's not. I did not monitor calories while on this style of eating, I simply ate healthy Paleo food until full, and ate again when hungry, inside the parameters of the diet. Honestly, I've never dropped body fat so quickly and easily as when using this method.

Working Out While Fasting?
So am I mentioned above, while on the 14 hour a day fast approach, I would incorporate a morning workout into the fast. Was I a slug in the gym? No - in fact, I had more energy than when fed, and had some of my best workouts while fasted. The body will use it's "fight or flight" internal tactic to signal the body to heighten the senses and become focused like a laser. It's crazy, but it really does happen. My strength in lifts increased, and my best CrossFit times were achieved when in a fasted state. One day I remember thinking, "Wow, if I am this pumped while fasted, imagine what some pre-workout carbs will do!" I ate a big bowl of oatmeal, went to the gym, and had an absolutely horrendous workout! My body was so used to working hard fasted, that it basically rejected the food as far as energy levels were concerned.

Will you lose muscle by not eating protein right after your workout? No. Again, my strength improved and I dropped body fat like no one's business. My measurements stayed around the same, save my waist, which trimmed down to 29", lower on some days. I had the V-Shaped torso to a greater degree than ever, and most of all I felt great! I want to tell you about these personal experiences so you can put your mind at ease when these concerns come about in your head. I worried the same things, but soon discovered the beauty of IF.

Drawbacks Of Intermittent Fasting
Honestly, I am yet to be displeased with anything about IF. I don't think it's the best way to go if you're after big muscle gains, but that's usually not of my concerns. If I do feel like adding some muscle, I will fall out of IF and use the "more meals a day" approach. But for fat loss, I think IF is the way to go, in terms of effectiveness and simplicity. Is it for you? I'm not sure. Try it out and see if it's something you can incorporate into your fitness goals. Chances are, it'll take some time getting used to, as all new things are, but after a couple weeks pass, your body should be primed and accept the concept of IF, whichever method of it you choose, with open arms.

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Paleo Diet Plan - Adapting the Everyday Paleo Concept

Paleo Weight Loss :

If you take a look at an ordinary Paleo Diet plan, it would include a lot of fruits and vegetables. Most of the carbohydrates are from these kinds of foods. Fruit and vegetables are also good sources of natural sugars and fiber. These elements provide a significant source of energy that is helpful in the maintenance of the body. Some of the popular fruits included in the Paleo Diet plan are berries, pomegranate, bananas, apples, grapes, pineapples, and oranges. On the other hand, vegetables include bell peppers, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, spinach, and tomatoes.

Paleo Diet Plan - Adapting the Everyday Paleo Concept

The recommended protein intake must be from lean sources and the regular fat intake should give you healthy monounsaturated fats as well as polyunsaturated ones. In a Paleo Diet plan, it is also acceptable to combine lean protein-rich foods like salmon, fish, beef, pork, grass-fed buffalo, turkey, chicken, and eggs. Sources of your regular fat intake may be nuts like almonds, macadamia nuts, and cashews. Seeds like sunflower and walnuts are good sources, too. Dishes or food can be further enhanced by using natural herbs or spices. In the Paleo Diet, the person is allowed to eat whenever he is hungry. The quantity of food to be taken is also unlimited. The person can consume the amount needed for him to be full. This is actually an approach called "unweighed and unmeasured."

People who decide to practice the diet should make sure that he does not consume the food items banned from the diet plan. These are food items that are nonexistent during the Paleolithic period. Bread, noodles, pasta, and cereals are not allowed because they are products of agriculture, which was not yet practiced during that time. Other food items that are banned include legumes like beans and peas and starchy root vegetables like potatoes. These food items cannot be eaten raw. The necessary preparation must be done before anyone can eat them. More obviously, dairy products like cheese, milk, and yogurt are strictly banned.

One good thing about the Paleo Diet plan is that it allows cheat meals. If you check out some useful weight loss websites, you'll get to read that adding 1 to 2 cheat meals each week to one's Paleo Diet plan can be good. Cheat meals happen when the person consumes a meal including food items that are banned. It is allowed because the plan should be appropriate to the different personal requirements of each person. Personalizing one's Paleo Diet plan will ensure that the person will get a more appropriate diet plan that will help him function daily. Athletes, for example, need more nutrition compared to ordinary working employees who do not even have a particular strenuous activity. The daily activities and routine of people determine a different set of requirements when it comes to vitamins and minerals in general.

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Trampoline Weight Loss

Paleo Weight Loss :

Can your backyard trampoline help you to lose weight? You bet it can!

Trampoline Weight Loss

Just 10 minutes per day on a trampoline will accelerate weight loss and burn as many calories as a 30 minute jog!

You do not need to do flips and outrageous moves either.

Simply learning 5 or 6 basic moves and putting them into a routine is all that is required.

Here is an example work out on the trampoline.

Start with 20 warm up bounces, followed by 10 bounces getting higher and higher with each bounce, then 10 low bounces and again, 10 bounces getting higher and higher.

Do a Tuck Jump, Straddle Jump and Pike Jump one after the other, take a few bounces to recover and repeat 4 times.

Do a seat drop, followed by a tuck jump, followed by a seat drop, followed by a straddle jump, followed by a seat drop followed by a pike jump. Repeat this 4 times.

Do a Seat drop to front drop to feet.

Do a seat drop half twist out.
Do swivel hips - repeat several times

Finish with a routine.

Pike Jump
Seat Drop
Tuck Jump
1/2 Twist Jump
Seat Drop
1/2 Twist to Feet
Straddle Jump
Front Drop to Feet

OR

Pike Jump
Seat Drop
Swivel Hips
1/2 twist to feet
Tuck jump
Front Drop to Feet
Straddle Jump
Back Drop
1/2 Twist to Feet

The benefits of doing the above on your trampoline every day when combined with maintaining a healthy diet is not only weight loss, but overall toning. It is excellent for cellulite when combined with drinking lots of water. It also controls depression with amazing success. This is because it has been medically proven that it is impossible to feel depressed when jumping on a trampoline. Long term use will deter depression forever.

As an exercise apparatus, nothing beats the backyard trampoline, or a mini-rebounder (if you do not have a suitable garden for a larger trampoline).

Of course, all these moves need to be learned correctly for both safety and to ensure you get the best results from your trampoline exercise.

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Raw Food Diet - What is the Downside?

Paleo Weight Loss :

Let us say someone has just now become aware of the harmful effects of cooking and freezing food and now wishes to 'go raw'. The downside is that he is barraged with warring camps of raw food enthusiasts. Some agree on a few points but take sides and seek to disqualify the opposition on most issues. That to me IS the downside.

Raw Food Diet - What is the Downside?

Briefly, the major camps consist of:
Raw vegans who eat only raw plant food, but raise the temperature of 'raw' to 115 degrees Fahrenheit

Raw vegetarians who eat fruit, vegetables and sprouts, nuts, seeds, grains, legumes, eggs and honey but no red meat, and mostly no fish or poultry. For most vegetarians, eggs and dairy are included.

The Raw Paleolithic diet is one of the raw animal food diets. The Raw Paleolithic diet includes raw meat and organs but excludes raw dairy, grains and legumes.

The Primal Diet is a raw food diet which stems from traditional and primitive diets that include meats (fatty meat is preferred) and organs, dairy in all forms, raw eggs, honey, vegetable juice and some fruit with raw fat.

Most versions of a raw food diet DO cause benefits. Some benefit is caused by the automatic elimination of all processed foods and additives - for instance, flour and refined sugar under all names.

Some raw food diets allow table salt (or sea salt) to be a part of a raw food diet, not as a living food but justified by the fact that sodium chloride crystals are found in nature.

Most of the talk and internet presence is about vegetarian and vegan raw diets all of which need various quantities of supplements to enable the dieter to get enough basic nutrition. Many people can get along for a while as vegans or vegetarians. The main visible side effect is looking very thin. The main experiential side effects can be fatigue, lack of energy, muscles weakening & vanishing, and reduction of bone mass.

The history of body building has many important examples of what can be achieved on a raw paleo or Primal diet (reference: Muscle, Smoke and Mirrors, Vol. I - a complete history of body building viewable by Googling the author Randy Roach).

According to the vegan/vegetarian plan, mother's milk is the only beneficial milk - therefore do you need to bring your mother when you go away to college or move out to start a career (to say nothing of having her available in the high school cafeteria)? Other than that, even raw milk from a goat or a cow is not recommended on the strictly vegetarian/vegan diet, nor are other dairy products or eggs.

One goal of each of the raw food camps (vegetarian, vegan, paleo and Primal) is to eliminate any reliance on drugs or other medical procedures such as surgery. This is definitely NOT a downside in most cases, however the fact that the various camps fight against each other as to how this can best be done leaves the potential newcomer to raw food battle-worn and starved for some convincing evidence of the effectiveness of whatever camp he is most drawn to.

Another fairly general goal of each raw food diet is to reduce intake of toxic matter and eliminate stored toxins. The ways of achieving this vary quite a bit from camp to camp. The ways a human body deals with toxins include proper functioning of circulatory, lymphatic and immune systems through the lungs, sweat glands, liver, kidneys and colon. The vegetarian raw food diets have a close reliance on repetitive colon cleansing through a series of enemas and/or colonic irrigations combined with fasts. Some downsides include that this is time consuming - plus one increases one's reliance on these man-made solutions instead of decreasing reliance. On the Primal Diet, there are NO recommended breaks from intake of proper food - even for a day - and there are several natural ways of bringing about proper elimination of toxins. For instance, proper elimination can be accomplished through lymphatic baths (see We Want To Live for details) and natural methods of elimination through the colon, which don't also flush away valuable bacteria.

Some versions of the raw food diet are not helped by ongoing campaigns that only thin people can be good looking. Continuous and persistent ad campaigns show thin cover girls on popular magazines. Again the ways of achieving such thinness vary tremendously; there are many other ways for weight loss besides a raw food diet but in none of these diets is health given the #1 priority. In a truly beneficial raw food diet, health IS the priority.

One would think that if our digestive abilities as humans were studied, more agreement could be reached. This study has been done but the results have been kept safely between the covers of a book, thus are not well known & thus the debate continues. Email the author of this article to ask for the summary paragraph about our digestive abilities.

In summary, when one chooses to follow a raw food diet despite the downsides mentioned above, there are many sub-choices which require some due diligence. One must add in the time it takes to make or buy daily staples such as fresh vegetable juice and raw coconut cream. One must budget to cover the costs and one must find sources for various foods & feel right about whether or not they are all natural or have been fudged in one way or another.

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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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