How To Get Started On Medifast Diet? (Updated 2025)

How the Plan Worked (Past Tense Intended)

The Medifast diet was the granddaddy of the “eat our food, lose weight” approach. Their most popular plan was the 5 & 1 system: five Medifast meal replacements plus one “Lean & Green” meal you prepared yourself. Think of it as outsourcing most of your nutrition decisions to a company that apparently knew better than you what you should eat.

The meal replacements were typically around 100-110 calories each and included shakes, bars, soups, and various other processed foods designed to taste like real food but with the calories of a rice cake. The “Lean & Green” meal consisted of 5-7 ounces of lean protein plus three servings of non-starchy vegetables – basically what your grandmother would call “a sensible dinner.”

The plan was designed to put you in a mild state of ketosis by keeping your daily calories between 800-1,000, which is low enough to make your metabolism wonder if you’ve been trapped on a desert island. You ate every 2-3 hours to keep your blood sugar stable and allegedly prevent your body from thinking it was starving (spoiler alert: 800 calories is pretty close to starving).

They also had the 4 & 2 & 1 plan for people who needed slightly more calories, typically men, seniors, or highly active individuals. This version allowed four meal replacements, two “Lean & Green” meals, and one healthy snack. Revolutionary stuff, really.

What You Ate

Picture this: you wake up and have a chocolate shake that tastes like someone tried to make chocolate milk but only had protein powder and artificial sweetener. For your mid-morning snack, maybe a bar that’s supposed to be a brownie but has the texture of cardboard that’s been left in the rain.

Lunch might be a soup that claims to be “chicken noodle” but contains neither recognizable chicken nor actual noodles. Afternoon snack could be another shake, perhaps vanilla this time, because variety is the spice of life (even when that spice is artificial vanilla flavoring).

Then came the highlight of your day: the Lean & Green meal. This was real food! Grilled chicken breast with steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and green beans. Or maybe fish with asparagus and spinach. It sounds boring, but after four meal replacements, you’d probably weep tears of joy over a properly seasoned piece of salmon.

The company offered over 70 different meal replacement options, which sounds impressive until you realize that “70 different ways to make protein powder palatable” is essentially what we’re talking about. They had everything from pancakes to pizza, though calling these items by their traditional names was generous at best.

Why It Worked (When It Did)

Let’s give credit where it’s due: Medifast worked for a lot of people. Clinical studies showed that people following the program lost meaningful amounts of weight, with average losses of 2-5 pounds per week initially, then 1-2 pounds weekly thereafter.

The portion control was foolproof. When your meal comes in a packet that contains exactly 110 calories, there’s no guessing about serving sizes. You literally couldn’t overeat (on the meal replacements, anyway) unless you opened multiple packets, which would require a level of dedication to self-sabotage that’s almost admirable.

The frequent eating schedule prevented the blood sugar crashes that lead to emergency vending machine raids. When you’re eating every few hours, you’re less likely to find yourself standing in your kitchen at midnight wondering if cereal counts as dinner.

The convenience factor was huge. No meal planning, no grocery shopping for breakfast and lunch, no wondering if you’re eating the right proportions of macronutrients. The company did all the thinking for you, which was either liberating or infantilizing, depending on your perspective.

The protein content was substantial enough to help preserve muscle mass during weight loss, which is more than you can say for many extreme low-calorie diets. At 14 grams of protein per meal replacement, you were getting decent muscle support.

What to Consider (The Reality Check)

First, let’s address the elephant in the room: 800-1,000 calories per day is not sustainable long-term for most people. That’s barely enough to keep your basic bodily functions running, let alone fuel an active life. Many people reported feeling tired, cold, and generally miserable, especially in the first few weeks.

The food quality was… let’s call it “functional.” These weren’t gourmet meals; they were nutrition delivery systems. The shakes tasted like protein powder mixed with artificial flavoring, because that’s essentially what they were. The bars had the consistency of compressed sawdust held together with good intentions.

The cost was significant. At $325-480 per month, you were paying premium prices for processed food packets. You could eat organic, grass-fed everything for less money, though admittedly you’d have to actually cook it yourself.

Social eating became impossible. Try explaining to friends why you can’t join them for dinner because you need to go home and drink a packet-based shake. The isolation factor was real, and food is such a social connector that removing yourself from communal eating affects more than just nutrition.

The transition off the program was where many people struggled. After months of having your food choices made for you, going back to planning and preparing real meals felt overwhelming. Many people regained weight once they stopped buying the meal replacements.

The extremely low fat content (about 2% of daily needs per meal replacement) meant that if you weren’t careful with your Lean & Green meal, you could end up seriously deficient in essential fatty acids.

Final Thoughts

The old Medifast diet was like training wheels for weight loss: it worked while you were using it, but didn’t necessarily teach you how to ride the bike on your own. The results were often impressive in the short term, but the sustainability was questionable for many people.

The fact that the company transitioned to OPTAVIA (which costs more and includes coaching) suggests they recognized that people needed more support to maintain their results. The meal replacement approach works, but it’s not a complete solution for most people’s long-term relationship with food.

If you’re considering something similar, you now have to look at OPTAVIA, which takes the same basic Medifast approach but adds personal coaching and costs more. Whether that’s an improvement depends on your perspective and budget.

The scientific backing was solid for short-term weight loss, and the convenience factor was undeniable. But living on processed meal replacements indefinitely isn’t anyone’s idea of a sustainable lifestyle, and the company’s own pivot to a coaching model suggests they recognized this limitation.

What Happened to Medifast (2025 Update)

In 2022, Medifast officially transitioned all customers to OPTAVIA, their coach-supported weight loss program. According to the company, they found that people were more successful when they had personal coaching and support rather than just meal replacements.

OPTAVIA uses similar meal replacements (now called “Fuelings”) but includes:

• Personal coaching from independent OPTAVIA coaches
• More comprehensive lifestyle support
• Higher costs (typically $400-500+ per month)
• Community support through coach networks

The basic 5 & 1 plan structure remains the same, but the approach is now more holistic and expensive.

Modern Alternatives to Medifast

Since traditional Medifast is no longer available, here are current options with similar approaches:

OPTAVIA (Official Successor) Same meal replacement concept with added coaching support and higher cost.

Nutrisystem Prepared meals with more variety but similar portion control principles.

Meal Replacement Shakes Companies like 18Shake, Shakeology, or generic protein powders offer similar nutrition delivery without the full program structure.

Medical Weight Loss Programs Doctor-supervised programs often use meal replacements but with professional medical oversight.

FAQs

Can I still buy original Medifast products? No, Medifast has been completely phased out in favor of OPTAVIA. Existing customers were transitioned to the new program.

Is OPTAVIA the same as Medifast? The meal replacements (now called Fuelings) are very similar, but OPTAVIA includes mandatory coaching, community support, and costs significantly more.

Why did Medifast disappear? The company found that people were more successful with coaching support rather than just meal replacements alone. They repositioned the brand to focus on comprehensive lifestyle change rather than just food delivery.

Were the Medifast studies valid? Yes, multiple peer-reviewed studies showed that the Medifast program was effective for short-term weight loss and had some health benefits. The research was legitimate, even if the long-term sustainability was questionable.

How much did people typically lose on Medifast? Clinical studies showed average losses of 12 pounds in 12 weeks, with some people losing much more. Results varied widely based on starting weight, adherence, and individual factors.

What were the main complaints about Medifast? Common issues included: food taste and texture, low energy levels, social isolation, high cost, difficulty transitioning back to regular food, and lack of long-term sustainability.

Citations

1. Coleman, C. D., et al. (2015). Effectiveness of a Medifast meal replacement program on weight, body composition and cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight and obese adults. Nutrition Journal, 14, 77.
2. Medifast Direct. (2022). Transition to OPTAVIA announcement. Retrieved from medifastinc.com
3. U.S. News & World Report. (2025). OPTAVIA diet review. Updated March 19, 2025.
4. ConsumerAffairs. (2025). Medifast reviews and pricing information. Updated July 9, 2025.
5. BarBend. (2024). Medifast meal replacement shake review. Updated June 17, 2024.
6. Diets in Review. (2025). Medifast diet review. Updated 2025.
7. ConsumersAdvocate.org. (2020). Medifast diet plans review. Updated December 22, 2020.
8. PMC Articles. Multiple clinical studies on Medifast 5 & 1 and 4 & 2 & 1 plan effectiveness.
9. Arterburn, L.M., et al. (2019). Randomized controlled trial assessing two commercial weight loss programs in adults with overweight or obesity. Obesity Science & Practice, 5(1), 3-14.
10. Various customer reviews and testimonials from multiple review platforms and clinical study participants.