Laurie Brown - Medifast Success Story

If you’re like me, you’ve tried every diet program out there. Seriously, the cabbage soup diet? Or, what about the one where you eat nothing but bacon? I was ready to give up.

I wasn’t always fat. But as you know, it can be harder to focus on yourself once you become a mom. And though I wouldn’t trade my two beautiful children for anything, I decided it was time to start taking better care of myself. And then my friend told me about Medifast.

I did my research, and discovered that Medifast has been around for more than 30 years, and has been recommended by over 20,000 doctors. The program works. With Medifast, I ate six delicious meals a day – no cabbage soup! – and could choose exactly what I wanted to eat, and have it delivered, too!

Medifast meals are so satisfying that I never felt like I was missing out on anything. And the weight just flew off. I went from 182 pounds to 140 pounds in two months, and it was probably the easiest thing I’ve ever done.

I know that you might need a little extra boost to start your weight-loss journey with Medifast. I am excited to share some money-saving coupons with you, just click here for some great deals. What do you have to lose? http://www.medifasthealth.org/blog/working-medifast-coupons/

We love it to read about success stories on the Medifast Plan. Last week, an unemployed mom posted here Medifast Success Story.

Here is her story …

“I recently decided to transition into maintenance mode. While losing a total of 40 pounds would have been a nice even number, I am beyond thrilled with losing 39 lbs! My original goal was to lose 35 lbs, so not only did I achieve my initial goal but I exceeded it!”

Note: Read more about Medifast Maintenance and Lean & Green Meals.

Umemployed Mom Finds Success with Medifast

“Even though I have shrunk in size, I have grown in so many ways! I had some concerns (changing what has worked so well) and shared those with my dietitian. After a pep talk from him and chatting with two Medifast blogging veterans (Kelly who is close to transitioning and Stephanie who has been successfully maintaining her loss for a year), my fears were alleviated. Talk about an enormous support group, with Medifast I have NEVER felt alone!
You know what…I got this! I really do! I know nothing tastes as good as healthy feels.
I have been reviewing the Medifast Transition Maintenance Guide to become familiar with how to gradually introduce foods back into my diet. The guide is easy to follow and breaks everything down. I have no fears.

“I began my Medifast journey on January 1, 2012 (my official starting weight was 179 lbs and I was wearing size 8 – 10 pants and large shirts)!

“Here are current my numbers!
Current weight: 131 lbs
Current size: 4, small tops
Total weight loss: 39 lbs

“I also ran 7 miles the other day like it was NOTHING! My usual running distance is 5 miles at least 3 days per week, my pace is getting faster and easier. I am healthy, fit and feeling phenomenal! I have my eyes on a 1/2 marathon later this year!

“YOU could also be celebrating weight loss success! All it takes is making the decision to change!

Medifast recently introduced a new customer savings program. See all the current Medifast Discounts & Promotions and sign up for the Medifast Advantage. How it works is when you order $250+ of product, you also receive 56 free Medifast Meals and free shipping too! The Medifast Advantage Program has a lot of perks, including free customizable meals and a free BlenderBottle®.

If you get on the Medifast Diet Plan, send in your results to us. We love to hear about the success people are having with Medifast.

Differences Between Butter & Margarine

When it comes to improving your health, the biggest favor you can do for your body is avoid fake food. You’d probably agree that when it comes to food, ants are pretty smart creatures and even they won’t touch fake food. You shouldn’t either. Avoid it like the plague.

But how about some background on the creation and marketing of margarine…

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys, yes, fatten turkeys. When the use of margarine killed the turkeys, the investors who had put all the money into the research wanted a return on their heavy investment so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money out of it.

What may shock you is that margarine was originally a white substance with absolutely no food appeal. Their solution? They added yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. Let’s discuss the main differences…

Believe it or not, both have the same amount of calories.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams per serving; compared to 5 grams for margarine.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a Harvard Medical Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods you may consume.

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has few and only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

And now, for Margarine…

• Very High in Trans fatty acids
• Triples risk of coronary heart disease
• Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)
• Increases the risk of cancers up to five times
• Lowers quality of breast milk
• Decreases immune response
• Decreases insulin response

And the most disturbing fact:

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC! And shares 27 ingredients with paint.

These facts alone were enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

Open a tub of margarine and leave it open in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will notice a couple of things:

* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something)

* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no value; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny micro-organisms will not a find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

Chinese Proverb:

When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others.

Pass the BUTTER PLEASE.

Can a steady diet of bad food like fast food alter your brain? A recent study from Nature Neuroscience has linked high fat diets to neurogenesis and obesity in laboratory mice.

Brain changes: good or bad? What is Neurogenesis?

Neurogenesis is the growth of new brain cells. The adult neurogenesis observed by this study’s researchers is a rare form of brain change which has not been seen until now.

Neurogenesis is one manifestation of neuroplasticity, which can be promoted through good lifestyle choices. On the other hand, poor lifestyle decisions might also trigger unfavorable results. The Johns Hopkins researchers in this study found that a high fat diet could trigger unwanted neurogenesis.

Fact: High Fat Diets Change the Brain

The study which was conducted put mice into two groups: those fed a normal diet and those who feasted regularly on high fat foods. After just one month of chowing down, adult mice on high fat diets had quadruple the rate of new brain cell growth in the hypothalamus, a part of the brain responsible for regulating many metabolic processes.

But did neurogenesis also cause obesity? To answer this question, researchers irradiated the newly created portions of rats’ brains. Not only did radiation inhibit 85% of neurogenesis, but irradiated mice gained significantly less weight and fat mass compared to the group that kept their new neural growth—even though all of them stayed on the same high fat diet. Furthermore, irradiated mice used more energy and were more active despite their unhealthy diet.

Fighting Obesity: Current Methods

The link between diet, obesity, and the brain is thought-provoking. But take it with a grain of salt: the connection has yet to be confirmed in humans. As we wait for more research, consider some current methods that could help change your eating habits.

Many scientists have pointed out that obesity often functions like an addiction to food in the brain. And a 2012 study from the University of Amsterdam found that challenging cognitive training lowered addiction symptoms in individuals with a drinking problem.

As research continues to show that your behaviors change your brain, cognitive training becomes ever more important. Try strengthening your willpower today: exercising your brain is as important as exercising your body.

For help with a low-fat, low-sugar diet full of all the vitamins and nutrients your body needs, turn to the Medifast Diet.

Advertising for diets sometimes reaches an all-time low. Promises off “miraculous weight loss” practically overnight while still eating pizza, chocolate cake and donuts. Aren’t we smarter than this? Obviously not as Americans buy BILLIONS of these scam-type diets.

The old stand by of “diet and exercise” doesn’t work for everyone, and one of the main reasons it doesn’t work is the general food supply has become overly tainted with sugar, which completely kills any chance of normal weight loss.

Liquid diets fail because you crave chewing food. It’s true. The brain will have a fit because the “chewing” mechanism isn’t being used … and cravings to chew get so bad that they are overwhelming.

Medifast has claimed success through their meal replacement system and teaching people how to make one healthy “lean and green meal” per day. This helps them in the “maintenance” portion of the diet where you begin to cook more meals for yourself. You learn how to cook and eat more healthy.

It works. And 20,000 doctors back the diet plan over the last 30+ years.

Medifast is formulated as low-calorie and low-fat meals and by ensuring that all the necessary vitamins and minerals the body needs during the day to properly function are included. The system is basically simple, give the body what it needs and it will get rid of what it doesn’t need (stored fat). For some reason, people think Medifast is a scam because you have to buy their food.

It is far from a scam.

Medifast is a solid company. They are in the 28th position in the Forbes’s list of 200 finest small companies. Johns Hopkins University did a study and did extensive research and found the typical male weight loss was 67 pounds and typical female weight loss was 57 pounds on the Medifast diet.

Want to learn more of the success of the Medifast Diet? See real people in the Medifast Success Stories section.