Medifast in the Take Shape For Life plan consists of not just a healthy meal plan, but assistance from a health coach who will help you stay on track. This is one aspect of Medifast that makes it more successful for those seeking weight loss. Improving your diet is one aspect of weight loss, but lifestyle change is certainly the big picture to long term health.
Calorie-reduced diets resulted in weight loss and waist circumference reduction regardless of whether the diet consisted of higher percentages of fat, protein or carbohydrates.
“These results show that, as long as people follow a heart-healthy, reduced-calorie diet, there is more than one nutritional approach to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight,” Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, said in a press release.
The researchers assigned 811 overweight adults to one of four different diets, which consisted of similar foods and met guidelines for cardiovascular health. Each diet also had different percentages of energy from fat, protein and carbohydrates.
Participants were assigned to 90 minutes of moderate exercise per week. They recorded their food and drink intake each day and were offered individual and group counseling.
Diet results were similar
At two years, participants assigned to the 25% protein diets lost 3.6 kg, and participants assigned to the 15% protein diets lost 3 kg (P=.22). For participants who completed each diet, weight loss was 4.5 kg (25% protein) and 3.6 kg (15% protein; P=.11).
Weight loss was 3.3 kg (P=.94) for participants assigned to the 40% fat diets and the 20% fat diets. In participants completing each of the diets, weight loss was 3.9 kg (40% fat) and 4.1 kg (20%; P=.76).
Participants assigned to the 35% carbohydrates diet lost 3.4 kg, and those assigned to the 65% carbohydrates diet lost 2.9 kg (P>.20).
The average weight loss was 4 kg for participants who completed the study (80%), according to the researchers. Weight loss occurred mostly during the first six months and participants began regaining weight after 12 months.
After two years, 31% to 37% of participants had weight reduction of at least 5%; 14% to 15% of participants had weight reduction of at least 10%; and 2% to 4% had weight reduction of ≥20 kg (P>.20), according to the study.
“These findings suggest that continued contact with participants to help them achieve their goals may be more important than the macronutrient composition of their diets,” Frank M. Sacks, MD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said in a press release.
Comments: While this study suggests that having 'counseling' is the best way to ensure weight loss long term, the reality is that having a partner or someone who keeps you focused on your goal of not just weight loss, but healthier living, is what is needed for achieving good health. Medifast's Take Shape For Life meal plan includes a health coach with your order.
If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your weight loss and health, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Click here - Medifast - to try the Medifast diet meal plan to help you get started losing weight. Medifast is physician-developed.
(Study Reference)
Medifast Take Shape For Life Health Coach
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