Drinking lots of water to hopefully counteract any calories ingested will not work for beer or for other foods. If you are serious about losing weight you will stick to the plan as written. If you are not so concerned about the length of time it takes to lose the weight and don't mind the expense of medifast if it takes X times longer to lose the weight, then go for it. The quickest way from Point A to Point B is the most direct route = On Plan..

The concern with beer is less about calories than it is about carbohydrates. For Medifast to be most effective you need to keep carbs around 80-85g per day and never over 100. Carb intake over 100g per day will keep his body out of serious fat burning mode (ketosis) or - even worse - cause him to go in and out of ketosis. Switching over to ketosis is what makes you feel so miserable during the first week - so you don't want to repeat the process any more than necessary..

Have him look for low-carb beer when he can (like Michelob Ultra) and even when he cant, just make sure logs his meals and the beer so he can manage his Medifast and L/G meals to keep his total carb intake in range..

Hope that helps..

Not to sound snarky because that is not my intent but if he's going to have 2-4 beers a night, well, then why waste your money on Medifast if the commitment is not there. Alcohol not only has carbs but calories as well. When you drink alcohol, it is burned first before any fat is burned..

Can he give up the beer until he gets to where he needs to be?.

My fiance stopped drinking beer and has lost 15lbs just by stopping drinking..

Everyone starts where they are - there's no need to question his commitment. Medifast is a giant exercise in trade-offs and I'm sure he'll figure out what works for him soon enough. One Michelob Ultra is about 100cal and 3g of carbs. It would certainly be a challenge to incorporate 4 beers a day into any diet, but as long as he accounts for the carbs and burns the extra calories for the amount of beer he drinks, he can do just fine on MF..

I read so many posts that start "not to sound snarky". It's an odd think to have to start your posts that way. Reminds me of people who start out with "not to be rude". Rudeness is almost always sure to follow..

The reasons and circumstances one person has for being on Medifast are not the same as another has. The cost for some of us isn't an issue or concern. I spend much less in an entire day than I used to just picking up the ingredients for dinner. Perhaps he just likes beer or perhaps he has an addiction which IS an illness. Should this plan only be for those who are free from illnesses that effect our ability to stay OP or lose weight as expected. Many of us (myself included) are here because of illnesses that may or may not be under control. I don't think it's really our place to question if someone has the "correct" mindset to purchase and use Medifast to try to make their life better..

If the poster had asked if we thought her husband should stop drinking then that would be a good time to discuss the hurdles of drinking while on plan (not what someone can afford or your interpretation of their level of commitment). But she did not..

Kibakichikitty, I hope you don't feel like I am indicating your husband has a problem because that was not my intention. I just wanted to comment on that response and how it can come across. On my first day here I read assumptions that if you are sad about giving up wine, which I am, you must have a problem. It was flat out rude. So that was not my intention. Just to let you know though, since I've been in ketosis I have this odd taste in my mouth all the time.

I haven't wanted any since. He may experience this and choose to cut it out afterall..

Goodluck and welcome..

Where does it say that you are allowed 2-4 beers on Medifast? You cannot drink on Medifast, it is not one of the allowed foods. If you follow the Plan as designed, you are not allowed alcohol. And if you are not following the plan as designed (tested by doctors, nutritionists, people that know much more about this than most of us) you may lose weight but it will not be consistant and may stop. And honestly Medifast is so expensive, why waste the money if you are not going to follow the plan as written?.

Thanks everyone for the information!.

He is not really an alcoholic, but he enjoys his beers, it's an important part of his evening(not THE most important, but important), and he has no intention of quitting drinking, though he is fine with cutting back (2 beers a day IS cutting back, haha.).

He understands that if he didn't drink, he'd take in less carbs and less calories, and he understands that by continuing to drink, it will most likely impact his weight loss. However, him not drinking isn't an option, so that's why I was asking about results/side effects of continuing to drink..

He isn't really so focused on rapid weight-loss but rather on getting control of his eating and portion sizes. I am focused on a much bigger weight loss than him..

At $2 a meal, we are not spending any more (and in fact substantially less) than we did previously, so it is not a "wasting money on Medifast food" issue. I want him to be happy, and to lose his belly fat that he doesn't like. The flipping between ketosis and not (and I have no idea what that means) is worrysome though, so we definitely need to learn more about that..

I drink occasionally but not nearly every day (or even every week) so it's not that big of a deal for me, though I am sure I will drink occasionally while on plan..

The idea of monitoring our carb intake and compensating with either eating less carbs or excersizing more is a good one. I'll talk to him about it.

I am learning so much about the plan from reading everyone's threads and posting a few of my own, and I think all of you for your responses and guidance!!! I had never heard of ketosis before this thread, so now I have to go investigate that! Exciting.

I don't see where I was rude at all. Beer is.

NOT.



Part to Medifast. Most people want others to say "ahhh, it's ok, do what you like" and that's the whole problem with society as a whole. That's why we all have to lose weight, lots of "one bite won't hurt" and such. I'm just giving reality, not rudeness. Many folks don't like honesty..

Follow the plan as written and you will lose weight. If you make your own tweeks, then it is more likely that you will fail at Medifast..

Perhaps you missed the part about expensive being relative to each person. My husband and I spent more on a single dinner than I spend on a months worth of food for us. It may be expensive to you. It's not to me and I have no idea (not is it my business) what financial situation the first poster is in..

I didn't see anywhere where she asked if beer was OP. That wasn't the question if you re-read the post..

OMG... why can't people talk on these threads, get some reasonable advice, and without being crucified all over the place about this program!! Medifast is NOT the diet bible by any means: all people react and interpret differently to this program AND will manage to figure it out for themselves however they chose. the lady asked for some "advice" not a "lecture!".

I use a food tracker at myfitnesspal.comThere is also an app for my phone. The suggested carb levels are 80-85 per day. I use this to plan my food for the day before I make or eat it (before is really important). If he uses this he can see exactly what a beer or two is doing to his daily intake. I would suggest this for both of you. I am on my fourth week so still fairly new. It has really helped me because even eating the foods out of the Quick start guide can end up in some surprises calorie and carb wise..

Good luck..

I don't know about the alcohol bit, as I just don't drink. BUT...MF really is not as expensive as ppl make it out to be. Add up fast food, all the meats, greens, cereal, spices, groceries in general, and my bet is that it is over $300 a month...depending on how much a person eats. Some ppl start Medifast to get a little jump start...it's ok however THEY chose to use it. It only effects THEM. That said, they will see if what they do with the plan works for them or not and either stick to it, or not.

What works for some people needing to lose 100+ pounds may not be what someone needing to drop 30 pounds needs. Just saying. I think this site should foster INSPIRATION, not DOWNGRADING or JUDGEMENTS. I put something out there one day and got POUNDED.

And hated it, to be honest. This site should be positive. That's why it's here..

I am not trying to be harsh here, either-I just wanted to share with everyone that it hurts those who come for advice and get rude opinions instead..

What I'm trying to say is if you use Medifast as designed, you will lose weight..

There may be better other plans than Medifast for a person such as the poster's husband that would allow the beer and such. Weight Watchers for instance allows alcohol but you have to count it..

This will be a fun thread to watch..

Nicely said! LOL ;-).

THANK YOU!!!! Amen, Sista! (See my replies! LOL).

To the original poster-.

One thing I've noticed on the very, very rare occasion I've had alcohol while on Medifast is that it hits you pretty darn hard compared to before. I think your husband may find that he can't tolerate 4 beers like he could before, lest he become inadverantly trashed..

I can't answer as a guy, but as a woman I have had 1-3 lite beers or cocktails per week and have lost 53 lbs in a little over 5 months. Does that mean your husband can drink the lite beer and lose? Not necessarily but all I can offer is my personal experience. If I notice the lite beer affecting my weight loss I would obviously cut back as I am sure you or he would do the same. I wish you both great success!!.

Just wanted to add that my husband has had a couple beers since being on program. He's losing faster than me and other than two days I have been 100% OP with none of the allowed snacks. He is enjoying the loss but doesn't necessarily need it. As someone told me, men can lose weight by only eating HALF a pepperoni pizza...lol..

He's just doing Medifast to support me (and saving us loads of money on food and wine by doing so.

)..

Amen back!! I have totally cut back on commenting on the threads just for this very reason... we should be looking on this sight for safety in confession, encouragement, and ideas, NOT critism and lectures. everytime I post something, i'm worried that someone will hang me out to dry because I did something "wrong." but, I just happened to see this one thread and it perked my interest because every once in awhile I do like to have a beer or a glass of wine! I don't think anybody here is trying to purposely twist the Medifast diet; they're just trying to change bad habits one step at a time....