I sometimes hear from people who want to eat a little more during their Medifast lean and green meal. Sometimes, they want to have a larger restaurant meal or attend a special occasion where they know that their lean and green will be a little less lean on that day. Other times, the people who are asking realize that they are making a regular habit of overdoing it with their lean and green and they want to know if it's going to sabotage their diet.
I heard from someone who said: "I eat my lean and green meal at dinner. I have kids who just aren't going to eat the three servings of vegetables. And I cook things that children will like. So I freely admit that sometimes I might have a little macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets. Is this going to mess up my results in the long run? So far, I'm losing weight at a decent rate. I might be losing less than I would be if I were following the rules, but I'm willing to have results that are a little slower if I can enjoy dinner with my family. Is this a huge mistake that I'm making? What happens when you eat too much?"
Before I answer and give you what is only my opinion, I have to preface my response by saying that the Medifast counselors are the right folks to ask this question. But I can give you my opinion and I can tell you that it's pretty common to stretch the rules sometimes. I generally use my results as my guide. If I find myself having a couple of not so great weeks in a row (as one week might just be a fluke,) then I might take a look at my compliance and make adjustments accordingly.
And I have to say that when I started the diet, I wasn't as willing to make these sorts of concessions. I tried to stay firmly in compliance because I wanted to make sure that I got into ketosis so that I would enjoy fat burning mode. If you're at the beginning of your diet, I always advocate being as compliant as you can because you want a good idea of how effective the diet can be when you follow it as directed.
Once I knew what I could expect in firm compliance, I felt more comfortable allowing myself some treats every once in a while. When I saw that this wasn't going to completely thwart my results, I was more willing to be less stringent.
And think the inability to get into (and stay in) ketosis is probably the biggest concern because this could potentially slow your results. They do have ketone strips that allow you to test this for yourself but frankly, your results will often be a good indication of where you are in the process.
I've also found that if you're going to cheat, you're better off cheating with more protein or fat than with more sweets or carbs. So in this example the chicken nuggets would probable be a better choice than the macaroni and cheese, although either in moderation could work if she was happy with her results.
To me, the truth is that one day you will be off of the diet and you'll have to make your own food choices and you'll have to learn moderation. If she was able to stop at small helpings and it wasn't hurting her results, then I wouldn't over think it.
So to answer the question posed, it's my opinion that in the beginning of the diet, it's best to stick to the guidelines if you can. Special occasions are to be expected and you can get back into compliance once the occasion is over. But if you're making a habit of eating too much, then you might want to let your results be your guide, Either way, no one is going to interrupt your dinner and demand an explanation. Nothing really happens. You just have to monitor yourself and see if this has affected your results.
And, keep in mind that you really are meant to make your own choices for your lean and green meal. And the scale will probably tell you if these choices are working for you.
If you want a little more information about having success on medifast in real life or more tips on having success on medifast, feel free to check out my free ebook "Getting The Most Out Of Medifast" at http://easiest-diet.com/free-medifast-ebook/html
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