Apr 1, 2010

The Oprah Liquid Diet

Because I often write about the Medifast diet that is best known for its shakes, I sometimes have people write to me and ask for more information about "Oprah's liquid diet." Many people assume that Oprah Winfrey lost all of her weight on Medifast in the 1980s. This isn't true. In fact, she lost the weight using another high protein diet that features shakes - Optifast. This article will explain the background of Oprah's drastic diet (which she now regrets, by the way) and will tell you why, in my experience, Medifast gives you all of the results without the danger and severity of a true liquid only diet.

Sure, Oprah Lost A Lot Of Weight, But She Quickly Gained It All Back: There's no question that Ms. Winfrey looked absolutely awesome in her small Calvin Klein jeans. And, her lugging the big hunk of fat behind her was very impressive and dramatic. But, she has admitted that she basically starved herself for four months to get these results, consuming "not even a morsel" of solid food.

In fact, right after the show, she began eating real food and as a result the jeans no longer fit a mere two days later. The truth is, when you slow your body's metabolism down with severe diets such as this, you're going to gain the weight back pretty quickly the second you dare to consume solids again. In my opinion, this is no way to live.

How Medifast Differs From Oprah's Optifast: Many people assume that because of the shakes, this is also a liquid only diet. It really isn't. There are well over 65 food choices and many of them are solids. And, the solids are every bit as low in calories and carbs as the liquid soups and shakes. There are eggs, chili, oatmeal, chips, pudding, etc.

Many people can not wrap their brains around the fact that you really and truly gain nothing by opting for only the shakes. But it is the truth. Let's look at your typical Dutch Chocolate shake on this diet. It has 90 calories, 10 grams of fat, 13 grams of carbs, and 11 grams of protein. Now, let's look at a solid food like the chili. The chili has the exact same amount of calories and fat, but has 15 grams of carbs and 14 grams of protein. So, you're getting one more gram of carbs with the solid, but you're also getting more protein.

So, why would you sacrifice your solids when you can get the same low amount of calories in them? You're really not gaining anything by starving yourself. And, you are encouraged to eat six times per day on this diet, but the meals are small and very low in calories and carbs. You will also eat one larger, fresh meal each day that you make yourself. But, the company gives you guidelines to ensure that you stay the course. This regular food consumption every couple of hours keeps your metabolism revving rather than slowing it down.

I Really Think You Can Get Liquid Diet Results And Still Eat Real, Solid Food: I know from hanging around in weight loss forums that there are some folks who will limit themselves to just the shakes. But, you know what? Their results generally aren't any better than those of us that follow this diet as it was intended. And, their body is very likely to react negatively once they reintroduce solid foods. Why put yourself through this when you don't have to? I've lost over 90 pounds on Medifast and I eat plenty of solids. It just doesn't make sense to me to do otherwise.

Lindsey is the author of the free ebook "Getting The Most Out Of Medifast," which includes a complete food list; tips; how tos; recipes,coupons (including two weeks free or $50 off); and specials. To get a free copy (immediate download / no information required), click here. You can also visit Lindsey's diet review website at http://easiest-diet.com/medifast