12 weeks??!!
In my experience seeing Ellis's folks at my support group 4-16 weeks is the range, it depends on many factors, preop BMI, comorbidities and your readiness, they have shortened and extended based on how a person does. Look at it as today, small steps not overwhelming 12 weeks ok! You can do it and will be glad you did! Less wt to lose postop, more preparation emotionally, and well safety of surgery is greater too!
Take Care, 
Jamie Ellis RN MS NPP
100cm proximal Lap RNY 10/9/02 Dr. Singh Albany, NY
320(preop)/163(lowest)/185(current) 5'9'' (lost 45# before surgery)
Plastics 6/9/04 & 11/11/2005 Dr. King www.albanyplasticsurgeons.com
http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/jamiecatlady5/
"Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!"
Jamie Ellis RN MS NPP
100cm proximal Lap RNY 10/9/02 Dr. Singh Albany, NY
320(preop)/163(lowest)/185(current) 5'9'' (lost 45# before surgery)
Plastics 6/9/04 & 11/11/2005 Dr. King www.albanyplasticsurgeons.com
http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/jamiecatlady5/
"Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!"
I began doing the Medifast 4 shakes with a lean and green meal during the last week of June, and my surgery wasn't until September 29th. So I guess including the last few weeks, where you are switched to only the shakes (no food), I was on Medifast for about 13 weeks. Lost 84 pounds, which made me very happy ... ahhh, to recall the happy days.
Anyway, as with another person here, as you can see on my profile, I was close to 500lbs, so that seems to be their routine procedure. Just make sure you know what the "goal" is they set for you; I never knew until weeks after I'd past it. Would have been a great "celebration point" for me.
You can also read my review of Medifast on my profile, but in short, I loved it! Wish I was on it now instead of trying to guess at what I am supposed to eat pureed and hope it's enough protein, etc. As for my personal tastes, I adored the chocolate, with vanilla a close second. Hated the strawberry, and the orange was okay in the mornings for a short time, not every day though. I always used the method/formula below for my shakes, which by the way, I invested in an Oster 16 speed blender/food processor on sale for the same price as the one use "Bullet" some folks prefer -- it sure has come in handy! Okay ... what I did for each shake, regardless of flavor, is this: used between 3/4 to 1 cup of cold filtered water (I don't like the taste of Schenectady water, sorry!), then added the packet of powder and blended that -- starting lower and going to higher setting -- for at least a few minutes. That way all the powder was dissolved into the water and it also permits it to "rise" a little in thickness. Then I add 8 to 10 ice cubes, mine being the old-fashioned kind in the ice cube trays (LOL), crushed the ice on the crush setting and then blended at high speed for again a few minutes. What results is the most yummy shake you can have on this diet! Nice and thick & yes, creamy! For the vanilla, I would add pumpkin spice (nice this time of year for sure), peppermint extract, or even vanilla -- both the chocolate and vanilla tasted great with added cinnamon in my opinion. But please, don't do what I overheard some patients in the clinic say they did ... don't cheat by adding Hershey's syrup or other sugar based additives. You're only going to make it harder on your system to lose weight, and you will feel deprived -- something I rarely (if ever) felt while on the 4 shakes and lean and green. Talk with Chris, she can fill you in on what affects the Medifast from working correctly -- like I screwed up the night I went for my sleep study by not taking my evening shakes with me. Two missed shakes and my system made me pay for it by less weight lost that week.
Not sure anyone else noticed this (Dr. Clarke looked at me as though I were mad when I told him about this!) ... but once I'd been on the Lean & Green/4 shakes a day for a few weeks, not only did a lot of food TASTE better, but OMG! ... my sense of smell was also heightened! Almost like when I quit smoking in fact. I attribute this in part to my ridding my body of excess sugar, fats, processed foods, and let's face it ... "crap!" -- LOL! Was nice to not only love the taste of what I was eating, but the aromas.
Best of luck to you, and always, always ask questions. Write down anything on your mind for your weekly weigh-in (no matter how trivial you might think it is) and be sure to have those questions addressed before leaving. Again, Chris was always fantastic about listening to me and answering my questions ... she's "been there and done that," and a great resource for that office. (IMHO)
Suzanne
Anyway, as with another person here, as you can see on my profile, I was close to 500lbs, so that seems to be their routine procedure. Just make sure you know what the "goal" is they set for you; I never knew until weeks after I'd past it. Would have been a great "celebration point" for me.
You can also read my review of Medifast on my profile, but in short, I loved it! Wish I was on it now instead of trying to guess at what I am supposed to eat pureed and hope it's enough protein, etc. As for my personal tastes, I adored the chocolate, with vanilla a close second. Hated the strawberry, and the orange was okay in the mornings for a short time, not every day though. I always used the method/formula below for my shakes, which by the way, I invested in an Oster 16 speed blender/food processor on sale for the same price as the one use "Bullet" some folks prefer -- it sure has come in handy! Okay ... what I did for each shake, regardless of flavor, is this: used between 3/4 to 1 cup of cold filtered water (I don't like the taste of Schenectady water, sorry!), then added the packet of powder and blended that -- starting lower and going to higher setting -- for at least a few minutes. That way all the powder was dissolved into the water and it also permits it to "rise" a little in thickness. Then I add 8 to 10 ice cubes, mine being the old-fashioned kind in the ice cube trays (LOL), crushed the ice on the crush setting and then blended at high speed for again a few minutes. What results is the most yummy shake you can have on this diet! Nice and thick & yes, creamy! For the vanilla, I would add pumpkin spice (nice this time of year for sure), peppermint extract, or even vanilla -- both the chocolate and vanilla tasted great with added cinnamon in my opinion. But please, don't do what I overheard some patients in the clinic say they did ... don't cheat by adding Hershey's syrup or other sugar based additives. You're only going to make it harder on your system to lose weight, and you will feel deprived -- something I rarely (if ever) felt while on the 4 shakes and lean and green. Talk with Chris, she can fill you in on what affects the Medifast from working correctly -- like I screwed up the night I went for my sleep study by not taking my evening shakes with me. Two missed shakes and my system made me pay for it by less weight lost that week.
Not sure anyone else noticed this (Dr. Clarke looked at me as though I were mad when I told him about this!) ... but once I'd been on the Lean & Green/4 shakes a day for a few weeks, not only did a lot of food TASTE better, but OMG! ... my sense of smell was also heightened! Almost like when I quit smoking in fact. I attribute this in part to my ridding my body of excess sugar, fats, processed foods, and let's face it ... "crap!" -- LOL! Was nice to not only love the taste of what I was eating, but the aromas.
Best of luck to you, and always, always ask questions. Write down anything on your mind for your weekly weigh-in (no matter how trivial you might think it is) and be sure to have those questions addressed before leaving. Again, Chris was always fantastic about listening to me and answering my questions ... she's "been there and done that," and a great resource for that office. (IMHO)
Suzanne
Most Active
Recent Topics
