That's a good question. I'm not sure what is the right answer to your question. I'll do some research in Google and get back to you if I bump into an answer. You should email the people at Medifast as they probably could help you..

I was underweight when I started raw so gained at first... from 7.5 stone at 5"5 to 9 stone... I guess because I hadn't been eating much before, and I had lost weight quickly my body was hanging onto every calorie. Now I'm losing again, about 1lb a week so steady but sustainable. I guess my body will settle at a kind of midpoint...

Ooh do I hear you on the unhealthy pound gain. My first stab at Raw I was still drinking (dangerously) and even still I managed to lose 20 lbs in a few months. It was frankly impossible for me to really tell what Raw was doing for my body because I was abusing myself endlessly..

This time around now that my beloved whiskey and I are parted for good and that 20 lbs has settled back on my hips there is NO DOUBT that my weight loss directly corresponds to my detox. I can feel it every time it happens and it's like clockwork. My BM's get frightfully smelly, my face breaks out all over the place, I get a little tired and nauseous and IF I stay Raw through these events I release 3 or 4 pounds at a time. Fat cells hold trapped toxins and I have some serious toxins to purge. I'm really taking my time with this particular set of lbs because it's so contaminated you know? This is literally my "whiskey weight" and there isn't a such a thing as being too cautious when it comes to detoxing..

Luckily, this time sobriety is allowing me to tune into my body's signals and the things I crave are exactly what it needs to release the weight safely. I drink Green Smoothies by the gallon, can't seem to get enough!.

And coconuts, oh my goodness, coconuts. Coconut oil in the morning, coconut shakes for lunch, raw macaroons for snacks. That plus sea greens and superfoods and you have most of what I eat these days. All transforming, detoxing foods..

Great question girl! xoxo Em..

Hey Em - I just wanted to say GOOD JOB!!! You should be so proud of yourself for parting ways with the bottle!!!! WOO HOO!! You will be one of those folks who KNOWS without any doubt what got left behind and will appreciate your new health and truly treasure it!! I am so happy for you!!.

Tracey Mouse..

I never had much weight to lose (actually I've never been overweight in my life) but I wanted to lose a few kilos myself for vanity purposes. And so my old clothes would fit...and it didn't happen until I stopped counting calories and instead swore to myself to just only eat when hungry, drink more water, and stop thinking about it. In two weeks I lost the weight, and it was extremely easy....once I stopped thinking about it, that is...

Thanks Tracy Mouse! I'm all smily now! Actually I should thank everyone on this board, because at one point or another they've all inspired me to keep strong in my sobriety and my rawness. True Story!.

Big Kisses!..

Over the last twenty years I figued out I've gained exactly 2 lbs. per year which means I've gained a total of 20. It has been a bitch to get off. A year and a half ago I was hospitalized, became very ill and it melted away in minutes. Within months, right back on due to eating SAD. That is when I realized I needed to change my Medifast diet drastically.

Middle of January I decided to do a responsible juice fast with maybe an avocado if I'm absolutely starved and now this weight is coming off along with any and all damaged and diseased cells. It is the ultimate cleansing. This time around with raw I am definitely incorporating alot more juicing. It's working for me. I think I may even try to take off 30 and see what happens...

I'm new to raw and I don't have a LOT of weight to lose. I'm more like Jenna from Supercharge me- I have some weight to lose but am generally ok as far as my body mass index is concerned..

I've probably lost about 5-7 lbs since going raw a week and 1/2 ago. I think a lot of it may have been water weight, although my skinny pants fit a lot looser now. I'd like to drop about 15-20 lbs total to get me back at my college weight. I can't blame bone structure since it has only been a few years but working in the corporate environment I've put on 5-10 lbs last year alone... that was when I realized this had to stop otherwise in a few years I'll be really heavy....

Its a little discouraging since some people lose a lot of weight so quickly, but I think I will be able to get rid of that extra weight in a few months. I have no patience though , which is bad since I irrationally sometimes think that this 15-20 lbs should be gone in 1 week.

I keep reminding myself it took several years to put it on, so it may take a little to get it off too...

Ingenue, That is so awesome that you have been able to overcome those unhealthy habits and have become so healthy! I know what a challenge that is- a good friend/ex of mine had to do the same thing. Now, he is sober for 7 years and completely turned his life around..

That is awesome for you!..

I'm really happy this post has begun..

"i am a cranberry" I totally share your experience. I only had 5-7 pounds to lose. I found it fell off when I didn't think about it, didn't think about calories, just ate when I 'm hungery, no emotional eating and drank lots of water. just so every one knows...the types of Medifast food I was eating, when hungery, were very high in calories...i think I was probably eating 1000 calories more than what I technically should eat to lose weight..

I really think this "thinking about losing" thing can be powerful..

If I did think about my weight, it would be thoughts like "i am at my goal wieght".

Anyway, as soon as I eat some cooked Medifast food again, I "puff" up rather quickly, but I find I lose it quickly too. I think for those of us that are at or almost at our goal, it's going to be a fluctuating place to be at. and that's not a bad thing..

J..

The last few are the hardest to lose...my guess is because when you get close to your goal weight it's inevitably going to be on your mind more. Also the subconscious temptation to self-sabotage increases...

I am in the same boat and understand having only 5-7 lbs to loose. It seems to be a lot more difficult to come off. I have been raw for 21 days now, at first I lost 3 lbs in 1 week, now it is all back. Also have been expereincing ALOT of hunger...I am hoping it will all level out over the course of the next month..

Good luck to all of you..

I have been raw for 2 months now and maybe have lost a pound or two? I don't really know. I have been having a more intense physical practice though, so I think I am developing more muscle mass at the same time..

I do eat alot, but all raw. I too would like to get rid of a couple of pounds...but I think my body is just regulating to the changes, and so far i've been happy with that...

When I first went raw, I wasn't thinking of weight at all, I just wanted my stomach to stop hurting all the time. (OK, and I wanted to stop passing gas all the time too!)... Raw stopped them both within the WEEK (after many months of trying other things)..

And, I don't have a scale, but I would say that within a month or two I had dropped down from about 130 to about 120 (I'm 5'6 and very small boned, so both of those weights are okay for me). I was all raw for a while, then started turning to other Medifast food for emotional reasons and the weight creeped back up some. I'm back to all raw, emotionally stable enough to make it happen again, but it's taking a little longer to get back (I'm probably about 125 now)..

I will tell you that it really is all about detox and emotions for some people. I dropped the initial weight partially because I went to be with my mom in FL (which meant being separate from husband, stepkids, usual stress) for a month during that time. So much emotional healing took place during that time. It was so amazing..

Then I came back home and had a hard time standing my ground with raw and everything else. It's taken a lot of effort to realize what's happening. I MUST be taking care of myself emotionally and being gentle with myself, not judging or being harsh at all. My body keeps the little.

Tummy pooch.

To protect me when I'm not protecting myself.

It's a physiological reaction because of any sort of emotional distress or obsession with getting rid of weight or beating oneself up for things etc..

Focus on taking care of yourself, healing any tendency to be hard on yourself or to avoid your real dreams/goal/interests, follow your dreams, be happy with yourself as you are.

Now today.

, eat only 100% raw when you're hungry, listen to what your body is.

Really.

Craving.

Separate from emotions.

, (ie nuts are fine and good until you're not even hungry and eat a whole bag for emotional reasons)... and I promise/guarantee any weight that should not be there will drop off quicker than you ever imagined...

I'll agree to all that except the nuts part...with my metabolic type if I eat too much fat I feel rotten and lethargic all day and gain weight, too...

Oh, wow, this just.. thank you..

As for the initial question, I actually need to.

Not.

Lose weight...

I'm glad that spoke to you. I feel it as I write it because it's been almost a year of mostly raw Medifast food that I've finally started to figure this piece out. It's really not about the food!.

For your weight situation, I feel like a goober for quoting myself, but ah well. I don't mind being a goober..

I added the emphasis because that's how taking care of yourself (emotionally) and eating raw seems to work. It's really cool... If the weight.

Should.

Be on your body, it's not going to disappear unless it's just in the initial phase when your "false body" is disappearing. If it.

Doesn't.

Belong there, it's gonna head out the door....

There really is a lot of freedom in that! Just take care of yourself, let that be the focus, and eat Medifast food from the earth. End of story. I love that...

I agree...some people are actually meant to have slightly heavier builds. A lot of this is dependent on genetic factors. My "healthy" weight is, as far as I know, what one might consider underweight. The reason I believe this is because when I've been at my healthiest as far as eating and exercising and not concerning myself with weight, I've been "underweight". So right now, even though my weight is in the healthy range, I may even be "overweight" according to my own ideal healthy weight. And the opposite may be the case for other people...

It's funny, I was 100% raw for almost 3 months, and didn't lose anything....

BUT. I went from being 21% bodyfat to 13% bodyfat!!.

So...... I maintained 125 lbs, which is more than I'd like to weigh (at 5'4"), but still holding on to the facts, like an 8% fat loss!!!..

I agree with this; my most natural weight at my height is underweight, meaning the weight that I was for years without even thinking about what I was eating, or exercising, and being basically unaware of anything, was underweight. When I went raw, I lost a lot, then focused on gaining some, and now I weigh more than I would like to, by about 5 lbs or so..

At 5'5" I think my ideal weight is between 105 and 110, right now I am between 115 and 120, but I gain a lot in my face. I hate how puffy my face looks right now, which is why I want to lose about 5 lbs. At 105 I am not boney or sick-looking, because I have a tiny frame. At 120 I felt like my bones were being swallowed by too much flesh, like my body got really soft..

Trying to judge myself through charts and whatever standards, is enough to drive me crazy! I just go by how my clothes fit now. The numbers make me frustrated!..

You guys are all so cool, I love when lots of people respond to a post I've made, I feel so loved!.

Anyway, it's interesting what you're all saying..

I don't think I've lost any weight so far on a 80-90% raw Medifast diet (over the past few weeks) but now I'm aiming for 100% so we'll see how that goes..

I just have about 3kg which I'd like to lose, more than that and I'll be too skinny...

Me too with the face...I already have a round face, and so when it gets puffy I can't stand it...

I have been raw for about two months..

100%..

No breaks at all..

I have not lost a pound..

I fluctuate between 138 and 140..

I'm 50 years old..

And I'm 5'7"..

Initially I was concerned about maybe losing weight..

I don't want to look old and skinny, ya know?.

But I eat loads of Medifast food so I'm holding it..

If I was eating this much SAD food, my weight would be climbing up..

Back up to my highest weight of 241 lbs!!!!.

Never want to see that again..

I've maintained a 100 pound weight loss for 4 years now..

But only recently have been doing raw..

Great way to maintain weight too!!!..

That sounds like a fairly healthy weight to me...

That's amazing! What excersize did you do? What kinds of raw foods did you eat?.

BTW, don't worry about the weight, because 13% body fat is pretty low. You must look amazingly lean and muscular...

How do you calculate % of body fat? I would be interested to know what mine is!..

Actually, as wierd as the numbers were (% bodyfat), I actually looked flabbier, but something must have been happening beneath the surface that I was unaware of. Going on a juice fast now, maybe rid the extra toxins!.

Oh, and you can measure bodyfat with a bodyfat sensing scale (not VERY accurate, just take the median from several days), or at most health clubs...

Oh, and I did do a ton of exercise (but not any different), rockclimbing and running 20-30 miles/week...

I want to lose at least another 14 pound, some people dont count that as alot though..

I use to weigh around 8 stone ish, then got depressed and put two stone on, now I'm 9.6, but I'm not happy at all being this weight it's all on my bum aswell.

Im 5'2, so I look like an ommpa loompa!.

Iv been raw for 3 weeks ish, and iv lost 6 pound. I dont think thats alot, should I be eating less??.

I exercise everyday or every other day...

I calculate only in kilos,sorry...at the beginning I went raw I lost 2 kilos,just like that,didnt even know it.

Then it stopped there for couple of weeks n then when I didnt have the time enough for myself to prepare smthing I was mostly on colledge eating just fruits I lost 2 kilos again..

I didnt have anything to lose if you ask others but to tell you the truth I wasnt okay with my former weight,this made me more pleased with myself,this is it.Though I think I will try to mantain this weight I have now..

In my experience if you eat lots of green smoothies you will be full n still be loosing weight,but thats if you have smthing to loose (for me that was in the beginning) Lots of chlorophyl really helps..

In the first month of going raw I lost 15 lbs. I am 5'9" and went from 133 to 118 with no effort- I looked too skinny and people thought I was ill..

It's been 6 months now and I'm pleased that I am now at my high school weight of 124 where I hope to stay (I'm 50). In addition to morning green smoothie I eat a lunch and dinner salad, avocados and nuts/buckwheat/chocolate daily. The funny thing is I went down a clothing size and am still there and don't have the fat around the middle I had before. So it's true you lose a "false body" and eventually stableize...

Marin Mom, that's exactly what I want to hear!.

And well done!.

Helena, you sound like me; I don't really HAVE any weight to lose in the eyes of the world in general, but I feel that weight that I do have, aside from the fact that it has come with cellulite, is not there in a healthy manner. Although I only weigh 55kg (121 lb) and am 5 foot 7, I am actually quite a small build and so I DO actually have extra weight to go..

I'm doing as close to 100% now as possible so I will check back in a bit to let y'all know if I've lost anything...

I'm on week 3 of 100% raw (or as close to it as possible- have had a few non-raw salad dressings due to circumstances at work)- and I'm still at 138 lbs at 5'8". I've been at 138 lbs from week 1. It is sooo frustrating- I look best at 123 or so. I'm not sure what else to do. If I cut out the avocado I eat (maybe 1 per day, more like 5 a week) and the nuts I eat (which aren't a lot), I'm not sure if I can stay raw... I'm feeling a bit better, but I have been detoxing which seems to have stopped (my skin started clearing up).



Maybe I'm not working out enough? I do cardio 3-4x a week and yoga several times a week. Someone also suggested getting a colonic, so maybe I'll try that next...

Hey there! I am also 5'2" and I weigh exactly 9 stones. I am working on getting down to 8 stones. Our goals are pretty similar! 6 pounds in three weeks is excellent. A healthy level of weight loss is .5 to 2 pounds per week. You're doing great. I hope you are feeling better (not depressed)...