Someone recently asked me, in part, “How long does a person usually stay on the Medifast diet? How long does the food they’re given last?” People often ask these types of questions when they have an important upcoming event that they are anticipating. Often they are trying to lose a specific amount of weight over a specific period of time. In the following article, I will try to explain a typical timeline of this diet.

For most people, the Medifast diet lasts long enough to reach their weight loss goals: First of all, no commitment to this diet is required. You don’t have to sign a contract or anything like that. You basically just do your grocery shopping while you feel like you still have some weight you want to lose.

I have known people who only had ten pounds or so to lose and a monthly pack was all it took to achieve this goal. Other people who have more weight to lose may be on the diet for a little longer. Of course, the company suggests that you consult your doctor before making these decisions. But generally speaking, the estimates you often see are around 2-5 pounds of weight loss per week for the first few weeks as typical. And it’s my observation that people at the higher end of this range tend to be diligent about their “lean and green food” and are willing to add some form of movement to burn more calories more quickly. Using these numbers, most people can come up with an estimate of how long they can expect to be on the diet.

Medifast offers many different packages depending on your goals and the products stay fresh for quite a long time: Most people who have more than 10 pounds to lose will find it more cost effective to opt for one of the monthly packages. They sell the meals individually and also offer a two-week package, but most people decide that it is cheaper to go for the package that offers 28-day food. (This package, along with the coupons, will usually bring the cost per meal down quite a bit.)

Once you reach your weight loss goals, Medifast has a maintenance program where you begin to gradually move back to a regular diet once again. This helps ease the process to give you the best chance of keeping the weight off once and for all.

Sometimes when people ask how long the diet lasts, they are asking about the shelf life of food. Company guidelines state that powdered foods have an expiration date of approximately 18 months. The expiration date of the shakes and bars is 12 months. However, the company claims that food does not normally spoil or spoil on these dates. It simply means that the vitamins and minerals may have lost some of their potency. But, most people don’t leave their food sitting out that long. Most people feel it’s best to go ahead and consume produce within a month of receiving it to ensure it’s as fresh as possible.