Eating Out on the Medifast 5-and-1 Plan

In some ways, the trickiest part of the Medifast 5-and-1 part is the "1" part.  Five times a day, you simply eat a Medifast meal.  Whatever is in that packet or wrapper, you eat, sometimes mixing with water.
Once a day, you have to eat a meal made of lean protein and low- glycemic vegetables.  You can either make this meal at home or eat it at a restaurant.  This is where you can use some creativity.  Your lean and green meal is a chance to eat something fun and different.  You can make pseudo versions of almost anything, from pizza to mac and cheese to mashed potatoes.

But what about eating out?  Everyone wants to eat out sometimes.  Eating out can be tricky, but I have found some great options that work every time.  These are some ideas to get you started on your journey of eating out on the Medifast program.



Mexican--It is easy to eat healthy at a Mexican restaurant.  Order a taco salad.  Choose grilled meat (chicken, shrimp, or my favorite, steak), mixed with greens, tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, and green peppers.  Avoid the cheese, sour cream, and taco shells.  No chips!  Use salsa as a dressing.  As a compensation, get a side of guacomole (use only 2 Tbsp.).  Technically, guacomole is not on plan, but I consider it a little treat.  It is a fat, a fat from fruit.  But just eat a little.  I have had great taco salad experiences at Moe's, Cantina 18, and La Cocina.  As an alternative, order a lean steak and salad.  Since you are only allowed to eat 5 ounces of steak as part of a lean and green meal, most likely you should put part of the steak in a take out box.

Seafood--Again, it is easy to eat healthy at a seafood restaurant, as long as you get items that are grilled, steamed or broiled.  At Joe's Crab Shack, I ate steamed shrimp with Old Bay seasoning and steamed broccoli.  You can also do grilled fish.  Tilapia is an excellent choice.

Wendy's or Chick Fil A--Order a grilled chicken sandwich with extra veggies on it.  Ditch the bun and have mustard and pickles only on top.  Get a side salad.  Make sure to eat more veggies later.  The side salads are usually not big enough to be a full day's serving of veggies in and of themselves.

Panera--Some of their salads can easily be lean and green.  The Chopped Chicken Cobb has enough protein to make it lean and green and low enough fat and carbs.  Skip the side.  The only options are apple, chips, or a piece of bread.

Steakhouse--Get a small steak and a salad.  Easy enough.

Hamburger Joint--Yes you can have a burger!  Get rid of the cheese and the bun (unless they can show you the cheese has less than 6 grams of carbs per ounce.  Get mustard, pickles, and as many veggies as you want on top, besides onions.  A quarter pounder has 4 ounces of meat.  Add a little extra protein later in the day, since you need at least 5 ounces of beef to have enough protein.

What are your favorites?

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