One of the first questions asked by anyone considering the Medifast diet program to lose weight is, “what is the lean & green meal?” This is the one meal that you prepare for yourself each day and you eat it in addition to the five servings of Medifast meals per day.
Medifast is designed as a calorie restricted and low fat meal replacement program. They call their regular program the 5 and 1 plan because it includes the five meal replacements every day as well as one meal that you make yourself from lean protein and fresh greens and vegetables.
The Lean and Green meal is your chance to start experimenting with making the right food choices and learning how to control portion sizes. It also ensures that you get some fresh food every single day and its an important part of the Medifast plan so it shouldn’t be skipped. If you spend a little time preparing your lean & green menu plans for the week, you can enjoy preparing your own lunch or dinner without worrying that you might slip up on the plan.
Each lean & green consists of a serving of lean protein and a serving of fresh greens and vegetables. Medifast likes to describe it by saying that you just split a plate in half and fill one side of it with your protein and the other with veggies. But there is portion control going on here too, depending on what kinds of proteins and veggies you are planning to eat.
For the lean side of your meal, the protein serving is anywhere from five to seven ounces depending on your selection. For example, if you decide to have lean beef or a pork chop, you would have a 5 ounce portion. For skinless chicken breast, tofu or swordfish, you would have a six ounce serving and you would add a serving of fat as well, such as a teaspoon of olive oil or two tablespoons of low carb dressing.
For proteins that are very low in fat, such as the various white fishes (Cod, Haddock, Tilapia, etc.), shellfish and game meats like buffalo, you can have a 7 ounce serving, plus you would actually add two fat servings to it. So you could broil your fish with some olive oil and then enjoy the low carb salad dressing with a nice big salad.
Now on to the green side of the plate. You are going to be having three servings of greens per day (eat all at the same time though!). For greens like lettuce, spinach, collards, and other salad greens, one serving is one cup raw. For other vegetables, either raw or cooked, servings are a 1/2 cup.
If you wanted to half a nice salad, you could put together two cups of salad greens, such as romaine and spinach. Then add a half cup of raw veggies, such mushrooms, cucumbers and radishes. Don’t like salad? Then how about about a cup (8oz) of asparagus with a 1/2 cup diced mushrooms. Or try mixing together 1 1/2 cups of summer squash and zucchini.
There’s basically lots of different options you can choose for your lean & green meals so you can get a lot of variety into your weight loss program while still not having to worry about what to eat during the rest of the day. Just be sure to follow the Medifast guidelines for serving sizes and your lean & green will help you get to your goal weight.Looking for a successful and easy way to lose weight? Get the full scoop in my review of the Medifast diet. I explain how the program works. If you have any special health conditions that make you wonder if Medifast is going to be good for you, I’ve covered the top concerns.
