I sometimes hear from people who wonder if they will be able to eat a very specific comfort food on the Medifast diet. Sometimes they are almost certain that the food they want will not be acceptable. An example of this is sweets.
You might hear a comment like, “I know the answer to this is probably no, but are you allowed to have sweets with Medifast? I have a huge sweet tooth. I don’t eat tons, just a couple small pieces.” per day, and I don’t want to give this up, although I do realize that my love of sweets is probably one thing that is contributing to my need to go on a diet in the first place.”
You can have a very specific type of candy and still not be cheating. Medifast allows you to eat five of its prepackaged meals per day plus one meal that you prepare on your own. In addition to this, you are allowed to eat one snack each day consisting of foods such as celery, a sugar-free popsicle, sugar-free Jell-O, pickles, or three pieces of sugar-free gum or mints. (You can also have one of the Medifast crackers or chips. Examples are cheese balls, apple chips, and veggie crackers.
Now, by mints they usually mean peppermint or spearmint flavored peppermint candies. And I think they encourage gum and mints because they know that if you have a fresh taste in your mouth, you’re less likely to cheat. Because when your mouth feels clean and fresh, you’re less likely to want to eat and interfere with that feeling. (That’s why people who have cravings often brush their teeth when they get one.)
I know that some people expand the definition of mints to include sugar-free hard candy. I’m not sure this is endorsed by the company (and for that reason I encourage you to call and ask), but this practice hasn’t hurt their results. I even know people who eat those little snack-sized sugar-free chocolate candies from time to time. If you were to go this route, you’ll want to make sure you choose a very low-calorie option.
Frankly, people will sometimes cheat on this diet too. I know someone who allows himself one piece of chocolate a day. In terms of compliance, this is not going to be ideal. But some people have this kind of willpower and they make it work for them. And others will go all out and have a full-size candy bar or other treat every now and then. I don’t think this is the end of the world, as long as you get back on the diet as soon as you can. That’s what I generally want to try to do.
But to answer the question posed, you can have three sugar-free mints a day and still be fully compliant. And you don’t have to have this in place of one of your six meals. This is on top of those meals.