I’ve never tried SlimFast, but I’m considering doing a one-month commitment in order to peel a few pounds.
I am interested in hearing from those who have tried the program. Medical evidence seems to be sketchy, but common sense tells me that 30 days of strict diet management will do me some good.
I can already sense the admonishments heading my way - this is not a long term solution, you need to change your lifestyle, this is just a quick fix that will be temporary, you need to figure out why you overeat, man!
I don’t disagree with any of the above. I just really need to drop a few quick lbs.
What are your experiences? What was the hardest part? The best and the worst aspects of the program?
Did the SlimFast thing on & off for about three years. Lost nearly 100 pounds in all and only gained back ten.
The shakes aren’t bad. Coffee is my favorite flavor but results in coffee-scented urine after a while. In addition to the shakes for breakfast & lunch, I’d grab small bags of low-carb snacks like popcorn or pork rinds. Sometimes I’d go over to the local 7-Eleven, grab a refrigerated sub, feed the bread to the birds and eat the rest.
I love Slim-Fast shakes! Chocolate is my favorite, but the French Vanilla is nice for a change of pace. They are surprisingly filling. When I need to trim off a few pounds, I bring a shake (made at home and refrigerated overnight) to work with me along with a banana, and it lasts me through the work day.
Pro tip: use Almond milk instead of regular milk. You save a few more calories, and the stuff NEVER goes bad in the fridge.
If you are having your shake at home, you can fancy it up by putting it in the blender with your banana, other fruit, and maybe some ice to thicken it up.
I agree that they taste ok, but not worth it for the at least 180 calories. For those calories, you could instead have a huge salad or small serving of many different tasty things and get the mouth-feel (and mouthful) of food and feel more satisfied. That was my experience anyway. Eating your calories is more fun than drinking them. Unless you’re talking about booze. But I digress.
I’ve never done the full SlimFast died, but on weekdays I drink the high protein ready-to-drink shakes for breakfast. I prefer them over other brands and they do a decent job of staving off hunger until lunchtime. I wish there was more variety in flavors though.
If you go to www.myfitnesspal.com and get an account, you can put in some vitals and goals (how much weight you want to lose in what amount of time) and it will give you daily caloric goals to meet. Then you can put in your shakes as meals when you have them, and see what you’ve got left in your calorie bank for dinner. It also gives you other nutrient (protien/fat/carbs) goals for the day as well.
I find Slim-Fast undrinkable. The taste is awful; doesn’t matter what flavor. I also don’t do well with the concept of replacing a full meal with a faux-milkshake. Weight Watchers worked fine for me; I lost about 180 lbs. on it at one point.
The shakes taste good because they’re not “diet”, they’re “meal replacement”. Maybe if you actually only used the shakes for meals and then had a very tiny dinner it would work, but if you could do that, you have enough willpower to find better ways to control your caloric intake.
As I understand it, this is how you are supposed to use the shakes. This is my plan.
And I disagree about your conclusion about willpower, as least as it relates to me. I need a plan that is Very structured as to what I can have. Tell me to eat *this *and then *this *and then *this *and I’ll crush it.
On the other hand, give me general dietary guidelines to follow and after three days I’ll be installing a Find The Nearest Taco Bell app on my phone (assuming there is one, if not, I’ll invent it).
mmm
I tried the Slim Fast routine for a month after I’d had surgery and gained about 10 pounds lying around healing. Since I am a person who tastes liberally when I cook, the less I cook, the less problem I have staying on a diet. So the Slim Fast worked for me. For dinner, I ate a bowl of soup and a salad every single day. Again, regimentation is the key for me. I lost my 10 pounds and kept them off when I went back to regular eating and exercising.
I didn’t think the taste was bad, but neither was it something I’d go out and have just because I remembered it being so delicious. Chocolate and French Vanilla were the ones I liked the most.
If you respond well to very structured diets and have complete control over everything you eat (I mean, you are ok with cooking everything you eat yourself) try the HCG diet.
25 years ago I lost 20 pounds on slimfast in about 4 months. 4 years ago I lost 20 pounds in one month on HCG, and then another 20 pounds in another month.
