Maybe you have a few pounds to lose, and you’re looking for a healthy weight loss program that’s easy to follow. You might have heard that the Slim Fast program fits both those criteria. Here’s an overview of the program that should help you decide if it’s the right plan for you.
The original Slim Fast diet was pretty basic. You replaced two meals a day with a special shake that you made up by adding the Slim Fast powder to some low-fat milk. It came in three flavors: strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. You would have one of these shakes at breakfast and another at lunch, and then have a “sensible” dinner of about 600 calories.
Since then, Slim Fast has introduced new flavors and products to its line. There are ready-made canned shakes, a wide variety of snack bars and soup mixes, which you can have a few times per day. As well, you are now required to drink eight glasses of water each day.
That’s the short version of the Slim Fast diet. Next, we’ll take a look at the pros and cons.
Pros: First and foremost, you can lose a lot of weight on the Slim Fast program if you combine it with exercise. The plan is easy to follow. You can take the shakes with you to work, to the gym, on the road, and just about anywhere else. There’s no calorie counting or public weigh-ins.
Cons: The Slim Fast shakes aren’t filling, and you’re bound to miss eating real food for breakfast and lunch. This makes it difficult to sustain this plan over the long haul. You won’t be consuming a lot of fruits and vegetables, so you’ll be short on fiber and some essential nutrients (although the shakes contain vitamins and minerals).
It’s certainly possible to lose weight on this plan, but given the downsides, it might be easier to use the Slim Fast products for snacks instead of meals, along with a healthy food plan. The shakes are tasty, but you won’t experience the enjoyment you get from eating actual food.
As a final note, it’s not uncommon for dieters on this plan to put back on all the weight they lost, plus some more. One woman followed the Slim Fast program and exercised moderately for a year. She lost 60 pounds. And then she gained it all back the next year. The problem is, if you haven’t changed your eating habits, and then you stop using the shakes, you’re likely to go back to eating your unhealthy favorites.
Recommendation: Because it’s not easy to stay with this diet for the long term, the Slim Fast plan is most suited to people who only have a few pounds to lose. Someone who wanted to lose a considerable number of pounds could start with this diet to shed some weight quickly, and then switch to a healthy food plan and continue to lose a pound or two a week.
With all the diet plans you see advertised every day, it’s difficult to pick just the right one. When you’re considering the various diets, keep in mind that some quick-loss diets will work in the short run, but are not necessarily sustainable or as healthy as changing your eating habits for the better.
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