Slim Fast Diet: Pros and Cons
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.
Those are the basics of the Slim Fast program. Now let’s take a look at the pros and cons of this diet.
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: It’s hard to feel full after drinking your Slim Fast shake, and you might be longing for some real food at mealtimes. This makes it pretty difficult to stick with this diet for too long. There isn’t an abundance of fruits and vegetables on the plan, so you won’t be getting your fiber requirements and you’ll miss out on some important nutrients (although the shakes contain vitamins and minerals).
It’s certainly possible to lose weight on this plan, but given the disadvantages, it might be easier to use the Slim Fast products for snacks instead of meals, and enjoy healthy foods at mealtimes. The shakes are tasty, but you won’t experience the enjoyment you get from eating actual food.
As a final comment, regaining the lost pounds is not unusual for people who follow the Slim Fast plan. One woman lost 60 pounds in a year on the Slim Fast program, combined with moderate exercise. The next year, she gained it all back. The key to weight maintenance is to change your eating habits for the better. If you’ve been relying on the shakes for your meals, and then you stop taking them, you’ll be back to your old unhealthy habits in no time.
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.
Every time you turn around, there’s a new diet book on the market. It can be hard to choose the one that’s best for you. While you’re checking out the latest weight loss miracle, remember that long-term weight loss requires a change in your eating habits that you can live with for life.
