Slim fast..

stephanielaura832
stephanielaura832 Posts: 3
in Food and Nutrition
Hi.. Has anyone done a slim fast diet..? I'm going to start one today just wondered how other people found it and if it worked.. And how long I should do it for? Help..!! Lol.. X

Replies

  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
    You won't find much help, and probably quite a bit of "don't do it" on MFP. The general consensus is, meal replacement doesn't change the thing that most needs changing, the habit of eating real food in moderation. I have never tried it so I don't have any advice. I would only caution you to ask yourself this question, " what am I going to do after this part is done"? You need to have a long term plan, and slim fast is not a long term plan. Good luck whatever you choose.
  • CarrieCans
    CarrieCans Posts: 381 Member
    I know a few people that have tried it. The gas they got from those shakes was enough to make you float away like a hot air balloon.

    They did not have success, not one of them. The problem was that they were replacing solid foods with a drink and they were tempted to eat in between to make up for not chewing for an entire meal time. In the end they were consuming more calories than they realized. Some people (like me) need to chew. I wouldn't even try it.

    It actually worked really good as a weight gainer for someone else i know. He added a full shake to each meal and was able to gain 20 lbs in a matter of weeks. He always had a hard time gaining.

    I think that anything that works so well as a weight gainer could easily backfire as a weight loss tool.
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    prattiger65 is right, you probably will not get much support for this on MFP, as it is a gimmick diet and most likely doomed to failure in the long run. Not sustainable as a way of eating. No doubt, you could probably lose weight, if you follow the program, but changing bad eating habits and developing healthier eating habits, along with exercise will be more beneficial.
  • klund13
    klund13 Posts: 98 Member
    It makes you feel like you're starving! I recommend real food.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Gave me constipation, and I was hungry all of the time. What are they, about 300 calories? Eat 300 calories of real food instead. Something that has a mix of protein/carbs/fat.
  • CupcakeCrusoe
    CupcakeCrusoe Posts: 1,412 Member
    I did the gnc go lean shakes there for a minute, and lost weight while I was on it, following the diet exactly and logging all my food, but the minute I went back off it, I was so happy to eat food again that I overindulged and gained a bunch of it back.

    TLDR: I wouldn't recommend it for that reason. Maybe replacing one meal, but not two a day for however long.
  • JoyeII
    JoyeII Posts: 240 Member
    Ugh. Eat real food!
  • Smart_Beautiful_and_Strong
    Smart_Beautiful_and_Strong Posts: 230 Member
    I tried it years ago and lost 50 pounds, but I gained it back. I guess when I was at goal I quit the shakes and began over eating again. I guess I didn't learn to manage my transition back to a regular meal. You can see how it works for you or you can try smaller meals at about the same calorie amount. Good luck!
  • elephantlovex
    elephantlovex Posts: 10
    I didn't do the full Slim Fast diet, but I replaced my daily breakfast with a Slim Fast shake a few years ago and went on a low calorie (around 1100-1300 a day) diet while exercising. Honestly, it did nothing for me. I wasn't losing weight, and I just felt really pudgy still. What really helped me slim down was upping my calories to 1800-2200 a day and running/weight lifting regularly (3-5 times a week). I went from a size 9-10 to a size 5-6, and mentally I'm feeling a lot better and I'm not obsessed with calories or my weight anymore.
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  • DirrtyH
    DirrtyH Posts: 664 Member
    I did it a few years ago, and I did lose weight. But, full disclosure, my poop was disgusting. (I was also eating some fat free products with Olestra, which was probably the main culprit, but the slimfast didn't help.)
    I think of it as sort of an introduction into calorie counting. That's really what I was doing. If that's the baby step you need to get into a weight loss program, do it. But don't think "I'm going to do this for three months and then go back to normal." You'll just gain it all back.
  • cclepew
    cclepew Posts: 40 Member
    I lost a lot of weight on Slim Fast 20+ years ago. As others also mentioned, it was rough on my digestive system. The biggest problem is, it doesn't teach you how to eat properly, and once you go back on solid food full-time, your old bad habits (and the pounds) return. The shakes are not bad for the occasional quick and easy meal replacement, but as your main diet strategy, no.
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
    Food has calories. Slimfast has calories.

    Eat food.
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    A few years ago I had oral surgery and could only live on liquid meal-replacement stuff like Slim Fast and Ensure for two weeks. I lost some weight I didn't really want to be losing. It wasn't awful, but I wouldn't do it on purpose.

    Most importantly, it doesn't help with bad habits/psychology, which is generally the real problem people have anyways.

    Since then, I've had a few to grab while heading out of the house and they're ok for that. But really, not very filling. And if you've got a minute, you can just make up a serving of milk & protein powder which is about the same thing.

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