My Slim Fast diet

PixieKazza
PixieKazza Posts: 48 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I really want to lose the 1/2 stone I've put on over lockdown, plus the 1/2 stone I was trying to lose before. 1st altogether to get back to a sensible weight for my height, plus fit into my nice clothes again!
I have lost weight before following a strict calorie controlled, deeply joyless diet and exercise plan. I am short so anything over 1500cal per day if I'm not moving much will put weight on me. I am also getting older so it's harder to lose now :-(.

As the days are getting warmer and lighter, I'm hoping to get out more for exercise and start yoga and youtube fitness sessions again. I'm really struggling to be motivated, as I think a lot of people at the mo! When I worked from the office I'd walk round much more in the day, plus a lunchtime walk and an evening walk if the weather was ok. Working from home, I don't move so much, plus we manage a short walk at lunch. Nowhere near as much as before! My partner doesn't help as he snacks a lot and isn't bothered about his perfectly fine weight. He's got no motivation to do longer walks more regularly. I need to sort myself out and get some will power to resist chocolate and booze!

So the point of the ramble is background really. I'm going to do Slim Fast as a jumpstart to trying to get back to 'normal'. The structure will hopefully keep me on track, I won't have to calorie count every meal and the shakes are nice and quick to make. I do understand healthy eating, I'm just going to try a different approach to losing the lockdown lard. I don't think it'll be an easy option, but hopefully the weight will start to shift and I'll get some motivation and focus back :-)

Would love to hear from anyone else doing Slim Fast to find out how you're finding it :-)

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Replies

  • WandRsmom
    WandRsmom Posts: 253 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    PixieKazza wrote: »
    I'm not sure you have read and understood what I've written? I'm perfectly aware liquid meal replacements diets aren't a long term solution. I'm perfectly aware I could diet using the same calorie allowance for food as SlimFastcan. Unfortunately it's not working for me right now for so I'm trying a new approach.

    I'm looking for people in the same situation as me for support.
    Being in the industry for a long time, this is NOT an uncommon excuse. Sorry, I'm just being honest. It's NOT working for you right now because you're NOT putting in the effort. That's the plain flat out truth. If you want support, then this is it. You have support telling you that you just need to make the decision to just do it right the right way NOW and not use some gimmick diet to try to achieve what won't be much but a temporary drop in water weight.
    Write down your own personal eating and exercise plan to be in deficit. Then just DO IT.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png



    Well said.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited February 2021
    PixieKazza wrote: »
    Thank you for the encouraging and positive responses. Telling me I have no-one to blame but myself - er, yes, I know that. I'm trying to do something about it but it's actually pretty hard when you are tired, demotivated and have nothing to look forward to to make the effort for. Like an awful lot of people I've had a horrible few months mental health wise which I'm hopefully coming through the other side now. Losing weight and doing more exercise will do me the world of good. Also, why be mean to @sunnysidefarmsus who has tried to be supportive of my plans? We're all struggling in our own way - doesn't take much to be nice to people! Thank you :-)

    @FitAgainBy55 My partner has a shorter lunchbreak than me and if we didn't walk together he wouldn't go at all. We usually manage 40mins unless some idiot at work calls a meeting over lunch hours. Now the evenings are getting lighter and warmer hopefully I'll feel safer going out after work for walks/ jogs by myself. I do find it motivational to lose that first bit of weight but I'm really struggling to get going, I need that boost to feel like I'm getting somewhere.

    @dragon_girl26 thank you for your honest experience, I love the blueberry Vitality shakes and find them pretty filling. I've bought enough shakes for a couple of weeks and will see how I go. If it's really not working for me I'll go back to calorie counting properly. @tinkerbellang83 thanks - will have a look at recomp as well.

    @ninerbuff I think I know what doesn't work for me - I can and have lost weight calorie counting, pretty much the same 1.5 stone. As I mentioned before I am short and find it very restrictive to live off a low calorie diet constantly to maintain my weight. No fun, and gods know we need some joy in our lives right now. Anything over 1500 cals per day easily puts the weight back. Trying to calorie count right now, over winter during this miserable pandemic, hasn't been working tor me. I am trying something different and hoping following a shake diet for a couple of weeks will 'reset' my eating habits. You can disagree with me but I have done some research. While you might see it as a 'gimmick', I know people who have lost loads of weight on the Cambridge Diet etc. Took them a while but it did work. They put it back on eventually because they went back to their old eating habits. If this is the kickstart I need to get me going then that's what I'm going to do.

    Heh, yeah, that's something else I should have mentioned, but you said you already bought enough for a couple of weeks...hopefully you had a way to buy a couple of each shake flavor (they used to sell some individually in some places, don't know if they still do.). If you've never had any of the shakes, I discovered that some aren't too bad (mocha) and some were downright nasty! (I avoided vanilla like the plague! Lol)

    ETA: nevermind, the Blueberry Vitality mention didn't jump out at me for some reason when I initially read.
  • PixieKazza
    PixieKazza Posts: 48 Member
    Speakeasy76 wrote: »
    I can understand wanting to jumpstart your weight loss with something quick and easy.

    I've actually gone on the Body Reset Diet a few times (Harley Pasternak) to do that very thing. I am not into gimmicky weight loss schemes at all, but I liked the fact that it was very short and doable, and anytime I've done it I maintained that small amount of loss for awhile. The idea is that you make 3 smoothies a day (recipes are in the book) with a healthy balance of protein, carbs (from fruit and/or veggies) and healthy fats. You do that for 5 days, then go down to 2 smoothies a day with a healthy meal (recipes in the book). After 5 days, it's down to 1 smoothie a day and 2 meals. You also get to eat 2 healthy fiber/carb/protein snacks a day. In a way, it's similar to the concept of SlimFast, but the smoothies are all homemade and mostly whole ingredients (with the exception of protein powder and almond milk).

    I do think this helped to "reset" my taste buds, and I still have some kind of smoothie as a meal almost every day. They're easy to make now and I actually like them, and a good way to get a healthy balance of nutrients.

    Ooh that sounds interesting, thanks! Might investigate when my SlimFast runs out. I need 'easy' right now, but hopefully motivate me to eat less stodge and more green foods.
  • PixieKazza
    PixieKazza Posts: 48 Member
    Heh, yeah, that's something else I should have mentioned, but you said you already bought enough for a couple of weeks...hopefully you had a way to buy a couple of each shake flavor (they used to sell some individually in some places, don't know if they still do.). If you've never had any of the shakes, I discovered that some aren't too bad (mocha) and some were downright nasty! (I avoided vanilla like the plague! Lol)

    ETA: nevermind, the Blueberry Vitality mention didn't jump out at me for some reason when I initially read.[/quote]

    I have the Blueberry & Raspberry, Mint Chocolate and the Salted Caramel Vitalitys in powder packs - they were on offer. I used to have them as a take to work brekkie as I don't eat until mid morning, enjoyed them :-) I add a banana to my morning shake instead of a snack which filled me up. Hopefully I'll get used to eating less again!
  • PixieKazza
    PixieKazza Posts: 48 Member
    Emheia wrote: »
    I do partake in Slimfast or protein shakes semi-regularly for a breakfast replacement.
    HOWEVER, I want to emphasize that I don't do this to lose weight specifically. It is not part of my weight loss "plan".

    But it IS a zero effort weigh for me to get a little protein into my system on busy mornings where work just can't wait, without using up too many calories (I use shake powder with unsweetened almond milk at 30cal per serving), which leaves my shakes around 120-130 calories per serving. I find that liquid breakfasts (and sometimes lunches) can help me stave off hunger when I am too busy to sit down and cook a proper meal.

    I also am the type of person who fares best when participating in an intermittent fasting type diet. I am absolutely a volume eater - I love to eat a big dinner. Keeping my calories low early in the day allows me to do this, and keeps me happy and encouraged while working on my journey.

    If a Slimfast can keep me from downing a bag of chips at my desk, I'm sure there are ways it can help you too. You just want to make certain (as others have mentioned) that you are building towards a sustainable diet that you are going to be able to maintain long term. I may be a minority here, but I do not think Slimfast is evil. It's a tool, but you have to know how to use it in conjunction with the rest of your nutrition.

    Hi @Emheia, thanks for your response, I used to take a Slimfast into work for brekkie, nice and easy and I like them. My aim is to kickstart my weightloss and 'get fitter' motivation. My usual diet has gone to pot over the last year with working from home and having my partner move in. I've changed my diet to make cooking for both of us easier, he doesn't eat a lot of the healthier curries, chillies and stirfries I enjoy. He's a pie and chips fan! Once I'm starting to get myself out of the rut I'll get back to my 'usual' healthy eating. Then I should feel strong enough to say NO! to snacks. I did try IF but get hungry mid morning, maybe I'll give that a go when I start eating proper food again.

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