Has anybody tried slim fast?

MrsGreen1985

Hi I have been on the slim fast diet for almost two weeks but I seem to be GAINING weight.Am I doing something wrong?
I exercise for 30-40 mins a day and here's how my diet looks :

Breakfast - slim fast shake made with 0.1 % fat milk (Skimmed milk) (230 cals)

Mid morning snack - slim fast bar (95 cals)

Lunch - Slim fast shake made with 0.1 % fat milk (Skimmed milk) (230 cals)

Mid afternoon snack - medium apple (95 cals)

Dinner - Chicken breast, seasoned with pepper or herbs, roast potatoes and white cabbage

Evening snack - cereal bar (95 cals)


I am GAINING 1-3LBS per day.

PLEASE HELP

IvoryParchment

You aren't measuring the calories for that dinner. A commercially produced chicken half-breast is 4 oz, enough for two portions, and that isn't counting the skin. "Potatoes" -- plural -- could be trouble, depending what you put on them. It depends how you season the cabbage. With all those snack bars, at my age and weight, I'd be gaining weight on that diet, though not 1-3 lbs a day.

Count your calories and your sodium. If you're gaining 1-3 lbs a day, there's more going on than just weight. Were you just diagnosed with diabetes? You might have been dehydrated when you started. You will have to replenish the lost water before you can establish what weight you're really starting out with.

starrlight23

You need to figure out the calories for that dinner. Are you drinking anything else with calories? I did slimfast 4 yrs ago and lost at least 2 pounds a week but usually more.

starrlight23

edited and erased since it posted twice

Scorpioangel

From looking at it in my opinion you may need to up your calories?

MrsGreen1985

always a small chicken breast (No bigger than a fist) with no skin.

About 1 cup of boiled potatoes

about one cup of white cabbage.

Could this be too much?

justle

yes i've done slim fast once last year at the very start of my journey thing is slimfast recommends you a diet of 1200 calories per day and that (i believe) is the lowest a woman should have, so i'm guessing if your heavier or more active you should have a higher calorie allowance to safely loose weight - meaning your deficit would be too low on 1200 cals - then add to it that your doing your exercise too, making your deficit even grater and therefore potentially putting you in that "starvation mode" area.


But what i really wanted to say is PLEASE read the tin of slimfast, thats what made me stop dieting that way because the amount of sugar in the milkshakes are scary, more even than the chocolate bars if i remember correctly.

LorinaLynn

I'm reminded of some old comedy sketch that went something like, "A shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch, and by dinner, you HAVE the shakes because your blood sugar just plummeted..."

A shake (maybe not Slim Fast... I don't think they're all that great nutritionally) is great as a supplement to fill in when you need to reach your calories or protein. But I don't like them as meal replacements. It's not that difficult to eat real food that fits in your calories, and it's a LOT more satisfying.

catcrazy

what were you eating the previous couple of weeks? what was your fluid intake like? what level were your carbs?

If you were doing VERY low calorie a few weeks ago (not unheard of when someone first decides enough is enough) then eating more calories could account for the gain

If your fluid intake wasnt so high it might be that you were dehydrated and are simply re-hydrating (as someone else mentioned)

If you were doing low carb before then water weight from the high(ish) carbs in slimfast could account for a gain. UK slimfast is higher in sugars than the US version

To be gaining 1lb a day you would have to be consuming 3500 calories above your maintenance level and it certainly doesnt seem like that to me.

mislmar

I have been using slim fast since May and have lost 35 lbs on it. I am starting to slowly incorporate regular food in the place of slim fast shakes but I really like it and it has worked for me. You need to go with how many calories MFP is telling you that you need though. Mine is 1200 but you might not be getting enough calories or maybe not enough water to lose weight. If I don't get my 8 - 8 oz glasses of water a day sometimes I retain fluid. Good luck and just keep it up it will start coming off slowly but surely if you keep at it. Good luck!!

MrsGreen1985

When I enter food into my food log.its says i consume less than 1200 cal per day.

before the diet I was eating wheat cereal like shredded wheat for breakfast (40 g) with 0.1% milk with a cup of tea with 0.1% milk and 1 sweetener in place of sugar

Salad sandwich on wholemeal bread for lunch

quorn chilli for dinner with wholemeal rice.

catcrazy

When I enter food into my food log.its says i consume less than 1200 cal per day.

before the diet I was eating wheat cereal like shredded wheat for breakfast (40 g) with 0.1% milk with a cup of tea with 0.1% milk and 1 sweetener in place of sugar

Salad sandwich on wholemeal bread for lunch

quorn chilli for dinner with wholemeal rice.

so not low sugar, low carb or low fluid.....in that case i'd just give it a while longer, (a month) your body is probably just adjusting. make sure you are getting plenty of fluids on top of your shakes.

If after 6 weeks of this you still havent lost anything go to your GP armed with your food diary and ask for some investigations. Thyroid, PCOS being the first ones that spring to mind

txbutterfly69

Tried slim fast, but as soon as I quit, gained the weight back plus some.

I prefer to just eat healthy meals now, much more satisfying and a lifelong skill. :-)

MrsGreen1985

Think I may of figured it out! did some research into medications I am taking and one of the side affects is weight gain!

I started the medication around the same time as the diet!

Or does it sound like wishful thinking that that is the cause?

koosdel

Think I may of figured it out! did some research into medications I am taking and one of the side affects is weight gain!

I started the medication around the same time as the diet!

Or does it sound like wishful thinking that that is the cause?

I think one problem is the 'slimfast diet', another being 1,200 calories.

I suggest you re-evaluate your calorie/macro setting, find an excersize routine you enjoy, eat real food, and be patients.

BobbyClerici

I drink a slim fast before going out to lunch, because it seems to cool my cravings once we get seated and the menu comes. As far as their "program" which is 3-2-1 - 3 snacks - 2 meal replacements and 1 real meal, that's sound except that I could never sustain it. I need real food.

I see value in it as something to eat BEFORE I eat a meal, because it satisfies me enough to keep me from a binge. It's the extra push I need to order the grilled chicken as opposed to the T-Bone steak.

ElizabethRoad

I drink a slim fast before going out to lunch, because it seems to cool my cravings once we get seated and the menu comes. As far as their "program" which is 3-2-1 - 3 snacks - 2 meal replacements and 1 real meal, that's sound except that I could never sustain it. I need real food.

I see value in it as something to eat BEFORE I eat a meal, because it satisfies me enough to keep me from a binge. It's the extra push I need to order the grilled chicken as opposed to the T-Bone steak.

For 200 calories, you could probably just skip it and have the steak.

By the way, ordering a steak instead of chicken is not a "binge".

going2befit

I did but I only kept up with it for a few days before I stopped. It was terrible. The drinks were expensive and never filled me up and had a gross after taste.
I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.