Fat Loss 4 Idiots Secret

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Slim Fast Diet: A Review

By Kim Archer

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.

In the original Slim Fast diet, you made up a shake by mixing Slim Fast powder with skim milk, twice a day instead of meals. There were three flavors: vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. You would drink one of these shakes at breakfast and another at lunch, and then have a nutritious 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: Perhaps most importantly, you can lose quite a bit of weight on the Slim Fast diet if you combine it with an exercise program. It's not difficult at all to follow the program. The shakes are quite portable and you can take them with you anywhere. You won't have to pack a lunch for work. You don't have to count your calories or go to meetings.

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 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 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: Since it's so difficult to stay with this plan indefinitely, the Slim Fast diet is best for people who only need to lose a few pounds. If you have a lot of weight to lose, you could use this diet as a starting point for some quick weight loss, then move on to food-based plan to help you continue to shed 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. - 17274

About the Author:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home