[Eva]

I tried it back in 98'
I worked my ass off
I was MEGA strict

I only lost 6lbs that month & I was MISERABLE!

I gained it all back in about a week.
I don't reccomend it
:(

[NeedtoLose]

I found this interesting...

Rich chocolate brownie bars or a banana cream shake sound indulgent, but don’t expect these low-cal goodies to taste like offerings from a French bakery or the corner ice cream parlor. They’re not bad; they’re just nothing to rave about. In fact, some nutritionists aren’t keen about candy-like bars and sugary shakes standing in for meals. What’s more, relying on these products doesn’t teach dieters how to make healthful food choices on their own. In the end, it’s a good system that works for many dieters, particularly because of the convenience. It’s just not the tastiest way to shed pounds.



Does the diet take and keep weight off? Yes. Slim-Fast is one of the few diet companies to back up its products with the gold standard in diet research — controlled clinical trials. The latest findings, presented at the North American Association for the Study of Obesity in October 2003, show that people who used Slim-Fast on and off for 10 years to maintain their weight were on average 33 pounds lighter than a similar group who went without the meal replacements.


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Is the diet healthy? Yes. As long as you eat a balanced meal and snack on fruits, veggies, and other healthy choices, the diet is sound. The Slim-Fast Web site urges dieters to consume at least 1200 calories a day and to lose no more than two pounds per week.



What do the experts say? “I’m a very big advocate of meal replacements like Slim-Fast for weight control,” says registered dietitian Dawn Jackson, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and a dietitian at Northwestern Memorial Wellness Institute in Chicago. Jackson has clients who’ve lost weight successfully with the Slim-Fast plan and thinks meal replacement products, in general, are a good way for dieters to get in touch with realistic portion sizes.

However, Chris Rosenbloom, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at Georgia State University, has mixed feelings. She says that meal replacement shakes and bars “may be fortified with vitamins and minerals, but just like a vitamin supplement, they’re not going to provide you with everything that you need.” While Rosenbloom admits that Slim-Fast can help people lose weight, she prefers to see people work to keep the pounds off using whole foods.



Who should consider the diet? Dieters who need a lot of structure and prefer someone else to fix the meals. Folks who love to cook and enjoy fresh foods, though, may be turned off by the convenience-style products.



Bottom Line: Like other low-cal, nutrient-dense eating plans, meal replacements like Slim-Fast do have a good track record of helping dieters shed weight and keep it off. Keep in mind, though, that bars and shakes can never provide all the benefits of real food—so use caution when thinking long-term.



Maureen Callahan, MS, RD, is a frequent contributor to Health, Cooking Light, and Real Simple. She is a recipient of the James Beard Award for her diet and nutrition reporting.

Published October, 2004 © 2004 Health Publishing, Inc.