If you'd like to lose a few pounds, hopefully you're only considering healthy weight loss programs and not fad diets. Perhaps you've been considering the Slim Fast program, but don't know if it's healthy or not. Here's a look at the features of this diet plan that might help you make a decision.
When the Slim Fast diet first came out, it was a very basic plan. Two meals a day were replaced with a shake made by adding some Slim Fast powder to a glass of low-fat milk. There were three flavors to choose from: strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. You would drink one shake at breakfast and another at lunch, and then have a sensible dinner of about 600 calories.
Since then, Slim Fast has introduced many new products to its line-up. There are ready-made shakes in cans, snack bars and soup mixes, which you can have a few times per day. In addition, it is now required that you drink eight glasses of water on a daily basis.
That's the Slim Fast diet in a nutshell. Now let's look at the pros and cons.
Pros: First and foremost, you can lose a lot of weight on the Slim Fast program if you combine it with exercise. The plan is easy to follow. You can take the shakes with you to work, to the gym, on the road, and just about anywhere else. There's no calorie counting or public weigh-ins.
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).
There's no doubt you can lose weight on the Slim Fast diet, but given the disadvantages, you might want to use the Slim Fast products to replace a snack instead of a meal. The shakes are flavorful, but you won't get the satisfaction that you do from eating a real meal.
Finally, it's not unusual for people on this diet to put back on all the weight they lost. One woman followed the Slim Fast program for a year along with moderate exercise. 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 your unhealthy ways.
Recommendation: Since it's so difficult to stay with this program for the long haul, the Slim Fast diet is best suited to people who only need to lose a few pounds. If you have a lot of weight to lose, you could use this plan to quick start some weight loss, then switch to healthy eating plan to help you continue to take off a pound or two a week.
Every time you turn around, there's a new diet book on the market. It can be hard to choose the one that's best for you. While you're checking out the latest weight loss miracle, remember that long-term weight loss requires a change in your eating habits that you can live with for life.
When the Slim Fast diet first came out, it was a very basic plan. Two meals a day were replaced with a shake made by adding some Slim Fast powder to a glass of low-fat milk. There were three flavors to choose from: strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. You would drink one shake at breakfast and another at lunch, and then have a sensible dinner of about 600 calories.
Since then, Slim Fast has introduced many new products to its line-up. There are ready-made shakes in cans, snack bars and soup mixes, which you can have a few times per day. In addition, it is now required that you drink eight glasses of water on a daily basis.
That's the Slim Fast diet in a nutshell. Now let's look at the pros and cons.
Pros: First and foremost, you can lose a lot of weight on the Slim Fast program if you combine it with exercise. The plan is easy to follow. You can take the shakes with you to work, to the gym, on the road, and just about anywhere else. There's no calorie counting or public weigh-ins.
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).
There's no doubt you can lose weight on the Slim Fast diet, but given the disadvantages, you might want to use the Slim Fast products to replace a snack instead of a meal. The shakes are flavorful, but you won't get the satisfaction that you do from eating a real meal.
Finally, it's not unusual for people on this diet to put back on all the weight they lost. One woman followed the Slim Fast program for a year along with moderate exercise. 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 your unhealthy ways.
Recommendation: Since it's so difficult to stay with this program for the long haul, the Slim Fast diet is best suited to people who only need to lose a few pounds. If you have a lot of weight to lose, you could use this plan to quick start some weight loss, then switch to healthy eating plan to help you continue to take off a pound or two a week.
Every time you turn around, there's a new diet book on the market. It can be hard to choose the one that's best for you. While you're checking out the latest weight loss miracle, remember that long-term weight loss requires a change in your eating habits that you can live with for life.
About the Author:
Weight loss isn't painless; you need time and dedication to follow a plan long enough to realize some effects. Get the best weight loss information by visiting Weight Loss Advice.
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