Fell off the wagon :(

Went wayyyy overboard today tomorrow back to my shake. Any of you guys dropped 20 pounds in 2 months with slim fast???

I don't know anyone who has managed to stay on a primarily shake-based diet for any length of time. I tried to do it once many years ago, and failed miserably. The problem with them is that the shakes just aren't satisfying or interesting... there's no sense of joy or happiness about drinking them. I'm a firm believer that dieting shouldn't be about suffering, and drinking mostly shakes sure felt like suffering to me.

I'm at almost 10 pounds in under a month (3ish weeks). If you drink the same shake every day, it's not satisfying. But if you mix it up with shakes, bars, and occasionally use something like lean cuisine in place of the shake (some have same calories) with high protein snacks (nuts, Greek yogurt) it's enjoyable. I see it as a way to make calorie counting really simplistic when you're busy or travel a lot for work.

Wll done on your weightloss mcriddlahpan. Last year i lost lots of weight thanks to slim fast so im hoping to lose again before summer! With the winter weather all i was doing was eat and gained it all back so i started slimfast last week but havent weighed myself as know id be devistated if my weight hasnt come down.
Mcriddlahpan have you been working out aswell? Im have a full time job and im a part time student so have no time to exercise. If i lose 10 pounds in 3 weeks it would be great

I've been at slim fast since 5th Jan and I've lost 26lb in 2 months, but I have an awful lot to lose! The weight loss is slowing down now though. I've been trying to either walk somewhere that I normally wouldn't or doing the 30 day challenge on EA sports active on the wii as it only takes around 20 minutes. I know how you feel with no time to exercise, I'm either in work or looking after my son who's autistic and needs all of my attention. You can definately do it...we all have a bad day as long as 1 bad day doesn't turn into a bad week you'll be fine!!!

I used Slimfast a lot in college and when I was early in my career -- generally drinking two shakes per day plus one healthy meal, and it worked well. The problem is, it's a diet not an eating plan you can livewith long term, and that's really what I needed. I do use various bars now to supplement my diet -- Luna Bars and Kind Bars -- because they keep me out of trouble when I'm at a business meeting with donuts or where a breakfast is being served that I shouldn't eat. Also, I bring them to movies, baseball games, etc. where I know everyone else will be snacking and I don't want to go off the track.

And what are you going to do this winter?

Just my $0.02, unless you plan on keeping slimfast as part of your menu for the rest of your life, you could very well gain back all again (and maybe more). I know some people have used slimfast to jump start their diet and are successful, but it is not to be looked at as a long-term solution.

mdep1229 which diet are you on? I've seen that you've lost quite a bit of weight and a very well done to you Would love if you'd give me some advice and tips on how you've lost weight..i've been dieting since i can remember but sometimes i just let go and gain lots of weight back and its getting to be very dipressing

Hi dorva, I have only dropped 5 lbs, about 15 more to go, but I am more concerned about inches than weight. I think one of the stars here is Kate: http://fatsecret.com/member/k8yk She also has a very informative blog (links on her profile). She has, literally, lost "me"!

Hoser above also has some very good points. My own story is I have never been overweight from a medical standpoint, but I have been extremely busy for the last three years (full-time job, graduate school, and some miscellaneous training on top of all that) and was not as diligent in watching what I eat and going to the gym. Gained some weight, even thought my doctor is perfectly happy with my physical state (she was actually worried when I told her I am going on a diet until I reassured her that I will do so in a healthy way), I just like to get rid of some "vanity" weight.

What I would suggest is just eat normally for a few days to a week, but log everything. Then you could look at your eating pattern and make baby steps in improving your overall eating habits. Maybe you drink a lot of soda (just an example). The first step could be cut out all soda. Maybe you are already eating a lots of healthy foods and all you need to do is just cut down the portions a bit.

The bottom line is, unless you find ways to incorporate what you love to eat into your diet, it will not be sustainable. Also, very often when nothing is off-limits (I still eat chocolates - instead of several times a week, I eat them several times a month), you don't binge on the "forbidden items".

Stick around, there are many other helpful people here.

I used it years ago and lost about 50 pounds ... and promptly gained it all back once I was off the diet. Nobody has enough willpower to diet forever.

Right, carbon! That's why it seems smarter to me to lose weight by examining your eating habits and then rebuilding them so that they're healthier and more sustainable over the long run. Once you've figured out what a healthier way of eating is for you, then you can do that with restricted calories for a while to burn off the weight that you've gained eating badly.

To me, diets that are temporary measures are only temporary remedies. Once you go back to your old eating patterns, you'll just regain the weight.

I looked at Slim-Fast a few years ago, because I travel a lot and it seemed easy. What scared me was the ingredients... Yes, many are vitamins and minerals, but heck I can't even pronounce them! Plus, the third ingredient is sugar.

French Vanilla Shake:
FAT FREE MILK, WATER, SUGAR, CANOLA OIL, GUM ARABIC, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CELLULOSE GEL, HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, POTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, MALTODEXTRIN, SOY LECITHIN, CELLULOSE GUM, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CARRAGEENAN, SODIUM BICARBONATE, SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, SODIUM CITRATE, SUCRALOSE AND ACESULFAME POTASSIUM (NON NUTRITIVE SWEETENERS), CARAMEL COLOR, CITRIC ACID. VITAMINS AND MINERALS: MAGNESIUM PHOSPHATE, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM ASCORBATE, VITAMIN E ACETATE, ZINC GLUCONATE, FERRIC ORTHOPHOSPHATE, NIACINAMIDE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, MANGANESE SULFATE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, RIBOFLAVIN, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, FOLIC ACID, CHROMIUM CHLORIDE, BIOTIN, SODIUM MOLYBDATE, POTASSIUM IODIDE, PHYLLOQUINONE (VITAMIN K1), SODIUM SELENITE, CYANOCOBALAMIN (VITAMIN B12) AND CHOLECALCIFEROL (VITAMIN D3). SWEETENED WITH NUTRITIVE SWEETENERS AND NONNUTRITIVE SWEETENERS. CONTAINS MILK AND SOY

I used it before and as Hoser said they got boring. It's like drinking a funky milkshake twice a day every day. I started craving real food. Sure I lost weight but I gained it back and then some as soon as I said enough. Now they remind me of Ensure my grandmother was told to drink because she didn't care to eat.

yes, but I did nothing but slim fast shakes and lots of water with a couple hot teas a day for a month. (three shakes..if nauseated at bedtime,a slice of bread) The second month: I ate a small portioned healthy breakfast such as a couple eggs, or oatmeal with frozen berries in it, or fruit, or maybe even toast....but then two shakes: one for lunch, one for dinner...and a slice of bread ONLY if I felt nauseated at bedtime. The third month would be sensible small portioned breakfasts and the same for lunch, with lots of water...and one slim fast for supper....and keep busy! I found that by the fourth month, my appettite had decreased so much, and I had lost all this weight w/o having to count calories or think too much about food, that it took much less to satisfy my hunger, and I never wanted to feel "full" again! The second month I even cut down to one boiled egg...because I could! I waited to see if I was satisfied, and I was!!! So....twenty years later, I'm gonna lose it again, because I know it works for me....I don't have to be preoccupied with food...just grab a shake, and keep goin'

I remember them as a cruddy tasting shake with a multivitamin ground up in it.

If I remember right they are like 180 calories and I can think of more filling things to eat than that.

My only problem has always been 1 - BINGE EATING! One day last month i had a muffin as a snack but what happened was i wanted another one the next day and the day after that for a whole week..i just dont know how to control myself. Ended up gaining 1 kg and that is when i said diet time again

Dora... no more dieting. Up and down. Up and down. Start a plan for life. Real food, real exercise, for the long haul. You will feel an amazing improvement. And when winter comes back around you can maintain.

thanks for all the replies..hopefully i'll have enough will power to cut out all the sweets. Goodluck to you all on your weightloss

Hi Dorva,

I lost 20 lbs in 6 weeks with Atkins, not Slim Fast, but I chose Atkins because it's less of a "diet" and more of a change in my "way of eating." It's like Radiochick said, "Start a plan for life. Real food, real exercise, for the long haul." So, there's no weight gain after the "diet" ends...because it's a permanent, healthy change in lifestyle...not something you want to end.

Good luck on your weight loss plans, too!

I tried Slim Fast years ago when I was working in doctor's office. I came in one day drinking a shake and a doctor stopped and told me to "throw that crap out". Then he spent 10 min going over the sugar content and the downfalls of a shake diet in which you're not changing your eating habits, but only making a temporary fix. At the time I remember feeling really embarrassed and annoyed, but now I realize he was right. And he was the first and last doctor to every seriously confront me about my weight and eating choices.