Your Diet
The Slim-Fast Diet
The Slim-Fast Diet has been around for 25 years and you can bet your last Ryvita crispbread that your mum's got a can in the kitchen cupboard somewhere. So how come it's managed to remain so popular after all this time? Read all about it here...
The theory: You simply replace two meals a day (usually breakfast and lunch) with one of the Slim-Fast meal replacement products which range from soups and pastas to milkshakes. You can eat "as normal" for the third meal of the day, though you shouldn't get through more than 600 calories. The diet works by reducing calories consumed to about 1,000 per day, about average for any calorie-controlled weight loss diet.
The upside: It's very easy to follow and easy to fit into a busy lifestyle. There's no complicated adding up of calories every time you want to eat something. The tinned shakes are ideal for lunch on the go.
The downside Going out for lunch is out of the question as it's quite depressing to sit and watch someone eat while you sip on your embarrassing fat girl's milkshake. You quickly tire of eating/drinking what feels like over-processed space food and start dreaming about food that doesn't come out of a packet or a can.
So does it work?: Yes. You should lose weight at the same rate you would on a regular calorie-controlled diet (1-2 lbs a week after the initial week or two, when you should lose more). However, because Slim-Fast doesn't change your eating habits, it's easy to put the weight back on as soon as you come off the diet.
Further reading: Check out the Slim-Fast website.
The upside: It's very easy to follow and easy to fit into a busy lifestyle. There's no complicated adding up of calories every time you want to eat something. The tinned shakes are ideal for lunch on the go.
The downside Going out for lunch is out of the question as it's quite depressing to sit and watch someone eat while you sip on your embarrassing fat girl's milkshake. You quickly tire of eating/drinking what feels like over-processed space food and start dreaming about food that doesn't come out of a packet or a can.
So does it work?: Yes. You should lose weight at the same rate you would on a regular calorie-controlled diet (1-2 lbs a week after the initial week or two, when you should lose more). However, because Slim-Fast doesn't change your eating habits, it's easy to put the weight back on as soon as you come off the diet.
Further reading: Check out the Slim-Fast website.
