My Slim Fast Experience

Since I had my son on July 4, I have been trying different methods to lose the 40 pounds I gained during my pregnancy. The past week, I have been following the Slim Fast diet...a shake or meal bar for breakfast, a shake for lunch, three snacks and a healthy dinner...at the instance of my husband. He has been researching different weight loss methods online and thought this one would fit into our lifestyle. Unfortunately, that isn't at all the case, but I did stick with it for the entire week.

Taste and Portability

While the taste of Slim Fast shakes has improved since I last drank these (about 10 years ago), they still taste like liquid chalk. I tried chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. None of these were appealing, especially when they were warm because I was away from home.

The meal replacement bars and snack bars were also easy to take with me when we left home. But, these were all lacking in taste. Now, I understand that they aren't going to taste wonderful, but I have tried other diet replacement products that tasted much better. Additionally, the bars melt if they aren't kept extremely cool. I went out one night when it was in the upper 60's and the bar in my purse was gooey when I ate it.

Following the Plan

I found that following the plan was easy since I could forego the snack bars in favor of eating fruits, vegetables and nuts. Eating these real foods instead of the snack bars made my days much more bearable. I ate bananas, apples, broccoli, carrots and almonds.

I would eat one meal replacement bar for breakfast and drink a shake for lunch. For dinner, I ate fish or chicken with steamed vegetables and whole grains.

Bottom Line

Although this plan may work for some people, I am very uncomfortable trying to complete my weight loss goal on tasteless prepackaged products. I can understand why some people will use these products to make losing weight easier. Instead, I am going to go back to eating a healthy diet that is based on the USDA food pyramid. In the long run, I know that I will be able to lose the weight and keep the weight off if I learn how to cook healthy meals that taste good instead of relying on prepackaged shakes and bars to help me lose weight.