Michael and I are trying out the slim-fast diet after a discussion with my bestest friend in the world this weekend. Over the course of conversation, I mentioned that what I really wanted was not to think about food – to eat some sort of healthy loaf with all the nutrients I needed so I just didn’t have to think or worry about what I was eating. My bestest friend in the world mentioned that slim-fast had served that purpose for her when she first decided to lose weight. She followed the plan, started working out daily, lost weight and has kept it off and maintained her healthy eating habits. She is the sort of amazing person I am in awe of who can eat one cookie or one reese’s cup, set the rest aside and move on with her life.
Michael researched slim-fast extensively on the web and found that in most clinical studies, it was successful in helping people both lose weight and keep it off – so long as they followed the plan. So slim-fast it is. Our plan includes two meal replacements (shakes, bars), 3 snacks (either Slim-Fast brand or our own prepackaged 120-130 calorie servings of chips or crackers), 2-3 fruits or veggies, and a dinner that entails a massive quantity of veggies and a small quantity of whole-grains and lean protein.
Last night we had a tiny bit of pasta with tomato sauce, a huge serving of steamed broccoli with a little spread, salt, pepper and Parmesan, and little frozen spinach-artichoke-soy protein veggie things. It was a full plate (mostly broccoli, of which we had 2.5 cups) but I’ll be damned if I wasn’t starving all day (even with my shakes, my snacks, my fruits). Hopefully I adjust soon. I’m also going to start working out in the evenings before dinner, which should help the appetite suppressant factor.
My mother reacted to the slim-fast thing much the way she would react if I joined up with the white supremacists. Eating right is where she gets morally righteous, for some reason. She gave me a huge lecture about how I should be working out and sticking to the diabetes diet. I don’t think I could quite make her understand that the problem is putting me in control of my diet right now. I will justify icing in a can to myself to the point where I’ll finish off half the container without blinking. Mmm, icing in a can sounds real tasty right now.
Anyway, I tried to explain to my mother that my number one concern shouldn’t be what I’m eating right now but how much I weigh. I’m doing more damage to my health by being fat than I am doing anything else, and so my priority is losing weight and then sticking to a healthy diet. It’s much easier to maintain weight with a healthy diet than to lose metric crap-loads of weight with a healthy diet. At least, in my experience, because I suck at maintaining a healthy diet while trying to lose weight.
Will Slim-Fast work? I don’t know. Right now the tricky part is, I know I’m not hungry. But I want to eat food. I want to be nomnomnom-ing on a brownie. Do you have one? Can I just have a bite or maybe twenty bites?
That’s why I’m on slim-fast, and heaven help us, if it works it will justify all the cost.
Speaking of the cost, a six-pack of Slim-Fast Optima at Wal-Mart will run you about $6.50. The Equate brand (Wal-Mart store brand) has a different formula but much of the same nutritional data and will run you a few bucks cheaper than that. I haven’t tried Equate so I don’t know how it tastes or if it is as effective, but if the slim-fast works, we might try Equate and see if it works as well. Michael has informed me that amazon.com will give you 15% off and free shipping if you sign up to receive a scheduled shipment of slim-fast – bringing the total cost per can down to less than a dollar. You can also do the same thing with the snack or meal bars. Although not really the most eco-friendly option, for some reason it is the cheapest.
For those of you who like pictures, Michael’s camera is in my purse, so depending on the lighting in the fish-tank this afternoon, I may take and post pictures of my favorite terrapins and eel in the lobby. I’ll also try to update on the birds I have seen (watched, as it were) in the past week.
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I did the SF thing back in Seattle with some success and again recently here, but no luck for me this time (I was trying to jump-start things since I couldn’t work out due to my knee). I really only like the one flavor, Dark Chocolate Royale I think? Pour it into a glass, it tastes icky out of the can. Hope it works for you. They occasionally put it on sale for $5.50-6/6pack at the grocery store.
also, I don’t think Mom truly understands what it is like to be significantly overweight. It’s nice to be able to think that you can manage everything with a well-rounded diet and exercise, but for me (and probably for you) it’s not that easy.
Yeah, “eat right and exercise” is just about the most worthless piece of advice you can give somebody trying to lose weight. If I was any good at eating right and/or exercising, I wouldn’t be overweight.
It’s really easy to rag on Slim-Fast from a health perspective because it has nutrition facts printed right on the side of the package. I would wager that most people who complain about it could add up their own day’s food intake, complete with binges and missteps, and arrive at a much less pretty picture. I’m certain that either Kara or I could. People are missing the forest for the trees.
also, there are people who DO “eat right” and exercise plenty, and still don’t lose weight. And who go to the doctor and say, run bloodwork on me, check my thyroid function, check my fasting blood sugar, etc… and everything comes back 100% healthy. Doc says, “yeah, just keep eating healthily and exercising.” THANKS DOC. Clearly that’s not working! There’s other shit going on here for a lot of people.
Michael, if you run out of Slim Fast, I’ve got a bunch in my desk drawer. I did it religiously for a few weeks and didn’t have much luck. I was just too hungry. Mom picks it up at Sam’s. 15 or so years ago I did the Slim Fast powder, mixed it with skim milk and ice cubes and whirred it in the blender. I lost more weight with that than anything else I’ve tried. Eventually, the need to chew caught back up with me. Kara’s right though if you can muscle through it. The goal ought to be just to not have to think about food. Take a Jetson’s capsule a couple of times a day and be done with it. But food’s so yummy….
We did Herbalife long ago too – before you were born. Basically a nastier than Slim Fast powder and a bunch of vitamins everyday. I lost massive amounts of weight on that. But of course, something always happens to derail me. You can’t get right physically until you get your head right.
And when Schultz said “eat less and get some exercise” I almost went for him across the desk.
Dad
They changed the Slim-Fast plan a lot in 2006, so now it’s basically six small meals/snacks a day, of which one is a Slim-Fast shake and one is a shake plus 200 healthy Calories (e.g. half of a turkey sandwich). That’s about 1500 Calories per day, which is definitely at the low end for me. But so far I’m not going insane with hunger (fingers crossed).
They did change the shakes at the same time — maybe that could be why it didn’t work as well for you as it did the first time?
Those of us that have an unhealthy relationship with food are basically just addicted to it, so I guess I kind of look at it that way. There may come a time when I can eat one potato chip (there had better, if I am to keep weight off) but until then it’s imperative that I avoid potato chips. People worrying about whether they will still be able to enjoy their favorite food strike me the same way as alcoholics going into treatment and wondering whether they will still be able to have a glass of wine with dinner.
you mean I can’t have wine either?!?
but I can still has whine, right?
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