Doo Yoo Want To Slim Fast? (SlimFast)

Member Name: BestMum

Product:	SlimFast
Date:	12/06/02 (4015 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Takes the worry out of choosing what to eat for breakfast and lunch, 24 vitamins and minerals; 50% of your RDA

Disadvantages: Smells like smelly feet, Tastes like smelly feet

Before you read on, obviously 'slimming fast' as the title suggests is not recommended to anyone. Aim to lose 2lbs a week with a sensible diet and exercise. Consult your doctor if you have any fears or doubts.

Well, summer is here, allegedly! And with summer comes skimpy clothes and summer holidays. Unfortunately I dont do skimpiness; well I could but I would probably get some rather strange looks that frankly would shatter my delicate well-being. The result of nine months carrying my beautiful little daughter and the 15 hours of sheer hell to pop her out is an extra three stones in weight (oh I can also blame it on a hormone imbalance though, honest!). I just havent been able to shift it. Okay I haven't tried that hard really, I just haven't had time! I wonder how many more excuses I can think of before the end of this op?

The fact of the matter is I am going on holiday at the end of August and I really want my self-consciousness to fly out the nearest window and hit the concrete very, very hard, never to return. I find that if I dont lose two stones in as many days I lose interest and the devil foods slowly edge themselves back onto my plate. I have zero willpower; I wish you could bottle it and take a swig every now and again. If at mealtimes there is a choice of good food bad food, then I'm done for.

So I have decided that I want to be around for as many years as possible for my sprog (and future sprogettes) which means shifting the fat. Just as I was about to grab myself a good healthy bowl of Sultana Bran on Monday morning, I spotted my future hero. Residing at the back of my cupboard were two tins of Slimfast (one chocolate and one strawberry); and amazingly enough, still in date! So I put my bacon and mushrooms in the bin and decided to give the Slimfast a go.

You may want to grab yourself a coffee and get comfortable. Sorry, I mean jump on the exercise bike and grab yourself a banana!


All you do is add 250ml skimmed milk (and ice if using a blender) to two scoops of powder to replace both your breakfast and lunch, with a couple of pieces of fruit in between. You then have a healthy 600 calorie meal in the evening.

I read the instructions which stated you can mix your shake in a cocktail shaker or bung the powder and the milk (and some ice if you want a creamier texture) into a blender and whiz it all around for a couple of minutes, or until the ice has broken down, and then serve.

That was the easy bit, trust me. I thought I would try the strawberry one first. As you bring your glass to the mouth (or mouth to the glass depending on where you're from!) the smell hits you. It made me gag even before I had tasted it, which was not a good start. I put on my bravest face and swallowed slowly. I had never tasted anything so foul. Well maybe the one time my husband tried to cook but lets not dwell on that too long.

Flavours
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It comes in a variety of flavours; the ones I have tried are as follows:

Strawberry - nothing like how a strawberry tastes but does slightly (and I am talking miniscule, microscopic) resemble strawberry milkshake ala McDonalds. That is until the after taste grabs hold of your tongue and twists and twists until you cant breathe. BUT, they've recently changed the recipe and it's actually quite nice now!!

Chocolate - same as above really. If you have tastebuds of steel then you might just enjoy this one. For me the best bit about it was convincing myself I had finished it so I could throw away the last third - you know, the bitty stuff that sits at the bottom of the glass, eugh.

Additional products and flavours below:

SlimFast Ready to Drink Shakes:
Chocolate Royale, Strawberry Supreme, Banana Deluxe, French Vanilla, Coffee Delight, Peach Temptation and Tropical Treat.

Tins of Powder:
Chocolate Royale,
Strawberry Supreme, French Vanilla, Banana Deluxe and Hot Chocolate

Meal on The Go Bars (similar to cereal bars), Snacks Bars, Soups

PRODUCT INFO
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Slimfast is intended as a meal replacement drink so you exchange your usual bowl of cereal or bacon buttie, and your lunch, with a shake. Each serving of Slimfast provides 24 vitamins and minerals and is an excellent source of calcium to keep those bones healthy (Facts: one in three women and one in twelve men in the UK will have osteoporosis over the age of 50 - another great excuse to keep drinking this stuff!)

Go to their website (www.slim-fast.co.uk) and you can find recipes, product information, cooking techniques, explanation of the SlimFast plan as well as being able to buy online via Boots (www.wellbeing.com).

MOTIVATIONAL TIPS
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I have stuck a piece of paper to the fridge door with a weekly countdown to the holiday. I have left a space between each week to record my weight for that week, and there is a note at the end of the page asking me if I really want to look like a beached whale and have somebody throw me back into the sea. And I have added a couple of old pics for good measure. So each time I go to the fridge for a snack, this should put me off.

The flavour of the shake really is an acquired taste, one that gets better the longer you use it. Stick with it and you should find that after the first couple of days it actually becomes more bearable, honestly!

Dont set yourself crazy goals, make it realistic. The recommended weight loss per week is 2lb. It doesnt sound a lot but it soon adds up (or gets subtracted).

Remember that if youve been very naughty and scoffed a Mars Bar for lunch, you can probably make it up the next day, dont give in. Maybe I should practice what I preach!

If you've been really good for the whole week, you should treat yourself at the weekend.
This doesnt have to be of the culinary variety, maybe a new outfit. You should be proud of yourself.

Drink lots of water. 1.5-2ltr per day is the recommended amount, which adds up to approx 8 glasses. Mix it with low-sugar, low-cal juice if you wish. Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables too; the daily recommended amount is five portions in total. So thats a couple of pieces of fruit during the day and then a selection of three vegetables for dinner - easy peasy.

Try adding fresh fruit as youre blending, to improve the flavour. I havent tried this yet but will do at the weekend.

Try to do as much exercise as you can. The results will be more dramatic. Even as little as 20 minutes steady paced walk each day, as long as your heart rate is elevated for 20mins per day.

Once you've reached your target weight Slimfast recommend you have one shake instead of two. This should keep you on the straight and narrow.

RESULTS/FINAL THOUGHTS:
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The new recipe strawberry powder is suprisingly quite paletable so I may just stick with it this time, you never know.

It's really easy to use which is a bonus and makes the choice of good food-bad food for you. In the first week I lost 5lb but slowed down after that. Steve though, has managed to lose a stone over the last month - I told him it was probably hiding in the gravel in the back garden but he said I was just being stupid. Hey-ho.

Unfortunately today I pinched one of my daughters Mashed Potato Smilies from her lunch (I am such a bad mother!), lets hope I am not back on the slippery slope already!

Prices:

Tins of powder: £5.89 rrp. (12 servs)
Ready to Drink Cans: 99p rrp. (1 serv)

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