Fast forward two decades and Slim Fast® is still going strong but with a greatly increased range of products. Slim Fast® has been proved to be effective at helping people lose weight and has been affirmed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
How Does it Work?
The Slim Fast® Plan is now known as The Slim•Fast® 3•2•1 Plan and is based on dieters following a calorie controlled diet and active lifestyle. Following the 3.2.1 structure, the daily diet plan consists of three snacks, two Slim Fast Shakes or meal bars and one sensible calorie-counted meal. The diet is based on a daily intake of between 1200-1500 calories for women or 1600-1800 for men. This should enable a gradual weight loss of no more than two pounds per week for most people.
Who is it Suitable for?
The Slim Fast® plan is a good choice for men or women who like to eat on the go without having to grab a high calorie snack from the nearest food outlet. It’s also useful for those who don’t have much time to prepare meals. It’s not ideally suited for the whole family, but it is possible to eat out while following the plan.
Those who shouldn’t follow the plan are adolescents, pregnant or breastfeeding women, people with certain medical conditions or those wanting to lose more than 20% of their weight. In each of these cases, it’s recommended consulting with a doctor first.
What Can You Eat?
The Slim•Fast® 3•2•1 Plan includes one balanced meal of about 600 calories for women or 800 for men. As a general guide, you are recommended to fill one third of your plate with vegetables, one third with lean protein (such as chicken or turkey without the skin, fish or lean beef) and one third with starchy carbohydrates.
The US version differs slightly in that the balanced meal should have around 500 calories and the plate should be filled with half vegetables, quarter protein and quarter starches.
A typical day might go like this:
Breakfast: A Slim Fast shake or a bar, a glass of fruit juice.
Lunch: A Slim Fast Shake or Meal bar, a piece of fresh fruit.
Dinner: Lean beef or chicken (grilled or baked) with brown rice or baked potato, steamed vegetables and a salad.
Snacks: Slim Fast bar, air-popped popcorn, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables.
Website
As with many of the popular diet plans, you can find out all you need to know via their website. Here you'll also find useful tools such as a BMI calculator, a food calorie counter and a large FAQ page.
If you become a member you can ask the Slim Fast Nutritionist to answer any questions you have, or find an online buddy to offer support. You can also make use of the Personal Progress Tools which let you track and update your weight loss progress day by day. Other membership benefits include a Free Personal Plan to help you reach your weight loss goal.
Slim Fast® Products
There is a relatively wide selection of snack, bars and shakes to choose from. The varieties listed below are relevant to the UK market. The US differ on some of the flavours.
All the Slim Fast Snacks have 95 calories. Snack bags include: BBQ Flavour Tortillas, Sour Cream and Chive Flavour Pretzels and Cheddar Flavour Bites. Snack bars include: Chocolate Caramel Treat, Heavenly Chocolate Delight and Chocolate Nutty Nougat.
Meal Bars provide 210 calories each and contain around one third of the recommended intake of 22 essential vitamins and minerals, plus protein, fibre and essential fats. These can be used to replace two meals a day if you’re following the Slim Fast 3-2-1 Plan. Choices are: Chocolate Crunch, Chocolate Peanut, Cinnamon and Raisin, or Summer Berry.
Slim Fast Powder Shakes come in a large tin, containing around 438g of powder. You make the shake yourself by adding the required amount of skimmed milk. When made up as per the instructions, each shake has around 230 calories and provides about one third of your recommended intake for 22 essential vitamins and minerals, plus protein, fibre and essential fats. Shakes can replace two meals a day. Flavours are: Caramel Temptation, Blissful Banana, Café Latte, Rich Chocolate, Simply Vanilla and Summer Strawberry.
Alternatively, you could drink a Bottled Shake which supplies around 220 calories and similar nutritional values as the meal bars. Flavours are: Blissful Banana, Lemon Meringue, Café Latte, Fruits of the Forest, Raspberry Crush, Rich Chocolate, Simply Vanilla or Summer Strawberry.Where can you buy the products?
You can find Slim Fast® products in Tesco, Boots, Superdrug, Sainsbury’s, ASDA and Waitrose. Alternatively you can order them online by from Amazon, see below.
Slim Fast® Products available from Amazon
While the Slim Fast Plan can undoubtedly help you reach your weight loss goals, some dieters may find returning back to the world of 'normal' eating
© Diets and Calories 2011
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