SlimFast is a diet plan that uses portion control by replacing two meals per day with meal-replacement shakes, smoothies, and bars. The SlimFast plan works by restricting calories, which has been shown to be an effective way to lose weight.
A good diet plan to lose weight involves healthy eating that provides nutrients the body needs while staying within a daily calorie goal for weight loss. It is also one that a person can stick to long-term.
Any diet people will stick with can help with weight loss, but diets that are unhealthy or too restrictive are difficult to follow long-term and most people gain weight back as soon as they stop following the diet.
Does SlimFast Work?
SlimFast is a popular type of portion-controlled diet plan that involves replacing two meals per day with meal-replacement shakes, smoothies, and bars. SlimFast also has specific keto and diabetic weight loss plans. It allows for three snacks per day in addition to meals and meal replacements, chosen from SlimFast products or a list of approved 100-calorie snacks such as fruit, air-popped popcorn, or Greek yogurt.
There is one meal per day prepared by the dieter that is allowed on the SlimFast plan, though there are specific guidelines to follow on which foods to include and which foods to avoid for the meals.
Overall, the SlimFast plan works by restricting calories. In general, women will consume about 1,200 calories per day on SlimFast, while men will consume about 1,600.
Studies have shown that meal replacement diet plans such as SlimFast can be effective ways to lose weight.
Advantages of SlimFast:
- It is easy to follow because SlimFast products make up a large part of the plan, which takes out the guesswork
- Meal replacements are high in protein, which has been shown to help keep the appetite in check
Disadvantages of SlimFast:
- It requires use of their products, which may be expensive for some people
- It focuses mainly on counting calories rather than paying attention to nutrition and healthy eating habits, so it may not be the healthiest diet plan
- Dieters may gain weight once they stop following the plan
References
https://www.uptodate.com/contents/losing-weight-beyond-the-basics?search=diet%20plan&source=search_result&selectedTitle=1~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=1
https://slimfast.com/how-it-works
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15467776/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1473108/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16002798/
