The Slim fast diet

I am not one for following strict diets, but a couple of years ago I used the Slim Fast plan to loose excess weight. Often a diet is seen as a period of deprivation to lose a few pounds, but the good thing about the Slim fast weight loss plan was that I didn’t feel deprived while I used it. The milkshakes managed to keep my hunger pangs at bay just like they promised.

I must say that I am not a big eater, especially at breakfast time, so replacing breakfast with a slim fast milkshake was easy for me. Even better, for someone who hates cooking like I do, it was awfully practical to have breakfast ready in a can. At lunch time it was practical and economical too, to carry around my canned milkshake instead of eating the greasy selection at the university's canteen.

Replacing breakfast and lunch with a milkshake was a good bet for me as I lost the extra weight without losing the nutrients needed for a young student. Whenever I got bored of my milkshake for lunch or if I had the chance to lunch at home I replaced the slim fast milkshake with a ready made salad or a few crispbreads with a low fat topping. I still remember my kitchen cupboards filled with different varieties of Ryvita’s crispbread which I used to eat instead of bread. The great thing about Ryvita was that it was low in fat and high in fibre which helped to satisfy my appetite and kept my digestive system in good working order.

I found Slim Fast products great for people like me who do not enjoy spending too much time in the kitchen. With Slim fast you can replace up to two meals a day with a milkshake or a snack bar depending on your weight loss target.

It you are just trying to maintain your weight you can also replace two meals a day with a milkshake AND have a snack bar for those moments of weakness when you feel that your body needs something sweet to keep going.

Do not think that you will get bored of Slim fast easily. Slim Fast offers a variety of flavours and products that you can mix and match to suit your needs and cravings. To vary the flavour of the milkshakes even more, I used to experiment with different types of mixers like Soya milk, almonds, oatmeal and rice milk. Using different mixers for my slim fast shake, not only gave me a different flavour but also varied the nutrients taken with each shake.

The way Slim fast helps you to lose weight is simply by helping you to reduce and control your calorie intake without having to bring out the calculator on the table every time you are going to have a meal.

What to have for dinner

If you are lazy with numbers like I am, instead of counting the calories in your dinner you can follow a general rule that always works. Fill 1/2 of your plate with vegetables, a 1/4 with lean protein (such as chicken without the skin, turkey, fish or lean beef) and 1/4 with starch (preferably whole grain). If you do this you can also enjoy a salad or a light soup as a starter and a serving of fruit or for dessert.

Enjoy!