They work by helping you feel kind of full without lots of calories. But if you drink them and still eat three huge meals, you won’t lose weight.

There aren’t really any gimmicks that work. Weight loss is achieved by reducing caloric intake and exercising.

Excercise really works the best, I find the more I do the better I feel and the better I feel the more I want to do, its really quite addictive if you let it. The hardest part is getting moving and starting.

Any diet works. The question is, can you stick with it, and what do you do when you’re done? It is a convenient way to reduce calories, which is what you need to do to loose weight.

I’ve occasionally used Slimfast over the past 15 years. I’ll often have a shake for breakfast and/or lunch. I noticed a loss of weight when I exercised consistently, along with the use of the shakes.

I had a doctor who told me Slimfast worked somewhat, but not because of anything special about Slimfast. It just fills you up so you don’t feel hungry. He told me you could get the same results replacing one bowl of Lucky Charms—or just about anything else with the same calorie count as one serving of Slimfast.

@creative1 ; actually, exercise is NOT the best way to loose weight. It supports weight loss, but it takes 3500 calories to make a pound so without reducing your calorie intake, you would need to do a whole heck of a lot of exercise to loose one pound. It is an essential part of a weight loss and weight maintenance program, but calorie reduction is WAY more effective to loose weight.

My husband has used SlimFast or other protein rich shakes on & off to lose a couple of pounds or maintain his weight. Since he has to travel to clients, the shakes are convenient to carry with him and easy to drink on the road.

Personally, I like shakes for weight maintenance. For losing weight, I reduce my calories.

@Judi. A combnation actually works the best. You lower your caloric intake and then you exercise to raise your metabolism. If you only lower your calories, you risk your metabolism dropping and then them it will be much harder to lose the weight than before.

@Judi When I exercise I find I eat automatically less and alot healthier so the reduction in calories happens natually for me if I don’t focus on it. When I focus on it then food is all I think about and then that ends up being my biggest pitfall

I do know a little bit about this subject. :-)

@creative1 and @keobooks , Believe me, I’m an exercise advocate. I just know that a lot of people work out like crazy and wonder why they’re not loosing weight when they are eating Pizza every day. You could spend an hour working off one slice of peperoni pizza at 298 calories (and who really stops at 1?)
Weight loss comes faster if you replace the Pizza (Probably 2 or 3 pieces) with 1 Slim Fast Shake and a cup of steamed vegetables. Do the exercise too, but if you don’t reduce your calories you will not see the results you want.

Good for you @Judi.

I tried Slimfast shakes several years ago. I lost no weight and was quite flatulent from the fiber that was in them. (I don’t know what’s in them now.) I lost weight by reducing calories and exercising. I still have about 20 or 30 pounds to go, though what I really want is to tighten and tone, so it’s time to get back on the exercise horse.

PSST! It’s lose weight, not loose weight. Loose weight sounds rather jiggly. ;-)

@tedibear you may have been gassy from the milk protein. Many people have trouble digesting lactose

@tedibear; I’m sorry it was to late to fix. If I loose the weight will I lose it faster?:-)

@Judi It’s okay. And I like the idea of loose weight being lost faster! I have much that is jiggly, so it’s a theory I can embrace. :D

@SpatzieLover Could be. Though I eat ice cream and drink milk with no issue.

The diet program I use has a lactose free shake product.

The only weight loss gimmick is the one where you take in less than you use.

Small portions of meat, lots of fruit and vegetables, drink several glasses of water every day, get enough sleep (varies per person), and get lots of exercise.

@tedibear , this summer I found someone’s business card, that offered their services as a trainer to help loose weight….......I laughed for a while about that one.
Unlike @Judi who most likely quickly typed the response and just didnt catch it at the moment, this person had printed up however many copies and distributed them across town. ..

@boxer. That’s why this scatterbrain always has more than one person proof read my stuff before I send it to publication. I’m a great idea person but those pesky details…

@Judi I hear you , the only reason I mentioned you is so you knew it was not at all directed towards a little mistake like that heh, trust me I do the same thing.

I couldn’t believe that business card, heh . Funny thing is I showed a couple of people and it took most people a few minutes for them to get it too, just made me laugh…

I forgot to point out that the Slim Fast program works when you follow their directions completely, and that means combining exercise with the drinks. Just drinking their beverage will not make you lose weight.