Celebrity Slim/Herbalife/Slim Fast advice

Hi Mini, I did The Cambridge diet back in the 80's which I believe is the same as Herbalife...I did lose lots of weight but the minus points are because you are replacing meals with these milkshake things, you are so low on energy and hungry all the time. I found it terribly difficult, I was tired all the time and felt faint and you can't maintain the weightloss once you go back to normal food. I tried Slimfast a few years ago when I wanted to lose half a stone and I put weight on instead ! Slimfast does work for some people, but I suppose it depends on your calorie intake beforehand- I had already cut mine,so it didn't work for me.

The only thing that I have found works for me is eating a healthy diet all week, allowing myself a treat day on weekends and exercise (groan)

I did slim fast successfully and lost nearly a stone. It's so easy. 321, 3 100 calorie snacks (they say their bars but I had anything 100 calories) 2 shakes (breakie and lunch) and a main meal at night. Works out at 1400 calories, 300 for the snacks, 600 for your main meal which is quite substantial, and 500 for the shakes. Working on this theory I ended up subbing the shakes for toast and other lunch, so in effect the same as my fitness pal. Which I did swap to afterwards!

Oh thats interesting, on MFP it told me I could only eat 1200 calories a day- a task that I failed miserably at.

Try it? The shakes are really filling which I was surprise at. If worked out, with te snacks, I was able to eat every 2-3 hours so I didn't have chance to get hungry

Slim fast is vile! I tried it I couldn't stand it any more after a week it just so sweet and synthetic tasting.

Have you tired calorie counting?I am doing this atm as I'm currently a fatty, I know some people use my fitness pal app to help with the counting.

My weight has been a healthy 10.5-11 stone (I'm 5'11 tall) all my adult life until I had a viral infection (well they think it was a virus but never actually found one in my system) that effected my brain (similar to a stoke) which messed up my fitness up big time.

As a result of not being as active (I can't do much physical exercise now without getting a migraine, lovely) and being on steroid based medication my weight ballooned to 16 stone.

I cut my calorie intake to max 1500 (although on average I usually only had **** a day) and I lost 3 stone. (In about 3-4 months)

Following Christmas etc I lost commitment but have just started being more disciplined again now and reduce my calorie intake to 1000 a day (although usually have around the 800 mark) I will get back to my 'normal' weight before my wedding!!!!

I find keeping well within your target of calories balances out a day that you cave in and eat junk.

I do Herbalife.

I'm never hungry and have loads of energy.

Randomly I have lost no weight but a fair amount in cms (but I think that's down to the fact that I came off the pill before I started and haven't started a cycle yet so am retaining water).

Plus, I'm an awful cheat.

One of the parents that comes to the nursery does that celeb one and she lost nearly stone and a bit in like 4-6 weeks- but she said it really was a struggle and she has a 4month old and a 2yr old and was lacking in energy until she could re-introduce food

I tried SlimFast years ago and found that I was so hungry that every 4-5 days I would end up binging on bad food - almost like my body was desperately trying to make up for the shakes! One of my friends is a Herbalife distributor and swears by it but it seems to me that as soon as you stop doing it 100% you put A LOT of weight back on (happened to 2 people I know).

A more sustainable way to lose weight quite quickly is to cut out carbohydrates and sugar and up your protein intake. In the initial few weeks you will lose as much weight as on one of the low calorie plans like Slim Fast etc and you are much less likely to fall off the wagon as you are eating "real" food. I lost 3 stone this way and have kept it off for nearly 2 years now.

A couple of my friends have done the Cambridge diet and they lost loads of weight. Like others have said though, they both put it back on once they went back to normal food.

I suppose if you want to lose it quickly, you could do something like Atkins etc. but if you want something sustainable you're probably better to just make a small change, such as smaller portions, or less carbs more veg - that sort of thing.

Ha ha, I love this! I'm the same; not on Herbalife, but MyFitnessPal. I am the QUEEN of 'treat' days! ?

Still, I've lost over 2 stone now, so can't be too bad.

Mini- MFP allocated me 1650 cals a day originally based on the amount I had to lose and my starting weight at the time. As I've been losing it, it's dropped to 1570 cals per day, which is more than sufficient to eat perfectly 'normally and still lose weight'. It's more of a slow burner though, rather than a quick fix. 1200 cals is what it recommends as the absolute minimum calorie intake- if I have less than this in a day I get a warning message! If you've not got much to lose, try 1500 cals a day if you've a medium build, perhaps 1400 if you're smaller?

I've never tried Slim Fast or any of those other prescriptive diets; my problem is that I like food (a bit too much!) and I'm a bit of a numbers geek- so calorie counting seems to do the trick and I can still eat pretty much what I like, I just make better decisions about what to have. I can still have my KFC small popcorn chicken and 2 hot wings for lunch every now and then! (267 cals)

Is that all that's in that?! Wow. I love popcorn chicken. I wonder how many calories are in just a large popcorn chicken?

I've lost 5cm from my waist so far on HL but, as I say, no weight. Oddness. Mind you - I'm all about inches not weight so I'm plodding on with it.

With regards to putting the weight back on - to be honest I would say that's exactly the same with any diet or healthy eating plan. I eat completely normally in the evening and still drink like a fish (obvs) so I'm not too worried about that for me.

My concern is looking it quickly, but then it going back on quickly!

I havent done any of the ones mentioned. the only 'programme' ive done is Weight Watchers. It really worked too and i kept it off. you loose the weight at a sensible pace and it changed your whole thought process about food and eating. I still remember points for certan foods and portion sizes.

the problem i found with it was paying a fiver each week quickly adds up. but once i had the books, i would stick witht he points system and keeping a points diary and once a week go to Boots to get weighed!

...what is MFP ?

My Fitness Pal.