Slim4Life - Real cost and how it works. Or does it? (Alli, quitting smoking)

[sirdevan]

I started working out 3 weeks ago. Working out 4 times a week cardio and weight lifting. I just added this because I wanted to go all out. People can say "just watch what you eat" but this diet isn't about just watching your calorie intake. It's about getting a balance of what you eat.

I am on day 2 and so far I am very happy with the diet. I am not hungry at all, at any point. I was surprised because I thought for sure I would be starving at some point. Also, accountability is very important. One of the reasons you go in and the reasons I am posting here is for accountability.

I wont post a daily update but figured day 1 was important and I will give an update every week unless I need to answer someone. I will state now, right this minute I am glad I spent the money. I know some of you think I was dumb, but I have been trying to lose weight for 10 years and it has been an uphill battle.

I was law enforcement for 5 years, and lifted weight and was active. It was just a slowed down metabolism and 3-5 lbs gain per year for many years. I am actually very healthy despite my gain.

Keeping in mind this is only day 2, I really hope it works as well as it appears to have so far.

[aneye4detail]

If accountability is important, then hey maybe this is a good program for you. I'd still warn not to call it a "diet." I personally think it's better to call it a "lifestyle change." Diet just has such bad connotations all around. You gotta look at this all as big picture, this is what I will be doing the rest of my life.

I look forward to hearing good news from you.

[sirdevan]

Week 1 on Slim4Life. Total Weight lost: 7.6lbs

Now, I am very glad to lose 7.6lbs in just one week, but I expected something like this the first week as I have changed drastically what I eat. I am still happy to say that I have been kept full every day. One of the keys to this plan (not calling it a diet!) is variety, so I keep trying to venture out to new vegetables and meals. I had lamb chops the other day and they were absolutely fantastic. I have had lamb before at restaurants, but never from my grill.

I have heard some people say Slim4Life's snacks and drinks are horrible. I actually found 3 of their snack bars really really good and 1 was just ok. Their chip type snacks they call zippers were very good (surprisingly salty) and I found their drinks were great. The only thing I didn't care for was their smoothies (only tried the strawberry something).

Maybe TMI, but another thing I was really worried about was that with all the pills and water that I would be having to visit the bathroom (possibly quickly), the pee breaks have indeed increased a little, but bowel movements have decreased, which to me was surprising (sometimes skip a day now). I am told basically I am eating what my body wants and it doesn't waste much.

I have a lot more energy, which also surprised me. I think most of this is due to the lack of sugar in this life change and the more I read about sugar being an energy zapper the more I believe it.

My last 2 workouts actually felt good, which I can't remember that feeling when working out. I always thought that was a lie.

So, while it does feel like it's been a bit longer than a week, I feel good. I also feel the next week will be more of a tell because I don't think I will lose near as much as the first.

[ChickenPox]

Losing 7.6lbs in one week isn't healthy at all. It's probably 70% water, 15% muscle mass and 15% fat. What pills do they give you? You really have to loose weight slowly! Your skin needs time to adjust. When you loose weight too fast your skin will sag. Experts recommend 4lbs per month.

Cardio is good. When you're overweight I would recommend cycling. Strength training is important too, to prevent the loss of too much muscle mass. Diet high on protein and low on carbs. No meat. No fast food.

[aneye4detail]

Originally Posted by ChickenPox

Losing 7.6lbs in one week isn't healthy at all. It's probably 70% water, 15% muscle mass and 15% fat. What pills do they give you? You really have to loose weight slowly! Your skin needs time to adjust. When you loose weight too fast your skin will sag. Experts recommend 4lbs per month.

Cardio is good. When you're overweight I would recommend cycling. Strength training is important too, to prevent the loss of too much muscle mass. Diet high on protein and low on carbs. No meat. No fast food.

Sorry, the moment I see lose spelled incorrectly, my brain just goes la la la la la la la la....

[sirdevan]

Slim4Life Week 2
Days on Diet: 13
This Week: 3 lbs
Total Loss: 9 lbs

Week 2 Update: and response. Tomorrow is technically the end of week 2, but things are going well. As to losing weight too fast, if I continued to lose 7.6 lbs every week I would agree with you, but most of that was a huge change of my eating habits and it was 9 days, had some mixup on when they counted me starting.

I went from 40% fast food/eating out and late night eating to eating 100% correctly I also went from drinking 50% water 50% SWEET tea, to 100% water (and their mixes).

This week (so far) I have lost only about 3lbs. As I said above there was some confusion. They consider mondays the start of the week even though I started on Wed, which was how I was calculating things.

So to clear things up I will start putting at top Total weight loss since Oct 1st.

[sirdevan]

For those interested, my current workout consists of the following: (keep in mind S4L claims you don't need to work out at all, but they did put me on a higher calorie intake plan due to me stating I was working out)

Alternating between lower and upper 4 days a week, 40-60 minutes each workout. (I tend to do upper a little more than lower)

Warmup: 1/2 Mile - 5 laps, 3 walking, 2 jogging or 20 minutes playing 1 on 1 basketball with son.

Upper Workout:
Abs: 20 x 3 (sets)
Bicep Curls: 20 x 3
Tricep Ext: 20 x 3
Bench: 15 x 3
Lat Pulls: 15 x 3 (low weight here due to damaged shoulder)

Lower Workout:
Abs: 20 x 4 (yes in both workouts)
Back Ext: 20 x 3
Leg Press: 20 x 3
Leg Curl: 20 x 3
Leg Ext: 20 x 3

Cool Down: 1/2 Mile reverse of warmup. Start with jog 1-2 laps then fast walk, slowing each lap until last lap is normal pace.

I am doing a very gentle jog due to my weight. I had started jogging faster my third week and felt some tenderness in one ankle and the other knee so I have went back to a gentle jog. I will probably try again once I am 20 lbs lighter.

I tend to add 5 lbs to the above workouts IF I can do a full 3 sets of 20. It may start out at 15,12,10 until I can build up to 15x3 then 20,15,12 until 20x3 etc. This is a plan I came up with on my own to slightly build muscle and yet lean towards more toning.

[aquietpath]

Good for you! Sounds like you are doing well. Do you think you can incorporate the changes in your lifestyle once you have achieved your goal?

[subject2change]

Just noticed this thread as I was scrolling by. You mentioned pills in the first post. My number one question would be, what is in the pills, and are they safe? Usually diet pills contain stimulants, and aren't healthy at all. Some of them can even cause heart damage in susceptible people. It bothers me a little that not one person has mentioned that. If there is a strict diet component, you will lose weight. I'd toss those pills.

[sirdevan]

Slim4Life Week 3
Days on Diet: 16
This Week: 3 lbs
Total Loss: 14 lbs

I looked into the pills some. I was surprised doing searches on the pills for (30+ minutes) revealed almost nothing on google other than buying more. I will break down the pills for you at the end of this message. After starting my third week I will state the "counselors" are very helpful where I am, unlike some stories I read. The only negative so far is they keep asking me to take their food and want to increase pills here and there. I know, for the most part, this is a sales boost for them and I have fended off these suggestions for now. I am still very positive so far about how I feel about Slim4Life. I would give the diet about a 7 out of 10, the 7 purely because of the shadowy way they treat the costs with everyone and pill pushing, but the diet itself is still working very well and I feel full all the time and plenty of energy. I was getting a little bit of bloating at first but I stopped taking the fiber supplement and that fixed that issue. I don't have the bottles with me so listing below is only from memory.

30 minutes Before each meal
1 Lipo Cell - (breakfast only) Their fat burner. It's mostly herbs, a little caffeine etc. It does help focus I noticed.
3 EFA - This is the essential fatty acids. Basically Fish oil 3 6 and 9 If I recall correctly
1 Slim 700 - Now, this pill is their claim of blocking starch/carbs and basically 700 calories not sure about this one. Ingredients were mostly herbs again.

1 Hour after each meal
1 Release - Supposedly a water balance / weight loss agent.

You repeat the 3-EFAs and Slim700 for Lunch and Dinner as well as the Release after each meal.

At night before bed you take a multi-vitamin. It's basically like any other multi-vitamin, nothing major.

On top of the pills they want you to take what they call a "Boost" drink daily. This is a powder you put in water that has caffeine and herbs that are also energy boosters. It's noticeable 20 mins after taking it and they do ask not to take when you take the Lipo due to both having caffeine.

They also want you to take 1 of their "Quenchers" per day. It's basically a much thicker powder you put in water, doesn't have caffeine, suppose to increase metabolism and help burn calories and finally one of their bars or desserts. These all taste really good, but are all sweetened with Sucralose I believe. I know it is a substitute sweetener, pretty sure that is the one.

Now, they try to tell you the bars really help you lose weight (they are 170 calories) stating they increase metabolism and make you burn pure fat. I am no doctor, but I find this slightly difficult to believe. I stopped taking the bar every day and still losing the same weight.

They state if you are still hungry in the evening you "can" add another Quencher or bar. They have another pill called "Neuroslim" that they don't start you on until you have completed week 3. It is stated this pill helps your mood and curbs appetite. I am not taking this yet.

According to what I have read and gathered, they will continue to want you to increase pills and their bars/drinks. Someone (I have read a LOT of posts) stated they were up to $400/month at one point. I also read they are "ok" with dropping supplements if you have issues, which I may do at some point.