Slim4Life - Real cost and how it works. Or does it? (smoothie, supplements)

[aneye4detail]

OK I"m going to admit I didn't read every single word of your post, but, what I saw was and then they want to sell me this, and then they want to sell me that, and then they want me to buy more.

Sounds like this program is good for the counseling, but other than that, sorry, complete waste of money. I really hope you don't give in to their persuading and really focus on just eating right and exercising. That's what I have been doing, and really I haven't been exercising consistently. And here are my stats:

Counting Calories on LoseIt.com Week 12
Days on Diet: 84
This Week: 1 lb.
Total Loss: 15 lbs

So yeah you've lost same as me in 3 weeks. But will you keep it off? Are you learning how to eat to sustain a weight loss for the rest of your life, and God let's hope you are not planning to "feed" them money for the rest of your life, because you know they will probably try to push you in that direction. "Oh you need our maintenance neuroslim pill..."
Slow and steady wins the race, most people who lose weight know this and believe this.


OK now that I am looking back at your post, I see this:
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.


OMG what a crock, I'm sorry. A pill blocks carbs and calories?? I don't think so. And if it did guess what, everyone would be buying it and everyone would be thin. Weight loss agent?? Gah!! No, just no. Swallowing all those pills??? Whyyy???

You seem to want to rationalize what you've spent and I don't blame you. But again, sorry, you bought a crock.

[sirdevan]

I said in my post I didn't agree with some of the pills or their statement on their bars. I have already backed off some of their supplements and I don't have any of their bars, haven't for a week. Though they keep telling me I really need them.

I understand their system, I understand they want to make as much money as possible. It's the reason I give the diet plan 7 out of 10, but I will say it is teaching me how to eat right and included in the horrendous money I spent is a year of maintenance/counseling after I lose the weight to keep from gaining it back and you are most likely right, after I am done they will want me to keep taking 5+ of the pills per day to "maintain", but my goal is to ween myself off the supplements and only take what I feel is really helping.

I already told them the Slim 700 sounds like a crock. EFA's arent' bad for you, but they do have me taking a ton of those. I will probably drop them down. I think taking 9 a day is a bit excessive to say the least. That pill alone will run you $65/month at that rate. Their Lipo pill is outrageous at $150/bottle but lasts about 90 days at first but they push you to take 2/day dropping it to 45 days.

I have come to the conclusion S4L is an MLM basically that is based off of a great plan, with huge marketing. At this point I would still suggest the plan to people that just can't lose weight, but just give them warnings on how it works and not to take the $600plan when the $199 plan is the same thing without the supplements or "6 month maintenance" package. You can purchase whatever pills/snacks/drinks/bars you want separately and keep an eye out for their 20-30% off deals if you want to use their supplements. I do believe some of the supplements are actually helping.

I know it's easy to say "just eat right" but if that was all it was this country wouldn't be one of the worst for obesity.

[aneye4detail]

Originally Posted by sirdevan

I know it's easy to say "just eat right" but if that was all it was this country wouldn't be one of the worst for obesity.

The reason this country is the worst for obesity is because they know that in order to lose weight, they need to "just eat right." They just "don't want to." Admittedly, they are bombarded with ways to eat wrong, and it tastes good and feels good, so of course that's going to happen in the majority.

[aquietpath]

OP, whether or not anyone else agrees with this method, I want to thank you for being so candid about your experience. I have seen the commercials for S4L and thought it was either impossible or an insanely great bargain to lose weight for a year for $99.

It's helpful for anyone who is considering this plan so they know exactly what is involved. It would be great for users of Jenny Craig, Nutrasystem, etc. if they would detail their experiences with those plans.

You sound as though you are doing well.....best of luck on this journey. Losing weight is tough....it's not like quitting smoking or drinking or some other habit you can just eliminate altogether. Because you must eat to live, you must make good choices and avoid temptation constantly. Stay strong!

[sirdevan]

Slim4Life Week 3 End
Days on Diet: 22
This Week: 3 lbs
Total Loss: 18 lbs
Left to Lose: 87 lbs

I am starting Week 4 and things are going good still. I was losing quite a bit (almost a pound a day), but that has slowed down some. I have had some craving issues here and there, mostly sweets and carbs, but I am being good! I have set several goals for me. Not just every 10 or 20 lbs, though I am glad to hit those. For example 2 days ago I went under the weight I was right before I got married over 4 years ago!

I think the hardest part for me so far is losing what I have and only losing 1" on my waist! I know as much as I need to lose (added "Left to Lose" at top) what I have lost is a drop in the bucket, but was surprised it was only 1". You can tell in my face and neck though, so that is good at least.

I have been going in to the S4L office almost every day during the week and they are very helpful and answer any questions I have had. They also have backed off the pill pushing for now and are not complaining that I stopped the bars yet either. Though I am sure somewhere if I stop losing they will tell me this is why. I believe I have lowered my water intake some, which was not intentional. I was staying around 100oz per day, but I was realizing I may have only done 60-80 the last couple days. Keeping an eye on it again now.


aneye4detail - The other problem is there are so many different people, plans, blogs, etc telling you their version of eating right. I have tried several, many of the plans are purely to make more profit off of people's lack of knowledge. The idea that you just lower your calorie intake, in my opinion, is a wrong one. One of the reasons I posted this was I was determined (good or bad) to show how this plan worked or didn't and determined to lose weight.

aquietpath - Thanks, it was one of the main reasons I did this, though the topic is getting a bit out of reach for most to read.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

I'm glad it's working for you and that you can afford it. I wouldn't be able to afford it. I'm counting calories and eating lower-carb than I used to.

Eventually your weight loss will slow down, because it always does. And slowing down is not always a bad thing. I have lost 150lbs in the last 35 weeks and my emotions have been all over the place, and my hair is falling out. Should I have tried to lose weight more slowly? Probably, but I needed to make a drastic change and stick with it.

[LoriBee62]

Originally Posted by aneye4detail

The reason this country is the worst for obesity is because they know that in order to lose weight, they need to "just eat right." They just "don't want to." Admittedly, they are bombarded with ways to eat wrong, and it tastes good and feels good, so of course that's going to happen in the majority.

I think this simplifies a situation that is much more complex. I've found that how easy it is to "just eat right" depends entirely on the diet I'm trying to maintain. For instance, it's nearly impossible for me to eat reasonable quantities of food when I'm on a low-fat, low-carb diet. Throw in "moderate amounts" of sweets and simple-carbs and forget it, my body is constantly battling against itself.

However, start me on a full-fat diet that includes complex carbs but eliminates sugar and flour and it's startling how much easier it is to stick to a reasonable and healthy diet. The problem is, too many people don't know that, and end up stuck between people like you who say, "Just eat right" and a diet industry that puts them on wacky fad diets that don't work over the long haul.

To the OP: I am 100% certain you will lose a significant amount of weight on this program. I'm also 100% certain you will gain it all back. I say that because I've been there too many times. It IS possible to simply eat a healthy, balanced diet and lose weight. But IMO if you're unable to do that on your own, then there's something about that "balanced diet" that's making it impossible for you. You need to figure out what that is (for me it was sugar and flour), correct it, and you'll be surprised how easy it is to enter the world of people who can eat normally without the struggle.

[sirdevan]

Slim4Life Week 4
Days on Diet: 28
This Week: 2 lbs
Total Loss: 21 lbs
Left to Lose: 84 lbs


@LoriBee62 - I agree, anyone is going to gain back what they lose if they don't change their lifestyle permanently. I plan on changing how I do things. I wont be as strict as this current change is, but I do plan on fixing my ratio of food and limiting other things. I never really ate much sweets, not my thing, but I loved Dr Pepper. Fortunately I gave that up 2 years ago when I started working towards this, but I was still heavy on the Sweet Tea and I did eat more food than I should and never had breakfast. I was usually starving by the time I ate lunch and dinner, which is a very bad thing. I plan to keep breakfast going and the healthy snacking between meals.

I am hoping that since it took me 20 years to gain all this weight, that, with watching what I eat and keeping some exercise I can keep it maintained.

I have learned a lot with this plan and learn more every day. I was definitely eating incorrectly even when I thought I was eating very healthy.

[sirdevan]

Slim4Life Week 7
Days on Diet: 46
This Week: 6 lbs
Total Loss: 35 lbs
Left to Lose: 65 lbs

Just a quick update. Things are still going along quite well. Still losing an average of 5 lbs per week. The counselors at S4L still helping and encouraging. One third of the way there! Still very happy with the plan in spite of the issues I have with it.

Feeling very good and dropped from 3XL shirts to 2XL and tightened my belt 3 notches.

Getting a lot better at figuring out what to eat(right) at different places.

[veuvegirl]

Great job! Glad it is working for you!