Epic Fail - A Confession

Time for a confession: I failed on the Slim Fast Diet in record time.  Actually, the truth is that I am not a good dieter.  I cheat constantly.  When I tried the 17 Day Diet, I only did the breakfast and lunch portion and pretty much ate what I wanted for dinner.  Since I usually eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and lean protein, that wasn't so bad.  But the Slim Fast Diet was too hard for me.  By day two, I was hungry after breakfast AND lunch so by 1:30, I broke down and had a piece of whole wheat bread with a smear of peanut butter.  I was starving again by 5:30 but I had a dance class to go to so all I had then was a handful of carrots.  The reality was that I just couldn't starve myself.  I cheated from the get go in that I added a banana to each of the shakes I made and that still didn't hold me.  Yes, I ate the snacks but that still wasn't enough.

In fairness to Slim Fast, yesterday was a hectic day.  I was up before 6, walked the dog, cleaned the barn and rode my horse.  I picked Grace and a friend up from swim workout, then spent the rest of the day trying to purchase a car, deal with the repairman, do my job as treasurer for the swim team including attending a board meeting, wash and iron clothes for Grace who left this morning for swim camp and go to Wal Mart which I hate.  I also cooked dinner and went to my dance class.  Whew!  No wonder I was hungry.  Maybe this stressful time was not an ideal time to diet.

The good news and there always is good news if you look really hard, is that I lost 2.2 lbs!!!  Now how much of that was due to the diet and how much to the long walk, horseback riding, barn cleaning and dance class I cannot say.  I can't begin to imagine how I would manage to stick to the diet for one whole week, much less any longer.

Overall I can't recommend this diet.  If you only need to lose 5 lbs. or so and are very determined, you could be successful.  If you exercise hard and therefore burn alot of calories, you will be very hungry on this diet.  But it is easy to do, the shakes do taste good and it is not terribly expensive.  You could add a vegetable only salad at lunch and a boiled egg at breakfast as a supplement.  If any of you have tried Slim Fast and have a story to share, please feel free in the comment section.

This experience exemplifies the reason I preach healthy eating and exercise to begin with.  It is so much easier to keep the weight off in the first place than to try to lose it later.  Keep this in mind this weekend and don't overindulge every meal and get some exercise!