Weight loss drinks can be a great way to replace a meal, get in fewer calories, and fill daily requirements for vital vitamins and minerals.  Slim Fast is probably the first weight loss drink I became familiar with at a very young age.   Slim Fast is a trusted, well known brand, who has been around for decades.   What about a weight loss shake like Slim Fast that helps people to lose weight?  Is it they aren’t eating as much food?  Are there fat burning properties in the product itself?   Is it a meal replacement shake, or a weight loss shake?  Looking at the ingredients gives most of the answer.  I’m only looking at the standard shakes, and not the high protein or low carb shakes.

Ingredients in Slim Fast Vanilla Shake

• Fat free milk is the first ingredient.  Well, I happen to think there is a place for dairy in a healthy diet.  Milk is a great source of protein, calcium, and Vitamin D.  The calcium, and vitamin D are sometimes tough to get in a typical American diet, but vital to bone health.  Studies have also shown that milk drinkers are thinner on average.
• The second ingredient is water.  It’s a bit disheartening knowing this is the second ingredient, because I tend to consider the addition of water as a way to dilute things cheaply.  My husband suggested maybe it was because they started with powdered milk, but I’m not sure that we would have those details.
• The third ingredient is sugar!  I don’t consider sugar beneficial for weight loss. In fact, studies by Dr. Robert Lustig would point the obesity crisis entirely on the consumption of sugar.  I do not believe sugar has any place in a meal replacement shake or weight loss shakes.
• Canola oil is the fourth ingredient.  Considering the fat profiles of different oils, Canola oil does rank with better oils such as Olive oil.  The theory behind adding this fat may be to improve satiety and slow down stomach emptying.
• Gum Arabic- This is a binder, made from sugars and proteins that keeps all the ingredients mixed together.   It’s common in food and candies and other processed foods.  I wouldn’t consider anything harmful about this ingredient.
• The rest of the ingredients are chemicals, vitamin extracts, stabilizers, sugars, and artificial flavors.

PRO’s

• Slim Fast is fairly inexpensive as a meal replacement
• They have a variety of flavors
• It tastes great.

CON’s

• This product has a lot of artificial ingredients.
• Slim Fasts second ingredient is sugar.

Conclusion

If you choose to use Slim Fast as a meal replacement product, and eat sensibly at the other two meals, you most likely would lose weight.  Products like Slim Fast, with its vitamins and minerals, allow you to eat fewer calories, and still get the nutrients you need.  However, this product, even with its vitamins added is really just some flavored milk with a multi vitamin. There are no ingredients in this product that encourages fat burning.  I may save my money on this one and drink some milk and take a vitamin, and skip the sugar.