Slim4life is a weight loss program that includes regular meeting with doctors, nutritionists, and psychologists who help in achieving the target weight.
Slim4life website states that the Slim4life program encourages people to lose weight and also promotes changes in lifestyle and eating habits for a healthy life.
The Slim4life program targets everyone including men, women, and children as young as ten years to help them stay fit and active.
Slim4life is a center-based program where dieters can have a one-on-one consultation with the counselors to get advice and directions on how to follow the plan for weight loss and management.
The dieter needs to have regular meetings (2-3 times in a week) with the counselors who frames a diet plan while keeping in mind the needs and choices of the dieter.
What food is included in Slim4life diet?
The Slim4life program also keeps in mind the nutrient requirements of vegetarians, people having diabetes and high blood pressure.
The diet plan permits the dieter to choose the food that they prefer on a daily basis.
The Slim4life program recommends the dieter to maximize the intake of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains but limits the consumption of sugar, fats and even dairy products in some cases.
Slim4life program prescribes the dieter to consume healthy fresh food items and limit the intake of processed and packaged food as the vitamin and mineral content decreases during processing.
Also, processed food has high sodium content while lower sodium intake is preferred in Slim4life program to obtain maximum health benefits.
The counselors also suggest the dieter eat healthy at restaurants and avoid processed, high fat and calorie-rich dishes.
The slim4life program also defines some calories to be consumed per day by the dieters to lose weight.
The meal plan per day amounts to around 1,500 calories depending on the age, sex, daily activity level and health profile (i.e. presence or absence of a disease) of the dieter.
The counselors do not prepare an exercise routine for the dieter according to the needs of the dieter as the Slim4life program does not encourage the dieter to do routine exercises, but it does recommend him/her to stay active because exercise and diet when done together are the most effective option to lose weight.
Also, the Center for Disease Control suggests that adults should do a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity workout each day for maintaining good health.
The Slim4life program promotes the intake of fresh food items, but in some cases, the dieters are recommended to consume nutritional and dietary supplements.
What is the key principle behind the Slim4Life diet?
The Slim4life program includes consultation of dieter with the counselors to discuss the diet plan and also encourages the dieter to stay active but doesn’t include the preparation of individual fitness routine by the counselors.
During the counseling sessions, the dieters are taught about healthier ways of eating and an easy to follow regimen is designed to last a lifetime so the dieter can maintain a healthy weight.
The Slim4life program also designs the meal plans using an ingredient that can be found easily.
The diet plan may also offer supplements to boost metabolism along with shakes and snacks that aid in weight loss.
Moreover, the Slim4life program aims to reduce the calorie intake by the dieter and maximize the intake of supplements containing vitamins and minerals to complement the low-calorie diet.
What are the benefits of Slim4Life diet?
The National Institute of Health suggests that consumption of a well-balanced diet along with routine exercises can help the dieter to lose weight at moderate speed (i.e. the dieter can lose 1-2 pounds of weight per week).
But the Slim4life program claims that the dieter can lose up to 3-4 pounds of weight per week if he/she follows the plan properly without any modification.
The Slim4life program is beneficial for obese people as it helps them to lose weight at a faster rate and since obese people are at the risk of developing the obesity-related disease (such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases).
The Slim4life program can help to minimize the seriousness of the symptom and reduce the risk of obesity-related diseases.
The individual consultation with the counselors proves to be immensely helpful for the dieters who are shy or insecure about their weight as they can easily discuss their weight-related problems with the counselors during a one-on-one session.
Additionally, one-on-one consultation may also help the counselor to understand the needs and choices of the individual dieter.
The counselor may also help the dieter to stick to his/her new healthy lifestyle.
The Slim4life program helps the dieter to maintain the weight even after the diet is over.
The slim4life program also helps the dieter to have knowledge about their metabolism, so the weight that is lost during the diet is not gained back as soon as the diet is over.
The slim4life program encourages changes in lifestyle that lasts for a longer time instead of forcing the dieter to follow a specific diet plan for few weeks or months.
The dieter can lose up to 4 pounds of weight per week by simply following the Slim4life program without the consumption of any weight loss supplements in most of the cases.
Is the Slim4Life Diet Safe?
The Slim4life program is a restrictive plan that includes a particular type of food items, and hence it becomes difficult to get an adequate amount of all essential vitamins and minerals when eating a limited variety of food items.
Dietary supplements, even if they are natural, may turn out to be more harmful than beneficial.
Therefore, the dieter should always consult a doctor before starting to take the recommended dietary supplements to make sure that the consumption of this supplement is safe and will have no negative side-effects in the future.
The Slim4life program is an expensive program with no money back guarantee on theSlim4life website.
Also, there is no history or information on the company’s website on how it has been assisting people to lose weight for the past 25 years.
Precautions Associated with Slim4Life diet
A dieter should always consult a doctor before starting a new diet plan as the daily requirement of calories, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals may vary from person to person depending on their age, weight, sex, daily routine activities and health profile (i.e. presence or absence of a disease).
Pregnant or nursing women should pay special attention while following the Slim4life program and consult a medical professional before starting the diet to ensure that the plan meets the daily requirements of calories and nutrients as lack of nutrients in mother’s diet can affect the health of the baby.
The dieters should always inquire about the qualification of the counselor who is advising them on their diet plan.
Since the Slim4life program is based on the needs of an individual, therefore it is important that the one-on-one consultation is done in person rather than over the phone.
Conclusion
There is no scientific research studies and evidence that prove the effectiveness of the Slim4life program.
It is considered that a low-calorie diet combined with routine exercises is the most effective way to assist in weight loss.
The National Institute of Health and most experts recommends that weight loss at a moderate pace (i.e. 1-2 pounds per week) is healthy in case of most of the people.
While Slim4life program claims that the dieters can lose up to 3-4 pounds of weight per week which are almost double the amount of weight that is recommended to lose per week.
The Slim4life program suggests that the dieter should limit the consumption of dairy products in their diet.
On the contrary, MyPyramid food guidelines recommend that the dieters should consume 2-3 cups of dairy products per day (including cheese, yogurt, milk, soymilk, and ice cream) to maintain strong bones and to strengthen the immune system.
There is no evidence supporting the fact that the consumption of weight loss or dietary supplements helps in weight loss.
Many dieters claim that the consumption of such dietary supplements is beneficial as it helps in quick weight loss and provides many health benefits.
On the other hand, some people believe that these supplements are not safe and since very few experimental studies have been performed by the companies that make these supplements, therefore the effectiveness of these products is doubtful.
Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t approve these dietary supplements which indicate that including these weight loss products in the diet may have negative side effects.
The dietary supplements containing ephedra have been found to be unsafe as ephedra increases the risk of cardiovascular problems, strokes, heart attacks, seizures or severe mental disorders.
In response to the adverse effects and ephedra-related deaths, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedra on April 12, 2004.
Earlier, the dieters in the United States of America were consuming these dietary supplements containing ephedra since they were not aware of the negative side effects of ephedra.
Slim4Life seems like just another diet that focuses on consuming low calories. Please consult your health practitioner or dietician before commencing with Slim4Life Diet.