I just wanted to say Hi to everyone. I'm new to the site, and fairly new to the program (almost 5 weeks in). So far, I have been more hungry and annoyed than ever! Haha. I read some of the previous postings and everyone is so welcoming and supportive and I can't wait to be a part of it!
I have a question already, and I hope I can spit it out in less words than a short novel (I have a habit of being long-winded if you haven't noticed already); I am interested in grabbing some meal replacement shakes because I am on the go a lot and sometimes forget to eat meals. But the LA shakes are so expensive! I read in one of the other postings about some good alternatives, and I think I'll try a couple, but my question is, how much is a serving, and how do I count shakes in my food diary? If it helps anyone, I am thinking of slimfast optima or something with a similar nutrition label. I keep forgetting to ask whenever I am at the center, so I hope someone can help.

LAWL shakes count as a Protien & Starch.
Others have (myself included) substituted slimfast optima and added a string cheese and counted it as a protein & starch.

Your center may not approve of this (as they are trying to sell their own products). Whenever I wrote slimfast in my diary, they always "reminded" me that those are not on plan, but if I wrote Slim Down (the name of their shake), it's not a problem.

Hi and welcome! We'll need a name behind the screen name.

The Slim Fast Optima are an excellent choice and one that a bunch of us use. Lea Ann had discovered the wonderful fact that you can have a Slim Fast Optima and a rf string cheese for virtually the same nutritional content of a Slim Down. The Slim Downs have about 250 calories and the Slim Fast have 190. They count as a Protein and Starch. I like using the Slim Fast not only because of the cost, but also because I love being able to chew something and the string cheese is perfect.

Sherry and I posted at the same time!

Yes, I always put "Slim Down" on my diary. They don't check back in your chart to see what you bought and when. It just cuts down on problems.

Welcome!

Thanks, those were some speedy responses! add a cheesestring, 1 protein, 1 starch, call it a slimdown - I can handle that!

Someone asked for my name, sorry I don't remember who, anyway it's Kim. I'm 21 and a student. I'm graduating from University with a Tourism Management Degree in less than 3 months! I'm so excited, and figured that I should go into a monumental even like that as "the best me I can be"... I know, it's cheesy but you do what you gotta do to keep yourself going on right?

I know that alot of people have bought things on ebay and when I substitute something I just write it down as what LAWL item it is supposed to be and 1 counselor asked me where I got it and I told her ebay. She surprisingly did not say anything.

WELCOME to the group KIM!