Some of the girls i work with have started a sort of meal replacement diet.. they use meal replacements for breakfast, lunch and snacks and eat a healthy, normal dinner..

but do these meal replacement diets like slimfast, or other shakes/bars work?

I never tried them long term... however, I am finally motivated to lose my weight and lose it the right way and I'd be afraid of not knowing how to eat normal after losing a lot of weight with the bars. Portion control and what not. Also, the few times that I tried either a slimfast shake or some kind of bar, my brain was not satisfied at all. Even though the nutrients equaled a meal, my brain wanted to see a plate of food!

I've done Slim Fast and it works... but not long term. If you're going to keep the weight off you have to do it in a way that you can sustain for the rest of your life. I can't see myself drinking those gawsh awful shakes or eating those bars twice a day for the rest of my life. They get old real quick!

Just my two cents .

I totally agree. They're not nearly as good as even a typical trail mix or granola bar. They seriously have a "crushed up vitamin" flavor.

I find that meal replacement products leave me hungry. By the end of the day I am starving and end up eating way too many calories. Plus rarely do they actually taste good.

I am currently using portein suppilments, and it is really helping me keep to a low calorie diet (about 1250 calories/day). I struggled trying to stay around 1450 calories a day until I got the protein supplements. Now, I take about 5 protein supplements per day which account for about 550-650 of my daily calories. I have noticed such a difference, I am not hungry all the time, I feel "in control" and am able to keep my calories where I need them. Perhaps you too could benefit from added some protein supplements to your diet. I use mainly Wonderslim shakes, pretzels, and cheesecake pudding, Protidiet vanilla cookies, BartiWise fruit drink, and Medifast bars. I buy everything except for the Medifast bars at www.dietdirect.com.