Diet and exercise people. Eat fewer calories than you burn to lose weight and an even ratio of calories to exercise to maintain. There is no magic bullet. Less sofa. More walkie. The weight loss industry is a racket for lazy unmotivated people who want to stuff their faces, lie on their backsides and still look great. Yeah, and I want to win the lottery but I don’t buy tickets so I doubt it will happen. Just like losing weight without sacrifice and effort.

@nevermore

You sound like me at the age of 20: rigid and unempathetic. Some of us NEED the kind of structure and accountability that programs like Slim4Life offer so that, as adults, we can develop the proper habits of weight control (portion size and exercise) that were not instilled by our parents. You might try preaching AFTER you’ve tried to walk a mile in a chronically overweight person’s shoes.

I lost 45 pounds in 6 months on the S4L program. The cost definitely is a downside to the program. But the encouragment and support that you get from the staff is something that makes the cost worth it. You learn how to eat real food unlike other programs such as Jenny Craig where you are required to eat the food that they provide to you. The snacks that you buy from S4L are rather good. I just wish that I could find a cheaper alternative to them now that I have reached my goal. I have kept the weight off for over 1.5 years now and find that when I start to gain a little of the weight back that it is easy to get back on track! This diet really is NOT for everyone I have learned, but if you have a real dedication to losing the weight this is a great diet!

One other thing, after the weight loss plan there is a maintenance plan. If you follow the plan and if you follow the maintenance guidelines, you will never gain the weight back, stay away from your previous habits and enjoy your new life.

I lost 54 lbs in 17 weeks and believe the cost is off set by my improved health and improved daily life not only for myself but my family. The staff is very supportive and takes an interest in your success. I have tried other programs but with this progam I truely believe I will be Slim4Life!!!!

I wanted to say something about the Slim 4 Life. If you follow the program as the counselor explains it. The benefit of losing weight out weighs the cost of the program. I was on several medications and well one of the cost over $150 a month for a stomach problem. I haven’t had to refill that prescription after the first week on this plan. It is expensive and well worth it. They show you how to keep the weight off and willing to work with you and show you the proper ways and portions with you eating. They have several different plans that help you when you plateau and also the counselors help you when you feel frustrated. I was on Jenny Craig and well it cost me the gallbladder. That was only for 30 pounds. I have lost over 40pounds with Slim 4 life and still going. Jenny Craig took away all the fats in the diet and had cardboard flavored foods or foods so spicy that I couldn’t eat them.

This is definitely the health way of eating and the exercise is an important part as well. I also attend the St. Joe Slim 4 Life. I Love Debbie she is a wonderful counselor. She has been through this process and it very helpful through the stages of losing and frustration of losing weight.

I was given the same “used car salesman” pitch. It was absolutely deceitful, and I was incredibly disappointed in that aspect of signing up with S4L. Their product is good enough to warrant the price, and they should trust themselves and their clients enough to be honest with them. Maybe they figure the only way to convince people is to get them in the contract, then once they try the products, they will see the effectivness of the program. In the long run, it was the best things I have ever done for myself and would suggest it to ANYONE who has trouble losing weight and wants to do so in a very healthy way. I lost 27 lbs in 11 weeks and have been on track for 6 months now. They are a good company, but not very professional in the way they capture their clients.

I had over 100 pounds to loose, on blood pressure medicine, lupus on and on. Slim 4 life is a life saver to me. The girls at my center in Arlington, TX ARE knowlegeble, they care and they take time with each of us to keep us grounded and motivated. This center was my last stop before the big surgery. 8 weeks out and I am 35 pounds lighter, I am loving life and the cost clearly out weighs the consequences. Thanks Slim 4 Life, you are a life saver.

I went in for my consultation needing to lose over 100 lbs. I had my heart set on it and did so good through the 3 day “prep” which is pretty much meat and raw green veggies. I went in all pumped up for my nutrition class three days later and was totally deflated when I was told that I would have to buy all of my supplements and herbs up front to get the discount. Funny in the initial consultation, they did not focus on anything except the two supplements per day. I did the math in my head and expected them to ask me to spend a little more money but not three times my initial sign up fee. They did not tell me in the initial consultation that I would not have a guarantee if I didn’t buy them. I explained that this was deceptive and that they should give all the facts up front. At this point, they began saying that I could just buy them along at the higher price but all in all it would cost me more than $1,100 additional doing it that way. I was not prepared to pay an extra $2,000 in addition to the approx. $600 that I already paid to get signed up, much less, an additional $1100 on top of that. They say that they will work with me without the purchase of the supplements but now I don’t trust them at all. I mean, what else are they not telling me! I don’t think I am going to work with them. iF THEY MEAN TO ENCOURAGE, this failed. I am more defeated than ever. I am not sure what they can hold me to at this point…they got my $600.00 but they are not getting my $2,000!

There is a law that states whenever you sign a contract, you have 72 hours to change your mind. I got sucker slapped same as you a long time ago when I signed a gym membership w/o all the details. When I read the fine print, I contacted a lawyer - free initial consultation - who advised me of this “loop hole”. I have actually had to resort to it a few times since then (you would think I would have learned to dig a little deeper before signing on the dotted line, but…)

Just FYI for anyone who can use the help.

I been on Slim4Life for 4 days and already lost 9lbs. Im learning to cook healthy for my family and myself it feels great.

im sorry you had that sort of experience. Not all centers or counselors are that way. Yes it is a business but we are here to help people too. unfortunately not all of our staff feels the same but i can tell you that the majority of our company feels more apt to help our clients than the almighty pocket

We are so glad that you have been able to reduce your medications. health is our first priority and we value each and every client. Thank you for your support and i’m sure Deb loves you to! (We take many clients to heart)

Honestly…it can vary from market to market…from client to client. The kc market is $9 a week but that is still based upon how many lbs you need to lose and how many weeks you need to lose it. Even so-your medically history and personal evalution plays apart of it. Yes, generally everyone pays the same price but until they have all your info you just don’t know

yeah i was supposed to go in today and have a consultation, but now i don’t know if i should. how much it it?

ya’ll have scared me tooo…………..

I went to my first nutritional class last night and was also FLOORED at the cost of all the supplements and snacks, etc. I told them flat out they were going to be quite disappointed that I was buying nothing then. I went home and started researching and found that (a) they can’t make you purchase their products and (b) there are much lower cost products with the same ingredients on the market. For Instance, OneADay Women’s 50+Advantage vitamins are 1/2 the price of theirs; the EFAs are nothing but fish oil and you can get the same dosages at WalMart for 2/3 less cost. The Boost4Life is all the ingredients you can find in a green tea supplement at Costco or Sam’s, again WAY cheaper. Carb Blockers are cheap and available at GNC or WalMart — same EXACT ingredients. The Metabolizer tabs are nothing but diet pills, again you can go to a GNC or Vitamin Shoppe and find the exact ingriedients for less than 1/2 the cost. I haven’t researched the “snacks/desserts” yet, but I suspect they are so yummy they might be worth the price. Good luck to all who try this - I plan to hang in there with my low cost supplements and see if they give me any grief about it. If they do I will switch over to another diet plan — you know they ALL work if you stick with them.

I was thinking of looking into the program myself. But now reading all these blogs I’m afraid to. I live on a strict budget and would need all the cost of everything up front. However…. I agree with the “money isn’t everything if it makes you healthy” look at things. I currently take several medications and my doctor says weight loss will help and I too have tried just about everything there is out there. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t like to exercise and I know that it is a very important part of weight loss, but when your heavy and your back and knees hurt to do it, you tend not to attempt it to avoid the pain. So… with all that being said…. say a person needs to lose 80 lbs and needs to lose that in 7 months… what would it cost with everything, the program, the supplements and the vitamins and the fat burners… total ….. HOW MUCH?????????