Slim Fast Shakes Vs Medifast Shakes – A Comparison

Ethel Gonzales

I get a lot of emails asking me to compare medifast products to other diet products.  One very popular request is to look at both the medifast and slim fast shakes side by side.  So, in the following article, I’ll do just that.

Choices / Flavors: It used to be that medifast won in this category hands down as it boosts it’s “regular” 55 shakes as well as the higher protein 70 variety, the ready to drink variety, the appetite suppression, the diabetic option, the joint health, the women’s health, the ready to drink, and the momentum metabolism boosting. Almost all of these have several flavors available so there are tons of different options and varieties here.

Recently though, slim fast has come up with some more options in addition to the “original” line.  There is a now an “optima” line which is said to control hunger, the higher protein line, the easy to digest option, and the “low carb” variety.  If you want to get really technical about it, medifast still does have more choices available, but, slim fast has come a long way with this, so I’m going to call it a wash.

Calories / Carbs / Protein Content: I know that few people consider these variables as important as I do.  But my opinion and experience is that drinking diet shakes is a waste of time if they are contain too many carbs and calories (and not enough protein) to get you into fat burning mode (called ketosis.)  When I compare shakes, this is often where medifast comes out way on top.  Many grocery store products contain way too many calories and sugars, so let’s take a look.

If I compared every shake on both plan, this article would take forever to read, so I’m going to go with what I feel are the most popular shakes on both plans. This would be slim fast’s “original” and medifast’s “55.” First up, let’s look at slim fast.  This shake has 220 calories, 25 grams of fat, 40 grams of carbs, and 10 grams of protein.  Now, onto medifast.  We’re looking at 90 calories, 10 grams of fat, 13 grams of carbs, and 11 grams of protein.

So how significant is this difference? I believe it’s pretty significant.  In terms of calories, you could drink two of the 55 and still have calories to spare.  And, 40 grams of carbs is in my opinion too many to get you into ketosis.  At the very least, you should look at the lower carb option if you are interested in slim fast, but I have to tell you that even this option has around 190 calories.

Taste / Texture / Cost Comparison:  To be honest, other than the high calories and carbs, the biggest drawback that I see to the slim fast shakes is the chalky texture that these are sort of known for.  There are some decent flavors, but there’s just not getting around this odd texture.  This is my opinion and I realize that others may have a different one.

Granted, the medifast ready mixed shakes aren’t my favorite either in terms of texture.  But, the 55 are so versatile that you can make sure that you get them creamy and light. This makes a big difference to me.  If I’m going to stick with a diet, then I’m going to need for the food to be palatable.

In terms of cost and price, there is not as big a difference as you might think.  You’re looking at around $8.50 for a case of 6 for the slim fast.  There’s no denying that medifast cost slightly more, but if you buy this as part of a package, you’re only paying around $2.00 each.  This small difference is most definitely worth it to me because I’d rather pay slightly more and actually lose weight pretty quickly and enjoy consuming the product. 

Also, Medifast offers many other foods (chili, soup, eggs, oatmeal, pudding, etc.) which gives you more options and keeps you from getting as bored. This makes it the better option in my own opinion, but everyone will have their own criteria in making this determination.

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