Q: What do you think about the Slim Fast 'Optima' shakes as far as how well-balanced & healthy they are? (With skim milk of course)

A: To be perfectly blunt, those things make HORRIBLE meals. I mean you might as well eat a cheesecake. Skim milk hardly makes it any better. An Optima shake + a cup of skim milk has ohhhhh around 50 grams of carbs almost ALL of which are pure sugar. It's absolutely the last thing you want to eat or drink, no matter what your goals are (and, of course, especially when trying to lose fat). Bad bad bad bad choice.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, look at any of my fat-burning diets (I assume you're mainly after losing fat) recommended in the Nutrition article. For breakfast you should have some complex rich carbs of which plain old-fashioned oatmeal is the perfect example. Full of natural goodness (not something Slim-Fast Co. squeezed into an aluminum can), full of fiber, full of slow-digesting carbs that will keep you going ten times longer than a sugar rush will. Add to that some strawberries for more vitamins and minerals. Add to that cottage cheese or whey powder for some protein. And now you're talking about a real breakfast.

If you're not thinking about just the breakfast, then look at other meals. They have few carbs and whatever carbs are there come from vegetables! Again, tons of minerals and vitamins, tons of fiber, something that will last you a few hours. Plus fish or chicken or meat for protein. No simple sugars!

And in case I haven't said it enough Slim-Fast products are H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E!