Slim-Fast offers a line of products to use as meal replacements. It claims that substituting its shakes, bars or other products for two of your normal meals will help you lose weight. For the remaining meal, you can have a balanced breakfast, lunch or dinner. Pregnant women have heightened nutrition requirements, so dieting and meal replacement plans might pose a hazard.
Problem
The problem doesn't lie with the Slim Fast diet plan, which offers dieters who don't want to spend time cooking an easy way to obtain nutrition while maintaining an overall low-calorie intake. Rather, the problem lies with the dietary requirements of pregnant women. To provide themselves and their babies with necessary nutrients, pregnant women need a healthy eating plan that includes a variety of food sources, such as fruits, whole grains, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, meats, nuts and seeds.
Nutrients
Pregnant women also must work closely with their medical-care providers to ensure they are obtaining all the vitamins and minerals they need from their diet. While Slim-Fast products might provide many nutrients, depending on the product type, pregnant women shouldn't rely on a Slim-Fast diet to provide all the nutrients they need. Typically, a balanced, healthy diet is the most effective way to obtain the nutrients you need. If there are any that you lack, your doctor can prescribe supplements. Another concern is exceeding your recommended nutrient intakes. For example, Dr. James F. Smith of BabyCenter points out that some diet shakes have generous amounts of vitamin A, which, in combination with your prenatal vitamins, might lead to an unsafe level of intake.
Weight
The goal of the Slim Fast product line is to help people achieve healthy weight loss. But, pregnant women shouldn't try to lose weight unless their doctors direct them to. Gaining weight is a normal part of pregnancy -- pregnant women should expect to gain about 30 to 35 lb. before delivery. Attempting to lose weight can deprive a baby of necessary nutrients, unless the dieting occurs under a doctor's supervision.
Expert Insight
Dietitian Melinda Johnson of BabyCenter says that pregnant women can safely drink diet shakes as an occasional snack or meal, but they shouldn't drink the shakes as part of a comprehensive diet to lose weight. She also points out that you can make your own version of some of the shakes by using milk as a base and then adding vitamins and fiber, in line with your doctor's recommendations. This gives you more control over the nutrients you obtain.
