Slimfast? Plus advice needed

So my husband weighs around 17.5 stone and would like to be the weight he use to be about four years ago....

He used to smoke, so I just assume most of the weight he gained came from stopping smoking. He's started to kind of do Slimfast now. He has one Slimfast strawberry shake for breakfast, an apple or banana as a snack, one of those Slimfast chocolate bars or a Slimfast soup for lunch, another fruit for snack and then whatever dinner we're having, which could range from chili con carne with fries, to takeaway 

He said he was going to start doing exercises (as in going to the local park and running) soon. But one of the reasons why he's decided to do Slimfast, is because he's a shift worker, so he's too worn out and tired to do exercises after a night shift, or a late shift. Plus he said he'd give Slimfast a try and see if it 'worked'.

He was doing situps but then stopped..... He said he'd continue this too.....

We're going back to California in December for a visit, and we did want him to have lost some weight by then. I don't know how much weight he's going to loose if he continues on with the above food regime..... I don't know if I should be making 'healthy foods' for him to eat during dinner and then make myself something different or just eat the healthy food too.....

It's just awkward when I go to figure out what to eat for breakfast or lunch, and if I cook food, I'll feel bad because he can obviously smell it and wants some. I mean, he seems to be 'ok' with it if I do cook something.

And I don't know if I should be pushing him to do the exercise. Like if I should say to him every night 'are you going to do your situps' cause I'd feel like I was nagging, if I did. I'd think that he was thinking that I was trying to tell him what to do..... and if he says he doesn't want to do them, if I should just let it slide as I can't make him do the exercise.

He's lost a half stone in three weeks, just by the Slimfast. I don't know if that's good progress or 'just' progress. 

Congratulations to your DH for losing weight. From my own experience, slimfast does work, but only while you are on it. The hard part comes when you try to add regular eating back. I know some people who still use one slimfast shake a day in place of a meal and it seems to work for them.

Everyone has to make their own decisions about food and lifestyle, but my general advice is never to make a change you don't intend to keep for life, because once you stop a temporary measure, you gain the weight back. So my advice, as a person who has lost weight and kept it off, is to stop with the Slimfast and eat real food--ie, whole foods, really healthy, sensible and substantial meals--and to exercise 5 or 6 days a week. He will lose the weight and keep it off. I know you've heard this advice a million times, as I did, but when I finally gave up on special "programmes" for weight loss and actually changed my lifestyle, I lost the weight and have kept it off for two years.

Congrats to your husband for his efforts and success, and good luck to you both on making healthy and permanent changes to your daily choices.

I think things like Slimfast are fine for jump-starting a program or for having for an easy meal to hand, but as Carla points out, it's not great for long-term use. I had Slimfast shakes for lunches with an apple and piece of cheese for a year and it worked well for me at that particular job. I also took it to class with me the one time a week I had night classes (I was embarrassed though and put the shake in a plastic drink cup!).

I'm assuming by your post that you don't have a weight problem? Because I find it odd that you are willing to fix healthy meals for your DH but not yourself. And even if you don't have weight issues, you can still eat healthy delicious food that you and your DH can enjoy. We have the opposite problem in our house. DH is thin as a rail but I'm not. He has no problems at all eating as I do and supports me fully. He knows though, that if he wants to have any major junk, he should try to have it out of the house and away from me!