Meal Replacement Shakes

Charisma_Black

Hey

I am currently taking the Ultraslim Meal Replacement Shake - 1 for breakfast and 1 for lunch. I have a healthy nutritious dinner. I also have a morning snack and afternoon snack alongside 3 to 4 litres of water a day. I'm eating 1300 to 1600 calories a day. I've also started the couch to 5k programme.

Anyone else doing a meal replacement programme?

I am interested in how people are getting on with this and how you find it. I understand everyone will have their own thoughts and opinions on this which I respect.

VioletHaz

Good luck! I loved when I did a shake diet! I was fabulous for my wedding, but that was 7 years ago. I stopped it to have children. When I tried to start again later it didn't work since my system and health issues changed a bit and I couldn't tolerate it.
I suggest having a plan to phase into when you stop taking it because these are rarely forever solutions. I did love the immediate results though so enjoy!

Charisma_Black

Thank you lovely for your encouragement and support I'm hoping this will start things off for me and definately not a long term plan. Thanks so much for your honesty.

chelsy0587

I have the protein shakes my gym makes for lunch on weekends and dinner most week nights. Very tasty, keeps me full. I'd like to be able to just buy the protein powder and mix them up myself but that has eluded me so far lol... for whatever reason I make excuses as to why my own shakes just wouldn't taste as good as theirs!

kutedaisy

I did slim fast version for a week. I can handle it for breakfast but not for lunch but I did have good results in that one week.

Charisma_Black

@chelsy0587 I know what you mean! My gym also does shakes too. I think it's great that they offer this service! It's like when someone else makes you a meal - it always tastes better lol

@kutedaisy Sounds great I know lunchtime I'm ok but once the afternoon comes I need to make sure I have good healthy snacks with me. Also having a nice treat once a week keeps the motivation also!

strong_curves

I've never done the meal replacement shakes but one of my aunts did it. She lost a lot of weight, got down to the size she wanted to be. Then she started incorporating "real food" back into her lifestyle, gained all the weight back that she lost and even more.

ninerbuff

Meal replacements teach you NOTHING on how to actually structure eating habits. They also have one of the highest weight regain. Makes sense because again, it shows you nothing on how to eat correctly once you stop. Unless you're planning to do it for the rest of your life, consider just learning how to portion and limit your calories through actually eating your meals.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

bmele0

I actually like a few different meal replacement protein shakes/bars. I think I could eat or drink them for the rest of my life and if not, I also know several different meals that fit those same goals on days I have more time to whip something up.

I don't think I am as likely to gain back since I still know how to select or cook food within that calorie range. I'm just lazy and like a cold easy protein shake/bar. Lol

forgtmenot

Just no. Meal replacement shakes are not sustainable long term, and you will still need to learn to eat properly once you lose the weight or you will regain the weight. Not only that but shakes like slim fast are usually severely low on calories for a meal and if you eat too little your body will start burning through muscle for fuel.

juggernaut1974

ninerbuff wrote: »

Meal replacements teach you NOTHING on how to actually structure eating habits. They also have one of the highest weight regain. Makes sense because again, it shows you nothing on how to eat correctly once you stop. Unless you're planning to do it for the rest of your life, consider just learning how to portion and limit your calories through actually eating your meals.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

If MFP's forum software allowed for the use of signatures, I could just make mine read "I agree with @ninerbuff" and save myself a lot of time typing. (and really make his notifications light up like a Christmas tree!)

Hornsby

ninerbuff wrote: »

Meal replacements teach you NOTHING on how to actually structure eating habits. They also have one of the highest weight regain. Makes sense because again, it shows you nothing on how to eat correctly once you stop. Unless you're planning to do it for the rest of your life, consider just learning how to portion and limit your calories through actually eating your meals.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I agree with this.

amcook4

ninerbuff wrote: »

Meal replacements teach you NOTHING on how to actually structure eating habits. They also have one of the highest weight regain. Makes sense because again, it shows you nothing on how to eat correctly once you stop. Unless you're planning to do it for the rest of your life, consider just learning how to portion and limit your calories through actually eating your meals.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

This. I've tried meal replacement shakes twice in the past, both times I lost a good amount for a few months, then I'd slowly go back to normal food and gain it all back, plus more. They might be a quick fix, but 99% of the time it will not give long term success, because you are not learning proper portion control, and almost nobody is going to eat them forever.

I've been doing portion control for over a year now, I never feel hungry, I've saved a ton of money and lost 85 pounds. Plus real food is delicious

whmscll

I cannot do shakes. I am constantly hungry on them and craving "real" food. Totally did not work for me.

Charisma_Black

Like I said in a previous post it's not long term. No one bothers to read what you say unfortunately This is usually why I don't post on these forums because everyone jumps down your throat. Thanks anyway for your opinions and thoughts.

juggernaut1974

Charisma_Black wrote: »

Like I said in a previous post it's not long term.

Right...that's sort of the point.

You lose weight in the short term, then put it all back on once you return to eating regularly because they don't teach you how to properly portion control.

So if that's your goal...fine. But they're not a good idea for those looking to permanently lose the weight.

Charisma_Black

I agree with @bmele0 I lead a busy lifestyle with work and am stressed majority of the time which I'm on medication for. I know how to cook also and am very much into making everything from scratch as well I don't like processed foods they just make me feel bloated and horrible afterwards. So the shakes fits my lifestyle currently. I understand what is being said though. I know very well about portion control and calories etc but please respect this is my choice at this current moment in time.

juggernaut1974

Charisma_Black wrote: »

I don't like processed foods they just make me feel bloated and horrible afterwards.

So the shakes fits my lifestyle currently.

I'm really not trying to be argumentative...but how can you possibly jive these two statements?

I mean, there's really not many foods more 'processed' than a meal replacement shake.

Charisma_Black

Yes I understand fully what you're saying and I am fully aware. I came on here to ask if there were others on the same sort of plan for some support and encouragement for this current goal.

Charisma_Black

It's my choice. What's your problem?

elphie754

Wouldn't you rather learn how to have sustainable eating plan now?

Dronederland

@Charisma_Black. I have a busy job tooo and since I was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes - I use meal replacements drinks so don't miss a meal. I really like green smoothies for breakfast with protein powder as it keeps really full.

chivalryder

I'm dong a meal replacement program. However, I'm not wasting my money on something like that. I make my own shakes at home.

Costs me $5.80/day.

But I'm doing it because my budget doesn't allow for real foods. Food is too expensive. If I could afford to buy what you're buying, I'd be eating real food. Any purchased "plan" is a waste of money.

juggernaut1974

I don't have a problem...like I said I'm not trying to be argumentative...I was just hoping to maybe give you a couple other things to ponder that you might or might not have already considered.

I understand everyone will have their own thoughts and opinions on this which I respect.

I guess that this wasn't really true though...

vitraptica

In my personal experience, I haven't suffered any ill-effects but that's not to say that it'll be the same for everyone. I am working on adapting to a ketogenic diet and have tried a few "meal replacement shakes" made specifically for this (KetoSoy, KetoChow). So usually when I have certain time constraints or just don't feel like cooking, I just fix up one of these and find that they work quite nicely for my needs. It's also easy to measure out the caloric intake and they do end up being quite filling as well. I won't lie though, taste-wise, I definitely prefer actual food.

Charisma_Black

It's actually really lovely to hear from people who are doing a similar plan and not have people be so judgmental!! I understand people have their opinions but when you feel like a child being told "you're doing this wrong"attitude it's not a good feel. I thought this website was for support and encouragement. The reason I started this post was to see if there were others doing a similar plan and instead I am judged for what I am doing. Thanks to you guys that got back to me. It's refreshing to hear what you guys are at and the sorts of things you are doing.

@PDB40 Green smoothies sounds great! What kind of protein powder do you use?

@chivalryder yeah food can be very expensive it's great that you were able to work out a plan for yourself which works out cheap

Whittedo

Charisma_Black wrote: »

Yes I understand fully what you're saying and I am fully aware. I came on here to ask if there were others on the same sort of plan for some support and encouragement for this current goal.

So basically you do not want any common sense advice just a personal "GoGirl" Cheer Team. Here you go:

Charisma_Black

@vilytran I must read more into ketogenic diet as I have not heard of this before. It's always interesting to read up on new things I'm ok having a shake in the morning as I would then have an AM snack and also PM snack after my lunch shake. I feel fine plus I'm always super busy during the day so drink plenty of water throughout which keeps me filled up in between meals. It's good to hear that you find this works for you and you are happy with what you're doing

Charisma_Black

No I didn't come on for that crap I came on here to ask people if they were doing a similar plan and how it works for them and I understand everyone's opinion of doing the plan will be different. From what I've learnt from this forum is that people are very nasty.

elphie754

So suggesting you develop a plan that will be sustainable for the long term instead of a fad that can lead to you gaining back the weight (and maybe even more) is being nasty?

NewMeSM75

I personally haven't done meal replacements. Another option you could consider in the future is some kind of smoothie to incorporate. You could add more fruit and veggies in your day this way. I did have a friend who tried like the slim fast but that's been so long ago that I can't tell you whether it was a success or not. Good luck!