RESEARCHED opinions on meal replacements/protein powders?

blessedtoes

Hi all-

Recently I've been consistent with intense exercise daily and have been shedding some weight at a healthy pace. I'm also working to overcome a few extremity injuries by strengthening around the joints.

For some reason it's occurred to me to explore a meal replacement or protein powder for a meal a few times a week, and remembering the commercial crapola my Mom used when I was a kid (Slender Bars, Figurines), I went to do some research on what's good and what's not and was pretty overwhelmed at the amount of information. Not all good information.

So I thought I'd take a moment to post for efficiency's sake and see if anyone out there has already spent time on this and can share their learning with me. My preference is a meal replacement-type drink mix, high on protein and with as close to no carbs and no added sugar as is possible.

I know pure protein powder would taste horrible so it's probably hard to find one that hasn't been made palatable with sugar, but there have to be some out there.

Thanks in advance for letting me capitalize on your valuable and well-spent time!

Matthew

M30834134

Hi Matthew,

get ready for "I'd rather chew my food" and "why dont you want to eat real food" and "get protein from whole food sources" comments - I'm sure they are coming.

And, at some level, those comments would be correct, but each of us need to come up what works for our circumstances and schedules.

Anyway, I dont have any information on meal replacement drinks, but I wanted to comment about protein powders. I dont know which ones you've tried, but there are some good tasting ones. I use protein powders as supplement, when I cant hit my macros from real foods or when I'm short on time. I've tried Pure Protein but would not recommend it (too low percentage of protein). Optimum Nutrition Gold Whey Protein is very good with a lot of flavors. Dymatize Nutrition ISO Why is good too as well as ULTIMATE NUTRITION - Iso Sensation 93 Vanilla Bean 5.

Another option is About Time Whey Protein - all natural without any artificial flavorings (as they claim) - only 100 calories and all of it protein (25 g). I've tried their sampling packs and Chocolate Peanut Butter tasted really good.

sodapoppin28

Definitely go for a protein powder. I just started taking six star whey protein triple chocolate to use after my workouts as well as a meal replacement for my breakfast since I usually don't eat breakfast very often. My first experience of using it is I definitely was not hungry for at least 4 hours. Every scoop contains about 170 calories and its low sugar. I'm pretty sure many other protein powders are similar regardless of which one you try.

cwolfman13

understand that there is a big difference between a meal replacement shake and protein powder...protein powder is simply a supplement to help you hit your protein targets...it is not intended to be used to replace a meal. an actual meal replacement shake is going to have a variety of nutrients and contain all three macro-nutrients and they will be of adequate calories to suffice for replacing an actual meal.

i do use a whey supplement, but I've never had a meal replacement shake. I use Optimum Nutrition Performance Whey Isolate which tastes pretty good. there are many protein supplements that don't have added sugars...i would say most in fact as the whole point is to get the protein.

keep in mind also that any of these meal replacement shakes are going to be highly processed are going to have a boat load of ingredients...if you care about such things.

Kalikel

I remember Figurines.

Boost and Ensure are decent meal replacements. Not as good as actual food, but better than nothing. Hospitals use them.

As for protein powders...I'd like to see the research on those, too. Who tests that stuff to ensure that it actually has the protein that will do anyone any good in there? Who tests to make sure there isn't anything in there that shouldn't be in there? I don't know.

Liftng4Lis

Do you find you're lacking in protein?

M30834134

Labdoor.com and consumerlab.com the two usually consult for testing and lab results

Ashtoretet

You could try Ensure's protein drink. 160 calories, 16 grams of protein, and only 4 grams of sugar. If it's safe enough for people who just had surgery it should be good for anyone, I would think. I drink it in place of protein bars now that I have braces again.

alltheweigh170

Premier Protein Chocolate Shakes taste good as long as they are chilled.

blessedtoes

Hey thanks everyone for the feedback and support. Lots of great comments in there.

To briefly address a few pseudo-questions, I do not find I am lacking in protein as such, but I eat a low-carb diet. The only carbs I get are incidental, i.e. from dairy and nuts. I've been diabetic 41 years, was sick as a dog the first 20, but have been in better health with a better A1c than many of my non-diabetic patients for the past 20, and the difference was cutting out all direct carbs.

Also, as my previous statement indicated, I'm a health care provider and know nothing about either protein powders or meal replacements and decided it was time I should learn something about them (though I don't really get questions about either, just good to know about stuff).

Thanks for all the great feedback on taste, testing, etc. I'll try to remember to report back what, if anything, I find that's useful.

Blessings,
Matthew

heatherfeather59

I supplement protein with Quest protein powder and protein bars. The powder is low carb and the bars are high fiber, so net carbs average 3-4 depending on flavor.

I've used the powder mixed with almond milk in a blender ball cup. It mixes well, and doesn't taste too "fake." I also take breakfast to work that I make the night before -- overnight oats with protein powder.

1/2 c old fashioned oats
1/4 c plain, nonfat greek yogurt
1 c vanilla unsweetened almond milk
1 scoop protein powder (I use vanilla Quest)
2 tbsp PB2

Mix together and let sit in fridge overnight. Eat cold. *I've tasted the mixture right after mixing, and it is gross. But 8 hours of sitting in the fridge it actually tastes really good. The PB2 masks the protein powder taste if you don't like it.

Calories 358
Fat 6g
Protein 39g
Carbs 38g
Fiber 7g
Sugar 3g
Sodium 436 mg

siluridae

examine.com has very in-depth research about all kinds of supplements.