What do you think about meal replacement shakes

Fivefeetandhalf

I have been drinking shakes for breakfast for nearly a week now and reduced my snacks and portion size for lunch and dinner.
I haven't lost any weight yet. I have also been working out.

Should I increase the 2 -3 meal replacement?
P.s I'm not trying to lost a lot of weight.

ninerbuff

If you're not losing, it's because you're not in deficit. Although starting an exercise routine can also inhibit weight loss for a couple of weeks due to the body acclimating to the work. Wait a couple of weeks and check back.

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

janejellyroll

I prefer to spend my energy focusing on what actually creates weight loss -- a calorie deficit. If shakes, eliminating snacking, and smaller portions make that happen for you, that's great. But without a calorie deficit, those things aren't going to result in weight loss.

LisaGetsMoving

One week is too soon to know. Are you logging your calories and exercise? because that's the only way you're going to be able to tell if you're in the weight loss zone.

As for your title question, I don't care for meal replacement drinks myself, personal preference... I'd rather eat the meal. However, for some people it works fine, especially those in a hurry or who want a simplified meal or those who tend not to eat enough at a meal.

lemurcat2

What's the goal with the meal replacement shakes? What do you see as the benefit to you? That would help us answer the question.

(I am typically not a fan of replacing multiple meals with a shake, most of which don't have the balanced nutrition of a regular meal, although I understand why they might work well for breakfast for some.)

callsitlikeiseeit

i think i like to eat my food and not drink it.

one week is too soon to judge any weight loss.

AndreaTamira

A week is too short to gauge if you are losing weight. Make sure you are in a deficit and continue on in that deficit forc another few weeks.

Meal replacement shakes are "meh" to me. I don't think I would feel like I had breakfast with just a shake (same reason I don't have smoothies for beakfast). But I can see why they'd have appeal to others, as they are fast to prepare and 'eat", but are created to have a good nutrient profile so you don't have to think much about that.

If they end up working for you and you enjoy them then it makes sense to use them.

dragon_girl26

I don't see any issue with drinking a shake for breakfast..some people don't even eat breakfast at all. "Nearly a week" sounds like it hasn't even been a week yet...you don't just start losing immediately just because you're in a calorie deficit (assuming you are). Weight loss doesn't work that way. It can take as long as 3 to 4 weeks sometimes for anything to show up on the scale. Not always, but my main point is that you're going to need some patience.
Also, if you're not trying to lose a lot, then your calorie deficit should be very small (set to .5 lb a week) and you'll need to be very precise with your intake. If you want to replace a meal or two with shakes, that's your call..for me personally, that was a miserable experience when I tried it.

yirara

What all the others have said. For me, even replacing my usual thick and heavy skyr with the same amount of calories of fluid yogurt in my breakfast oats leaves me hungry again after a short time. I clearly need something to chew on to feel full. I doubt I would last on shakes. But yeah, that's individual.

ninerbuff

My biggest issue with meal replacement shakes is what happens when you run out? Go buy more? And then if you decide to actually eat a meal instead of meal replacement, how did that shake teach you to count the calories to make that meal? Seeing this same dilemma over the decades is usually why people REGAIN once they stop meal replacement shakes.

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

wunderkindking

I did a protein shake for breakfast for a while.

The shake had more calories than the breakfast I'd been eating. More protein, but without the satisfaction of actually chewing my food.

...I went back to eggwhites on toast and coffee, LOL.

VegjoyP

It depends. I use plant protein and meal replacement but also alternate. I also make " green drinks" that have leafy greens, avocado, almond milk, pea protein, chia and other things
You can try that too. I feel like they can be very beneficial if it is part of a lifestyle change. If you are using them to accent a new way of eating thats great. If they help you fill in gaps, stop eating fast food or other foods you choose to avoid or stop cravings then awesome. It's probably a good idea to remind yourself that the calories matter all around. Some people go on plans with shakes and bars, loose weight then go back to what they were doing prior to losong weight just to regain. That I'd why weight loss products is a huge Market.
I work in fitness and a health food supplement retail store. I get asked ALL THE TIME about weight loss. They want a pill, shake or simple way out. I am honest, tell them nothing I sell them will be the cure unless they change thier eating. I also them about MFP!
I use Sunwatrrior Lean Meal and Sunwarrior protein powder. They are like a treat and help when I come home late. I may have it at work or in morning. It depends. But they fit into my lifestyle.

FitAgainBy55

As most everyone else has said, you can't judge results on 1 week.

On the meal replacement, however, my personal preference is to eat real food. Here's a comparison between one component of my daily breakfast to a popular meal replacement.

Same number of calories but one is filling and the other just makes me hungry

acrylicfox

I don't use the ready-made meal replacement shakes (just too expensive and tastes IMO) but I occasionally make up a yogurt lassi as a light meal on the run.
Works well for me.

KelBlundell

I started doing this in dec as I figured lockdown was a good time as limited temptation!
I went 2 a day and protein/veg dinner.
It takes two days for your stomach to catch on and get used to being hungry so stick with it.
What has been difficult is reintroducing food. I'm missing the shakes so have started having a shake as well as eggs in the morning and salad and shake for lunch!

rosebarnalice

Not a fan because I want the experiences of eating/tasting/savoring food and feeling full/sated. Volume eating mutitudinous veggies does me much better than a shake.

paperpudding

ninerbuff wrote: »

My biggest issue with meal replacement shakes is what happens when you run out? Go buy more? And then if you decide to actually eat a meal instead of meal replacement, how did that shake teach you to count the calories to make that meal? Seeing this same dilemma over the decades is usually why people REGAIN once they stop meal replacement shakes.

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 dont do shakes - but I cant see how having a shake for breakfast (or lunch or whenever) as part of your diet ( I dont think anyone is recomending replacing ALL other meals) is any of the above issue any more than any other food.

Same could be said for my weetbix, which I have for breakfast about 80% of the time.

What happens if I run out?

I buy more or have something else in the interim - and log whatever i have - just like I would if I regularly had a shake for breakfast and then ran out

mjbnj0001

I have tried shakes of one type of another for periods for much of my life - I remember the first ones coming available more than 50 yrs ago, and my Mom jumped on the bandwagon. Never had much results for weight loss. However, they have had some benefits for a quick meal replacement - for just that purpose: circumstantial. Every once in a while I try them again, but my focus now is evolving towards supplementation, not replacement (i.e., Ensure-type benefits).

With the first wave of covid lockdowns last year, and the disruptions in supply chains, I decided to lay in a quantity of the SOYLENT meal replacement. Plain flavor. I found it to be reasonably palatable (nothing objectionable), reasonably satisfying, and reasonably nutritious. In other words, just OK. For me, the experiment didn't need to go beyond two months, and by then, groceries were more easily available again. Now, I did lose a few pounds using the shakes as a lunch and about 50% breakfast-lunch replacement (never dinner or all-day meal plan), but I am not entirely sure that was due to the shakes or just the radical shift in dietary intake as a result of the lockdowns.

My takeaway is this: I use various powders, plain unflavored whey and nutritional yeast mostly, as purpose-based supplements to normal food, and regulate my normal food diet for weight loss using a modified intake. In the 2 yrs pre-covid, I dropped 85lbs with this approach, combined with cycling and swimming, or gym work in the winter. I don't look to commerical meal replacements for anything other than occasional convenience. I keep a box in the pantry just for this.

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