I'd like to start taking Meal Replacement Shakes / Smoothies

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  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,735 Member
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    Try Shakeology from Beachbody. High fiber, pro-biotic, and packed with nutrients. Changes your entire digestive system.

    Don't waste your money on this stuff, you would pay over $100 for a 30 day supply, not sure why people recommend this

    they recommend it because they are selling it. this site is full of lurking shakeology "coaches" who try to pick off the unsuspecting newbies and get them into buying this junk instead of real food.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,695 Member
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    Try Shakeology from Beachbody. High fiber, pro-biotic, and packed with nutrients. Changes your entire digestive system.
    And changes your take home pay. You can get comparable "stacked" products for less cost.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • slroggemann
    slroggemann Posts: 168 Member
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    there is empirical evidence that "drinking" a meal turned into a drink slowed its digestion time, leaving you less hungry for longer periods. Mind you, the experiment involved taking an actual meal, combining it with a glass of water in a blender, grin - comparing stomach emptying times with the same meal eaten normally with a glass of water on the side. In the unpureed meal, the water quickly exited the stomach along with larger bits of food, while the puree meal took much longer to exit the stomach overall.

    BTW, you don't need a premade meal replacement shake, they taste far better if you use real food ingredients (mine consists of milk, greek yogurt, chia seeds, coconut flour, 1 banana, unsweetened broma process cocoa powder, and vanilla flavor whey protein powder to add the touch of sweet/flavoring and extra protein). This is my smoothie for my lunch on work days, and I find it does exactly what I need to have the energy to get through my afternoon workout and leave me not hungry until dinnertime. Its not really low low calorie, at just under 500 calories. It is designed to fit into my macros.

    Carbs: 56 g
    Fat: 10 g
    Protein: 41 g
    Fiber: 14 g

    This sounds delicious, and much better than a mix. I would make your own smoothies so many people recommend.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,695 Member
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    I understand that some people get motivated by results and it helps them to continue. But I also know that when people get off the MRP's that weight gain is pretty much inevitable and leads to feeling defeated and more consumption of excess calories usually ensues after.
    You sound like you understand the concept and may end up being among the 10% who can actually keep the weight off. But eventually you will have to learn how to eat on your own again if you don't intend to drink MRP's the rest of your life. I encourage you to try to learn it now. It's a slower process, but habit forming lifestyles will always trump the quick loss diets. Good luck.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • MerlinWilliams
    MerlinWilliams Posts: 92 Member
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    Eat real food unless you have no other alternative.

    When you read the labels on shakes, do you recognize what all the ingredients are? Can you pronounce them? They're not real food, and they're certainly not a good substitute for it.

    In music, we say that you perform the same way you practice. So it is with eating. Think of losing weight as practicing and maintenance as the performance.
  • Princess4Run
    Princess4Run Posts: 135 Member
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    I am NOT a proponent of pre-made MRS but I make my own smoothies most mornings and treat it as a meal. It allows me to have a filling and super nutritious breakfast on the go. I get up early for work and don't have time to eat, plus I don't feel like eating at 6:15. But, a smoothie Is awesome while driving and it keeps me full till lunch. I pack mine with 2 cups of spinach or kale, some fruit, Greek yogurt, and either nuts, flaxseed, or chia seeds. Carbs come from fruit and can add up if you want it really sweet, but if you use lower carb fruit like berries, apples, peaches and keep it to around 1.5 cups...it keeps the carb numbers from running too high.
  • rm7161
    rm7161 Posts: 505
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    there is empirical evidence that "drinking" a meal turned into a drink slowed its digestion time, leaving you less hungry for longer periods. Mind you, the experiment involved taking an actual meal, combining it with a glass of water in a blender, grin - comparing stomach emptying times with the same meal eaten normally with a glass of water on the side. In the unpureed meal, the water quickly exited the stomach along with larger bits of food, while the puree meal took much longer to exit the stomach overall.

    BTW, you don't need a premade meal replacement shake, they taste far better if you use real food ingredients (mine consists of milk, greek yogurt, chia seeds, coconut flour, 1 banana, unsweetened broma process cocoa powder, and vanilla flavor whey protein powder to add the touch of sweet/flavoring and extra protein). This is my smoothie for my lunch on work days, and I find it does exactly what I need to have the energy to get through my afternoon workout and leave me not hungry until dinnertime. Its not really low low calorie, at just under 500 calories. It is designed to fit into my macros.

    Carbs: 56 g
    Fat: 10 g
    Protein: 41 g
    Fiber: 14 g

    This sounds delicious, and much better than a mix. I would make your own smoothies so many people recommend.

    Thanks :) it is meant as a time saver, and it does the trick at lunchtime. Nothing that needs cooking, just the immersion blender all ingredients and done!

    I don't have it all days, just when I am tired from work and not interested in cooking a lunch when I will cook dinner in some hours anyway. I hit several birds with one stone, it is fast, it keeps me full, it has the required nutrient profile I was looking for, especially with potassium. (why a banana, this is why). And contrary to Shakeology dogma, there are plenty of probiotics in fat free greek yogurt, and plenty of whole food nutrition in chia seeds, cocoa powder, coconut flour and bananas! I use Designer Whey as the whey powder protein as its fairly cheap and has a good nutrition profile, along with being certified gluten free. (necessary for me as I have celiac disease and I avoid "wheat grass" powders due to the risk of cross contamination)

    I agree with other folks that most premade mixes like SlimFast, et al are high in sugar and won't keep you full, or they cost a lot of money comparatively to the benefits.

    But the science of having a fresh real food smoothie as a meal replacement to delay gastric emptying is sound.
  • azwen
    azwen Posts: 237 Member
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    Peanut butter chocolate protein?! What brand is it? Where do you buy it?
  • KeriW626
    KeriW626 Posts: 430
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    I have started using a whey protien shake, but only because I am having issues reaching my goal of more than 1200 calories. Not to restirct anything.
  • cnewlin86
    cnewlin86 Posts: 87
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    I've never been a breakfast eater so I have a shake in the morning. I eat a low calorie lunch and dinner is usually my largest calorie meal. I don't think I could do two shakes a day because I just enjoy eating and shakes would get old in a hurry!
  • KeriW626
    KeriW626 Posts: 430
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    Peanut butter chocolate protein?! What brand is it? Where do you buy it?


    Frotress Body Whey Protien, makes a peanut butter choco, protien shake. Sells at walmart and wallgreens.
  • leska1216
    leska1216 Posts: 260
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    I have tried going the shake/smoothie route. Not processed shakes but make my own. Doesn't matter what shake I make, I always feel hungry and then I end up taking in too many calories.

    I am not a milk drinker and know I need to consume some dairy products. So my shakes/smoothies consist of

    1 cup milk or juice
    1 cup yogurt
    1 banana
    1 cup fresh orfrozen fruit (any kind)
    2 scoops protein powder

    I don't have a blender so use an immersion blender. Mixes well./

    This tastes great but doesn't fill me up. Leaves me hungry.
  • leska1216
    leska1216 Posts: 260
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    I've never been a breakfast eater so I have a shake in the morning. I eat a low calorie lunch and dinner is usually my largest calorie meal. I don't think I could do two shakes a day because I just enjoy eating and shakes would get old in a hurry!

    I agree. Shakes can/do get boring very quickly.
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 808 Member
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    I will take a scoop of chocolate, mix it with almond milk, and then mix that with a half-cup of black coffee as a mid-morning pick-up. If I want it to replace breakfast, I like to use a pre-made shake mix as a base and add a banana (frozen is yummy), chia seeds, oatmeal, or whatever, to make up a good smoothie that is thicker and has more good stuff in it. I do that some days, other days I do fruit/veggie juice. Then some days I do eggs and pancakes. Depends on my mood. :o)

    I won't recommend meal replacements as a long-term fix. As others have said, most of them are loaded with sugar (Slim Fast has about 25g per serving), it doesn't teach you anything about nutrition, and I found when I tried Slim Fast it would leave me looking for something to chew. They just don't have any substance to them. But they are better than grabbing a Snickers bar for an afternoon snack, and much better than eating a muffin or something greasy from a drive thru if you're in a hurry in the morning. Use them as a tool, but not a lifestyle.

    Myself, I buy the Attain shake mix from Melaleuca. You can message me if you want to try it, I can send you a link to info.
  • rm7161
    rm7161 Posts: 505
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    I have tried going the shake/smoothie route. Not processed shakes but make my own. Doesn't matter what shake I make, I always feel hungry and then I end up taking in too many calories.

    I am not a milk drinker and know I need to consume some dairy products. So my shakes/smoothies consist of

    1 cup milk or juice
    1 cup yogurt
    1 banana
    1 cup fresh orfrozen fruit (any kind)
    2 scoops protein powder

    I don't have a blender so use an immersion blender. Mixes well./

    This tastes great but doesn't fill me up. Leaves me hungry.

    Needs more fiber. Fruit has a higher sugar to fiber profile, which is why I add chia seed and coconut flour.
  • whenday
    whenday Posts: 64 Member
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    there is empirical evidence that "drinking" a meal turned into a drink slowed its digestion time, leaving you less hungry for longer periods. Mind you, the experiment involved taking an actual meal, combining it with a glass of water in a blender, grin - comparing stomach emptying times with the same meal eaten normally with a glass of water on the side. In the unpureed meal, the water quickly exited the stomach along with larger bits of food, while the puree meal took much longer to exit the stomach overall.

    So would it be better just to not drink water during a meal? I mean a regular meal that wasn't pureed?
  • hubtech
    hubtech Posts: 43 Member
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    I've been using a meal replacement shake quite successfully.

    Caloric deficit over an extended period of time is the key to weight loss. If a meal replacement shake (or bar) helps you to achieve that then I say find one that works for you and do it. Clean eating of whole foods is a great goal too but if you're struggling with weight issues I think then it's better to get leaner and get yourself started in the right direction.

    Also some people that are looking for more protein find it easier and more palatable to get it from a whey or soy protein based product than from meats.

    Just my $0.02
  • hubtech
    hubtech Posts: 43 Member
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    Peanut butter chocolate protein?! What brand is it? Where do you buy it?


    Frotress Body Whey Protien, makes a peanut butter choco, protien shake. Sells at walmart and wallgreens.

    You can also add Bell Plantations PB2 powdered peanut butter to any chocolate shake. They remove the peanut oil and all the fat calories that go with it.
  • rm7161
    rm7161 Posts: 505
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    there is empirical evidence that "drinking" a meal turned into a drink slowed its digestion time, leaving you less hungry for longer periods. Mind you, the experiment involved taking an actual meal, combining it with a glass of water in a blender, grin - comparing stomach emptying times with the same meal eaten normally with a glass of water on the side. In the unpureed meal, the water quickly exited the stomach along with larger bits of food, while the puree meal took much longer to exit the stomach overall.

    So would it be better just to not drink water during a meal? I mean a regular meal that wasn't pureed?

    No, it was about turning the meal into a soup. Some of this was discussed in the BBC documentary, How to Be Slim, where I first heard about it. You still need to drink enough water.

    Some food items are particularly well suited to turning into a soup, like roasted vegetables.
  • NCVF
    NCVF Posts: 83 Member
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    Thanks everyone for all the info! The home made smoothies sound yummy. I'll be trying different things out over the next week or two to see what I like and what works. In addition to clean eating. I'm not trying to starve myself. Just looking for some change and what the things I mentioned in my post.

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