Shake replacement diets...?

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It won't help you lose weight, if you can eat food and stay within the same calorie limit as with the shakes you will lose the same amount of weight and you won't be as hungry.

It's not a good idea. You can't drink shakes for the rest of your life as meals and be healthy. Don't go on a diet. Make a change in your lifestyle and the way you approach food. Eat below maintenance and exercise regularly. Watch your macros. Eating well balanced healthy meals doesn't mean eating food that taste like cardboard and stuff you don't enjoy. Take some time and experiment with combinations of food you enjoy or will enjoy that you never knew about. Proper weight loss takes time so be patient.

This. A lot (if not most) of those shakes are junk food in a glass.

Use this opportunity to re-learn how to eat healthfully in order to nourish your body. (Easy to say, harder to do I know!)

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I wouldn't recommend them as an actual meal. My stomach can't handle food if I eat too early, so I will drink a protein shake to give me what I missed out from a real breakfast. I mostly do that when I work before 10am. I try to avoid skipping meals, and I always keep baggies with snacks on me to keep me from grabbing impulse foods I'll later regret.

If you want something that can help hold you over until you can eat real food, try a good protein shake and keep healthy snacks within reach to keep you full.
Research what you put in your body before you decide. We use musclemax protein powder. Vitamin B's help with cravings too.

I did it to jump start my weight loss but in the end it was expensive and I needed more calories for the amount of exercise I did. If I was to do it again (or I don't have time to cook breakfast) I'd get vanilla protein powder, 3/4 c frozen berries and ground flax seed. Blend and enjoy. Vanilla protein powder, instant coffee and ground flax seeds are great too.

Otherwise I make 3-5 cups worth of oatmeal on the weekends, mix cottage cheese with 1/4 c Kashi Go Lean Crunch or even 6 oz ricotta cheese with some cinnamon and 2 tblspn of nuts.

People on here have absolutely no clue what being on a shake program is like..or how it can be a good thing. I have had exceptional success with this and would advise anyone to try it. If this is the kind of program that works for the individual, it can be incredible. For the record, I have lost 120lbs so far and will have no issues with it coming back, as I use the shakes responsibly and track and course my days properly here as well. There are no long term disadvantages to this kind of program over than anything else. One could argue eating too many fruits and veggies can cause cancer because of the pesticides...but does that mean you should stop eating them?? There is just as much risk of getting ill from a glass of water these days it seems. So, the advice I would offer, is if you feel this is what you need to help control and limit yourself with what and how much you eat, then DO IT. I persoanlly will drink a shake for breakfast for the REST OF MY LIFE. This works for me, and my doctor couldnt be happier about it.

I agree if it works for you, and congratulations by the way. Did you notice that the OP doesn't eat breakfast anyway?
So, they would be adding calories to their intake.

I am not saying to do shakes for the rest of your life, but to jump-start your weight loss, yes. I am currently doing one and have had amazing success, 7 lbs in two weeks. I also eat sensibly. It really is a personal choice. You also have to find one that will work for you and you have to like it.

What system did you use that you recommend? The OP did ask which one is recommended. I am curious as well. I don't eat breakfast myself, but am always looking for that meal replacement since I always feel better with something in my system. Solid foods don't work for me. Protein shakes work great for me, but the meal replacement shakes and protein shakes are not the same thing.

I recommend it highly. I tend to obsess about food when I'm dieting which is really bad! Having the shakes enables me to just get on with life without thinking about food. Some of them are rubbish though such as slimfast, they are full of sugar and don't fill you up at all.

If you are in the UK I highly recommend slim and save as their shakes and dinners are gorgeous and filling, I promise I don't work for them!

A couple of questions for you.

How much weight have you loss on a shake diet?
Have you stopped a shake diet then went back to eating real food and notice weight gain?
Has your energy level been affected?
While on these diets have you ever had a physical/blood work done to ensure you are healthy?
Do you lift heavy weights?
Do you hit your macros while on a shake diet?

I lost nearly two stone and then decided I wanted to hit the gym hard and so started eating healthy which soon led to me binging again. I am now very low carbing as I feel it's the only time it curbs my binging because ketosis stops me feeling hungry.
My energy levels started off low but once in ketosis you feel more energetic.
I have tried lifting weights and loads of cardio, and a combination of both - exercise just makes me eat more which leads to binging.
I am in ketosis now after a week on very low carbs (not atkins low - about 60g) and now food feels like a burden so i am probably going to go back to the shakes now.

I know it's not the healthiest option but neither is being obese! My mum is the first woman in my family to make it past 60 and that's because she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and kept her carbs low from then on. I think I am more at risk from premature death if i stay fat than if I choose shakes to shift the fat and then eat low carb after that. The mistake I made coming off them last time was that even on a good day my carbs were too high - it still took me a year to gain the weight back though for the record....

I'm sorry.. but everyone who is saying this doesn't work is dead wrong and don't know what they are talking about. It absolutely will work. You are replacing potentially high calorie meals with clean low cal shake. You will melt the fat away. I would recommend adding a little fiber to one of the shakes to help fill your stomach a bit and curb cravings.

The other thing to think about is, maybe use this method fo 60 percent of your week? And the other 40 percent you implement a more traditional eating plan.

Hello, I have a GNC shake for lunch with Vetal milk (more vitamins) every weekday for lunch. It started as a response to poor cafeteria choices at work and a few instances of forgetting to take my meal from home. This works better for me and my coworker and I take turns bringing in the extras like milk and/or fruit. So far, it works for me. Take care!

But it does teach you to look at food as fuel and not comfort or a hobby. That was an invaluable lesson for me and I'm sure many others who have learned not to use food as a crutch by going "cold turkey". Once you stop your bad eating habits for as long as it takes you to lose the extra weight, by the time the weight is off and it's time to eat normally again your life will have improved for the better, you will be out socailising/dating with more confidence and better health than when you were fat. So eat won't need to be such a big part of your life any more.

Being fat can be an awful vicious cycle. You are fat, so you don't go out or enjoy the things you used to. So the only thing left that gives you any joy or pleasure is sitting in with a take out infront of the tv where no one can see or judge you. It's starts off as a saturday night because you're too fat to go out with your friends and before you know it its every night! How do you break out the cycle if you don't enjoy anything apart from eating? Of course you are going to fail when you are stuck in every night feeling low and with no food to comfort you - at least shake diets are a quick fix to get your life back on track.... of course i am mostly talking about the very low calorie versions which most shakes diets are apart from slim fast as far as I know.