Meal replacement shakes

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2

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  • Dony1888
    Dony1888 Posts: 16
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    One question before input.... Why are you contemplating them?

    Less calories = weight loss

    If it wasn't the case, why do people buy them?
  • EatClean_WashUrNuts
    EatClean_WashUrNuts Posts: 1,590 Member
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    One question before input.... Why are you contemplating them?

    Less calories = weight loss

    If it wasn't the case, why do people buy them?

    Coming from experience....this is the wrong reason to use them. If you have your settings correct, just eat what you need to. If you have focus on muscle growth and are having issues hitting your macros, THEN consider these.

    Most people buy them because they lack proper education about them.

    What you are doing is changing your lifestyle. I'll place a bet on my life that you are not considering using MRP shakes for the rest of your life....Eat.


    EDIT: Let me add in...if you have days where you are crunched for time, these can be of assistance, but do not rely on them as a main consistent source of your diet.
  • dschassie
    dschassie Posts: 192 Member
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    Here's why i think meal replacement shakes are a waste of time and money. :)

    They are not sustainable. You are not going to replace your meals with shakes for the rest of your life, period. Going about it this way does NOT force you to make better eating habits and choices. Therefore, nothing learned, nothing gained. As soon as you go back to eating REAL food, guess what? You are going from replacing a 90 calorie shake with a 600 calorie meal.

    In addition they lack a lot of the vitamins, nutrients, and macro profile that a meal SHOULD consist of.

    I would also stay away from any MLM companies like HerbaLife, Body By Vi, Shakeology, etc. They are out to make money. Their products are substandard to any normal whey protein powder and their reps know nothing about the products in which they sell.

    Change your eating habits... learn to make proper choices ALL the time, and you have sustainable weight loss and knowledge that will last you FOREVER! :)

    ^ This exactly! From my experience, people use shakes for extra protein intake or as a true meal replacement when pressed for time (no time to cook a real meal). A shake should not be used to come in under your calorie goal which has already been set up by MFP with a deficit for you to lose weight.
  • stephgas
    stephgas Posts: 159 Member
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    i have found shakes sustainable, as has my husband. i use them to aid my weight-loss, he uses them to aid his weight-gain. so the idea that MRSs are just not sustainable long-term may not apply to everyone. i use shakes to supplement my daily diet. the shakes i use are generally 180-200 calories. i use them as a 6th 'meal' some days. i find that many of the shakes marketed as 'meal replacement' have a good array of vitamins/minerals, but are high in sugar and low in protein. i would say that shakes are not inherently bad - it's how you use them. and honestly, using them to maintain a 700 cal/day diet is probably NOT a good idea. no matter how much protein/how many vitamins/whatever the shake has in it, it is not a long term REPLACEMENT for real food.
  • alvin0012
    alvin0012 Posts: 29 Member
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    Meal replacements are just "supplements" try to prepare and eat solid food. On the other hand they work for me to maintain my caloric intake. If weight loss is your goal, lower your caloric intake.
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
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    One question before input.... Why are you contemplating them?

    Less calories = weight loss

    If it wasn't the case, why do people buy them?

    Less calories does equal weight loss... Too little calories and your losses will be muscle. Do you want to lose muscle? Losing muscle makes your metabolism slow. Muscle loss makes you look soft.. Aka skinny fat... When you lose weight. Losing muscle causes your body fat to either go down very slowly or not go down at all
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
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    These things only exist because they know desperate suckers with more money than sense will buy into them. IMHO...

    Feeling desperate? Exercise an hour a day, continue to eat your 1500 calories a day. Fill your meals with ONLY with eggs, spinach, vegetables, nuts, seeds, baked potatoes and turkey and chicken.

    Can you please explain your reasoning behind suggesting he ONLY eat eggs, spinach, vegetables, nuts, seeds, baked potatoes, turkey and chicken?
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
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    You are a young male. This is not enough calories for you. Bad idea.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    I have a feeling that this is going to fall upon deaf ears, but...

    IMO, you've got your caloric deficit set way too high - especially considering that you're also working out. As a young male, I'd assume that part of your goal is to hang on to some muscle so you don't arrive at your goal weight looking like a droopy bag of bones. With a deficit that high (and especially with the implied low protein intake), a good part of what you're losing is lean body mass, of which muscle is a component.

    Here's a good article which explains why it's a bad idea:

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html
  • jjrichard83
    jjrichard83 Posts: 483 Member
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    Here's why i think meal replacement shakes are a waste of time and money. :)

    They are not sustainable. You are not going to replace your meals with shakes for the rest of your life, period. Going about it this way does NOT force you to make better eating habits and choices. Therefore, nothing learned, nothing gained. As soon as you go back to eating REAL food, guess what? You are going from replacing a 90 calorie shake with a 600 calorie meal.

    In addition they lack a lot of the vitamins, nutrients, and macro profile that a meal SHOULD consist of.

    I would also stay away from any MLM companies like HerbaLife, Body By Vi, Shakeology, etc. They are out to make money. Their products are substandard to any normal whey protein powder and their reps know nothing about the products in which they sell.

    Change your eating habits... learn to make proper choices ALL the time, and you have sustainable weight loss and knowledge that will last you FOREVER! :)

    I agree about the MLMs!

    I have been taking Vega One shakes - plant based shakes - with 50% of the minerals and vitamines you need with each scoop. Helps me, and is sustainable. Even if it's not, I most likely will make shakes for the rest of my life - green shakes and the likes.
  • ohmyheck
    ohmyheck Posts: 13
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    Lost over 100 pounds using them. Choose wisely. Find undenatured whey protein, that is natural and organic. No soy {most soy is GMO} Watch artificial flavors and sweeteners in them. I love them, I wasn't hungry, and good whey protein after workouts is wonderful for quick recovery. I find them sustainable, I will consume mine at least once a day forever. Feel amazing. Lifestyle change is HUGE, and I've learned to eat properly with nutrition that is whole, clean and organic as often as I can. I have kept off the 100+ pounds a year later, so I truly believe in them.
  • ohmyheck
    ohmyheck Posts: 13
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    I use both, I am not a sucker. I am a nurse, and after much research, found out some interesting facts about whey protein. I disagree respectfully, of course. What I mean is I use replacement shakes and eat cleanly with greens, nuts, etc. FASTEST meal out there, throw in a shaker bottle, and away you go.
  • Byrdsong1920
    Byrdsong1920 Posts: 336 Member
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    I like the premade ones from GNC/Strawberry Cream. I only use them when I'm in a rush. Maybe 3 times/week. I make my own in the morning w/Almond milk, flax seed, Iso100 Chocholate Protein powder, raw almonds and maybe Sugarfree Torani syrup. Add some fruit if you want. But the gnc is good...try it!
  • jjrichard83
    jjrichard83 Posts: 483 Member
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    I've used the IdealShape meal replacement shake and it is great! You can get it at www.idealshape.com. If you want to see some reviews on the IdealShape meal replacement shake or several other meal replacement shakes, go to www.mealreplacementshakereviews.com. Good luck.

    Sounds like product placement in that post just a bit...
  • ColoradoJojo
    ColoradoJojo Posts: 7
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    Glucerna..... most of the others cause sugar spikes, have quite a bit of unhealthy stuff in them, that will cause you to gain weight. There is not much difference in the contents of instant breakfast and slim-fast so its no wonder people have problem with it. The one most prescribed by doctors is iso-source. I only suggest glucerna because it is diabetic safe my husband said it wasn't wretched. He was forced to take the stuff when he couldn't eat thanks to radiation and throat cancer. Reality eating this kind of stuff is for sick people, its basically a liquid diet substitute and its for helping people live who have tubes put in there bodies. You should enjoy life, eat real food if you can. If you must drink your meals and punish yourself for no reason, try juicing its healthier. But I still can't understand the mentality of why people would want a liquid diet if they don't have cancer. It just seems like a waste.

    It amazes me why people would ever do stuff like this without being sick. Why not just enjoy life.
  • MaxlacusNight
    MaxlacusNight Posts: 44 Member
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    Not all of these things are made the same. Everyone keeps talking about sugar spikes and low protein. Not the protein from whey powders, at least not most of them.

    @ColoradoJojo: You shouldn't presume that someone isn't sick.. The OP doesn't seem to be. But there are other people on this forum who are, and do not appreciate comments like that.

    I agree with ohmyheck on this. I've done A LOT of research as well on the protein shakes and have automatically slipped into clean eating without even realizing it. Except for my smart ones. I will admit I am also lazy. XD
  • Veganniee
    Veganniee Posts: 460 Member
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    I have a shake now and then, but it's only if I haven't time to eat and don't want my stomach rumbling in public! For example, today I'm going to burlesque class straight from work. I'll have no time to eat before I go and by 8.30 when it finishes I'll be starving and more likely to eat junk. I have a shake as I leave work and that will stop me from embarrassing myself in class! I'd much prefer to eat 230 cals of that crap than 600 cals of crisps, chocolate and other junk. I tend to either not eat once I get home or just have something small.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Glucerna..... most of the others cause sugar spikes, have quite a bit of unhealthy stuff in them, that will cause you to gain weight. There is not much difference in the contents of instant breakfast and slim-fast so its no wonder people have problem with it. The one most prescribed by doctors is iso-source. I only suggest glucerna because it is diabetic safe my husband said it wasn't wretched. He was forced to take the stuff when he couldn't eat thanks to radiation and throat cancer. Reality eating this kind of stuff is for sick people, its basically a liquid diet substitute and its for helping people live who have tubes put in there bodies. You should enjoy life, eat real food if you can. If you must drink your meals and punish yourself for no reason, try juicing its healthier. But I still can't understand the mentality of why people would want a liquid diet if they don't have cancer. It just seems like a waste.

    It amazes me why people would ever do stuff like this without being sick. Why not just enjoy life.
    Ha. The irony. Meal replacement shakes are bad because the sugar spikes your insulin. Then you recommend juicing instead, which is essentially pure liquid sugar, and would spike insulin far higher than a meal replacement shake would.
  • Colorfan
    Colorfan Posts: 230 Member
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    Why not just do the whole real meal replacement diet, rather than half assing it?

    Thats what I started doing 7 months ago. I went with Medifast. Worked pretty damned well, and you get to have more than just some shakes, which honestly get real boring real fast.

    The whole diet revolves around low carb food, so its not loaded with sugar like Slim Fast and all that stuff. It tires to keep your carb intake below 100 grams a day in order to promote ketosis.
  • bellhenry1969
    bellhenry1969 Posts: 6 Member
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    I have had really good luck with GNC Total Lean - Lean Shakes. I use the ready to drink bottled ones. They have 25 g of Protein. The flavor is good. They sometimes have them on sale on the website at the beginning of the month. The product also comes in powdered form that can be mixed with water in a shaker.

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