Meal Replacement Suggestions?

Brian_Dempsey
Brian_Dempsey Posts: 25 Member
edited May 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been walking about watching what I eat for about 2 1/2 months now, and I've lost nearly 25 lbs. I have my daily calories set to 1500, but I rarely reach that. I'm usually around 1300 or so, and I'm never really hungry. But many days I only eat 2 meals a day. I usually eat a late breakfast around 10am and an early dinner around 4:30pm. And I'll snack on a banana, almonds or cottage cheese (which I actually love!) occasionally. Even though I'm not really hungry, I wonder if I should maybe adjust what I'm eating and do some kind of meal replacement drink to make sure I'm getting all the "good stuff" I need.

I am absolutely no bark-eating vegan (I eat a 6oz sirloin 3-4 times per week), but the Garden of Life Meal Replacement - Organic Raw Plant Based Protein Powder sounded like a good option. I've read a TON of reviews, and apparently this stuff tastes horrible, but you can mix it with something to make it tolerable. It's supposed to make you fill full, have plenty of fiber and a ton of other stuff that's good for you.

Anybody else do meal replacement shakes / smoothies? Thoughts?
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Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    I would just add more food into your day, especially calorie-dense items
  • Brian_Dempsey
    Brian_Dempsey Posts: 25 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    I would just add more food into your day, especially calorie-dense items

    I was thinking that simply adding more food won't necessarily add the daily nutrients, fiber, etc. Dunno. :)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Double the size of your portion of almonds, job done.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    what kind of "good stuff" do you think your daily intake is currently missing? personally, I don't find meal replacement shakes to be that useful when I can get what I need with real food
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Brian_Dempsey wrote: »
    malibu927 wrote: »
    I would just add more food into your day, especially calorie-dense items

    I was thinking that simply adding more food won't necessarily add the daily nutrients, fiber, etc. Dunno. :)

    That will depend on your choices - You want macronutrients - protein, fat & carbs and micronutrients.

    1500 (net) calories is the recommended minimum for a man. The reason you should eat more.....look at your protein & fat goals. Are you meeting those? Smoothies & protein supplements can help, but calorie dense foods would too.

    Fast weight loss makes it harder for your body to support existing lean muscle mass. Healthy weight loss is lowering your body fat % not just the number on the scale.
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 997 Member
    Don't eat things that taste bad.

    I eat a few protein bars a week. They're yummy. Generally, the nutrition from food is better than anything you'll get in a shake or bar, though. Diversify your fruit, eat a few more almonds, have peanut butter with the banana.
  • kelleyrosen
    kelleyrosen Posts: 3 Member
    I like IdealShake chocolate superfood blend mixed with almond milk - I have to use their shaker bottles though otherwise it doesn't mix properly
  • H_Ock12
    H_Ock12 Posts: 1,152 Member
    Personally, I'm not going to waste calories on something that tastes "tolerable". If you're concerned about macro nutrients, take a multi vitamin. A cup of yogurt with some flax and protein powder will fairly easily take care of the missing 200 calories.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
    You could take a multi-vitamin everyday.

    I've heard good things about Soylent Meal Replacement Drinks, they're a bit pricey though. I heard that Coffiest is quite tasty if you're a coffee drinker.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    toxikon wrote: »
    You could take a multi-vitamin everyday.

    I've heard good things about Soylent Meal Replacement Drinks, they're a bit pricey though. I heard that Coffiest is quite tasty if you're a coffee drinker.

    soylent green is people :)
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    What kind of "good stuff" are the meal replacements supposed to have? Never mind. They are all disgusting and overpriced and can never replace real food. What I would suggest instead:

    Up your calories, and tighten up your logging. Up until now, "just eating less" has made you lose weight. Inadvertently undereating will make you crash and burn; inadvertently overeating will not give you the results you want. (I reckon you want to lose weight, with a 1500 calorie goal.)

    Improving the quality of your diet is not a bad idea. Getting in as much variety as possible is going to provide you with at range of nutrients, and you need them all. Variety means getting in food from all the food groups every day, and eating foods made from different species. Steak is fine, but you may want to have pork, lamb, chicken, fish, eggs and seafood as well. Bananas are great, but there are so many other fruits. There are lots of nut out there (not just in here, lol) - not just almonds, I mean. Change up the cottage cheese with yogurt. Add vegetables, raw and cooked. Have pasta, potatoes, rice. Bread and porridge. Try new things. But preferably real food, not hyped powders.
  • moonstroller
    moonstroller Posts: 210 Member
    Cliff Bars, they taste great and have about 220 calories each.
  • Brian_Dempsey
    Brian_Dempsey Posts: 25 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    What kind of "good stuff" are the meal replacements supposed to have?

    This is what this one has (not a bunch of sugar, synthetic nutrients, etc.):

    * 20 grams of clean, organic plant protein with 44 superfoods including organic grass juices, fruits and veggies and 6 grams of fiber to keep you satisfied
    * 21 vitamins and minerals
    * 1.5 billion CFU probiotics and enzymes for easy digestion
    * Organic, gluten free, Star-K kosher, vegan, dairy free, soy free, Informed Choice Certified (Trusted by Sport), non-GMO whole food protein

    It actually is "real food" - in a powder, apparently. :)
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Up your calories, and tighten up your logging.

    I log every single thing I eat for the last nearly 40 days.
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Up until now, "just eating less" has made you lose weight.

    I power walk 35 miles per week, drink a ton of water, have been more active, have lowered my carbs significantly, etc. It's comes off kind-of snarky or condescending to say I've only lost weight because I'm eating less. Or maybe I'm reading too much into your comment.

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Brian_Dempsey wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    What kind of "good stuff" are the meal replacements supposed to have?

    This is what this one has (not a bunch of sugar, synthetic nutrients, etc.):

    * 20 grams of clean, organic plant protein with 44 superfoods including organic grass juices, fruits and veggies and 6 grams of fiber to keep you satisfied
    * 21 vitamins and minerals
    * 1.5 billion CFU probiotics and enzymes for easy digestion
    * Organic, gluten free, Star-K kosher, vegan, dairy free, soy free, Informed Choice Certified (Trusted by Sport), non-GMO whole food protein

    It actually is "real food" - in a powder, apparently. :)
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Up your calories, and tighten up your logging.

    I log every single thing I eat for the last nearly 40 days.
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Up until now, "just eating less" has made you lose weight.

    I power walk 35 miles per week, drink a ton of water, have been more active, have lowered my carbs significantly, etc. It's comes off kind-of snarky or condescending to say I've only lost weight because I'm eating less. Or maybe I'm reading too much into your comment.

    Regardless of all that, you have lost weight because of the calorie deficit. Because science.
  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
    soylent, joylent, myprotein makes an MRP as well. I drink 100%food but they are going out of business. Lots of options out there. Check out blendrunner . com or google around some supplement sites like vitamin shoppe or bb . com
  • Btheodore138
    Btheodore138 Posts: 182 Member
    I used to drink the vanilla garden of life shakes made with a frozen banana and almond milk. They were gritty, but I thought they were pretty tasty...and super filling. You do have to drink it kind of fast because it can turn kind of sludgy if it sits too long.
  • arialb122
    arialb122 Posts: 34 Member
    I drink the Garden of Life Meal Replacement shake every morning for breakfast (along with an egg), and find that it keeps me full until lunch. I wouldn't call it delicious, but mixed with unsweetened vanilla almond milk and some PB2, it is decent tasting. I also like Orgain Meal Replacement, but has significantly more calories, so I use it for breakfast after longer runs. Both were a good option for me and my morning routine.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,889 Member
    I've tried many brands of plant-based protein powders, and mixed them with all sorts of good tasting ingredients, but they simply don't taste good to me, and since I'm not vegan, it's whey powder for me.

    Here's my 'meal replacement' aka breakfast smoothie:

    0f0ebd1c0d022ee267c0ad25d412399e.png
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,889 Member
    edited May 2017
    Brian_Dempsey wrote: »
    I've been walking about watching what I eat for about 2 1/2 months now, and I've lost nearly 25 lbs. I have my daily calories set to 1500, but I rarely reach that. I'm usually around 1300 or so, and I'm never really hungry. But many days I only eat 2 meals a day. I usually eat a late breakfast around 10am and an early dinner around 4:30pm. And I'll snack on a banana, almonds or cottage cheese (which I actually love!) occasionally. Even though I'm not really hungry, I wonder if I should maybe adjust what I'm eating and do some kind of meal replacement drink to make sure I'm getting all the "good stuff" I need.

    I am absolutely no bark-eating vegan (I eat a 6oz sirloin 3-4 times per week), but the Garden of Life Meal Replacement - Organic Raw Plant Based Protein Powder sounded like a good option. I've read a TON of reviews, and apparently this stuff tastes horrible, but you can mix it with something to make it tolerable. It's supposed to make you fill full, have plenty of fiber and a ton of other stuff that's good for you.

    Anybody else do meal replacement shakes / smoothies? Thoughts?

    Re the italicized portion: So you're averaging about a 2.5 pounds per week rate of loss. How many pounds do you have left to lose? If less than 100 pounds, you should slow your rate of loss considerably.

    Re the bolded portion: As a man, you should not net less than 1500 calories. What percentage of your exercise calories do you eat back, if any?
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 997 Member
    Losing at a good rate (not the maximum rate) to maintain muscle mass is important if you prefer "Batman Bale" to "Machinist Bale" for a look.

    mh5kw5pycyqc.jpg

    Maximum weight loss is rarely the actual goal.

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