Trying meal replacement shakes. Help!
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cheriebah
Posts: 13 Member
So after putting on a whopping 60kg I've decided to start trying to lose some weight. I wanted to try meal replacement shakes for the first time, to see what all the hype is about. I'm a tightass when it comes to money so I opted for the Aldi slim and trim shakes at only $2! I'm completely clueless with anything fitness/diet, so the plan is to have two a day, having a healthy dinner and exercising 3-4 times a week. It's my first day and I will take on board any advice I can get!
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I've been on one for a week. I blend it with milk and it adds up to 200 calories. I only have it for dinner though. What I find is that I'm under my calorie goal and I end up having a small snack (protein or a vegetable) after the shake. I'm using it to teach myself self-control at night. So far I haven't seen a difference weight wise. But it's only been 7 days.
From what I've heard, people gain weight quickly when they go off the shakes and eat normally again. The best advice I can give is to start with one meal and practice portion control.
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I assume you are doing this short-term to jump-start weight loss? My advice is that you're going to feel very hungry after your initial motivation gets shaky. While it's one thing to eat low-calorie meals, liquid meals tend to make many people feel hungry because there is really no volume. It will take some time to see if you that as an issue for you. For breakfast I had two eggs scrambled in a bit of olive oil, with some onion and Jimmy Dean Turkey sausage crumbles which clocked in at about the same calorie count as your Aldi shake.
There is no way, by lunchtime that I could handle only another 200+ calories.
Just be prepared for this and have your expectations on your hunger be realistic.4 -
To lose weight, you just need to eat less, but you also have to do it consistently and for a long, long time. Can you see yourself having meal replacements as part of your everyday routine for the foreseeable future? Didn't think so
Just eat food. 3 -
If you don't mind me asking, why have you opted for Meal Replacements? You can lose weight just by creating a calorie deficit. Meal replacement shakes aren't ideal for the long term as you won't learn any portion control.
My advice would be save your money, log your food and stick to your calorie allowance that MFP gives you and spend the $14 on some fresh food.4 -
I have been doing a smoothie 2 week "reboot" for a week. But it is not a shake. It has veggies (kale, spinach, cucumber, broccoli, sprouts), fruit (pear-very good, banana, pineapple, berries, melon-not good, papaya-not good), milk/yogurt, healthy fat (chia or flax seeds, avocado), and whey protein powder. Definitely not low cost, but healthy and real food. You start with three smoothies a day for five days, two for five days and a healthy meal, and then one for five days and two healthy meals. It is tough, but what I found was that after "detoxing" myself, chicken, tomato, brown rice and broccoli tasted WONDERFUL. The structure has helped me get back into tracking everything.13
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I assume you are doing this short-term to jump-start weight loss? My advice is that you're going to feel very hungry after your initial motivation gets shaky. While it's one thing to eat low-calorie meals, liquid meals tend to make many people feel hungry because there is really no volume. It will take some time to see if you that as an issue for you. For breakfast I had two eggs scrambled in a bit of olive oil, with some onion and Jimmy Dean Turkey sausage crumbles which clocked in at about the same calorie count as your Aldi shake.
There is no way, by lunchtime that I could handle only another 200+ calories.
Just be prepared for this and have your expectations on your hunger be realistic.
I agree with this. You are far better finding food that is equivalent to the amount of calories to the shake. It's about changing your habits and choices with food.1 -
I have been doing a smoothie 2 week "reboot" for a week. But it is not a shake. It has veggies (kale, spinach, cucumber, broccoli, sprouts), fruit (pear-very good, banana, pineapple, berries, melon-not good, papaya-not good), milk/yogurt, healthy fat (chia or flax seeds, avocado), and whey protein powder. Definitely not low cost, but healthy and real food. You start with three smoothies a day for five days, two for five days and a healthy meal, and then one for five days and two healthy meals. It is tough, but what I found was that after "detoxing" myself, chicken, tomato, brown rice and broccoli tasted WONDERFUL. The structure has helped me get back into tracking everything.
There is no detox, only food.
(h/t Ghostbusters)10 -
The whole detox etc. is just complete *kitten*.
The only reason to drink smoothies/shakes/whatever is if you like to drink them. I for example eat 400 calories worth of smoothies/milkshakes etc. which is around 2dl for my recipes in the evening instead of grabbing a bag of chips or candy.
While losing weight, you will feel hungry and there is no way around it. Eat less energy dense food, eat less of everything, drop unhealthy stuff full of sugar like soda drinks, chocolate and candy completely.
Also measure/calculate nutrition values yourself. One generic brand of smoothies is 60kcal/100g while the one next to it on the shelf is 200kcal/100g even though it's "organic" and "healthy" and "Superfood" in big fat letters. One of them will make you really fat really quickly and the other one is a decent healthy snack.0 -
The whole detox etc. is just complete *kitten*.
The only reason to drink smoothies/shakes/whatever is if you like to drink them. I for example eat 400 calories worth of smoothies/milkshakes etc. which is around 2dl for my recipes in the evening instead of grabbing a bag of chips or candy.
While losing weight, you will feel hungry and there is no way around it. Eat less energy dense food, eat less of everything, drop unhealthy stuff full of sugar like soda drinks, chocolate and candy completely.
Also measure/calculate nutrition values yourself. One generic brand of smoothies is 60kcal/100g while the one next to it on the shelf is 200kcal/100g even though it's "organic" and "healthy" and "Superfood" in big fat letters. One of them will make you really fat really quickly and the other one is a decent healthy snack.
Your first sentence I agree with but the second is a load of woo, you don't need to cut anything out, just eat it in moderation. I've been at this for almost 10 months and aside from hormonal cravings, I have not felt hungry whilst losing weight and I have lost almost 40lbs. Weight loss doesn't have to be miserable and if you like soda and chocolate and it fits into your calorie allowance, there is absolutely no reason not to have it in moderation unless you have a medical reason to cut it out completely.6 -
And you'll be clueless on how to eat correctly because the shakes teach you nothing on how to control your calories. Are you going to drink them forever? If not, then know that liquid dieting has the highest regain weight of any diet due to not learning how to eat correctly when they try to eat food again.So after putting on a whopping 60kg I've decided to start trying to lose some weight. I wanted to try meal replacement shakes for the first time, to see what all the hype is about. I'm a tightass when it comes to money so I opted for the Aldi slim and trim shakes at only $2! I'm completely clueless with anything fitness/diet, so the plan is to have two a day, having a healthy dinner and exercising 3-4 times a week. It's my first day and I will take on board any advice I can get!
You can lose weight eating food. You just need to learn how to limit HOW MUCH you eat.
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
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Copy/pasted-- Just replace the word Herbalife...
Okay- here's what you do...
Step one: Throw the Herbalife in the trash where it belongs.
Step two: Input your stats to MFP and set a modest calorie deficit.
Step three: Weigh and measure every single thing that goes in your mouth. Use a digital kitchen scale for accuracy. (less)5 -
So after putting on a whopping 60kg I've decided to start trying to lose some weight. I wanted to try meal replacement shakes for the first time, to see what all the hype is about. I'm a tightass when it comes to money so I opted for the Aldi slim and trim shakes at only $2! I'm completely clueless with anything fitness/diet, so the plan is to have two a day, having a healthy dinner and exercising 3-4 times a week. It's my first day and I will take on board any advice I can get!
If you want to take off the "whopping 60kg", you're going to need to understand:
1. How it got there
2. Why the energy balance (i.e. calories) matters
3. The way it got there is the same way that it will come off. Except by eating at a deficit instead of surplus.
4. That it is going to take longer than you think...provided you do it right.
5. That if you do it in a very short time, you'll likely not actually have done it in a short time because crash diets rarely work long term.
6. There is no such thing as a "kick-start" or "jump-start". There is just a start. Start with your next food decision.
If you do your plan above without knowing how any of this works, your chances are not favorable.
You are a member of MFP. Enter your stats. Since you have admitted you are clueless about how this works, do not set your weight loss goals to the most aggressive setting to start with. Start with a very modest deficit, weigh and log everything. Get used to that before increasing your deficit.
Read the stickies.
Read the stickies.
Once you've finished those, read them again!
Don't fall for the typical pitfalls. Your weight will fluctuate. It always has and it always will. It will frustrate you. Losing fat is a process that doesn't always show on the scale week to week or even over a month.
If you set up your MFP account as "sedentary", eat back exercise when the diary tells you you've earned them. This is designed for you to maintain a reasonable deficit. You can maintain your deficit eating whatever you want as long as you track stuff.
A bigger deficit is not better and is not healthy. If MFP tells you to eat 1400 calories and you stop at 800, that's not better. If MFP tells you to eat 1400 and you "earn" 400 in exercise calories, eat up to 1800. Don't try to beat the system. Just work the process. This is one time when being more aggressive is not better. Remember, even though you are in this lose weight, the real reason you are even doing that is to be healthier. Put health #1 and take your time. I promise you'll be better for it.
Time is your friend.
A repeatable process is your friend.
This community is your friend.
Good luck.15 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »I have not felt hungry whilst losing weight and I have lost almost 40lbs. Weight loss doesn't have to be miserable and if you like soda and chocolate and it fits into your calorie allowance, there is absolutely no reason not to have it in moderation unless you have a medical reason to cut it out completely.
I just have to chime in here and say that many people *do* feel hungry while losing weight. For a while, I thought something was wrong with me, but I've come down to the fact that I am just a hungry person. Always have been, always will be. Thankfully, I've never had to lose more than 30 lbs so my appetite didn't put me in too bad of shape. But I am hungry. I am hungry eating 1700 calories a day. And they are pretty good calories.
I just think that some people feel hunger more than others. It's the same way with thirst. I almost never feel thirsty.
But I agree that you don't have to be miserable. There is a balance between normal hunger feelings and I'm Gonna Lose My Mind hunger feelings.0 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »I have not felt hungry whilst losing weight and I have lost almost 40lbs. Weight loss doesn't have to be miserable and if you like soda and chocolate and it fits into your calorie allowance, there is absolutely no reason not to have it in moderation unless you have a medical reason to cut it out completely.
I just have to chime in here and say that many people *do* feel hungry while losing weight. For a while, I thought something was wrong with me, but I've come down to the fact that I am just a hungry person. Always have been, always will be. Thankfully, I've never had to lose more than 30 lbs so my appetite didn't put me in too bad of shape. But I am hungry. I am hungry eating 1700 calories a day. And they are pretty good calories.
I just think that some people feel hunger more than others. It's the same way with thirst. I almost never feel thirsty.
But I agree that you don't have to be miserable. There is a balance between normal hunger feelings and I'm Gonna Lose My Mind hunger feelings.
I kind of meant like I don't feel any hungrier whilst losing weight than I would normally, sure if I had an active day, I have an appetite, but I don't feel like I am going to starve between meals.0 -
So after putting on a whopping 60kg I've decided to start trying to lose some weight. I wanted to try meal replacement shakes for the first time, to see what all the hype is about. I'm a tightass when it comes to money so I opted for the Aldi slim and trim shakes at only $2! I'm completely clueless with anything fitness/diet, so the plan is to have two a day, having a healthy dinner and exercising 3-4 times a week. It's my first day and I will take on board any advice I can get!
I work in pounds not kilos so my maths may be off here, but..
I've lost 140lb, which is approx 63.5kg over the last 2 years and I've lost it simply by eating less and moving more, no meal replacement shakes, but real food. Throughout the whole 2 years I've very rarely ate below 2000 Calories and very often ate in excess of 2500.
Plug your details in here, choose a sensible target loss (1lb/week is great for a slow, steady, sustainable loss), weigh and log all solid foods (measure liquids) and try and slowly but steadily increase your activity.
I will be honest and say that I do have a protein smoothie on a regular basis, but it's a snack rather than meal replacement and I use it as a way to add Calories after I've already had three main meals and 2 snacks and very often comes in at around 300 Calories (I am very active and so get to eat a lot of food).5 -
There's hype about meal replacement shakes? Who knew? I sure didn't.
Ask your slim friends if they live their lives on these 'meal replacement shakes'. I expect you'll find they do not. That's a clue.2 -
Thanks guys for all you're feedback. To all the people who made a fuss of the fact I said I was clueless, I understand where you are coming from but am seeing that particular feedback as a bit passive aggressive. I have done a ton of research about what I'm doing and no I don't plan on doing this long term. I need to learn how to count calories and master portion control as not being able to control myself has been a problem for years. Even when I was 50kg I had this problem, but had an addiction that kept my weight down. Since stopping it has been a struggle. To me, the shakes are there for convenience at first, while I learn to manage my eating habits instead of getting over whelmed and fail like every other time. I know real food is the way to go and I will get there slowly, the way that works for ME
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So after putting on a whopping 60kg I've decided to start trying to lose some weight. I wanted to try meal replacement shakes for the first time, to see what all the hype is about. I'm a tightass when it comes to money so I opted for the Aldi slim and trim shakes at only $2! I'm completely clueless with anything fitness/diet, so the plan is to have two a day, having a healthy dinner and exercising 3-4 times a week. It's my first day and I will take on board any advice I can get!
I work in pounds not kilos so my maths may be off here, but..
I've lost 140lb, which is approx 63.5kg over the last 2 years and I've lost it simply by eating less and moving more, no meal replacement shakes, but real food. Throughout the whole 2 years I've very rarely ate below 2000 Calories and very often ate in excess of 2500.
Plug your details in here, choose a sensible target loss (1lb/week is great for a slow, steady, sustainable loss), weigh and log all solid foods (measure liquids) and try and slowly but steadily increase your activity.
I will be honest and say that I do have a protein smoothie on a regular basis, but it's a snack rather than meal replacement and I use it as a way to add Calories after I've already had three main meals and 2 snacks and very often comes in at around 300 Calories (I am very active and so get to eat a lot of food).
@firefly72 , you have no idea how inspiring this is for me as someone only a few weeks in and trying to keep the numbers down!0 -
thought I'd share, my hubby had to have all his upper teeth pulled last year & he waited 6mo to be healed before he applied to get dentures, during that time he had most of his meals in our nutribullit, including what ever I made for dinner he put in there along with some almond milk. He learned a lot about nutrition during that time & still has morning shakes, as do I. He lost all his extra weight, got off insulin & has not gained it back. All that to say you can make your own & put whatever you want in them. I put fruits & veggies in mine3
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That's awesome Eva! Big props to you guys I am interested in making my own shakes so that's given me a big push, thankyou very much 1
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