Meal Replacement Shakes

chantabelle
chantabelle Posts: 31 Member
edited December 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

I wonder if anyone can give me any advice please...

I am using meal replacement shakes for breakfast and lunch then a healthy meal for tea. Additional to this I have 2 pieces of fruit as snacks mid morning and mid afternoon and drink two litres sometimes more of water per day. I decided to try shakes for 1 month as a little kickstart to my diet and I am now into my second week. My calories are listed as 1,700 per day but I feel this is far too many as I have a sit down job and work long hours so I have been trying to stick to 1,200-1,500. I havent managed to exercise as I have been so tired constantly since starting and after eating my tea I just want to sleep! Is this normal on meal replacement shakes? Also I have only lost a pound, I actually entered my start weight in wrong so it looks like I lost 3lb but after been so strict and really cutting all the rubbish out I was gutted to only lose a 1lb. A friend is also doing this with me for a month and lost 5lb! Can anyone offer any help or advice, I also tried slimming world before this with another friend and in 9 weeks they lost over a stone and I only lost 5lbs. I stopped going after the class leader read my food diarys and couldnt fault the way I was eating but I just wasnt losing this is so frustrating and normally why I give up!!!!!

Replies

  • saxoshine
    saxoshine Posts: 11
    Hi,

    I wonder if anyone can give me any advice please...

    I am using meal replacement shakes for breakfast and lunch then a healthy meal for tea. Additional to this I have 2 pieces of fruit as snacks mid morning and mid afternoon and drink two litres sometimes more of water per day. I decided to try shakes for 1 month as a little kickstart to my diet and I am now into my second week. My calories are listed as 1,700 per day but I feel this is far too many as I have a sit down job and work long hours so I have been trying to stick to 1,200-1,500. I havent managed to exercise as I have been so tired constantly since starting and after eating my tea I just want to sleep! Is this normal on meal replacement shakes? Also I have only lost a pound, I actually entered my start weight in wrong so it looks like I lost 3lb but after been so strict and really cutting all the rubbish out I was gutted to only lose a 1lb. A friend is also doing this with me for a month and lost 5lb! Can anyone offer any help or advice, I also tried slimming world before this with another friend and in 9 weeks they lost over a stone and I only lost 5lbs. I stopped going after the class leader read my food diarys and couldnt fault the way I was eating but I just wasnt losing this is so frustrating and normally why I give up!!!!!
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    You are probably very tired because you are not eating enough. Remember food = fuel :)
  • Snow__White
    Snow__White Posts: 1,650 Member
    eat more lose more
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    if your target is 1700 and you gave it a weight loss rate and told it you were sedentary then you should aim at 1700 if you're following the plan. The 1700 already includes a deficit to lose weight, at the rate you set.
  • saxoshine
    saxoshine Posts: 11
    Hi i did the celebrity slim diet 2 years ago and lost 2 stone.. i put a bit of weight on after xmas so i decided to do the diet again but this time i couldnt lose the weight. i had been on the diet since jan and lost 2 pounds!!!! then my doctors said maybe i have damaged my metabolic rate with all the diets i have tried?? he told me to try mfp... so hoping this helps me to lose the weight... because with celebrity slim i wasnt allowed to eat carbs so think my body went into shock lol. the shakes are good but be careful because when you start to eat properly again the weight does come back on..just try to maintain it unlike me...good luck anyway x
  • saxoshine
    saxoshine Posts: 11
    Hi i did the celebrity slim diet 2 years ago and lost 2 stone.. i put a bit of weight on after xmas so i decided to do the diet again but this time i couldnt lose the weight. i had been on the diet since jan and lost 2 pounds!!!! then my doctors said maybe i have damaged my metabolic rate with all the diets i have tried?? he told me to try mfp... so hoping this helps me to lose the weight... because with celebrity slim i wasnt allowed to eat carbs so think my body went into shock lol. the shakes are good but be careful because when you start to eat properly again the weight does come back on..just try to maintain it unlike me...good luck anyway x
  • chantabelle
    chantabelle Posts: 31 Member
    Thank you for all your replies I will try to keep my calorie intake up then I just felt the intake was particurlarly high at 1,700. Im 5ft 3" and 235 lbs so quite a lot to lose. Maybe Im cutting down too many calories and my body is rebelling by hoarding! I have just amended my goals to lose 2lbs per week and with no exercise as at the moment I am not exercising and MFP has recalculated me to just over 1,200 calories a day. I can always amend it again when I do get my exercise started but while I am so shattered I just cant push myself to do it! Two weeks on Monday left on the shakes then the exercise will begin...
  • Aquaduckie
    Aquaduckie Posts: 115
    Thank you for all your replies I will try to keep my calorie intake up then I just felt the intake was particurlarly high at 1,700. Im 5ft 3" and 235 lbs so quite a lot to lose. Maybe Im cutting down too many calories and my body is rebelling by hoarding!
    You could be right about that. Try eating the 1700 calories a day, even if you're not exercising. MFP already calculates that as a level at which you will lose weight. If you exercise, then eat the calories you burn from exercising, too. Good luck on your journey!
  • steadk
    steadk Posts: 334 Member
    I'm doing meal replacement right now, and it can be tough. Have you measured with a tape measure instead?? you might be losing inches rather than pounds. I agree with trying to keep your cals up. It may be as simple as adding a few high calorie snacks into your plan, like almonds and avocado. Hope this helps :)
  • Qattusa
    Qattusa Posts: 139 Member
    I am doing meal replacement meals - not just the shakes. At the moment I have a sneaking suspicion that the implant has caused me to gain weight (sorry if tmi) and my doc told me that the plan I have been following has helped me maintain my current weight rather than pile on to it.

    Anyway, I tend to have a soup or porridge/oatmeal or a protein bar instead of one of the shakes. My body doesn't seem to mind that so much as I am getting some carbs into the system and I don't crave other things that much. I will have a small plain salad too to increase my nutrients. I eat about 1500 calories a day and exercise 30-40 mins a day as regularly as I can.

    It's tough - but the bottom line is if after one month you can't see an improvement in inchese rather than scaled weight, it probably isn't working for you. :frown:

    Hopefully though it will kick in and you will see those inches and lbs fall off!!! :wink: :flowerforyou:
  • ReinventingLisa
    ReinventingLisa Posts: 104 Member
    Which meal replacements are you doing? I am using the Low Carb Slim Fast shakes mixed with 1/2 cup unsweetened Almond milk. I prefer doing that because regular Slim Fast shakes have so much sugar in them.
  • avafrisbee
    avafrisbee Posts: 234 Member
    I also did the meal replacement shakes for 1 month. I drank 2 shakes a day, had 3 - 100 cal (or less) snacks and 1 meal at 500 cal. I was always netted right around 1200. I did 20-30 minutes of exercise a day. I lost 8lbs that way. I have made the switch to eating healthy and have not gained anything back, actually, I have continued to lose, but at a slower rate. Seeing the scale drop though really helped motivate me. I am 170 cm (5'7" approx.) and started around 92.5kg and am now at 84.5. I was not tired and I had plenty of energy to get through my day. Including workout and chores. I am currently a stay at home mom of a 10 month old, but I go back to work Aug. 1 and I know I use more energy chasing after my little one than I do sitting in front of a computer at a desk.

    My advice would be as snacks try and find things that will fill you up. One of my favorites was about 10 almonds an apple slice and a whole grain cracker. Drink your shakes and eat your snacks BEFORE you are hungry. Make your meal count. Pile on the low cal veggies, use lean meats that you can eat more of and take every opportunity to move I drink lots of water this keeps me up and going to the toilet a lot.

    Something else could be making you tired as well. How's the stress factor in your life? When you sleep do you get good sleep? How's your mattress? Do you have a partner that snores? Loud neighbors? Check the shake you are using is there a fair amount of fiber? Other vitamins and minerals? If not consider talking with your doctor to add a multi-vitamin in.

    In the end what works for one person doesn't work for all of us. If the shakes aren't working for you, try something else. Don't be afraid to try something, the worse that will happen is you will gain a couple lbs say "oh crap this doesn't work" and change again to something that hopefully does.

    Good Luck!
  • psiren28
    psiren28 Posts: 530 Member
    Some people lose slower than others, it sucks but that's how it is. You're still losing right? I can't advise on the meal replacements or why you're tired but the main thing I want to say is don't compare yourself to others or it'll get you down.

    Have you seen a doctor? There could be a non-diet related reason you're losing slower than others.

    I'm similar, I lose weight slower and seem to need fewer calories per day than is recommended for my height and weight (I have PCOS which may be the reason). You can only try and see what works for you. It sounds like SW worked even if it was slower than you wanted. It worked for me too and I think it's a great eating plan as it helps you develop healthier eating habits.

    Good luck and focus on yourself, not what people around you are losing x
  • chantabelle
    chantabelle Posts: 31 Member
    Im using normal slimfast shakes in the strawberry flavour or sometimes superdrugs own meal replacement shakes also in strawberry. I think the tiredness is just part of my everyday life haha. I have a almost two year old little boy and I work 45 hours per week over a 5 day week. My partner also works evenings so after getting up at 6am for work I then arrive home at 6pm and have a toddler to feed, bathe and just generally spend some time with my little monkey before he goes to bed. Finally at around 8pm I eat my tea and it is my time. It was mainly that I was feeling tireder than usual and wondered if this was maybe down to the shakes not really fulfilling my nutrition requirements. Thanks for all your comments you have all been very helpful x
  • BevP123
    BevP123 Posts: 58 Member
    I can always amend it again when I do get my exercise started but while I am so shattered I just cant push myself to do it! Two weeks on Monday left on the shakes then the exercise will begin...

    If you excercise you can add it on here and just eat back the calories. It seems to work for many and surprised me that I should eat what I burn. I always thought less food more excercise was the only way to go but MFP already works out what you should eat to lose and if you do excercise you simply need to refuel with good food and that should help x
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