I was listening to the most recent Balanced Bites podcast when the topic of diet…or rather jumping from diet to diet came up. While the ladies on the podcast are strictly paleo (most of the time), they agreed that sticking to a diet that isn’t working is a really bad idea. It got me to thinking, do diet shakes work?
Even if it’s touted as the “cleanest” or only consists of whole foods. This reminded me of something I learned while I was going through my Health Coach certification…the diet that you stick to is the one you should use.
For some people that means eating vegetarian, or paleo, or macrobiotic; or maybe it means counting macros or limiting certain foods. For me, that means drinking shakes. I am super busy, especially during the week. If I’m not working, I’m cleaning or skating. Sometimes sleeping.
I used to feel guilty that I relied on shakes for a large portion of my diet, but Australian researchers writing in the Journal of Nutrition found that diet shakes, also called meal replacements, were just as effective for producing weight loss when compared with conventional, structured weight loss diets. However, study subjects using diet shakes were more positive about dieting in general, rating their eating plan more favorably for its convenience than those on the regular food diet. That may be just the motivation some people need to diet. source
I don’t feel so bad about it anymore! When you’re looking into a weight loss shake or meal replacement shake it’s important to understand the components that make up your choice of shake.
So Do Diet Shakes Really Work?
Diet shakes are everywhere these days. You can see they come in a variety of flavors, special shakers to mix them up, convenient, and they offer large amounts of nutrients our bodies need. Diet shakes are used for meal replacements a lot, and the companies say they will help you lose weight, but whipping up a drink isn’t going to always shed that unwanted weight. It is about your life plan as well from what you eat, exercise, etc. Finding the right diet shakes for your needs, and eating right, and exercise can help you live a healthier lifestyle.
Know Your Protein
The foundation of your shake should be a high-quality protein powder
Look for an Actual Meal Replacement-Not Just a “Diet Shake”
Meal replacement shakes are usually labeled as such and include larger serving sizes of a protein powder that generally provide 250-300 calories. In addition to your protein, meal replacement shakes often contain added carbs, fiber, and vitamins.
Meal replacement shakes should contain instructions and a plan for the food you need to eat to accompany the shakes. Here are a few brands that are really popular right now.
- 310 Shakes
– You see a ton of famous people using these shakes online whether it be Instagram or Facebook. These shakes do have a great flavor and have been known to be a great meal replacement shake. They are a plant-based meal replacement.
- IdealShake – Offers a perfect combination of carbs and protein to help fuel you and reduce your hunger throughout the day. They have a handful of flavors that are pretty tasty.
- Purely Inspired – This is a meal in one drink where you gain fiber, fruits, minerals, probiotics and more in one drink. It is plant-based as well.
- Herbalife– Another really popular brand that many are using to get healthy and feel good overall. Variety of flavors to choose from as well as products, if you want to go even deeper than a diet shake.
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