The Pros and Cons of Meal Replacement and Diet Shakes

ByMichael R Schafer

The Pros of Diet Shakes and Meal Replacement Shakes

The single biggest benefit to replacing some of your meals with shakes is how simple they are to add to your routine and the fact that it takes a lot of the mystery and concern out of dieting. You can simply grab a shake for breakfast and/or another for lunch, so there is no need to worry and stress about creating a healthy, balanced meal every single day. Several studies have found that including a meal replacement shake in your diet can help with weight control. The best meal replacement beverages for this purpose are those that provide a balance of nutrients and satisfy feelings of hunger. Thicker beverages that are chock full of dietary fiber have been shown to increase feelings of satiety by slowing down how quickly the stomach empties.

Shakes are particularly beneficial if you normally miss a meal because you don't have time. For instance, if you always skip breakfast it is much better to grab a meal replacement shake instead since it has been shown that eating breakfast helps to promote long-term weight control. Better to have a diet shake than nothing!

Apart from the huge time-savings that come with simply grabbing a shake for breakfast or lunch, diet shakes can also actually save you some money, if you buy smart. Often times, large grocery stores or department stores will have great prices on diet shakes, if you buy in bulk. Considering that you can store these shakes for a long time in your house, there's no reason not to buy in bulk. When compared to the money costs of buying fresh or frozen food every day or week for your normal meals, buying shakes can really save you a ton of money in the end.

The Cons of Diet Shakes and Meal Replacement Shakes

It's possible that there is really no substitute for the nutrients that you get from real food. Not only does eating fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein give your body the nutrients that it needs, but it also forces you to learn how to eat for long term weight loss. When you use meal replacement shakes to lose weight you aren't developing eating skills that you can use going forward into your life. As a result, what happens to many people when they stop drinking the shakes is that they put any weight they have lost back on again.

Some people need to adhere to drastic low-calorie meal replacement diets, under strict medical supervision, to combat a specific condition such as morbid obesity. Patients in such situations will tell you that, psychologically, meal shakes are a poor substitute for "real" food. Part of this has to do with the reduction in calories, and part of it is due to the experience of "drinking" your food instead of chewing on it.

Another problem is that some people might think that a meal replacement shake is really ALL you need to lose weight and start a healthy lifestyle. In fact, this is far from the truth. Not only is good nutrition important, but you also need to exercise regularly, eat healthy, cut out unnecessary sugars and fats, and other lifestyle-specific things that only you can control. It is important to remember that diet shakes can be a helpful addition to a healthy lifestyle, but are not the only answer.

In the end, when you are in a rush in your daily routine, a meal replacement shake or diet shake can offer a nutritional option to fast food fare and provide all the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein and other nutrients that you would need in a meal.

To find out more information, read reviews of the top diet and meal replacement shakes, or to connect with the author, please visit http://www.dietshakesreviews.com/

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Health and Fitness: Weight-Loss
Michael R Schafer

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MLA Style Citation:
Schafer, Michael R.".".25 Jan. 2012EzineArticles.com.27 Jan. 2012 .APA Style Citation:
Schafer, M. R. (2012, January 25). . Retrieved January 27, 2012, from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-­Pros-­and-­Cons-­of-­Meal-­Replacement-­and-­Diet-­Shakes&id=6840420Chicago Style Citation:
Schafer, Michael R. "." EzineArticles.com. http://ezinearticles.com/?The-­Pros-­and-­Cons-­of-­Meal-­Replacement-­and-­Diet-­Shakes&id=6840420EzineArticles.com© 2012 EzineArticles.com
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