MEAL noun /mēl/:

Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific or regular time or intervals (e.g. breakfast = morning meal, lunch = noon meal, etc) NUTRITIOUS nu·tri·tious: the quality of being nourishing and promoting healthy growth

Let’s get the understanding of how meal replacement work. Products like shakes and the such that contain fewer calories than the typical meal. That means that instead of eating a meal with 750 calories, you drink a shake with 250 calories, reducing your caloric intake by 500 calories. Yay right? Well ask yourself is it a healthy substitute to eating an actual meal? Is it cost effective? As healthy as you may think you are being taking these meal replacement products there are drawbacks to using these shakes and bars.

Upon using meal replacements or as some entities that sell these products refer to them as MRPs, many people regain weight they lost using meal replacement shakes because they immediately return to a higher caloric intake. The reason being is meal replacements can’t teach people how to make healthy choices. Another thing is that these meal replacements take away the pleasure of eating. Eating satisfaction comes from the taste, texture and feeling of fullness which a meal provides. And eating the same canned shake every day can get boring, and leave you unsatisfied. There are also many nutritive components found in foods that can not be found in a meal replacement.

Recent studies revealed that because the texture of shakes doesn’t simulate whole foods they are not as filling as regular meals. This caused many of the study participants simply eat more during the next meal in order to feel full, therefore canceling out their weight loss goals.

Be aware that MRPs average about 170-250 calories – which is not enough to be considered a meal. You should put the words nutritious and meals together.

Many folk fall prey to distributors of these MRPs. Not getting properly educated on their use. They do not realize that often the sellers of meal replacements do not have the knowledge of what’s in their own products. Nor do they know how to use them properly. Their main concern is the money that you are putting in their pocket or the car that the company gives them upon reaching their sells team and sells goal.

Meal replacements are no solve all solution to weight loss. The real solution is by introducing lifelong healthy eating habits into your lifestyle along with exercise.