Do Meal Replacements Deliver Results?

By Vito La Fata


What Are Meal Replacements? Meal replacements may include beverages, packages of shelf-stable and/or frozen entrees, breakfast cereals and meal or snack bars that may be eaten as a sole energy source or with a combination of foods to replace a higher calorie meal.

Will You Be Hungrier on Meal Replacements? It is tempting to assume that people who consume fewer calories during one meal replacement might compensate for the calorie deficit at a subsequent meal, but this does not appear to be the case. People may adapt to the meal replacement as the "norm" for that meal, modifying their behavior in ways that reduce the need to consume more food.

Meal replacements can also help you lose weight by giving you a different mindset or mental image of your eating habits. Visualizing your meal replacement meal as a smaller meal can possibly have the effect of helping you to eat slower and be more cognizant of how full you are getting as you eat.

There are some important things to keep in mind when choosing a meal replacer. To begin with is the issue of where to actually purchase these products. Usually you can find them at your favorite grocery store. Next is the calorie count: be sure that the replacement that you choose has around 200 to 300 calories in it. And be sure to read the ingredients to make sure there is not a lot of sugar in it.

Should all clients who want to start a reduced calorie diet begin with meal replacements? No. Before starting a reduced calorie diet, clients may find it helpful to consult a doctor about their weight loss plans, partially if pre-existing health conditions are present. It may be necessary to adjust medication, especially for people interested in replacing two or more meals per day.

How long should clients use meal replacements? If using one meal replacement per day, clients can continue indefinitely, as long as they monitor their intake at other meals to maintain a well-balanced diet. Those who plan to use two or more meal replacements per day should seek the advice of a clinical weight loss specialist.




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