Meal replacement shakes can help take the guess work out of calculating calories.
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Instant Knockout Complete – The Best Meal Shake For Weight Loss
Rootana – The All Rounder Meal Replacement Shake
Abnormal - A Customised Shake
Huel Black
- The Most Popular Meal Replacement Shake For Weight Loss
Shakeology - Best Weight Loss Shake Variety
At TRT Center we believe that meal replacement shakes offer a simple and effective way to assist with weight loss, over the years various food models have been posited by governments around the world, and almost all of them have failed miserably. Meal replacement shakes take the guess work out of dietary requirements. Not only do they present an affordable solution to healthy eating, but they're also incredibly convienient. As far as real world application goes, there is probably little as effective as recommending meal replacement shakes for weight loss.
Meal replacement shakes take out a lot of the common pain points with people who are struggling to lose weight, such as portion control and convienience. Mostly being broken down into around 400Kcal per serving, and prepared in seconds, they provide a real working solution in this area, whereas complicated diet plans allow for under reporting calories, which most people struggling with weight loss do (see study). This led doctors to see if using meal replacement shakes for weight loss was more effective than a traditional calorie restricted diet. The answer was quite simply a resounding yes. Meal replacement shakes made the process of managing calories a lot more simple as having an easy measuring system was far less difficult to maintain so the patients were able to effectively track the calories they were intaking. The trial resulted in 93% of the meal shake patients losing 5% or more of their body fat versus 55% of the diet plan group. Meal replacement shakes for weight loss are even available on perscription in many countries, so it's well noted that they are proven to be effective.
Some of the most commonly asked questions about meal replacement shakes for weight loss
Yes, even swapping out one unhealthy meal, particularly office snack type meals, sandwiches, chips and similar, which have little nutritional content and often more than 500 calories can make a huge difference to mood, energy, BMR and reducing junk calories is always going to have a positive effect on the body. Instant knockout complete is fantastic at reducing hunger cravings, making it ideal for people restricting their calories.
Instant Knockout was designed for fighters who need to drop weight quickly for weigh ins without losing muslce. So, they want to lose fat fast, but not the muscle they have. As such the formula has been balanced to help make sure that happens. With endorsements from UFC and boxing greats, it works even at the lower range of fat percentages.
But that doesn't mean it's a meal shake just for the healthy. The same principle applies to anyone who is looking for a meal replacement shake to lose weight. If it keeps you full and keeps you energised, whilst making sure you can stay in a caloric deficit that is all you need to lose weight.
This is the one let down of Instant Knockout, as a new meal replacement shake there aren't a great deal of flavours available. It currently only comes in vanilla, but generally speaking when it comes to everyday drinking vanilla is often the best all rounder for most people.
Rootana's launch in 2022 means it is likely to top our best new meal replacement shakes of 2022 when that get's written. Honestly we're massive fans of Rootana, it contains all the vitamins and nutrients you need along with healthy fats, amino acids and as we've mentioned over and over again it tastes great you can't go wrong with Rootana and it had to make our best meal replacement shakes for weight loss list.
Honeslty it depends on how you answer their lifestyle questions. They'll send you the blend that's right for you, as such it can be great for taking the guesswork out. But the product is a little bit expensive and you only get 30 meals out of each delivery, whereas other competitors give you more meals for less money. And the varience is relatively minor. So in short, if you've got spare budget and want an edge. Then it's worth it. Otherwise, stick to a different brand.
Abnormal do a load of good things for people and the planet, which is a nice bonus for people who are socially concious, personally it's more important to us that the product is good, and it is, so the fact that all their sachets are made of paper and they contribute towards fighting world hunger with every purchase you can feel like you're doing your bit too.
Abnormal does force you into a subscription, which is a little annoying, we like the shakes, but it wouldn't be the first or the last time we ended up forgetting to cancel a subscription and got stuck with a stockpile of shakes that we hadn't actually used. Although, that's not really all too much of a complaint.
Technically the answer is Huel Black, but, that does assume that you like Huel Black, whilst it is the best meal replacement shake for weight loss and muscle growth as it packs the most protein, it definitely doesn't taste the best. And flavour matters, for most people on the first step of their weight loss journey we tend to recommend better tasting shakes as transitioning to healthier eating habbits isn't always the easiest thing to do. Huel does have the advantage of having a flavour for everyone though, so it's almost certain you can find one that you like.
A shake from one of the largest and best-known fitness and nutrition companies in the US, Shakeology is brought to us by the good people of BeachBody.
Described by some as a “powerhouse” of a shake, Shakeology is packed with protein, superfoods, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. Released back in 2009, the shake has remained at the forefront of meal replacement shakes thanks to its expertly crafted blend.
Like many meal replacement shakes, BeachBody claims that the shake will help you lose weight while also providing a boost in energy, support digestion, and perhaps most importantly help fight those deadly junk food cravings. But does Shakeology work? Let’s find out!
Meal replacement shakes are exactly what they sound like, shakes that have all of the essential nutrients required to replace meals. Pretty straight forward. They offer more than a traditional protein shake, and are deemed to be suitable as a complete meal. This means that they're ideal for people who don't have time for meal prep and need to make sure they have a healthy option to fall back on. A lot of them use plant based proteins like pea protein rather than whey found in protien shakes to allow for a better flavour as they're not as concerned with being low calorie, but still tend to help for weight loss. They typically include all eseential nutrients, vitamins and minerals as well as amino acids to help maintain optimal health.
Well this is quite simple, if you swap out an average office lunch, let's say a cheese sandwich and a can of coke, for a meal replacement shake you'll not only stay full for longer (it may take a few more minutes for you to feal full after drinking it) you'll probably half your calories. A cheese sandwich and a can of cola is usually around 800 calories, and a meal replacement shake is 400. Over the course of 1 month that's the equivilent to 3 and a half pounds of fat. Added to which you'll be getting far more protein, and vitamins and minerals that your body needs to stay healthy with just one very small change. Over the course of a year that one chance can add up to 40lbs! Just from swapping your unhealthy lunch to a meal replacement shake. And let's be honest, it's a lot easier to keep a bag of meal replacement powder at the office than it is to always go to the store and grab a healthy lunch, or always make sure you have one prepared to take in the morning.
This is a slightly complex question, most complete meal replacement shakes will recommend using two scoops of powder, this is to ensure that you hit your RDI (recommended daily intake) of vitamins and minerals and calories, so they're normally balanced to be around 400Kcal per 20% of your nutritional needs. However, there is absolutely nothing from stopping you using a single scoop and in some cases we actually prefer single scoop servings with some getting a little thick with a double scoop.
The average price of a bag of good meal replacement powder is around $60, they can be more of less expensive and there are some decent cheaper ones available they just don't tend to be as nutritionally balanced or taste as good. That said this usually works out to be around $2-3 a meal, which is cheaper than an unhealthy sandwich and soda 9 times out of 10. Some more expensive options or pre made drinks can run as high as $5 a meal, but the joy of meal replacement shakes is you're less likely to be caught short.
ALWAYS AND WE MEAN ALWAYS PUT THE WATER IN THE SHAKER FIRST!
Trust us you'll thank us later, if you do it the other way around the powder will clump up and you'll have some not so delicious chewy clumps of powder in your shake.
There are more than a couple of benefits when it comes to using meal replacment shakes as part of your diet plan, the top 5 should to most people seem pretty straight forward.
Unlike Protein Shakes they're designed to be complete meals and are nutritious by default. A good meal replacement shake should have all the macro and micro nutrients you need for a complete meal, this helps take the complicated math and or in most cases guess work out of maintaining a healthy diet.
They're Portable and are a great way to avoid prolongued meal prep, or unweildy lunch boxes as you attempt to keep on track with your diet when you're using meal replacement shakes for weight loss this is a massive benefit.
They really help avoid snacking as they're available quickly, this is good for two reasons, one it takes time out of meal prep and if you have been caught short, you're less likely to reach for something unhealthy if it's going to take more time. This plays into the psychological element of making it easier than doing the unhealthy thing.
They state the ingredients, clearly, the protein, carbs, nutrients etc is laid out clearly, you know exactly what you're getting, as above there's no math, we know we've said this time and time again, you could even argue it's the same point as point one, that's how important it is. This is where people fall down on their diets most commonly.
Some are some aren't, we've got a seperate list of the best dairy free meal replacement shakes, although two of the top 3 on this list are in fact vegan meal replacement shakes. Remember, not all meal replacements are created equal, and when you're looking for one that suits your needs make sure you also find one that you enjoy as that will be the most important thing when it comes to sticking to your diets and using a meal replacement shake to help lose weight.
Whey protein is used in most meal replacement shakes, although with this being a milk product, can come with some drawbacks, mostly that it isn't suitable for everyone. It is however considered a complete protien, meaning it naturally has all nine essential amino acids. Plant based meal replacers do tend to have blends of pea protein, soy protein and brown rice protien to create the same effect. However, without the addition of soy, many complete meal replacment shakes will be lower in BCAAs (branch chain amino acids) and some of the essential acids that are required for the most effective muscle protein synthesis. Soy protein does have a complete profile by itself, however it is rare to find a completely soy based shake.
We run through the best of the best dairy free and vegan meal replacers.
Best Dairy Free Meal ShakesWhen deciding on which meal replacement shake is right for you, you'll want to look at the following things, the ingredients, the calories, the fillers and the macros. Don't worry this isn't as complicated as it sounds. Some of this is going to vary across purposes, for example, if you're trying to build muscle then you'll want higher protein, as a rule of thumb this will be at least 1g for every 2lb of your body weight. After that it's not so important where you get your calories from, but remember higher protein will keep you fuller for longer. You'll want to avoid fillers where possible as these are generally unhealthy so when you're looking for healthy meal replacement shakes you'll want to keep an eye out for the below.
We can't get enough of instant knockout complete, definitely the best new meal replacement shake on the market, so to see what everyone is raving about, us included check it out today!
Read More https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1454084/ - Underreporting Calories Study
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2851659/ - Meal replacement shakes for weight loss study
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7468918/ - Importance of Omega oils for brain health