A meal replacement is a portion-controlled, prepackaged meal, shake, drink or bar. Meal replacements contain approximately 100-200 calories and are used to replace an entire meal or snack to help you reduce your total calorie intake and lose excess weight. Meal replacements may include nutritionally fortified diet protein shakes, snack bars, and low-calorie meals.
The weight loss shakes and bars are usually low in fat and calories, with about 100-200 calories, 2-5 grams of fat, about 10-15 grams of protein, up to 5 grams of fiber, and a vitamin mineral blend.
How Do Meal Replacements Work?
Meal replacements help people lose weight by providing a controlled amount of calories, protein, carbohydrates and fat in a prefixed portion. They simplify meal planning because they are convenient — easy to store, and require little preparation. They are also reasonably priced, usually costing less than the meal they replace. Meal replacements reduce the number of decisions you have to make about what to eat and reduce your exposure to tempting foods that might result in overeating.
Many effective weight loss plans that use meal replacements recommend either using them in addition to eating 1 or 2 healthy “grocery” food meals, or replacing 2 or 3 meals and several snacks per day to lose weight and then replacing 1 meal per day to maintain weight.
Using a meal replacement instead of an entire meal or snack can help you to reduce your calorie and fat intake and reduce your blood sugar levels. When you first start using meal replacements, you will likely notice an immediate reduction in your blood sugar levels because you will be consuming fewer calories and less carbohydrates than you would with your usual meal.
How Effective Are Meal Replacements?
Recent studies show that meal replacements have an important role to play in the diet of anyone who wants to lose excess body fat and build healthy lean muscle. For research regarding the efficacy of using meal replacements in treatment of obesity, here are some studies:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201118080804.htm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3468055/
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0145721707312463
https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/134/8/1894/4688831
http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/26/3/179
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