10 Ways To Make Meal Replacement Shakes More Effective

Using meal replacement shakes is a good way to lose weight, burn fat, and get healthy. It’s really very simple; just replace your largest meal of the day with a low-calorie meal replacement shake and you will create a calorie deficit which will result in weight loss. There is no need to count calories, make special meals, or do anything crazy like exercise for hours every day – just replace one meal a day with a low calorie shake and lose weight.

Other diets may promise better results but, if you are anything like me, you probably want an easy way to lose weight. Having tried other diets, I can honestly say that using meal replacement shakes is the easiest way to lose and control your weight.

You can learn more about how to lose weight with meal replacement shakes in the article “How to Lose Weight with Meal Replacement Shakes”.

For me, replacing my usual breakfast with a meal replacement shake works best. It makes me feel full up which helps me to eat healthily all day. Just this one, simple, change makes weight loss much easier. No hunger, no cravings, just slow and steady weight loss.

I tried replacing more than one meal per day and that wasn’t so good. I soon got bored of the shakes and began to feel more hunger and cravings. In my honest opinion, and based on my personal experience, one weight loss shake per day is ideal.

Which product to choose? That’s a good question. If you can’t decide which weight loss meal replacement shake is best for you, check out my “Best Meal Replacement Shakes for Weight Loss” in which I reveal my favorite meal replacement shakes.

If all you ever do is replace one meal per day with a meal replacement shake, you will get good results from your diet. However, if you want even better results, try one or some of these tips and tricks to make your meal replacement shake plan more effective…

1) Make a plan

Failing to plan means planning to fail. Make sure you plan your meal replacement shake routine before you start. Which meal are you going to replace, what are you going to eat for your solid food meals, what brand of shake are you going to use, when are you going to exercise?

Once you have your plan, make sure you do everything you need to do to be able to put your plan into action. Buy an adequate supply of your chosen meal replacement product, get the ingredients you need to make your solid food meals, pack your workout gear the night before; do whatever you can to make your meal replacement plan run smoothly.

2) Ditch the added sugar

Cutting down on added sugar will make your meal replacement plan much more effective. Sugar is easily converted into fat which means, if you eat a lot of it, you will undo some of the benefits of your meal replacement shake diet. “5 Reasons to Avoid Sugar”

Don’t worry about natural sugars, like those found in fruit (“Natural vs Added Sugar”). But do read food labels and make sure you are not inadvertently eating lots of added sugar. Most processed foods, including many low fat foods, contain loads of added sugar.

Find out how to avoid sugar by reading the labels on the food you are about to buy at “How to Identify Sugar on Nutrition Labels”.

I’ve shared my 20 days no sugar story here, and created a 20 No Sugar Days Challenge, it’s free and everybody can do it. Have a look and join me here.

3) Cook your own meals

Cooking your own meals is an important step toward eating healthily. If you buy pre-made food or eat in restaurants, you have very little control over what ingredients go into your meals. In many cases, what you think is a healthy meal is actually very unhealthy because of the ingredients used.

If you are serious about health and weight loss, it’s a very good idea to cook your own meals so you know exactly what you are eating.

This doesn’t mean you have to spend hours in the kitchen – who’s got time for that?! Instead, simply learn to make simple, healthy meals that often take as little as 20 minutes to prepare.

If you are stuck for recipes, I’ve shared many of my favorites

21 Day Fix Approved Recipes

Sugar Free Recipes

Smoothie Recipes

Do you feel like eating more vegetables? Green smoothies

Meal Replacement Shakes Recipes

Paleo Recipes

I’m always writing and publishing more.

4) Enjoy some sugar-free desserts 

Many people mistakenly believe that, if you are on a diet, you can’t have desserts. This is simply not true. However, you can’t eat a load of sugar-packed cake or ice cream and still expect to lose weight! No, your desserts need to be healthy and preferably sugar-free. Fruit is an excellent dessert and while it does contain sugar, the sugar is natural, healthy, and will not interfere with weight loss.

Here are some of my favorite sugar-free desserts. While these desserts are healthy, I still recommend that you only have a few a week – say every other day. Save your desserts for treats and not an everyday occurrence.

5) Cleanse your house of junk food

Willpower is a very limited thing. Some days you’ll be strong enough to resist cravings while other days you’ll just give up and eat whatever junk food you can lay your hands on.

The best way to avoid temptation is to NEVER have junk food in your house. That way, if you suffer a low willpower day, you won’t be able to give in to your cravings so easily.

Don’t buy junk food and make sure you cleanse your food cupboards of anything unhealthy BEFORE you start your meal replacement plan.

6) Do some exercise or play some sports 

Physical activity burns calories and that will help you to lose weight faster. You don’t need to do a lot but any exercise you can do will help. Some people tell me that “they hate exercise” and I understand that. But, I bet they haven’t tried every type of exercise there is to choose from!

There are so many different types of sports and exercise that, I’m sure, if you try a few different things, you WILL find something you enjoy. I love to run but if I didn’t run I’d try the gym, do some group exercise classes like dance aerobics, go for regular walks with my dog or my friends, play soccer or basketball, ride my bike, do a home workout video… you see, there are LOTS of different ways to work out.

If you don’t like the idea of exercise, how about simply doing some jobs in the garden, washing your car by hand, or just walking more and driving less?

However, you do it, try and be more physically active for three or more hours per week. That’s about 30-minutes per day. And before you say “I don’t have time”, remember that the average American watches FOUR HOURS of TV per day! So, are you sure you don’t have time just to walk for 30 minutes a day?

Popular Home Workout Plans

Home Workout Routines

7) Find your “why”

Tell me, why do you want to lose weight? Is it because you aren’t happy with the way you look? Do you feel tired all the time and want more energy? Do you feel unwell and want to be healthier? Are you worried that being overweight could lead to a shorter lifespan and you want to live as long as possible? Do you find it hard to keep up with your kids and want that to change?

Whatever your “why” is, make sure you fix it firmly in your mind and think about it often to keep your motivation levels high so you stick to your meal replacement shake plan. Make your “why” as specific as possible so you have a definite target to work toward. Any time you feel like your motivation is waning, revisit your “why” to remind yourself of what you are trying to achieve.

Best Motivational Fitness Books

 

8) Drink more water

Your body is made up from over 60% water. It’s in your muscles, your skin, your blood, your eyes. It lubricates your food as it passes through your stomach, helps you regulate your temperature, and even washes away toxins from your digestive and urinary systems.

Many people fail to drink enough water and are chronically dehydrated. Dehydration can interfere with fat loss and also make you hungry. Drinking water fills your stomach and can help stave off hunger pangs.

Make sure you drink plenty of plain water every single day. Shoot for eight 8-ounce glasses per day for best results. I make sure I have a glass of water every hour or so to make drinking enough water per day easier.

9) Get enough sleep

When you are tired and your energy levels are low, you are more likely to eat junk food. Lack of sleep is guaranteed to make you tired, hungry, and leave you craving sugar.

You’ll find it much easier to stay on your meal replacement shake plan if you get enough sleep – seven to eight hours per night being what is commonly recommended.

Getting enough sleep can be hard but if you make a point of going to bed early, you should be able to do it. This might mean switching off the TV or signing off Facebook earlier than normal but you’ll feel so much better if you do.

10) Cut down on stress

Stress can make losing weight much harder than it needs to be and less stress means faster fat loss.

Many people, me included, are stress eaters. When we are stressed, we reach for foods that make us feel happier – namely junk food. Needless to say, this happiness is very short-lived when we see our waists get bigger!

Also, stress produced a hormone called cortisol which promotes fat storage and limits fat burning. It also encourages fat storage around your waist.

Learn to limit stress by planning your day and your time effectively, avoiding unnecessary confrontation, finding time for yourself each and every day, learning how to meditate and relax, eating healthily, exercising, and getting enough sleep.

Conclusion

Use these tips and tricks to get even better results from your meal replacement shake weight loss plan. In just a few short weeks, you’ll soon be looking at a whole new you in the mirror!