If you want to lose weight fast and easy, you could do a lot worse than follow a meal replacement shake diet. Both many of the readers of Days to Fitness and I have used meal replacement shakes not only to lose weight but keep it off. All you have to do is replace one of two regular meals a day with a low-calorie shake and then watch the weight drop off!
When it comes to meal replacement shakes, you have two main choices – buy a commercial product or make your own. In this article, I want to discuss the pros and cons of these two options.
Homemade meal replacement shakes
If you want to precisely control what ingredients go into your shake, homemade meal replacement shakes could be your best choice. By making the shake yourself, you can decide how many calories, how much protein, how many carbs, and how much sugar it contains. You are also free to vary the ingredients from one day to the next. It’s also very likely that you’ll include more fresh ingredients as you’ll be making your shake from scratch every day.
On the downside, you will have to spend some time designing your shake to ensure it has the right nutrients and number of calories for your needs. You may also find that some of the ingredients included in commercial shakes are not available for home use – appetite suppressants for example.
Making your shakes at home can also be time-consuming which is fine when you have a relaxed schedule, but if you are in a rush that may be a problem. Homemade shakes may also work out more expensive as you won’t be able to buy the ingredients in bulk – something that commercial shake makers can do.
I like homemade meal replacement shakes and love whipping one up in my trusty blender. Here are two articles packed with great recipes to try at home – Homemade Meal Replacement Shakes Recipes .
Commercial meal replacement shakes
There are some excellent commercial shakes available. Commercial shakes are very easy to use and most mix quickly with water using just a shaker cup, so there is no need to break out your blender. They are also pre-made so that you don’t have to spend time weighing and measuring ingredients. In fact, commercial shakes are so ready to use that, in less than 30-seconds, you could be drinking a tasty, healthy, weight loss shake.
Because knowledgeable people design them, commercial meal replacement shakes often contain “special” ingredients that you can’t or won’t even think of adding to your homemade shake. For example, some contain ingredients designed to suppress your hunger levels and even probiotics to improve your digestive health and immune system. Any little helpers like this can lead to faster, easier weight loss.
On the downside, not all meal replacement shakes are the same, and some are definitely better than others. They can be expensive, and some contain chemicals and even sugar making them a little less healthy. And while there are some good tasting commercial shakes available, you won’t know if yours tastes good until you buy and try it. Some of them are downright nasty!
You can find the meal shakes I’ve tried and the reasons why they are my favorites at “Best Meal Replacement Shakes“. You probably are asking, But how did you find your favorite shakes ? I’ve set a number of requirements, ingredients and price to filter and find the top 3 shakes in the market and I’ve also shared the plan I use to lose weight with meal shakes. All and more you can find here How to lose weight with Meal replacement Shakes.
Conclusion
I have no hesitation in recommending that you try meal replacement shakes for weight loss. Almost everyone I know who has used meal replacement shakes has lost weight quickly and painlessly and, very importantly, kept it off afterward. Because you don’t need to cook and you can take them with you wherever you go, meal replacement shakes are the perfect, excuse-free, way to lose weight fast.
My weight loss plan using Meal Replacement Shakes
15 Meal Replacement Shakes Recipes
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