Everything You Need To Know About Meal Replacements
Discover our latest podcast
1. Advantages of meal replacements: Meal replacements were originally invented for hospitalised people who were unable to eat normally. They were hyperprotein mixtures, which also brought a feeling of satiety. The food industry has seized on these meal replacements to help people who want to lose weight. The great advantage of meal replacements is their practicality: in solid form (bars) or liquid (powder to dissolve) or even something in between (dessert creams), they can be carried everywhere. Their vitamin and mineral content is guaranteed by their manufacturers. Depending on the brands and varieties within the brands, they provide between 150 and 300 calories per intake, with no or very little sugar and fat content.
2. How to consume meal replacements: Most brands of meal replacements indicate under what conditions they should be consumed. They should not be the only thing you are consuming as this would put you at risk of serious dietary deficiencies. They must be combined with "normal" meals to reach a caloric intake of between 1,200 and 1,500 calories per day. They usually replace two meals a day as part of a dieting regimen - supplemented by other foods. Once the desired weight is reached, brands advise to continue consuming one meal replacement daily to maintain it.
3. Side effects of meal replacements: The side effects of meal replacements are significant and should not be overlooked if you want to lose weight with them. Due to their generally insufficient fibre content, they can result in constipation or disruption of intestinal transit. They do not provide the nutrients that must be found in fruits and vegetables: if you do not compensate for this absence by eating fruits and vegetables during your meal replacement diet, you may suffer from nutritional deficiencies.
Finally, the most serious side effect is psychological: being mostly sweet, meal replacements generate a need for sugar and thus undermine your diet if you give in to these cravings! Another problem with meal replacements is that the lack of a "real" meal leads to frustration, the feeling of not having eaten - even more so if you have eaten your meal replacement at the corner of your desk, alone, while your colleagues went to a restaurant or the canteen.
