Meal Replacements

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Meal Replacements | Pregnancy and Weight Gain | Guidelines For Choosing The Best & Safest Diet Programs

Meal Replacements: The Skinny on Shakes & Bars

"Meal replacements" are basically either one of two things: a liquid shake (powder mixed with water, milk, or fruit juice), or a filling nutrition bar. These are products consumers may buy from retail stores, mail order or multi-level marketing distributors. They are also used quite often by the top 60 weight loss programs, as part of their plans. They are non-prescription do-it-yourself quick weight loss products that have been around a long time and which in recent years have been marketed by an increasing number of food manufacturers.

These shakes and bars are usually used as a substitute for one or a maximum of two meals per day (usually breakfast and lunch). You are encouraged to eat one "sensible" meal of regular food per day (dinner) and follow healthy diets. There are lots of brands now on the market and taste varies widely. Some products taste horrible, others are merely palatable, and others taste great. In recent years, most of the new meal replacements that have come out have been nutrition bars—it seems as if everyone is selling them now.

Meal Replacements Are Popular

Meal replacements are an inexpensive appetite suppressant weight loss option. They are easy to use, and are convenient for time-pressed dieters.

Calorie Control Council surveys found that 17% of all dieting Americans use meal replacements. However, this percentage has fallen recently, with strong competition coming from low-carb diets. Currently, BestDietForMe.com estimates that there are 71 million American dieters, and the share of all U.S. adults using meal replacements is about 7% (or 5 million people).

Several VLCD (very low calorie diet) medical programs have entered the retail consumer market for meal replacements for the first time (i.e. Health Management Resources and Medifast). Herbalife scrapped its "thermojetics" line of diet tablets and shifted in a major way toward selling its meal replacements, under the product line named "ShapeWorks."

According to the Healthy Weight Journal and JAMA, a survey of 14,679 adults found that the use of non-prescription weight loss products is common, especially among women looking for rapid weight loss. Women were five times more likely than men to use these products.

However, there is a danger that they may be used inappropriately. Since there's no medical supervision, a person could very easily substitute these products for three meals a day and deprive their body of the calories and nutrients it needs. Consequently, there is really no such thing as structured meal replacement programs, although Slim-Fast does provide a very good website with support and lots of useful information and interactive tools.

Compare the top 60 diet programs to find out which ones use meal replacements, which you may find easy and convenient to use in your hectic daily life, and which will be used along with regular grocery store food.

Nutrition Bars

Nutrition bars (also known as energy bars) are now touted for athletes and white collar workers alike as a way to boost energy, aid in weight loss, curb your hunger or even to replace meals. While most are fortified with vitamins and minerals, they tend to be relatively high in calories.

According to a report by Mintel International, between 2001 and 2004, more than 900 nutrition bars were introduced to the market. In addition to the forefather of all nutrition bars, the Power Bar, the consumer today can find products offered from manufacturers ranging from the diet plan provider Slim-Fast to Snickers, in multiple varieties of chocolate, peanut butter and other flavors.

Can nutrition bars be part of a healthy diet and good diet plans? Most nutrition bars contain 200-250 calories--the same as a plain Hershey's candy bar. But, some have as few as 100, and others contain more than 300. The bars typically have 4-7 grams of total fat.

BestDietForMe.com finds that nutrition bars targeted at dieters are generally low in sugar and total carbs than those intended for athletes. Many diet bars contain sugar alcohols such as maltitol or lactitol, which are reduced-calorie sweeteners that don't produce a spike in blood sugar and insulin levels.

Meal replacements are inexpensive, convenient, and easily obtained. However, only you can tell which type of weight loss program will work for you. You should consult your doctor, but you can always do some homework yourself first by... getting an unbiased diet needs analysis to find out which TYPE of diet plan--a do it yourself plan using meal replacements, a popular diet book, a doctor's plan, a dietitian, a weight loss center, a diet website, etc. suits you best. You have unique medical needs, food preferences, special exercise needs, counseling and emotional support needs.

Weight Loss Articles of Interest

Meal Replacements | Pregnancy and Weight Gain | Guidelines For Choosing The Best & Safest Diet Programs