Meal Replacements?

Willie84

Willie84

Veteran
Joined
24 Feb 2014
Local time
4:24 AM
Messages
67
Location
Michigan
I am wondering, since there are so many great cooks on this site, if anyone ever uses a meal replacement shake or bar? If so, what type and why? Are there benefits?
 
I don't recommend eating just a meal replacement bar unless its medically needed. These bars aren't made with your daily serving of everything you need for a day.
 
I've just started a meal replacement diet, breakfast and lunches only. I'm on Optifast, and I would NEVER EVER EVER buy the vanilla flavour if you're going to try it. I kid you not I threw it up everywhere, it's so freaking disgusting. The chocolate is the best, you can't taste anything else. The strawberry and banana you can kind of taste it a little because the flavours are so mild. I have not tried caramel or coffee, but the vanilla is overpowering and you can still taste the crappy other taste that the powder gives. It's AWFUL.

Anyway I am doing it with my doctor, and I would not ever suggest you start something like this without doctor consult and regular checkups every 2 weeks. I was on Lite N Easy before this and it almost sent me to hospital because I wasn't getting enough calories (but I couldn't afford the next one up).
 
I used Herbalife shakes for a while and it was pretty good, but while it was labeled a meal replacement, I certainly wouldn't replace meals with it. I like cooking and eating solid stuff too much. It was more like a supplement to give me an extra boost so that I could quit nodding off in the afternoon.
 
Alunny said:
Why didn't you have some protein for energy in the afternoon then? Like some nuts, or a nut bar? Some chicken etc.
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For some reason, those...real foods...don't work as effectively? I had the protein shake in the morning and noticed that I didn't get sleepy in the afternoon. Also, they're not milkshake-textured. Also, they can't be made to taste like chocolate, which Herbalife did pretty well :)
 
Yes they can? There's tonnes of chocolate flavoured protein drinks ha ha. You could also have protein in other forms in the afternoon or for lunch...I'm supposed to only snack on protein for energy and avoid sugar.

Meats
Lean cuts of:
beef
ham
lamb
pork
veal

Game Meats
bison
rabbit
venison

Lean Ground Meats
beef
pork
lamb

Organ Meats
liver
giblets

Poultry
chicken
duck
goose
turkey
ground chicken and turkey

Eggs
chicken eggs
duck eggs

Beans and Peas
bean burgers
black beans
black-eyed peas
chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
falafel
kidney beans
lentils
lima beans (mature)
navy beans
pinto beans
soy beans
split peas
white beans

Processed Soy Products
tofu (bean curd made from soybeans)
veggie burgers
tempeh
texturized vegetable protein (TVP)

Nuts and Seeds*
almonds
cashews
hazelnuts (filberts)
mixed nuts
peanuts
peanut butter
pecans
pistachios
pumpkin seeds
sesame seeds
sunflower seeds
walnuts

Seafood
Finfish such as:
catfish
cod
flounder
haddock
halibut
herring
mackerel
pollock
porgy
salmon
sea bass
snapper
swordfish
trout
tuna

Shellfish such as:
clams
crab
crayfish
lobster
mussels
octopus
oysters
scallops
squid (calamari)
shrimp

Canned fish such as:
anchovies
clams
tuna
sardines

More info (government source)
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I don't think I can really see anything here you can't get without sugar added, salt added, or fats in it. I can get most of these things with reduced or no added salt, and same with the fat...some of these don't really have fat either. Pretty sure you can't get lean tuna because tuna is lean, for example :wink:. I can't see anything wrong with a bit of tuna in a bed of lettuce and spinach for some afternoon energy :).
 
Alunny said:
Yes they can? There's tonnes of chocolate flavoured protein drinks ha ha. You could also have protein in other forms
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I meant that those other proteins that you suggested, such as a plate of chicken, can not be made into a chocolate milkshake. It would still be a plate of chicken, it would still taste like a plate of chicken, and I would still eat it in the afternoon instead of in the morning and lasting into the afternoon.

So, protein shake it is for me.

I don't even know if it's necessarily the protein in the protein shake that keeps me energized, anyway. It could be some unlabeled mystery ingredient or side effect that's, I dunno, slowly and secretly killing me.
 
I have dieted with WeightWatchers before now and bought some of their soups and bars. They are really nice, but I only used them occasionally. I have a friend on the Cambridge diet and you have to replace every single meal with one of their products. They have soups, milkshakes and cereal bars. I don't think I could replace every meal. I enjoy food and cooking too much.
 
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