Is anyone else using meal replacements? I’m starting tomorrow 🙂

Stevie

What are you going to use Stevie?

I use protein shakes on my badminton session days, instead of an evening meal. I have been using For Goodness Shakes Ultimate Protein, which is 40g protein and only 10g carbohydrate. I have now bought some whey protein though and will be making up my own shakes, hoping that is a little cheaper in the long run, and definitely more flexible as I can add it to smoothies and the like.

Hi Gadgetgirl,

I’ve ordered some Puriton shakes as they have natural ingredients and no gluten or dairy, which I’m sensitive to. BUT, they were supposed to have been delivered yesterday and didn’t arrive!

S

Yes,

I was thinking of making my own, but wasn’t feeling confident that I would be covering my nutrients and wasn’t sure on protein/carb amounts etc so left it.

But, this is something I would prefer to do.

S

I bought some Isopure Low Carb Protein Powder Dutch Chocolate shake a couple of weeks ago.
It tastes OK, and does keep me full; well did after the second attempt, when I found the scoop inside the bag and realised it was the size of about 5 teaspoons, which was what I’d used the first time and felt generally unimpressed and hungry.
But my general feeling is that a meal is something I eat, and a drink doesn’t really count (I am a bit the same with soup).

I also think that using real food, cooking and experimenting, even just getting a feel for weights and portion sizes, helps educate and better prepare you for eating out, post 800 cal.very low carb (for lots of us that is way more than 8 weeks) – and ultimately be an incredibly important part of the journey to having a better relationship with food.
There’s also all of the research that you’re better off eating the whole fruit than having juice, so would be wary of relying on home made shakes too much.
A colleague did really well earlier in the year with a non BSD meal replacement diet – she has kept the weight off, but does have to keep reverting to the shakes from time to time, because the plan didn’t seem to have a post diet plan (clever marketing, keep you hooked!), and when she is an “eating food” phase, does make some odd choices.

So, the shake is something that I may occasionally grab for breakfast if I oversleep, or carry a scoop with me if I think I may need a meal on the go and don’t have time to prepare a salad and am a bit dubious about access to BSD friendly shop or restaurant options, but I honestly think real food is the best way to go.

Hi,

I have been using the USN Diet Fuel Ultralean cafe latte flavour. I chose to go down the shake route as I found that getting the calories correct and balancing getting the correct minerals etc. was very hard and lets face it one of the reasons I got large was because of my lack of portion control ability.

Another reason was that on week three my weight loss stalled and continued for two weeks. I found that I was consuming less than 800 calories per day and this was having a negative impact. I started at 19st 11 and I am currently on week 6 and weight in at 17st 7.

The annoying thing with the meal replacements shakes is that in the majority they contain some form of sweetener. USN has fructose in small quantities and I can taste it. The alternative I am using is Sanatagen protein powder from Boots but it tastes of nothing so you need to add flavour and that is hard to do when not at home or fresh.

I am now extending my 8 week plan to 12 weeks and use steely mindset to get through it. I have found that you definitely need to exercise more and more and if you set goals and targets it makes it easier to monitor the increases.

“Persevere and you will succeed” and “8 weeks is worth it for a lifetime of benefits” are statements I repeat daily as most of the negatives or reasons to give in come from the mind.

I hope this helps