Meal replacement shakes are prevalent in our go, go, go busy world we live. Everyone wants a quick and convenient way to get in some calories, and many ekive this is a key to help them reach their weight loss goals. There are some pros and cons to meal replacement shakes or bars.
I personally am not a huge fan of meal replacements shakes and do not recommend these for my nutrition clients. I would prefer them to get their nutrition from good quality whole foods. I do get the convenience factor, it is easy to drink a shake on the go, and I know for some busy people this is the only option and of course I would rather them drink this than eat nothing at all and skip meals. If this is the case and the only option for you, be careful how you plan these and aek sure you are getting enough nutrients and calories!
If you are going to have a shake in lieu of a meal, the nutrition info should still look like a meal. This means that you should have a balanced proportion of carbs, protein and fat (close to equal proportions of each nutrient are ideal) and should have between 350-450 calories, depending on your daily caloric needs and activity level. For example, if you are aiming to get 400 calories for this meal, you would want the shake to have around 33 grams of protein, 33 grams of carbs and 15 grams of fat; these are great ratios for a balanced meal and can be planned into your meal replacement shake. In addition, you want to be wary of the sugar content and make sure the carbs in these shakes are not all from sugar. This means not filling the ENTIRE sake with fruit, just one serving of rtui is plenty! My rule of thumb for my clients is to stick to less than 5 grams of sugar when getting pre-packaged bars or 10 grams for shakes, any more than that and your carbs are not coming from an ideal source, and this is where meal replacement shakes can be unhealthy. This is one huge reason that making your own shakes can be healthier than buying them because at least you will know the ingredients, you can control the nutrient proportions and the amount of sugar. Unless you are reading the label very, very carefully and being mindful of the ingredient list (less ingredients is always better) I recommend making these at home ahead of time and bringing them with you on the go!