Effectiveness of Meal Replacement Shakes for Weight Loss

Meal replacement drinks such as Slim-fast and Met-Rx have been around for years. The consensus among experts seems to be that following a diet plan based on these drinks will make you lose weight. However, it may not be the healthiest way to lose weight--many of the drinks contain high amounts of sugar and are not always well balanced nutritionally. Also, keep in mind that nutrients coming from unprocessed foods are healthier for you.

Pros

• Meal replacement drinks are great for people on the run and for people who do not want to think about what their next meal should be. Busy men seem to respond especially well to this concept. As reported by Menshealth.com, Allan Geliebter, Ph.D., a research psychologist at the New York Obesity Research Center at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan, MRDs work because "they are simple and they are fool-proof." According to him, "the best candidate for liquid lunches (and breakfasts) is a guy who's healthy but wants to drop 10 to 20 pounds."

  Dietitian Juliette Kellow of the website Weightlossresources.co.uk reports that MRDs seem to work well for both short term and long term weight loss. Apparently, MRDs may work even better than regular diets long term: "Long term follow up studies suggest that meal replacements may actually help people to keep their new lower weight." The article on Menshealth.com seconds this claim.

Cons

• While MRDs are often nutritionally balanced, it is common sense that artificially produced nutrients are not as good for you as natural ones. According to Kellow, "following a calorie-controlled diet based on a wide range of fresh foods including fruit, veg, whole grains, low-fat dairy products and lean protein-rich foods such as lean red meat, skinless chicken, fish and eggs, is the cheapest, tastiest and most enjoyable way to get all the nutrients we need for good health -- and to help us lose weight."

  She also explains that using MRDs to lose weight will not teach you how to eat properly. Last, she points out that more research needs to be done to determine meal replacement's true long-term potential.

  Since most MRDs contain around 200 calories, another disadvantage comes to mind: You are likely to be very hungry if 200 calories is all you are going to have for lunch.

Good Advice

• There are many MRDs to choose among today. Monica Neave, weight loss editor of the website Bellaonline.com, suggests that you keep this in mind when making your choice: "Anything with too much sugar or too few calories can cause you to eat more and defeats the whole purpose of buying the product in the first place."