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The world of meal replacement shakes can feel confusing. There are a lot of products available, so how can you work out which one is most suitable for your needs?
Here are some of the most important ingredients to look for when you’re shopping for meal replacement shakes, as well as how you can use meal replacement shakes as part of your healthy weight loss journey.
The key is in the name of these products – they are designed to replace a meal, which means you want a product that has the nutritional balance of a meal. The main ingredients to look for are:
It’s also important to consider the calorie count if you are planning to use meal replacement shakes to help you lose weight. Our products give you two options for mixing them, for instance, with a calorie count for each.
So, for the lowest calorie option you would mix our shakes with water, while for a slightly higher calorie count, use skimmed milk.
Protein is an important ingredient in meal replacement shakes because it can help you feel full for longer, while providing your body with what it needs to function throughout the day.
What’s more, protein is particularly important if you are also going to be regularly exercising as part of a weight loss plan. One study found that those who consumed a protein-rich nutritional shake while carrying out moderate intensity exercise lost more weight than the baseline.
Another important ingredient to look for in meal replacement shakes is fibre. This is because it is known to help reduce appetite, which, again, is very useful if your aim is weight loss.
All of our shakes are high in fibre for precisely this reason.
When you eat a well-balanced meal, you’ll consume vitamins and minerals as part of your diet, which is why it’s important to look for meal replacement shakes that are nutritionally rich in both these components.
Look for the likes of vitamins C, B6, A, E and K2-7 in the ingredient lists for any shakes you’re considering and make sure you also check the quantities to see how they will contribute to you getting your recommended daily allowance.
Similar to vitamins, minerals are present in many of our foods and you need to ensure you are consuming enough of the right minerals to have a healthy diet.
Some of the most important minerals to look for on the ingredients list are calcium, zinc and magnesium.
We all know that calcium is important for our bone strength, but zinc is important for both our immune system and metabolism, while magnesium supports our bodies in many ways, including our cardiovascular health.
The best meal replacement shakes are ones that include all of these key ingredients, but there are also some ingredients that you want to see missing from the list.
Of those, the most important element to consider is sugar content. Ideally, you want to see a low sugar content and that the sugar contained in the shake is described as naturally sourced.
When you’re using meal replacement shakes to aid weight loss, look for options with less than 10 grams of sugar per serving.
An easy way to tell how much sugar is in a shake (or any other product) is to see where it features on the ingredients list. Ingredients on food products are listed starting with the ones that are included in the greatest quantities, down to the lowest.
So, if sugar or sweeteners are at or near the end of the list of ingredients, it’s a good sign that the meal replacement shake you’re considering is not high in sugar.
There are several ways to use meal replacement shakes to help you lose weight, although it’s important that you use these products as part of a balanced approach.
That means you should continue to eat a balanced diet, even if you are restricting your calorie intake, to ensure that you are getting all the nutrients your body needs. Our shakes are carefully formulated to provide nutritional balance to support this approach.
Another way in which to use meal replacement shakes to lose weight is to add them to your routine when you are stretched for time.
Often we reach for unhealthy options when we don’t have much free time to cook or prepare meals using fresh ingredients. One of the biggest advantages of meal replacement shakes in this scenario is that they are very quick to prepare and will leave you feeling satisfied.
