People who wish to lose weight might want to use a meal replacement shake occasionally, due to a busy daily schedule, more than often. Like most of the people, you can buy these shakes ready-to-drink from well-known companies, as well as in the form of powder, and mix it with a liquid (milk is commonly recommended by these brands) to get the shake quickly ready. That’s an easy and a quite cheap way of obtaining more calories. In fact, dollar-per-calorie, it’s even cheaper than your average meal.
These powders are usually low in fat, sugar, and high in protein, complex carbohydrates and also have a rich profile of processed vitamins and minerals. However, I prefer making them homemade, organically, for a less processed and much healthier nutrient profile. I want the ability to control the variables.
Why Would You Want a Meal Replacement Shake?
To be honest, most chances are that you don’t really need them. If you have enough appetite and time to consume your required calories (whether the goal is weight loss or gain) in the form of solid foods, I’d say don’t bother with these shakes. Most people will agree that eating calories are much more enjoyable than drinking them.
Anyway, these are the five types of scenarios where I would imagine these shakes to be useful:
- Unfortunate Low Appetite – If you have some life issues (such as a recent breakup or something) that significantly reduces your appetite and you can’t reach your daily nutritional goal, a caloric-dense meal replacement shake can be of great use.
- Hargainers (Ectomorphs) – This is the most troublesome type of body for building strength or mass. These people need MUCH more calories to have the same muscular gain (mass/strength) as other people, usually due to a metabolism rate of a jet plane on ephedra, and a highly adaptive body for caloric intake. I am one of these. If you are as well, consider the use of shakes in case that you do not have enough appetite to consume the large amounts of solid foods.
- Solid Foods Limit – If you are an athlete, bodybuilders included of course, who require a huge amount of calories (Michael Phelps comes to mind!) to sustain or move towards your goals and can not possibly digest any more solid foods. You are probably not one of these, luckily.
- Busy Schedule – The most common situation, where you might want to eat a solid meal, but you simply don’t have the time to prepare or eat it. A meal replacement drink could be a great way to fill this gap, whether your goal is to gain or lose weight. You can tailor your shake for your specific nutritional needs.
- Missing a Breakfast – This is important. If you do not have time to prepare breakfast when you wake up – a protein-rich shake will fix it. I will leave the science of the usefulness of a breakfast (both for weight gain and loss) for another post.
Meal Replacement Shakes vs Protein Shakes vs Weight Gainers
I do not like this categorization. Protein shake are usually shakes that contain low or zero fat and carbohydrates, but a nice little dose of protein. Weight gainers, on the other hand, are a complete meal replacement shake, consisting of carbohydrates, protein, fat sometimes, and thus a much higher amount of calories. However, many people use protein shakes for weight gaining purposes, as they do not need the extra carbs or fat associated with the usual weight gainer shakes.
In fact, all of them could be called a meal replacement shake! Both the protein and weight gainer shakes are there to supply nutrients and calories of a solid meal that can not be consumed at the moment, whatever the reason is (see above). As you have probably guessed so far, I like customizing my own shakes, for my own specific need at the moment, without giving it any confusing name.
You Don’t Want to Consume Too Much of Processed Shakes
This one applies to processed meal replacement snacks and bars as well. Unless most of your shakes content consists of whole foods, you really do not want to consume too much of them. As already said, I recommend making them at home. It is far healthier. But if you can not be bothered with a little bit of some kitchen work and insist on using processed commercial products, make sure you don’t replace any of your solid meals with them on a regular basis.
If you use these shakes to bulk, it should be an extra meal, not a replacement meal (as the name suggests). You see, this is a processed product, with processed protein, vitamins, minerals, everything. It lacks the perfect natural balance of whole foods, and you might end up with some troubles and deficiencies if you do not consume enough solid foods and rely on processed foods to carry you on. It’s like a computer driving simulation – it can be a fun addition, but nothing like the real thing!
Healthy Meal Replacement Shakes? Are they..?
Well, it depends. I can not put the health tag on store-bought supplements that are highly processed. Commercial weight gainers or protein powders will never be as healthy as whole foods with the ever-dancing synergy of its scientifically discovered and mysterious nutritional components.
This is another reason why I recommend making your shakes homemade. You control the variables. You know exactly what you put inside your shake, how fresh it is, and can change each component at a time to achieve a different nutritional need or taste. They are also very healthy if you get fresh organic whole-foods and incorporate them into this paradise-like shake.
However, there is one thing I believe I must address here. Consuming a diet consisting of many calories is an unhealthy thing by itself. There is a direct correlation between the number of calories consumed during life and the length of lifespan.
You can not do anything about it. You will have to decide whether the tradeoff is worth it for you, in case that you are on a high-caloric diet and maybe using these shakes (as healthy as they are on the zoomed-in level) to bulk yourself.
(For the science behind it, check out Ore Gottlieb’s ‘On Life Extension, Calorie Restriction, Free Radicals, Aging, Health and Longevity‘ post)
In short, the best possible scenario would be to make organic homemade meal replacement shakes on your own. For the vegans and vegetarians of you.
Optimal Timing to Use These Shakes
- IF MISSING BREAKFAST! A proper breakfast (not coffee and bagel) is ultra-important. I will not list the benefits of breakfast here, but if you miss your breakfast upon waking up, get yourself a shake ready. Even a small one with some protein. This is absolutely important for both muscle growth and weight loss.
- Pre-Workout – I never really bothered, since I love solid foods, but many people take a shake an hour or two prior to a workout as an easy-to-digest meal.
- Post-Workout – Although I would prefer taking advantage of the primal hunger after a workout to munch some real solid food, I’d definitely get a preferably homemade meal replacement shake if solid foods are not possible, whatever the reason is.
- Replacing a Meal on a Busy Day – If there is no way for you to get that meal you are craving for due to a busy schedule at work or whatever, a meal replacement shake will seal the deal.
- Before Sleep – Your body goes into a long fast when you go to sleep. Minimizing the damage with a shake (Prefer a meal if you have the appetite) can be beneficial. Put a nice amount of ‘good fat’ (nuts, for instance) for a nice and longer absorption.
Guidelines – Different Shakes for Different Purposes
What Are The Best Meal Replacement Shakes for Weight Loss Purposes?
Well, think about it. I mean, really think about it. If you’re like most of the people who try to lose weight, you’re probably left quite hungry at different times of the day, craving to have that satisfying feeling of chewing and swallowing food. Why, in mother-nature’s name, would you replace your precious meals with quickly-consumed meal replacement shakes? This kind of defeats its purpose.
So no, I would not recommend you to replace your meals with similar-caloric-profile shakes if you want to lose weight. Unless you have a VERY low appetite and you can not seem to fill in this low amount of calories that your body requires for losing weight properly (it will mimic a crash diet if you don’t eat enough).
However, if you also have a very busy day with no time for messing with food, a meal replacement shake will be useful and will provide a quick and easy solution. Maybe the most common reason for using meal replacement shakes to aid in weight loss is to replace a protein-rich breakfast due to ‘no time to make it!’. Never miss your breakfast. A rich-protein breakfast will keep your metabolism rolling during the day, decrease your impulses for carbs, and will aid you tremendously in losing that fat tires you desire to get rid of.
If you wish to lose weight and reduce your body fat percentage – make sure your whole diet is appropriate for the purpose. Low-carb diets have a great reputation for losing fat without the need to count calories.! Because of that, I will include an appropriate low carb meal replacement shake for weight loss purposes. Ready? Use a blender for the ‘recipes’ below.
High Protein Low Carb Meal Replacement Shake for Weight Loss
- Organic egg-whites (Try Eggology – ‘Pure, fresh, organic, cage-free, tested for salmonella & listeria’) or organic unprocessed whey powder (for vegans: organic unprocessed hemp or yellow-pea protein powder).
- You may add a very small portion of some kind of a berry (blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, etc) for the sake of living life and enjoying a good taste along with some über-phytochemicals and good nutrients.
- A little bit of Stevia to sweeten the shake, if you choose to not include the above berries. It’s an amazingly sweet plant with zero calories. Say goodbye to sugar. Read more about Stevia.
- If you can stand it, consider adding some green leafy vegetables (spinach?). The berries taste will often cover their taste, and they will provide a good amount of vitamins and minerals with some extra protein.
- Ice cubes and cold water (Will also aid in fat loss, but that’s another post).
You may add a few dashes of cinnamon or other spices to your taste. This is a very low-fat and low-calorie protein shake, but if you need some fat with your shake as well, you can add a few nuts (walnuts/pecans/cashew/etc). Do not put too many of them in your shake as they contain a lot of fat (good fat, but fat) and can easily be counterproductive. For example, 7 walnuts will lend you around 18g of fat and 180 calories. Do your math.
I did not mention the nutritional value of each food since I want you to play with it and tweak it for your own needs. Each egg white contains around 3 or 4 grams of protein. Add as many as needed (6-12 usually). Stevia contains zero calories. Berries contain some carbs, but we put a very small amount of them for taste. You can easily skip them if you don’t feel the need. Put as many greens as you like (if you like). I recommend going with organic all the way, for all the ingredients.
This recipe can also be used by people who want to gain weight, but do not need the extra carbs from the shake (usually beneficial as an emergency when about to skip breakfast) as their diet already give them enough of it.
What About Soy-Based Meal Replacement Shakes? I Love Soy!
Soy is another area of controversy (allergens, phytoestrogens, just to name a few). If you wish to base your shake on soy protein, you can easily do that by substituting the egg white or protein powders with organic soy protein powder in either of the above ‘recipes’.
Vegetarian or Vegan Meal Replacement and Protein Shakes
If you are a lacto-ovo-vegetarian, the above ingredients are all perfectly suitable for you. If you are a vegan, however, you can simply use organic unprocessed hemp or yellow pea (or even rice) protein powder as your basic protein ingredient. Also, use some kind of organic plant-based milk (like almond) instead of animal milk (which I would actually recommend to everyone).
Robert Cheeke is a vegan bodybuilder who seems to do wonders with his vegan lifestyle. Google his name to find some of his recipes, they might be useful to you if you plan to build your body the vegan way.
And Gluten-Free Meal Replacement Shake? I’m Worried!
The ‘weight loss’ shake is already a gluten-free protein shake, so no worries. Aside from the fact that ‘avenin’ in oats is pretty controversial in its toxicity levels on people with Coeliac disease, I’d recommend not taking any risks and removing it from your diet, as it is more than often stored in equipment that also stores other grains, resulting in a cross-contamination. Better safe than sorry. Simply remove oats and put some more of the other ingredients, if you wish to attain the same caloric value.
I Need a Lactose-Free (Non-Dairy) Shake! Help!
Simply remove all dairy from the ingredient list. That includes whey protein, of course, if you planned on using it. You have many other options, and they are all listed above. People usually tend to stuff their shakes with milk, ice cream, and yogurt, but a non-dairy, lactose-free meal replacement shake is very easy to make.
Low Carbs High Protein Shakes for Diabetics? Any Other Advice?
The first recipe is perfectly safe for diabetics. We use Stevia, which is perfectly safe for diabetics, in order to sweeten our shakes. I’d totally understand if you wish to cut off the berries to an even smaller amount.
If you’re a diabetic, I would recommend avoiding stuffing huge shakes like the second one (weight gainer), and would definitely advise you to keep a close eye with your doctor or medical supervisor. This kind of sport can be especially dangerous for you if the nutritional side of it is done incorrectly. Again, let your doctor know whatever you choose to do.
TIP #1: I recommend changing the ingredients from time to time, mainly as a psychological weapon to kill the boredom of eating the same thing over and over.
TIP #2: Add some fresh grounded flaxseeds for a boost of omega-3 fatty acids.
TIP #3: Some nice exotic add-ons to some of the shakes will be bee pollen, hemp seeds, and even organic 100% cocoa beans! (I am now in the Philippines, having a good time with these!). There are interesting health benefits to each of the three, but feel free to experiment with other stuff as well, just control the amount you’re putting inside and know what you’re doing. Too much sugar or fat will not make your body happy.
Bottom Line
These shakes can be a great additional caloric and nutrient source for your diet, but do not constantly substitute your meals for them. Most important thing is to keep up a well balanced nutrient-dense diet. The shakes are just auxiliary. Constantly overusing them instead of meals can lead to serious disproportionate dietary ratios, as well as a deficiency in some vitamins, as your body is not always so-welcoming for artificially processed nutrients.