Diet gun

Meal replacement foods are widespread mainly for the convenience they offer, in their preparation, consumption, and storage.

Some of their undeniable advantages are:

1. Convenient and versatile

They are ready-made, they do not require special preparation, you can take the meal with you without fear of spoiling or getting your bag dirty.

2. Variety in their ingredients

There is a wide variety of products, protein-rich, with and/or without carbohydrates, with and/or without fat.

Their form can be liquid, in powder form for dissolving in water or milk or fruit juice, and even in solid form.

3. Calories

The amount of calories is measured in all the ingredients they contain and we do not need to calculate the calories if we follow a calorie-counting diet.

4. Specialization

There are specialized products such as gluten-free, vegan, more digestible, fast-absorbing, long-lasting energy release, etc.

Their biggest disadvantages are the following:

1. They are less nutritious than healthy meals that we can prepare with food. The vitamins, minerals and trace elements they contain are NOT natural, they are all prepared in laboratories. The same applies to the proteins, carbohydrates and fats they contain.

Anything unnatural is also less absorbable by the body.

2. They do not contain the correct proportion of antioxidants that the body needs and there are certainly antioxidants that our body needs that are not contained in meal replacements.

3. They are pre-prepared foods and contain many additives such as preservatives, colorings, flavor enhancers, anti-foaming agents, sweeteners.

4. They contain individual ingredients (e.g. whey proteins, concentrated proteins) that are not found in this form in nature.

5. They are very expensive compared to what they offer.

If we use meal replacements as a short-term solution (losing a few pounds, preparing for a race, eating this today because we don’t have time to cook) they will certainly help us achieve our goal as long as their intake is balanced.

If we use meal replacements as a long-term solution (losing many pounds) then the long-term results will not be positive because the possibility of gaining weight again after stopping them is almost certain, since we have not learned to eat properly, we have not learned to measure our foods and meals correctly, we have not learned to observe which foods, when and how they work properly in our own body.

¨Μέτρον ἄριστον¨ – ¨Everything in moderation¨
(Cleovoulos of Lindos)
It means that a person avoids extremes and has a measure in their life.

Sources of the article
A systematic review and meta‐analysis of the effectiveness of meal replacements for weight loss
Protein-enriched intermittent meal replacement combined with moderate-intensity training for weight loss and body composition in overweight women
Efficacy of Meal Replacement Products on Weight and Glycolipid Metabolism Management: A 90-Day Randomized Controlled Trial in Adults with Obesity
Meal Replacements Are as Effective as Structured Weight-Loss Diets for Treating Obesity in Adults with Features of Metabolic Syndrome

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