Do liquid diets work? - NutriAnswers.com

Promising rapid and easy weight loss, diet shakes?sometimes called meal replacement shakes or MRPs for short?are a popular form of weight control. There are a number of manufacturers offering a wide variety of shakes in a host of flavors to suit almost every taste. Diet shakes are supplied in dry form to be mixed with water and some manufacturers also produce ready to drink versions that are packaged in single-serving carton s and/or cans.

Advantages
Diet shakes offer a very convenient type of weight loss diet. There is no need to prepare special meals, weigh and measure your portions or spend time cooking low-calorie meals. The shakes are designed to be nutritionally balanced, fortified with essential vitamins and minerals and have been weighed, measured and nutritionally analyzed to save you having to perform any complicated calculations.

How they work
To lose weight using diet shakes, simply replace some of your regular meals with shakes. You can replace as many meals per day as you wish but most manufacturers usually encourage you to eat at least one solid food meal per day. Most shakes contain an average of 250 to 300 calories per serving so by eliminating high-calorie meals and replacing them with low calorie shakes you reduce your average daily calorific intake. This will create an energy shortfall which will be met by an increase in fat metabolism leading to weigh loss.

Typical Nutritional Content
Although there are a wide variety of diet shakes available, most shakes provide similar levels of nutrition. Diet shakes normally contain protein for muscle growth and repair plus carbohydrates for energy. Diet shakes are generally low fat but often contain monounsaturated oils as these are very healthful. Many shakes include soluble and insoluble fiber which is filling; good for your digestive system and helps regulate blood glucose levels by slowing the emptying of your stomach contents into your small intestines. Some shakes contain artificial sweeteners, colors and/or flavors but these are best avoided if possible as some people are sensitive to these ingredients.

Disadvantages
Although diet shakes usually result in rapid weight loss, there are a number of disadvantages associated with this type of restrictive eating plan. Replacing meals with diet shakes can result in social exclusion at family meal times which can be stressful and may affect your compliance. Using diet shakes does not teach portion control or healthy food selection. Subsequently it is not uncommon for dieters to regain their lost weight when they return to their regular pattern of eating.? Drinking diet shakes may become repetitive and/or boring which may limit your compliance.

Considerations
Diet shakes fall into the category of very low calorie diets. Very low calorie diets promote rapid weight loss but can also leave you feeling hungry, tired and nauseous. Some dieters also report headaches, difficulty concentrating and digestive upsets. Seek medical advice before starting any severely restrictive diet especially if you have any serious underlying medical condition such as coronary heart disease or diabetes.

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Tags: diet shakes, liquid diet, meal replacement shakes, weight loss shakes

This entry was posted on Friday, June 29th, 2012 at 8:00 am and is filed under Diets, Weight Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

Source: http://blog.nutrianswers.com/2012/06/do-liquid-diets-work/

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