Meal Replacement
Shakes are Effective
and Convenient

Meal replacement shakes or protein shakes, are great way to lose weight, maintain weight, or get some quick nutrition when there's no time for a full meal. These shakes work by:

• Curbing food cravings
• Controlling portion sizes
• Providing essential vitamins and minerals

When you are on a strict diet, chances are you will begin to crave unhealthy foods. If you let your hunger get out of control, it can be a challenge to stick with your weight loss plan. The truth is, most people cannot stick with an ultra strict diet for very long. The eventual result is usually a trip to the golden arches or a binge on fatty convenience foods from the grocery store.

Most diet plans cause people to feel deprived. The psychology of restricting our intake of foods we love is just as important as the physiological effects of a diet. Even though you may be losing weight with your diet plan, these feelings of restriction often lead to desperation. This is when most people drop out of a weight loss plan. Fortunately, researchers have discovered that you can keep cravings at bay by using these shakes.

Studies have actually shown that these protein shakes decrease dieters' cravings for simple carbs, sugars, and fats. People who use these types of drinks have also been shown to lose more weight when compared with a control group that did not use meal replacement shakes. How is this possible?

This may seem surprising, since you would expect that drinking a shake instead of eating a full meal would lead to cravings for 'real' food. In fact, the opposite is true. When you use these shakes, you are not exposed to food, so your cravings stay at bay. It's an "out of sight, out of mind" phenomenon. Shakes can also be used as a quick in between meal snack to regulate blood sugar shutting off cravings and fat storage.

Another way that protein shakes work is to eliminate a dieter's tendency to increase portion sizes at some meals. If you are feeling hungry from limited portion sizes, of course you'll want to eat more at your next meal. With a protein shake, you really have no choice; your shake is your pre-measured meal amount.

Meal replacement shakes are also convenient. If you're busy and have no time to eat, they're a quick way to knock out your hunger, and get fast energy to keep you going throughout the day. They also taste great, and are chock full of important vitamins and nutrients. You can keep them handy at home in your fridge, or take them to work with you for nourishment when you need to work through your lunch hour.

Here's a quick list of meal replacement shakes that I have used and like, which you can find at Amazon:

Defense Nutrition Protein

I like this protein because it's really effective for weight loss. It doesn't taste that bad either and mixes really well when you're in a hurry.

EAS Light

This protein is also good for weight loss, but isn't my favorite as far as taste goes. It doesn't taste bad, just not as good as others I've tasted. But, it does work if you're trying to lose weight while maintaining muscle.

Vega Sport Protein

I've started adding a scoop of this to my protein shakes along with a couple handfuls of spinach and it tastes really good! You can add it to your whey based shakes, or enjoy it alone. I add it for a boost to my protein intake.... helps curb sugar cravings.

Muscle Milk

This one is my favorite. It tastes just like a milkshake... especially when you mix it with milk. But, it's more for building muscle than weight loss and mixing it with milk is definitely not going to help you lose weight. It's a good product, and if you're looking to lose weight, then I would stick with one of the other two proteins or mix this with water.

Jay Robb Protein

Another great tasting protein that's all natural too.

The bottom line is that meal replacement shakes are a great way to lose weight, maintain your weight loss, or just get much needed nourishment when you have no time to prepare a full meal.

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