Will Meal Replacement for Weight Loss Make You Gain Weight Again? Nutritionist’s answer...

Q1: Do I need to specifically choose meal replacements that are labeled "low calorie", "high fiber", "zero cholesterol", "no preservatives", "promote metabolism", etc.?

Meal replacements may have some product claims on them. Whether or not these words are on a meal replacement does not mean that it is a good product. Stella will help you quickly understand the meaning behind these words:

"Metabolism" appeal: The term "promoting metabolism" is arguably the most common in weight loss products. This is because the Ministry of Health and Welfare's regulations stipulate that words such as weight loss, slimming, getting fit, and slimming down are related to therapeutic effects and cannot be used. Metabolism is one of the few words that is not considered a therapeutic effect and can be used, so many weight loss products use this word.

Therefore, the presence of this word does not mean that it can promote metabolism. Most of the time it is just a marketing slogan. (Basically, unless the weight loss product is mainly composed of ingredients such as caffeine or capsaicin that can stimulate the body's heat production, it can be considered to have the word "stimulating metabolism")

"Low calories", "high fiber", "high-quality protein": Almost all meal replacements have a calorie content of less than 200 calories, and additional fiber is added to increase the feeling of fullness. In addition, because it is designed to replace regular meals, the protein content of meal replacements is generally more than ten grams. Therefore, these three claims can only be regarded as general characteristics of meal replacement products, so they are only for reference.

"Zero cholesterol": In fact, most meal replacements are based on plant proteins such as soy protein isolate. Plant ingredients do not contain cholesterol, so zero cholesterol is not a special claim for meal replacements. You can just use it as a reference.

"No preservatives" and "plasticizers": Generally, unless it is a beverage product (drinks contain a lot of water and are easy to breed bacteria, so beverage products generally need to add preservatives for safety reasons); and plasticizers should not appear in food, so powdered meal replacement products will not have these two things. Therefore, these two safety-claiming advertising slogans are for reference only.

Q2: So, would it be better to add extra nutrients such as garcinia cambogia, CLA, lactic acid bacteria, enzymes, omega-3 fatty acids, spirulina and other nutrients to meal replacements?

Basically, the purpose of meal replacement is to replace regular meals, so the key point is whether there is enough protein and nutrients provided to the body? Do you feel full after eating? Does it taste good and make you willing to continue using it for a long time? Therefore, whether some special nutrients are added is not the point.

Generally, these additional nutrients are divided into two categories: nutrients that are nutritious but not directly helpful for weight loss, such as the lactic acid bacteria, enzymes, omega-3 fatty acids, spirulina, etc. mentioned above; the other category is nutrients that seem to help with weight loss, such as Garcinia cambogia, CLA, etc. However, regardless of the type of nutrients, their dosages are mostly very low, and they only have a calming effect but no weight loss effect.

Therefore, when choosing a meal replacement, it is recommended to use the three key points mentioned at the beginning as a reference for purchase. If there are extra ingredients but the price remains the same, forget it. However, if the price becomes more expensive as a result of the extra ingredients, there is no need to spend extra money to buy it.

Q3: So, what qualities should a good meal replacement have? How can you tell which meal replacement is better from the product labels?

Basically, we can look at the nutritional composition table of the product. Stella has compiled the following table to provide you with a reference for selecting meal replacement products:

Note: Many products claiming to be meal replacements on the Internet have less than 100 calories, and the amount of protein and carbohydrates (sugars) is less than 10 grams. Some do not even have additional vitamins and minerals. Basically, these products are not suitable for replacing regular meals because the protein, carbohydrates and calories they provide are too low in nutritional value. Therefore, strictly speaking, they should not be called meal replacements, but can only be considered low-calorie foods.

Q4: Will I gain weight again after losing weight using meal replacements?

Whether you will gain weight again after losing weight depends on whether you have established good eating habits during the weight loss process, whether you have developed a correct attitude towards food, and whether your metabolism has been reduced, rather than whether you have used meal replacements or other weight loss supplements.

Therefore, if you want to use meal replacements during the weight loss process, the most appropriate method is to replace one meal, and replacing two meals is not encouraged. Because when using meal replacements more than twice, the total calorie intake may be too low, which may affect metabolism. It is also easy to cause occasional binge eating or unsustainable weight loss due to excessive depression. In addition, it is impossible for people to develop a normal attitude towards food and establish good eating habits during the weight loss process, which is not conducive to maintaining weight after weight loss.

Q5: Will using meal replacements to lose weight affect my health?

Many people think that losing weight seems to lead to health problems, such as anemia, poor physical and mental strength, or hair loss. But in fact, these problems are not caused by losing weight, but by improper weight loss methods. For example, always eating simple foods such as eggs, soy milk, toast, soda crackers, etc. in order to lose weight, of course, it is easy to have problems with bowel movements, poor physical strength and energy, etc.

I have heard that red meat is high in calories, so I dare not eat it during the weight loss process, which of course can easily lead to anemia; adopting a single food diet for the purpose of losing weight (for example, eating apples to lose weight, eating meat to lose weight) can of course easily impact my health due to unbalanced nutrition; excessive suppression in order to lose weight can of course affect my mood and easily lead to binge eating. Therefore, the focus is on the weight loss method used rather than the weight loss supplements used.

From the perspective of meal replacement, if you only use one meal replacement to replace a regular meal a day, as long as you pay attention to the nutritional balance of the other two meals, it will basically not affect your health; but if it replaces more than two meals, or even if it only replaces one meal, but the calories in the other two meals are too low, it may affect your health due to insufficient calories or nutrition.

Therefore, it is recommended to replace one meal as the principle, and follow the 3-4-7 principle for the other two meals: eat three meals as the main meal, with balanced food including rice, meat and vegetables (only replace one meal with a meal replacement); do not eat four hours before going to bed; eat until you are 70% to 80% full at each meal - in order to achieve balanced nutrition in the diet during weight loss and establish good eating habits.

This article comes from: Nutritionist Stella's Weight Loss & Nutrition Blog

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