You’ve probably heard hundreds of meal replacement advertisements in the past. Have you wondered if they really work? The answer is yes. They do work, but not like you’d think.
One of the top selling meal replacement brands on the market is designed specifically for an older clientele. Unlike most products, this brand isn’t designed for weight loss, but rather overall health. However, it contains massive amounts of sugar, cupric sulfate, chromium chloride, sodium selenite, artificial flavoring, and a number of other ingredients not designed for the human consumption. These ingredients are known toxins, fungicides and pesticides, that cause, cancer, ulcers, abnormal bleeding, stomach problems, diabetes, DNA damage, cell mutation, liver damage, infertility, and a host of other illnesses.
Yikes! Unfortunately, this brand is not the worst offender. In fact, not even by a long shot. There are hundreds of meal replacement shakes out there “designed” for weight loss. Besides some of these being multi-level marketing companies, (which is not the worst thing about them) their products are basically poison. The most prominent two company’s products contain: rancid vegetable oils, gluten, soy, isolated fructose, countless additives, GMO corn, synthetic vitamins and minerals that are not bioavailable, etc. etc.
Okay, I think you get my point! So why, then, do so many people take these products? Because they work! How? Glad you asked! It’s called malnutrition. When people don’t receive the nutrition they need, over time, their body begins to eat itself to survive. But nobody in their right mind would see that and say to themselves, “I think that sounds like a healthy diet plan.” That’s exactly what people are doing to their bodies though when they take these popular meal replacement shakes.
First off, there is little to no nutritional value in these products. They’re filled with chemicals and additives that are simply empty calories. When you’re using a meal replacement, you’re typically replacing a meal. Duh! So to put this in simple terms, you’re removing calories you would be getting from real food, and replacing them with empty calories. If you have a crappy diet to begin with, then your calories are dropping drastically, which is going to do what? Cause you to lose weight! Sure, you’re going to lose 10, 20, 50lbs, depending on how heavy you are to begin with, but what happens after that.
Not only are there going to be severe health consequences from all the toxins you put in your body, but the malnutrition you’ve put your body through for several months is going to wreak havoc on your hormones. During times of starvation, the body slows its metabolism, eats away at muscle tissue and stores fat. That’s right, most of that weight loss on meal replacement programs is healthy muscle tissue. When that becomes depleted, and only then, does the body start to go after the fat. Fat burns very slowly when calories are limited. So at first, the pounds may begin to melt away, but then weight loss comes to a standstill. Since, your body begins to prepare for a long slow death of starvation, everything you consume is going to go straight to fat.
Meal replacement shakes will definitely help you lose 10 – 20lbs, but that’s it! And you can’t stay on replacement shakes forever. When you go back to eating real food, you’ll instantly see an increase in body fat. That’s part of the gimmick. When you gain all your weight back and then some, what are you going to do? Well of course start back up on the replacement shakes because they helped you lose 20lbs before. It’s a vicious, unhealthy cycle.
Better Alternatives
If you like the idea of meal replacement shakes because of their convenience and are willing to put in a little extra time making your own shake with whole, clean foods…we suggest a Super Shake!
Click here to learn how to make your very own Super Shake that will not only support healthy pursuit of your health and fitness goals, but also taste good too!
And even better, if you’d like to learn how Actualize encourages and equips its clients with transformative yet sustainable nutrition for the long term, click here to learn about our nutrition program!
Stop trying to find a shortcut! If you’re serious about being healthy and losing weight, there are two simple things you can do:
- Workout & Be Active!
- Eat Healthy!
If you would like help reaching your goals in a healthy, safe way, please let us know. We are here to help.
Coach Blaine
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References:
Sukhoterina, Yelena. 2016. Web: http://althealthworks.com/9949/i-wouldnt-feed-this-stuff-to-a-dying-animal-hospice-cancer-patient-speaks-out-against-ensureyelena