There is a lot of hype around meal replacement diets, but is a fad or actually good for you?

As the average rate of obesity in the UK continues to grow – with the NHS estimating that over half of the population will be obese by 2030 – more and more Brits are looking for effective diets that can help them not only lose weight, but also let them live a healthy lifestyle. While several fad diets claim to offer this kind of solution, very few diets ever live up to this claim.

One weight loss strategy that has proven to be effective in both these aspects, is meal replacement therapy. In this article, we look at what meal replacement diets are, how they can help people lose weight, and if they offer a healthy alternative to other fad diets.

What Are Meal Replacement Diets?

Meal replacement diets are a type of low-calorie diet that involves the replacement of one or two daily meals with a low-calorie alternative such as a soup, bar, or drink. Most reputable meal replacement diets also recommend at least half an hour of exercise each day for the best results. By carefully controlling the number of calories in meal replacements, meal replacement diets ensure that a person burns more calories than they consume during the day.

Which Meal Replacement Diet is Best?

Thanks to the effectiveness of these kinds of diets, and the support of celebrities such as Khloe Kardashian and Brittany Cartwright, there are several different meal replacement plans available. So, how do the different plans stack up against one another?

When looking at two popular meal replacement diet options, such as the Cambridge Weight Plan vs Shake That Weight, there are several factors that a dieter needs to take into account. For example, the Cambridge Weight Plan is a diet plan that requires dieters to attend weigh-ins to monitor their progress, a process that may prove difficult during times when travel is restricted. The Shake That Weight plan, on the other hand, doesn’t require dieters to attend any meetings or weigh-ins. Additionally, thanks to the huge range of Shake That Weight products that are available, dieters have a wider range of choices when it comes to their meals. To help make your mind up if you are stuck between the two, check out this comparison: Cambridge Weight Plan vs Shake That Weight.

We’ve taken a look at what meal replacement therapy involves, and who offers the best meal plans for effective dieting, and next we will look at why meal replacement therapy is effective and if it is a long-term solution for people looking to maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle.

Nutritious Meals Suppress Cravings

One of the most popular myths about meal replacement meals such as shakes and bars is that they are not as nutritious as a regular meal. While this may have been true in the past, advances in the technology that is used to create these meals mean that the makers of these meal replacements can pack all the nutrients a person could need into their products. Reputable companies such as Shake That Weight offer products that are very low in calories but are high in essential vitamins and minerals so that each of their products supplies dieters with 25% of their daily requirement.

The best meal replacement products typically contain protein, fibre, calcium, potassium, iron, vitamin D, and several other essential minerals and vitamins. In some cases, these meal replacement products can provide nutrients that a person may be lacking in a traditional diet, making them a healthier choice overall.

Due to meal replacement meals containing everything a person may need from their food, these products also have the benefit of suppressing cravings. This is because cravings are typically caused by deficiencies of specific vitamins and minerals in a diet. By offering a balanced meal, these products can eliminate cravings for unhealthy foods such as sugar-rich foods and foods high in fat.

Fewer People Drop Out of Meal Replacement Diets

One of the main reasons why traditional dieting fails is because people tend to drop out of restrictive plans that require constant calorie counting and that don’t allow for flexibility in a person’s diet. With the use of meal replacement products, however, studies have shown that fewer people tend to drop out of meal replacement plans due to their simplicity and the wide range of meal replacement options that are available.

Meal Replacement Diets Can Help with Diabetes

Most meal replacement diets are based on high-protein diets rather than other styles of dieting. What this means is that meal replacement diets not only help people lose weight, but they also help increase lean body mass, reduce a person’s body fat percentage, improve weight maintenance, and even reduce belly fat, which can have a positive effect on type 2 diabetes.

In addition to helping eliminate belly fat, meal replacement diets also allow dieters greater control over their blood sugar levels by offering products that are designed to avoid blood sugar spikes and reduce cravings, thus reducing the likelihood of a person snacking on something that will cause their blood sugar levels to fluctuate.

Meal replacement diets are an effective way to lose weight by offering nutritious and balanced alternatives to dieter’s daily meals and have been shown to result in fast weight loss as well as improved weight maintenance. Unlike many fad diets, meal replacement plans focus on offering dieters a healthy alternative to their current lifestyle without the constraints of traditional diets, making them a popular choice for people looking to lose weight but also those looking to maintain their current weight using a balanced meal plan.