Meal Replacements: what role for the regime?

Meal Replacements: what role for the regime?

In recent years, due to their growing success, their range has expanded in rays, and they come in all consistencies and everyone. But what does it really think?


What is it ?


The substitutes are low calorie products all prepared to replace a meal. The objective of this substitution is to create a calorie deficit. Unlike most nutritional supplements that are added to their diet, they substitute for it.

How do the meal replacement?

Meal replacements contain no active ingredients against the scales, and they do not help to lose weight as such. Their slimming action is mainly due to the discipline and the ease they provide during the regime. They simply allow better control their calorie intake, especially when lack of nutrition concepts.
By merely substitute instead of a meal, it is possible to self-limit as calories. Auto limit it more difficult to comply with conventional foods can be multiplied at will the number and quantity. Substitutes facilitate the work, provided, however, will not compensate for the calorie deficit otherwise they generate.

How to use meal replacements

There are two strategies to use meal replacements:

Intensive use for a short diet, but very restrictive.
single daily use at a little restrictive diet, but long.
In the first case, the goal is to lose weight rapidly. The diet is very strict (less than 800 kcal per day), but it only lasts a week or two. Several daily meals are replaced with various substitutes. If the results promised by these fad diets seem attractive, it is an illusion. A small portion of the weight lost will come from fat reserves. The kilos will be taken more turns they were lost. This is not a good approach to sustainably maintain the line.
The second strategy seems more appropriate. A meal, if possible the evening meal, is replaced by the meal replacement. This simple replacement creates a slight calorie deficit. You do not have to deny yourself the rest of the day (provided you do not abuse the food provided).

Choose his meal replacements

meal replacements, there is plethora. Sweet, salty, liquids, semi-liquids, bars, cakes, cookies, etc. In this context, how to make the right choice?
In France, the right to use the name "meal replacement" for a dietary supplement is a strict statutory definition. For example, intake of vitamins and minerals are strictly supervised. Unfortunately, no efficacy endpoint is considered. The best meal replacements in the strict sense is not necessarily that the French law defines as "meal replacement."
For a manufacturer, a good meal replacement should be inexpensive to produce and have a very good taste. It remains for him to promise a loss of 5 kg in the week and that's it.
For a consumer, the poor will pay dearly in terms of results. When restricted food intake, it is imperative to increase the quality of the few nutrients we ingest. Poor quality ingredients mean that at equal calorie intake, they will lose weight less than quality nutrients.

All calories are not equal

This observation must be taken into account in determining the profile of a good meal replacement. If you were a regime only feeding you protein, as carbohydrates or fats, which are proteins that would make you lose more weight. For three reasons:

The proteins have a better ability to suppress appetite.
The wasted energy required for digestion of proteins is higher than carbohydrates or fats.
Proteins will first feed the muscles, while carbohydrates feed both muscle and adipose tissue. Fats supply adipose tissue.
This means that a substitute should be rich in protein, moderate in carbohydrates and low in fat to be as efficient as possible.

All macronutrients are not equal

If we look in detail the proteins, we realize also that all are not equal. Milk proteins perform more effectively than the other three functions (appetite suppressant, waste, protection) that we have just enumerated.
A substitute must be not only high protein, but mostly contain milk proteins.
Carbohydrates are not all equal either. The sugars that end in "ose" are stimulants to the hypertrophy of fat mass.
There are also differences between fats. Essential fatty acids promote fat destocking, while saturated fats enhance fat.