Q: Should I use Meal Replacements and How Often?
A: Anyone can use meal replacements. They have been shown to improve metabolic markers for diabetes and heart disease.5,6,7,10 Many people recruited in meal replacement research studies were dissatisfied with a standard energy restricted diet plan that they had been following and claimed difficulty adhering to changed eating habits after several attempts in a diet program.5,11 This may indicate that meal replacement plans are appropriate for use especially in individuals who have been treated with traditional self-selected reduced-calorie diets without success.11 The greater compliance with meal replacement diets vs. self-selected food plans is believed to be a result of a more structured meal plan that reduces the number of decisions required for food choices and may help prevent unintended dietary failures.
Nonas recommends patients use meal replacements “for lunch with fruit or a vegetable salad” Sometimes she suggests them for dinner “if that is the meal that is most out of control and if they live alone.”
In many of the research trials, meal replacements are used to replace two meals per day for initial weight loss (approximately three months) and one meal per day with the weight-maintenance phase (from one year to four or more years). Some studies instruct patients to use two meal replacements per day until they lose 10% of their initial body weight and are then instructed to use only one meal replacement per day thereafter.
Whether it is one or two meals replaced with meal replacement products, the remaining meal(s) should be low in fat, rich in fruits and vegetables. Between meals, snacks should include vegetables, fruits, or replacement snack bars; each snack should provide approximately 100 calories.10 It appears that two meal replacements per day promote weight loss, whereas one meal replacement per day appears to be sufficient for weight maintenance.
“I recognize that meal replacements can be seen by many people as a kind of ugly crutch,” says Caldwell-Stone, “but I think they are a good tool for a person struggling to start or maintain a weight-loss program. Meal replacements gave me quick, positive results to encourage me to stick with my eating plan.”
Therefore, I use meal replacements with many of my patients. Although both advantages and disadvantages exist, many people can benefit from using meal replacements for both weight loss and long-term weight maintenance. While I agree that not everyone is a candidate for using meal replacements, they can be one of many important tools for weight management.
