WEIGHT MANAGEMENT WITH MEAL REPLACEMENT SHAKES
Weight loss, gaining weight, meal replacements for weight gain and protein shakes for weight loss. The waistline, the perfect body shape, that summer fitness looks with abs all showing, how you pant up and down the stairs, the skinny jeans still too loose or it’s just the cans being too tight.
Most of the people you walk past on the street have had such thoughts and insecurities surrounding their weight. Even those who have always looked fit and always got picked first in gym class probably still want to make slight changes to their weight. Those who don’t have any insecurities about their current shape and weight definitely want to retain it then.
The body is like a garden, you have to keep working it so that it always looks green and lavish. If it’s too dry, keep watering. If it’s too wet, you have to mow and weed it. If you let it run the course of nature, you will have a very wild bush there and it will show. The body similarly has to be constantly maintained. Weight management is a long-term plan and having the right ingredients will factor into how efficient the plan will be as well as the ease of executing your long-term weight management strategy.
Meal replacements are in the modern times an efficient and comparatively effective way of managing weight. Be it gaining weight or weight loss, there’s a meal replacement made for the specific issue.
Meal replacements and protein shakes have become essential for muscle growth, strength and endurance training. Weight gain/ lose all majorly depends on your calorie intake to calorie expenditure ratio. If you’re burning more calories than you are consuming, then you are likely to lose weight. If, however, your calorie intake exceeds the calories you use up for different activities and body functions, then you are likely to gain weight. Learn to optimize your diet and your activeness for your weight goals following that basic principle and you’ll hit it.
Gaining weight with meal replacements
For those on the upper side of the weight scale, gaining weight usually sounds like the easiest thing. “you just eat and you puff up” that’s what most of them will tell you if you ask for their advice. However, if you’re not on the opposite side of the weight scale, then you know that the advice doesn’t work on you. Gaining weight is as difficult a task as weight loss could be for some people.
Eating till your stomach gets uncomfortable is not the solution (a bigger plate does help though). Neither is consuming a lot of snacks and junk that is high on added sugar. That’s gaining weight at the expense of your health and you won’t have strength, just a lot of fat instead of muscle.
Here are a couple of pointers to help you gain weight:
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Seek a high protein diet rather than unhealthy fast food and snacks.
You’d probably take a little longer than with the junk but you’ll be stronger because protein builds muscle rather than just adding fat cells and layers which you’ll probably loose soon after you reform to a healthier diet choice. A high protein diet also has an abundance of calories so you’ll have an excess in your body for weight gain.
Consuming 1 or 2 protein shakes a day could help with increasing the protein intake. If you’re on a workout routine, two shakes would work well. It is also advisable that you use the protein shakes as calorie supplements rather than as meal replacements…remember, we are targeting a bigger plate so supplementing leaves you with significantly more compared to replacing meals with protein shakes.
A great choice of meal replacements is a healthy blend of carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids alongside other vitamins and minerals for overall nutrition.
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Combine your diet plan with a relevant workout routine.
Try an intense weightlifting session with just a little cardio (for cardiovascular purposes) as opposed to an intense session of aerobic exercises which will be more favorable to those looking to shed some pounds.
These exercises create a chance for your body to build new muscle as it repairs those torn fibers. Case study: most bodybuilders who were initially lean gain so much weight just because of weight lifting.
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Use a creamy base rather than water
When preparing your protein shakes from the protein powder, use milk rather than water. That gives you more protein and calories compared to water which literally has zero calories.
Vegan weight gain
The general society also lives with the false notion that a diet change to a more plant-based option will result in you being skinny and loss of a lot of weight. It is true, just not entirely true.
A shift to veganism or vegetarianism has been proven to help in weight loss goals. That is only because it greatly helps in making healthier food choices and reduces your fat intake from steak, chicken, sausages and cheese, etc.
That however doesn’t mean that you cannot gain weight on a vegan diet. You can very comfortably gain weight as a vegan. Some of the adjustments you could make to help in your weight gain journey as vegan include:
- Seek out vegan meat substitutes
This will do your appetite a lot of good so you will eat more. A good option will also pack enough protein and healthy fats which should be able to boost your calorie intake.
- Vegan protein shakes
Include vegan protein shakes in your diet plan. Extra protein is useful in building more muscle which results in weight gain. As a vegan, getting enough plus extra protein from just your diet could be a strife at times. Check out Vitaminfood protein supplement powders to help boost your protein intake.
- Legume variety
This is going to test your skills in the kitchen. Different legumes have a different nutritional profile. Whatever essential amino acids are lacking in one legume, you will find in another. So try out a variety of legumes and keep rotating them in your vegan menu.
Vitaminfood easy-to-prepare protein powder contains the complete nutritional profile so that you lack nothing. Supplementing with meal replacements and protein shakes reduces the risk of being deficient in a specific amino acid or nutrient.
Weight loss with meal replacements
The rule is “to lose weight you must burn more calories than you are consuming”. Whatever your intake is, how high or how low, you need to use more calories than you are consuming.
This creates a calorie deficit that forces the body to tap into its reserves. The reserves are the extra weight that you intend to shed. Keep at it for long enough and you will start seeing the results you expect. Vitaminfood provides a thermogenic fat burner that helps in the process of fat burning.
Vitaminfood fat burner is a blend of thermogenic fat-burning ingredients to help you lose extra weight, trim your waistline and reduce belly fat. The fat burner contains caffeine, L-carnitine and green tea. These are three of the most active fat burners combined together to help you harness all their effort simultaneously.
Protein shakes specifically designed to reduce your calorie intake will also help in weight loss. The beauty of using protein shakes for weight loss is that you end up with good muscle mass unlike those who choose to skip meals and other unsustainable methods. Protein shakes help to replace some of the fat with protein-dense muscle which is exactly what you’d like.
Vitaminfood protein shakes for weight loss contain no added sugar or false volumizing ingredients. You can use the nutritional factsheet to know exactly how many calories you are consuming and work out a sustainable plan for your journey.
Some benefits of the protein shakes include:
- Loads of protein -The protein comes from pea, and will play a big role in both fat burning and muscle building. Beyond fat-burning and muscle-building properties, protein is also good at making you feel full, thus reducing the likelihood of experiencing cravings and hunger.
- Reduces lactate build-up to keep your muscles fresh: As you work out, lactic acid builds up, and this can break down your muscles, keeping you from working out as long and as hard as you might like to. BCAA and CLA work to reduce the build-up of lactic acid in the body, thus keeping the body fresh, allowing for quicker muscle recovery and longer, more effective workouts. Since the build-up of lactic acid, over time, can cause severe liver damage, you are also saving your body a lot of trouble in the future by reducing the lactate in your body.
- Enzymes to help in the breakdown of fat reserves and extra carbohydrates
- An intense amount of fiber: Fiber not only helps kick the metabolism into overdrive, helping with weight loss and fat burning, but it also has the benefit of making you feel full. Increased metabolism can also lead to a boost of energy, along with a reduction in blood sugar. All in all, fiber is a great source for a healthy metabolism, improved overall health, and a reduction in hunger to keep you from overeating.
- Antioxidant-rich foods: Not only are the ingredients loaded with proteins and fibers but they are also filled with such antioxidants as selenium, zinc, vitamin D, and many, many more. Antioxidants are great for you for a few reasons. For starters, antioxidants help reduce free radicals in the body that can lead to heart disease, cancer, and other ailments. Second, antioxidants help increase blood flow and reduce inflammation, allowing more oxygen to travel to the muscles, which also helps reduce lactic acid.
Tracking weight and calories
Tracking helps you stay on top of things. Think of yourself as an account manager and you have to keep tabs of all the resources coming in and those going out. The better you do it, the easier it is to figure out account issues and follow up on progress.
How long should I plan for?
Weight management is a total lifestyle transformation. Aiming to get in and get out in a few months is a misguided and ill-formed thought. You are there to stay because regaining is very easy. it is better to plan for long-term goals and factor in maintenance.
Get comfortable and time will be a non-issue.
References:
- https://www.livescience.com/can-protein-shakes-help-you-gain-weight
- https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/are-you-getting-too-much-protein
- https://www.livestrong.com/article/13772802-best-vegan-meats/
- https://www.firstpost.com/health/best-meal-replacement-shakes-for-weight-loss-satisfy-your-hunger-while-losing-weight-10595181.html
- https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/sports-nutrition/new-ingredients-research-boost-sports-nutrition
- https://www.thesun.co.uk/health/18901043/meal-replacement-shake-summer-holidays-beach-body/
- https://www.nebraskamed.com/weight-loss/do-meal-replacement-shakes-work-what-you-need-to-know
- https://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/a32682832/best-meal-replacement-shakes/
- https://www.insider.com/guides/health/diet-nutrition/protein-shakes-for-weight-loss