Protein and meal replacements...............

Does it matter if you "drink" your calorie intake or "eat" it?

There are those Meal replacement shakes and protein shakes with tons of vitamins and other stuff in them that come out to say 325 calories.

Does it matter where/how you get the correct amounts of fat/protein/carbs?

Just wondering.

Dave

well when your eating your proteins and carbs and fats, try to make them quality sources, like lean meats, for protein, and good fats monounsaturated and polyunsaturated from nuts or oils.

carbs, try to make complex carbs, like from whole wheat bread or oatmeal or sweet potatoes, not starchy white potatoes or potato chips or something like that

Original Post by erindempsey:

well when your eating your proteins and carbs and fats...

You didn't answer his question.

Yes, it's okay for the most part to drink your calories as long as the carbs, proteins and fats are balanced. Check to see if those meal replacement bars/shakes have a lot of sugar. If they do - avoid them.

Generally, all meal replacement bars I've seen are loaded in sugar. They have a lot of complex carbs to make up for them but you should probably stick to either making your own or just eating full-square meals.

The drinks seem so unfulfilling to me. I suppose as a snack but for an entire meal?

I don't think they are necessarily bad, but do you want to drink them forever?  If you use those they can become a crutch.  You never really learn portion control and healthy eating.  Then when you stop drinking them and go back to "real" food you put all the weight back on. 

I also agree with trendstudent.  They don't fill me up, and since they are sugary when I tried using them I would "crash" when the sugar ran out. 

I use them as a snack in the afternoon when I am craving chocolate and a I drink lots of water with it.  I try to have no more the 250 calories in the bar.  It seems to satisfy you.  

Karozel funny you would mention crash because I experienced that the first couple of days.  I would eat half the bar at morning break and I was shaking like crazy.   Now I keep in the afternoon after a good lunch.   It seems ok.

I drink (gag down) a protein drink or eat (gag down) a Special K protein bar for breakfast; this is the worst meal of the day for me.  If I did not do the replacement protein I would eat nothing and that would be worse.  By mid-morning I can get down some fruit then by lunch all is normal.  If I could eat in the morning I would probably not use the meal replacement drinks or bars.

I never drink my calories unless it's in my coffee, for which I use minimal creamer thus the cals are low.



Whatever you drink goes through your system fast since it's a liquid; it doesn't keep you full.  Meat keep you full because of the protein in it, but also because it takes longer to digest.


Liquid, again, is in and out. 


If you're looking for fast ways to stay full for a while, try Luna bars or good quality meal bars.  Luna bars are low-glyclemic, thus they take a long time to digest, thus they keep you full.

Its probably OK to drink your calories as long as they are balanced.  Its less work but not as much fun.

I'm on the HMR diet with 3 shakes a day plus 2 entrees.  This diet is through a hospital program.  I do not think shakes alone would be satisfying.  That's why I opted to include 2 entrees and 5 fruits/vegetable serving a day.

Ok so I agree with Erin.

I have protein shakes everyday. I need them to meet my daily protein needs. You can always sub things, and like most people will say it's best to get your nutrients from real food whenever possible. If you are like me you can only do so much while keeping it all in balance. I shoot for IsoPure, Dymatize's DymaLean or Elite for shakes. If I have to have a shake on the go and I don't have a blender nearby I will go for EAS Myoplex Lite shakes (150 cals, 25g protein). Get something with no carbs, or if there is get the powder with the only carbs coming from fiber... then add in the fun stuff (Peanut Butter for your fat/carbs, Azumaya Lite Tofu for added protein & fiber, and Soy Milk) they will help you fill in the gaps that the protein shakes leave out while helping you to actually utilize the large amount of protein your body just ate. :) Remember that it's not easy to take in 50g+ protein in one sitting... it's just not natural, lol. So ease it in by eating fish & chicken & egg whites throughout the day if you can and then sandwhich your protein shake pre-or post workout.

I disagree with Oxymoron... Luna bars are great for beginners, so is MuscleMilk. They get great advertising thus they are popular. Ask someone who lifts or is in the gym with an excellent bod, they will tell you otherwise. For bars I'd reccomend: Powerbar CarbSelect ProteinPlus, MetRx Mini-Bars (for women they are good, low in cal, very tasty), CarbRite, EAS Light. They are all low or no sugar, and some have fiber (which you will need with a high protein diet).