For the first time in history, our world has more overweight people than underweight! Diseases of calorie excess, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and many cancers are skyrocketing. As a result, many of us will not live as long as our parents. Simply put, our food is killing us! And once the above diseases strike, regaining health may be impossible.
Unfortunately, typical diets are not the answer. Fewer than 5% of self-dieters maintain even 1 pound of weight loss for 3 years. Research is “screaming” at us that powerful tools are urgently needed to lose weight and keep it off.
One of those “powerful tools” is professional quality meal replacements. In fact, I am so convinced of their effectiveness that I recommend them routinely. Let me state it clearly:
If you are overweight, use professional quality meal replacements to experience their 6 powerful benefits during weight loss and maintenance.
The National Institute of Health states that professional meal replacements used with physician-supervised diets are “not the same as the meal replacements you can find at grocery stores or pharmacies, which are meant to replace one or two meals a day.” Quality matters, especially when your health is at stake!
Consider these benefits:
Benefit #1: Professional Quality Meal Replacements enhance “weight loss”!
Obese individuals, on average, gain 11 lbs every 5 years…that’s 44 lbs every 20 years!
According to the National Institutes of Health, “Very Low Calorie Diets” using only meal replacements can average a loss of 44 lbs
in just 12 weeks, reversing 20 years of weight gain!
In contrast, common grocery food diets, such as Atkins, Zone, LEARN, and Ornish, average only 4-7 lbs of weight loss in 1 year.
The Nutrition Journal in 2010 summarized the power of meal replacements well:
“…Research demonstrates the safety and efficacy of meal replacements for weight loss and maintenance… Meal replacements result in greater weight loss and better compliance, are more likely to ensure adequate intake of essential nutrients, and demonstrate higher satisfaction and lower drop-out rates compared to other diets.”
Research demonstrates how meal replacements truly work for people while dieting!
Meal Replacement Plan (MR) vs. Grocery Food Only Plan
(Note: Each diet was 1,000 Calories Daily. MR Diet was 5 meal replacements and 1 meal daily.)
- Weight Loss and Fat Burning: MR’s work twice as fast at 16 weeks! (30 lbs vs. 14 lbs)
- Achieving > 10% weight loss: MR’s work for 75% vs. only 25% with grocery food Maintaining significant weight loss at 40 weeks: Doubled with MR’s!
- Body Fat Percent reduction: Only happened with MR’s (13.6% reduction)!
- Lean Muscle Mass increase: Only happened with MR’s (9.6% increase)!
The researchers were so impressed by these results they stated the following…. “The clinically significant weight loss” achieved in 93% of patients was roughly twice as much as current medications for obesity. In other words…
Meal Replacements are twice as powerful as medications for weight loss!
Benefit #2: Professional Quality Meal Replacements are nutritious!
The nutritional status of Americans is bad and getting worse. Here’s why:
- Quality protein is hard to find and costs more than carbohydrates or fat!
- Calories in common foods have never been higher!
- Portion sizes are bigger than ever!
- Sugar, salt, and fat in foods are creating deadly, mood-altering food addictions.
In contrast, our meal replacements are an excellent source of protein to build muscle and bone, and yet limit:
Calories / Carbohydrates / Sugars / Fats / Portion Sizes
Meal replacements are truly the nutritious option that requires no forethought… just open and enjoy!
Benefit #3: Meal Replacements are fast and convenient!
Never has a society been busier with more time demands. Time saving tools, like “ready to eat” meal replacements, are now a must. If you want something faster, cheaper, healthier, and more convenient than “drive-through fast food,” this is it.
Benefit #4: Quality Meal Replacements provide “pleasure and satisfaction” without the calories!
We seek to provide only the “best” in terms of taste, texture, and satisfaction. After all, humans need pleasure. Great tasting meal replacements give us “food pleasure” and satiety (fullness). Fewer people stray from their diets with meal replacements because hunger and cravings are controlled!
Remember the potato chip commercial saying “you can’t eat just one”. The reason is simple. Snack foods are designed to promote a craving for more, not less. Meal replacements are designed to satisfy. As a result, fewer calories are consumed, not more.
And why eat 760 calories in a typical burger when 200 calories from meal replacements will deliver the identical amount of essential protein (30-35 grams) without the weight gain and risks of high fat red meat?
Benefit #5: Professional Quality Meal Replacements enhance health!
Quality meal replacements support lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. Improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides are also typical.
Benefit #6: Professional Quality Meal Replacements are affordable!
Quality, low-fat protein has never been more difficult to find and more costly to produce. However, our meal replacements provide generous amounts of excellent, muscle-building protein that is very affordable compared to alternative meals and snacks at restaurants, fast food franchises, or grocery stores.
Women, how about a tasty, easy to prepare, highly nutritious, satisfying breakfast, lunch or snack for around $2.50 (most plans)? And how about supper for $5? Men, feeding that extra muscle will cost a little more at meal time, but can still be less than $5 per meal and around $2.50 for snacks! In contrast, obesity is a financial drain on its victims.
- Fewer job opportunities and promotions are available. This is well documented.
- Healthcare costs average $1,429 MORE each year for those who suffer from obesity.
- Quality of life reduction is perhaps the greatest cost of all!
- Being overweight is clearly NOT affordable!
Summary:
The nutritionally proven, professional quality meal replacements at the Center for Nutrition are a powerful tool for short-term and long-term weight control. Patients using meal replacements (learn more about our meal replacements) for all or part of their meals and snacks lose more weight, are less hungry, and maintain more weight loss. Our experience agrees with the research. Experience the 6 benefits of professional quality meal replacements by using them regularly for weight loss and weight maintenance.
For Optimum Health,
Rick Tague, M.D., M.P.H.
