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 just not working for us! And with any of the above conditions, regaining health can be quite a challenge.
Neither are common diets the answer. Fewer than 5% of motivated obese self-dieters are able to maintain even 1 pound of weight loss for 3 years. Research “screams” at us that powerful tools are urgently needed to control unwanted body weight with its health consequences.
One of those “powerful tools” is meal replacements. After discovering the power of meal replacements in the 1990’s, they became one of my core recommendations. In fact, I am so convinced of their effectiveness, I now recommend them routinely. If you struggle with your weight, consider using high quality meal replacements regularly to experience their 5 powerful benefits. Here they are:
Benefit #1. 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 is expensive!
- Calories in common foods have never been higher!
- Portion sizes are bigger than ever!
- Sugars, salt, and fat in foods are creating high calorie food addictions.
Our meal replacements are an excellent source of protein, help build muscle and bone, and yet limit:
Calories / Carbohydrates / Sugars / Fats / Portion Size
Meal replacements are the nutritious option that requires no forethought… just open and enjoy!
Benefit #2. Quality Meal Replacements are convenient!
Never has a society been busier with more time demands. Any tool to save time is considered a must. Meal replacements, created to replace one or more daily meals or snacks, are one of those tools. Most are ready to eat or drink right from the package! If you want something far faster, cheaper, and healthier than “drive-through fast food,” this is it.
Benefit #3. Quality Meal Replacements provide “pleasure and satisfaction” without the calories!
We provide only the “best of the best” in terms of taste, texture, and satisfaction. After all, humans were created with a need for pleasure. Great tasting meal replacements can give us “food pleasure”. Our meal replacements are designed for contentment, satisfaction, and satiety (fullness). Research confirms that fewer people stray from their diets when using quality meal replacements because hunger is 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. Quality meal replacements are made with your satisfaction in mind. Quality protein helps make us feel fuller longer because it takes time to digest and leaves the blood stream slowly.
Benefit #4. Quality Meal Replacements enhance “weight loss”!
Research shows the urgent need for and the power of meal replacements!
- Obese individuals, on average, gain 11 lbs every 5 years… that’s 44 lbs in 20 years!
- Very low calorie diets using high quality meal replacement can reverse up to 20 years of weight gain in just 12 weeks! Yes, that’s 44 lbs of weight loss in just 3 months!
- 1-2 meals replaced per day produced 9-10% of total body weight lost (20 lbs for a 200 lb individual), compared to the disappointing 4.7 lbs lost with Zone, LEARN, and Ornish diets.
- The Obesity Research Journal studied 100 obese dieters with two meals replaced per day compared to a grocery store food diet. Four times as much weight was lost in 90 days for dieters using meal replacements, even though calories recommended were identical!
Benefit #5. Quality Meal Replacements enhance health!
Quality meal replacements help stabilize blood sugar levels, and even help to lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. Improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides have also been noted.
Conclusion:
The nutritionally proven, professional quality meal replacements we use at the Center for Nutrition are one of the most powerful tools available for short-term and long-term weight control. Patients choosing to use meal replacements for all or part of their meals and snacks lose more weight, are less hungry, and maintain weight loss longer. Our experience agrees with research… embracing meal replacements as part of an individualized medical treatment plan is by far the most successful approach to weight loss. Experience the 5 “power” benefits of high quality meal replacements. Use them regularly for weight loss and weight maintenance when you are ready to finally control your weight.
For Optimum Health,
Rick Tague, M.D., M.P.H.
