You’ve likely discovered that in order to lose weight, you have to change a few things about your lifestyle. You can’t eat the same foods and live the same way and expect the inches and pounds to magically disappear!
While making those changes might be hard at first, it does get easier as you build new, better habits that keep your diet and lifestyle consistent with the results you want to see. We’ve found meal replacement shakes are a secret weapon not only for weight loss, but also for learning about living a healthy lifestyle.
For anyone with a goal of losing weight and living well, these are five lessons you can’t afford to miss out on:
Lesson 1: How to make healthier meal choices
Many times our worst meal decisions come down to one thing: convenience. For about 10% of Americans, breakfast – the most important meal of the day – is too much work and gets skipped altogether. When it comes to other meals and snacks, we often choose our food based on what’s quick and available instead of what would actually nourish our bodies. Meal replacement shakes solve both scenarios. They’re effortlessly easy and take next to no time to make, involving a few simple ingredients and a blender. There’s really no reason not to have a shake for breakfast; in fact, doing so will help you lose weight faster.
Lesson 2: How to eat the right amount of calories
If you’ve ever spent time counting calories, you know how awfully quick they add up. Before you know it, you’ve used up your calorie “budget” for the day but it’s only noon and you’re still hungry! Most people underestimate how many calories they eat by up to 40%!1 If you’re following a 2000-calorie diet, that means you’re actually eating closer to 3000 calories instead of 2000. Meal replacement shakes – especially those with lots of protein – will help you fill up on fewer calories. This practice will help your body adjust to a lower-calorie diet while still getting the nutrition it needs.
Lesson 3: How to balance your macronutrients
The food we eat is made up of three main categories: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Getting the right ratio of these macronutrients in our diet is a huge piece of how quickly people lose weight and whether or not they’re able to keep it off. If you’re trying to lose weight, you should aim for 30% of your calories to come from protein, 30% from fat, and 40% from carbs. If you’ve ever kept track of where your calories come from, you know how difficult it can be getting that ratio right – especially protein! A good meal replacement shake is a macronutrient ninja, upping your protein without too many carbs or sugars.
Lesson 4: How to get more fruits and vegetables in your diet
Sadly, many Americans struggle to eat enough fruits and veggies. Meal replacement shakes offer a great place to sneak more fruit and even veggies into your diet without really noticing – you’re only limited by your imagination in what flavors you can combine! There are lots of delicious recipes available, many of which even include leafy greens you barely taste. As you’re looking for recipes (check out our free collection HERE!), find ones that include fibrous veggies along with the sweeter, sugary-er fruits. While fruit is healthy, it’s also easy to overdo in a smoothie. Choose fruits lower on the glycemic scale, and add veggies with fiber that will help slow the absorption of sugar in your body.
Lesson 5: How to naturally get the vitamins you need
The Standard American Diet doesn’t offer near the amount of nutrition people need to be truly healthy. This is especially true of vitamins and minerals; Americans are chronically deficient in many2, particularly iron, B vitamins, and Vitamin D. Many of these important micronutrients can be absorbed through natural foods such as fruits, veggies, and proteins like fish, beef, and poultry. By having a meal replacement shake every day and using fresh fruit and veggies, you’ll automatically be getting more of the nutrients you need straight from the source. Additionally, a shake offers the perfect place to hide more “add-ins.” A good protein powder will be fortified with lots of vitamins and minerals, and you can also choose to add other nutrients as well.
Choosing to incorporate a meal replacement shake into your diet is a great way to start teaching yourself these five important healthy lifestyle lessons. If you’re looking for a great shake, we really believe in and stand behind our 310 Shakes. Made without the synthetic junk many other brands contain, our shakes have been designed to boost your metabolism, suppress hunger, and give you the protein, fiber, and vitamins and minerals you need to have a healthy meal. Find out more about why we love our shakes so much HERE.
Sources:
- http://www.idealshape.com/three-letters-that-cause-weight-gain/
- https://www.consumerlab.com/answers/How+likely+are+Americans+to+be+deficient+in+vitamins+or+minerals%3F/vitamin_deficiency/
