Long Term Benefits of Weight Loss Shakes

Weight loss shakes, also known as diet shakes, are a great way to jumpstart your dieting routine. They are basically a meal replacement strategy in liquid form, designed to make you feel full and fine while providing you with the required nutrients. The best thing about them though, is that they perform both those functions while using minimum calories - thereby making them a favorite for those who can't keep up with calorie counting, have no time to prepare healthy meals, but are still looking to lose a little of that cellulite.

Weight loss: Scientific Evidence

There is actual scientific evidence for the effects of meal replacement drink and bars as far as weight loss is concerned. In an article published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2007, one group of researchers looked at the effects of a normal diet on weight loss compared to a meal replacement diet. Not only did they look at weight loss over a short period but also over a long period of time, following the group of 96 overweight/obese women for a whole year. They saw that both groups lost the same amount of weight, but in the long term those with meal replacements were actually healthiest since they had the right amounts of vitamins and nutrients in their bodies.

Weight loss: In the Long Term

There have been other studies also verifying the effects of meal shakes. Most point not only to significant effects of weight loss (at least as much as traditional weight loss diets) but also to long term effects that may even surpass the effects of traditional diets. An Australian team looked at diet shakes being used over the long term and found that women using diet shakes over a long period of time (replacing one meal a day with shakes) were able to maintain their weight loss for over a year.

Possible reasons for the effect

Researchers not only find out things, but their job is also to posit possible explanations. The reasons posited for the effectiveness of meal replacement shakes is simply that they are convenient to make and use, are easy as far as counting calories are concerned, and they do not require extensive dietary modifications. Most people find it easy to follow some kind of special diet over a short period of time, but over a long period of time they find that interest wanes and the bad dieting habits return. Nutritionists prefer people to spend time learning to eat healthy foods, but this is a strategy not everyone can follow. So for the remaining people, this simple alternative can give you what you need with no fuss.

What You Can Do

In the experiment, the people on the meal replacement diet spent the early months replacing one or two meals with shakes. This results in a significant and quick weight drop. However, this is not sustainable and not recommended for the long run, because meal replacement shakes can only provide you with limited nutrients. In the long run, that is, in the following months up to a year, the test subjects replaced just one meal every day with shakes. This led to maintenance of weight loss. If you're looking towards shakes to lose weight, this is a strategy that you can follow as well, and since it is scientifically proven to bring about results, you can rest assured as to its effectiveness.