In December of 2018, a study was published in PubMed were several test subjects in China, that were obese, used a meal replacement shake for dinner every night for 12 weeks. Each subject in the test reduced their calorie intake for the meal by an average of 388 calories vs. baseline. On average, the test subjects taking the meal replacement shakes lost 4.3% of their body weight within the 12 weeks compared to the test subjects not taking the meal replacement shakes.
4.3% Weight Reduction!
Let’s do the math on the 4.3% weight loss during the study. If a test subject weighed 300 pounds and reduced their weight by 4.3%, their new weight after the study would be 287.1lbs. A reduction of 12.9 pounds!
The Meal Replacement Shakes Used in the Study
In this study, the meal replacement shakes used was USANA NUTRIMEAL and Fibergy. A meal replacement option that is most scrutinized online by zealots, for the ingredients it has in the shakes.
The key takeaway from the study is that the most effective way, for most people, to lose fat remains to be a reduction of their daily intake of calories. It is the “what you do” that matters, “Reduce Calories”.
Therefore, companies like Herbalife have been in business for 35 plus years. The products focus on reducing calories, while not sacrificing key nutrients and vitamins. Meal replacement shakes are an excellent method for controlling calories without the feeling of starvation. However, although it works for many people, it does not work for everyone. The meal replacement shakes you buy doesn’t have to be Herbalife, it could be any one of the many other companies that offer meal replacement options for people to control calories.
You do, however, owe it to yourself to try meal replacement shakes if your goals include weight or fat loss as the study of using meal replacement shakes for weight loss suggest.
