The other day my hair stylist was telling me how she has lost a ton of weight drinking meal replacement shakes for breakfast and lunch from "Body By Vi" a.k.a. "Visalus". But it costs her about $100 a month for their Shape kit. Of which I totally cannot afford right now.
Question: I want to try and make my own nutritional meal replacement weight loss shakes / smoothies. But I'm not sure of the correct recipe to have it really do the trick. I like a chocolatey / banana / peanutbutter combination (not really a huge fan of fruit smoothies). And then add whey protein to this. But how do I know it's not too many calories to actually lose weight? Does anyone have a good formula / recipe? Thanks!
As WONDERFUL as this sounds and as healthy as it is, it has way to many calories to be a weight loss shake. A green smoothie (raw spinach will take on any flavor added to it) is better for weight loss and is not acidic as most other "smoothies." If you want to go another route, I helped my husband lose 110 pounds just by getting absorbable nutrition into his body. He has kept it off....for 9 years.
Regards,
M.
www.fitsugar.com has some nice smoothie recipes, as does Healthy Girl.
Just google fitness smoothie and see what comes up.
In general, you can use chocolate flavored protein powder, and that will weight in around 150 calories/scoop. Add a banana, and that's another 100 calories. Add peanut butter - low fat - and that's another 200 calories for 2 TBSP.
So start there...that's a 450 calorie smoothie!!! That's a whole meal in a cup.
Not sure of your weight, but generally, you need to be between 1200 and 1500 calories/day to lose weight. I would suggest tracking your current intake, and making adjustments to what you eat per meal based on that.
You could freeze bananas, toss them in a blender with a scoop or two of peanut butter and some chocolate flavored protein powder to taste. Just look at the caloric load when you make it, and compare it to your current breakfast calories.
My sister in law has used the HerbaLife program and she added peanut butter powder to her shakes to "spice them up". My understanding is that the powder was only about 30 calories vs. 200 for a couple of Tbls. of regular PB.
M
Read this entire thread. I think you can do this much cheaper...
The key to weight loss and healthy shakes is to have comprehensive and absorbable nutrition in your shakes. Most cravings are because our nutritional needs aren't met, so we head for the cupboard but don't necessarily know what our bodies are lacking. (It's not all our fault - our food, even fresh and organic, is nutrient-deficient due to growing techniques, storage techniques, and eating food out of season that was picked 2 weeks ago on the other side of the world.)
The problem with most diet drinks and pills is that they stimulate the central nervous system. They don't necessarily meet your nutritional needs. You can get a quick weight loss but it's hard to sustain, and you don't know what damage you are doing inside. For example, weight loss occurs when muscle tone is lost (and muscle weighs more than fat) - it looks good when you step on the scale, but is it beneficial? No. We all (and especially women) need more muscle and we need to do weight-bearing exercises to prevent things like osteoporosis.
If I were going to spend $100 on a supplement, I'd make sure it was making up for food I'm not consuming, that it was nutrient-laden in a way that survives digestion (doesn't matter what I swallow, it matters what I absorb), and that it was 90% or more absorbable directly into the cells. I'd also question what a "shape kit" is - is it all product, or is it a pamphlet that tells you to walk more and park further from the supermarket entrance? Well, duh!
I'd also look into whether this product has warning labels required by the FDA. If it's entirely food based, then it won't be FDA approved (no food is) but its ingredients should all be on the GRAS list (Generally Recognized As Safe).
If you're going to be adding whey protein, you're looking at an added expense anyway. So how are you evaluating the whey? Again, I'd go for something with proven health benefits for immune system support and anti-inflammation, not just something that boosts metabolism. I'd look for patents (very hard to get on food products and a sign that the company has invested in science and purity as well as a unique and proven-safe formulation).
Yes, you can make your own with natural peanut butter and some plain cocoa (very low calorie) and some kind of liquid base (a lot of people use almond or coconut milk), but are you going to stick with it? Even if you do, how are you guaranteeing that you are meeting your nutritional needs?
I've done the approach I recommended and have found much better results than trying to play kitchen chemist myself and mix the right proportions. Added to this is the recent work in a natural superfood that helps with inflammation, cholesterol reduction and appetite suppression (there's a certain amount of a natural peptide that affects your feeling of being satisfied/full). That's how I educate people, and because of heavy use of clinical data in the formulations, we're seeing phenomenal results as well as 60+ scientific papers on the health benefits, with complete safety.
