What is actually wrong with meal replacement shakes?

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by Timmy Boy, Jul 30, 2017.

  1. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    I'm probably not the best when it comes to restricting food diets etc.
    (Kinda broke all the time...impulsive, junk food junkie..)

    But it comes to willpower when I have to. I recently went from 95kg to 85kg in about 2 weeks.
    I would say "simply" but it wasn't actually that simple, I went back to my original wrestling diet which was about 1200 calories maxing out around 30 g of carbs (this did not include any leafy greens).
    Everything that I ate I made myself so I had a better idea of what was going in my body. However I did try to have a protein shake for lunch rather than food and that really hurts my insides, not sure why that happened. It could be that I have not had a protein shake for quite a while or that my IBS was acting up.
    Either way I went back to having physical food after some unpleasant (not safe to post/describe) issues.

    I understand people's dietary choices are their own. I know quite a few where they dont see food as something to enjoy but simply as fuel for the body.
    People like CT Fletcher for example, unable to quote him completely but he essentially says.. "its not for me to have it taste good, its to give me strength" (paraphrasing, just add a lot of profanity and you'll get the idea).

    But I myself am clearly a food driven person. Even when calorie restricting to cut weight for a comp, I would plan my meal 1 day at a time.

    This is my mental prep, to keep my mind off hunger. When I'm pushing through my mental boundary on the treadmill, soaked in my fleece and hoody. I dont have a motivational speech going in my head.
    I'm actually thinking of what ingredients to buy, what to cook up and how many calories it may be...am I counting the macros wrong, where can I research how much cal is there is a broccoli. Does adding sesame oil in the pan count more/less than olive oil.
    Stuff like that.
    Next thing I know, I'm 10mins deeper into my cardio workout.

    In between training and meals (ie Life and Work) all I'm thinking about is the competition (and of course, Life and Work).

    I personally don't think I can live on a liquid shake diet. But thats my own preference, in fact I'm slowly researching the idea of going more veggie as I get older. But in the mean time...
    I will be marinading chicken in buttermilk and siracha mix till tender, drip dry then cover it in panko breadcrumbs and stick in the oven. Served with a side of blanched cauli/broccoli flourettes. And maybe some grilled corn.
     
  2. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    That was literally half of what I ate in that place post comp.
     
  3. Dead_pool

    Dead_pool Spes mea in nihil Deus MAP 2017 Moi Award

  4. Morik

    Morik Well-Known Member Supporter MAP 2017 Gold Award

    I'm curious how much coffee you use in ratio to the water? I've been mixing in a teaspoon of raw cacao & a teaspoon of Ceylon cinnamon & it tastes like a somewhat oatey chocolate shake, overall surprisingly pleasant (I didn't really care for the base vanilla flavor on its own).
    I usually have a ~16oz cup of unsweetened black tea with it, and then if I want more caffeine I have a cup of coffee when I get to work.
    But mixing coffee in instead of some of the water might be an interesting experiment to see if I like that better.

    I've found that I actually prefer Huel fresh, rather than after it sits overnight in the fridge; it stays thinner and drinks more like water, rather than being thicker like a milkshake.
     
  5. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    I'm aware the makers of Huel have invested much time, energy and money into putting their product through stringent food quality testing; they have batches that carry the Informed Sport anti-doping seal of approval for example. But to stress once again - Huel is food, it isn't a meal replacement.

    I keep the water:Huel ratio the same and add 1-2 tbsp of a decent coffee brand into the mix. Tastes great.
     
  6. Morik

    Morik Well-Known Member Supporter MAP 2017 Gold Award

    Ah so you add the ground coffee directly, you aren't brewing coffee and mixing it instead if water?
     
  7. Dead_pool

    Dead_pool Spes mea in nihil Deus MAP 2017 Moi Award

    That's definatly just a semantic argument.

    Huel may very well be great, but it's a new product that people take in place of other meals, so yes it is a food, and yes it is a meal replacement as well.


    As an example from the homepage on huel.Com

    "Huel is a nutritionally complete product and is therefore a suitable option for a meal replacement"
     
  8. Morik

    Morik Well-Known Member Supporter MAP 2017 Gold Award

    I think in the US (not positive though) that "meal replacement" has certain requirements, and "food" has a different set of requirements which are stricter.
    I.e., Van Zandt may be indicating that it meets the stricter definition.
     
  9. Dead_pool

    Dead_pool Spes mea in nihil Deus MAP 2017 Moi Award

    Huel advertising has got the words food all over it, it's trying to not be seen as a meal replacement. But yet still that's what it is.
     
  10. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Forgive me if I'm guilty of false equivalency here, but by that logic any foodstuff that comes pre-packaged is a meal replacement. And Huel has been sold for nearly 2.5 years so it's not exactly brand new.
     
  11. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    What I consider a "meal replacement" is anything synthetic either in a liquid or pill form that simply contains the base nutrients, whilst dense enough to stave off your hunger.

    So you got the myprotein shakes etc - which I consider as meal replacement items.

    Blending 4 chicken breasts in water - like how some bodybuilders do - I would put in the "real meal" box, as you would still need to cook it etc. The only difference is the ingestion method.
     
  12. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

    Special omelette and chips from the local takeaway.

    Follow that with Ben & Jerry Caramel Chew Chew ice cream.

    Nom nom nom.
     
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  13. CamToolin

    CamToolin New Member

    honestly, is there a substitute for real food?
     
    Simon likes this.
  14. Timmy Boy

    Timmy Boy Man on a Mission

    I was about to apologise for thread necro, then I realised this was still on page 1 :)

    It does seem to me that you have to defer a little bit to personal experiences and preferences. If you get on well with making your own meals via DIY or whatever then by all means crack on. Personally, I've been getting on pretty well with Huel.

    The irony with my love of Huel is that I am actually a massive foodie and I love to cook as a hobby. The way I see it is that food designed for optimal nutrition is very boring (to me) anyway, so at least this way I'm saving myself the prep, washing up and tedious calorie-counting. During the working week I can just chug it down at regular intervals, then when the weekend comes I can take my time and eat "normal" food.

    I'm doing a lot of lifting at the moment, so I'm thinking of mixing some whey protein in with it.
     
  15. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    I personally wonder. (And I'm not taking the mickey) but if you go on a pure liquid diet. What happens to your teeth when you finally chomp on a solid?

    I know Kevin Smith (film director/general geek) has gone on many diets. A liquid diet is one of the things he talks a lot about in his book.

    Fair play he lost a load of weight. He talks about since everything going in is used up...nothing comes out.

    But then youre not chewing. Not using your jaw muscles as much etc. Does it hurt? Do you have jaw DOMS?
     
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  16. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    It's difficult to say with any certainty what long-term effects liquid-based diets have on overall human health because the concept is still in its relevant infancy, and there is much research that needs to be done. One study did show that a liquid-only diet reduced the quality and quantity of temporomandibular joint cartilage in growing rats[1], but these results should be interpreted with caution when considering the potential impact to humans. I don't think it would be far-fetched however to believe that the rigours of regularly brushing one's teeth and chewing gum would be sufficient to maintain dental integrity when consuming a liquid-only diet.

    There has been some promising early research about the positive effect of liquid-based diets on healthy gut bacteria[2]. As I said, there is still much research that needs to be done before any definitive conclusions can be made. In my own experience, the number of positive reports from satisfied consumers of products like Huel and Soylent certainly outweighs the negative, and batteries of medical tests have shown that I'm within normative levels when "eating" Huel more than when I'm on a regular diet. I haven't received any bad news from my dentist in the 2+ years I've been using Huel (quite the opposite in fact).

    [1] Uekita, H., Takahashi, S., Domon T., Yamaguchi T. 2015. Changes in collagens and chondrocytes in the temporomandibular joint cartilage in growing rats fed a liquid diet. Annals of Anatomy vol. 202, November, pp. 78-87.

    [2] Hsu, R. H., McCormick, D. M., Seitz Jr., M. L. J., Lui, L. M., Rishi, H. S., Arkin, A. P. 2017. An interventional Soylent diet increases the Bacteriodetes to Fermicutes ratio in human gut microbiome communities: a randomized controlled trial. University of California, Berkeley. DOI: An interventional Soylent diet increases the Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes ratio in human gut microbiome communities: a randomized controlled trial
     
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  17. AndrewTheAndroid

    AndrewTheAndroid A hero for fun.

    Compared to a well cooked meal they taste like trash.
     
  18. Mitch

    Mitch Lord Mitch of MAP Admin

    Eat food that anyone's great grandpatents would recognise, not too much, mostly plants.

    Easy :)
     
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  19. Anwolf

    Anwolf Valued Member

    I've added Huel to my diet these past couple of months, and I'm actually a convert I think. While I still like to have one solid meal a day, I've been finding Huel is more than enough to make up the rest. I feel a lot healthier as well, although it took my bowels some getting used to.
     
  20. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    Considering where my (or most likely where) my Great Grans are from...it ain't much. And what they did have to eat. No thanks. :D
     
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