Eddy's Blog
Facts about Liquid Meal Replacements You Need to Be Aware Of
Ever had liquid meal replacements and found that initially you lose weight quite rapidly only to be sabotaged by long term weight gain? Why is this so?
In today’s society everyone is looking for a quick fix; a solution to help them get through the day as efficiently and quickly as possible. When it comes to nutrition, meal replacements have in the past been popularised by their sheer convenience and promises of rapid weight loss. Generally most things that go up quickly, come down just as quickly and vice versa. Losing weight can and should be a stable and steady path. 1kg per week is a realistic weight loss goal for most people and losing weight at a stable rate provides many benefits for the individual. Meal replacements promise a fast and rapid weight loss all in the form of liquid consumed as a quick and convenient meal to assist with satiety. But what in fact is the reality?
Liquid Meals and the Digestive Process
When we consume food, chew food and or even just commence eating food, our bodies immediately commence the digestive process. This process involves metabolic reactions within the body. Once food is chewed and swallowed more metabolic reactions occur allowing the consumed food to make its way to the intestines to be broken down so that nutrients can be absorbed by the body efficiently. This process requires the body to burn calories and therefore is a form of energy expenditure. Some foods require the body to utilise more energy to digest than other foods, however almost all foods require energy expenditure when the body is digesting them. Food such as fibrous vegetables (usually containing moderate to high amounts of fibre) can actually require the body to burn more calories than actually exist in that food. This is sometimes referred to as negative calories or calorie deficit foods. Other foods such as protein also require the body to undergo a process that demands more energy from the body to digest. Furthermore, it has been proven that the calories that are in protein actually get broken down so efficiently that the amount of calories in protein type foods become lower in calorie value once the body commences to break them down. The digestive system is an efficient function performed by the human body that requires consistent work. The more often we eat, chew food and digest, the more efficient our bodies become at digesting. Digestion and absorption of foods in comparison to liquid is also quite different. Both are digested by the body however the rapid absorption of liquid means that our bodies do not necessarily absorb the nutrients from liquids as effectively as from food. The fundamental reason for this is that the digestive tract is almost overpassed when we consume liquids. The liquid passes though very quickly and hits our blood stream rapidly in comparison to foods. Liquid beverages do have a purpose and effect that is beneficial (rapid absorption and hydration), however meal replacements in liquid form serve little, if any, purpose at all.
Liquid meal replacements generally contain excessive amounts of sugar, relatively low levels of protein and do not undergo the digestive process like standard food. Fundamentally liquid meal replacements also tend to lack high quality nutrients. Eating food will keep weight off long term and snacking in between meals will also assist. Having a liquid meal replacement instead of actually sitting down to a portion size of food that you need to chew and digest is counterproductive as your body is not burning as many calories through digestion. It may be a quick fix but cannot be sustained over the long run and simply is non-effective for long term health and weight management goals.
Why Use Protein Drinks as Snacks?
Having a protein drink that is high in nutritional value, low in sugar and low in saturated fat is a far better option as a snack between meals as opposed to a liquid meal replacement. The body absorbs protein rapidly and you remain fuller between meals. When you do sit down to actually eat your next meal, your more satisfied and less likely to eat to excess and/or eat the wrong foods. For a meal replacement to be classified as a meal replacement it needs to have a certain amount of kilojoules/calories and this is often obtained by adding high amounts of sugars/carbohydrates and only low to moderate amounts of protein and fibre. Eating three nutritional meals a day and replacing snacks with high quality protein drinks will allow you to achieve and sustain your weight management goals much more effectively than consuming liquid meal replacement products.
Information in this article is provided by Eddy TANNOURJI, 7 times Australian Athletic Physique Champion and trainer of in excess of 200 athletes. Eddy has owned his own gymnasium for over 7 years, instructed Victoria Police members for over 5 years and is the Managing Director of Next Generation Supplements.
Eddy Tannourji
Eddy Tannourji has been passionate about health and fitness since he was 15. With over 15 years of experience training the Victoria Police force and 8 years of running his own health and fitness facility, Eddy has coached hundreds of individuals, including many athletes, to help them reach their goals.
Currently, Eddy serves as the Managing Director of Next Generation Supplements. He also has an impressive competitive record in athletic physique competitions, with numerous state and national titles, as well as world rankings.
Drawing from his 30-year career, Eddy provides a wealth of knowledge on exercise, nutrition, and supplementation. His approach combines both anecdotal insights and scientific evidence, presented in a simple and easy-to-understand way.