Maintain Weight Loss With Meal Replacement Drinks

Are you tired of deciding what to eat each day on your weight loss quest? Quick solution: drink smoothies for meal replacement, workout performance or workout recovery. These meal replacement drinks are delicious, easy to prepare, hopefully healthy and cost effective. What else do you need?


Meal Replacement Smoothies

Eating every 3-4 hours will keep your energy up and metabolism active. Going too long between meals can cause you to load up on sugary carbohydrates to get quick energy. These types of snacks are usually high in calories, not very nutritious and cause rapid ups and downs in blood sugar levels.

Whether you're on the run or eating breakfast or lunch, smoothies are a great choice. Hopefully, you will use whole, natural foods like fresh fruits, veggies, oats, nuts and Greek yogurt. And, take advantage of healthy herbs and spices instead of using excess sugars and salt. Its easy to make meal replacement smoothies of 400-600 calories. All it takes is a little planning, which is the best way to stick with your meal plan anyway.

If you plan your smoothies right, you will get the necessary protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals you need during the day.

Here is a good smoothie you can eat just about any time of the day:

BLUEBERRY-BANANA SMOOTHIE (good for energy, protein, antioxidants, pre- or post-workout)



  • 1 banana
  • handful of blueberries, frozen or fresh
  • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • handful of walnut or almond pieces

If you want more protein, you can always add protein powder.

Workout Performance and Recovery Smoothies

Smoothies are ideal for pre- and post-workout nutrition. This will help you build more muscle mass. You have to eat enough of the right foods to rebuild your muscles bigger. Even if you gain weight, you will be leaner because muscle takes up less space than fat.

The rigors of weight training breaks down your body and you need proper nutrition and rest to rebuild your body bigger and better. Protein consumption, in particular, is critical if you want to build muscle.

1. Pre-workout nutrition should mainly include carbohydrates, a small amount of healthy fats and proteins. During intense training, your body depends on fuel from glycogen made from the carbohydrates that you eat.

Consuming a smoothie 1-2 hours before a workout will help build up your glycogen stores. When your glycogen stores are low, your performance will suffer.

Research has shown the effectiveness of pre-workout protein drinks (such as whey and casein). Your muscles get 2 times as much benefit from a pre-workout protein drink compared to having just a post-workout protein drink.

2. Post-workout nutrition is important to help your body recover from intense exercise. You don't need to eat immediately after your workout but there is a 30-45 minute window where replenishing your body's fuel (carbs, protein, fats) will optimize your tissue's repair and growth.

The post-exercise meal should consist of carbohydrates, protein and a small amount of healthy fats. A smoothie is good because it is quickly digestible. A ratio of 2g carbs/1g protein is what you need. Protein provides the main building blocks for your muscles.

It is also important to drink enough water every day. Drink daily about a half an ounce of water for every pound of body weight (160 pound person would drink 80 ounces). Since your muscles are comprised of about 70% water, don't dehydrate yourself. During exercise, drink about a cup of water for every 15 minutes of exercise. For intense exercise lasting more than one hour, a sports drink with carbohydrate and protein is needed.

You can use healthy, delicious smoothies to help manage your weight. Many times, you may be looking for healthy snacks or meal replacements to control your calories while maintaining your energy during the day.

It doesn't take many ingredients to make smoothies, so you will definitely save money. 

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About Mark

Hi, I'm Mark Dilworth, Nutritionist, Dietary Strategies Specialist, Nutrition for Metabolic Health Specialist and Lifestyle Weight Management Specialist. Since 2006, I have helped thousands of clients and readers make lifestyle habit changes which includes body transformation and ideal body weight.