Food replacement

Hello does anybody use protein shakes/snack bars etc like slim fast in their diets?

If so do they work for you?, are they worth the money? and would you recommend them? Thanks in advance

[Hidden]

I use protein shakes but I do weight training and they work for me.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

see i a on doing couch to 5k losing weight etc not inches but wanna lose extra. was offered by gp orlistat but been on them before and was unable to take them as they are capsules and big

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

What does orlistat do and what is it?

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

its a tablet it minuses an extra 1lb in weight u need to eat balanced diet or if not the fat comes out in ur poo and leaves greasy residue floating in the toilet not a nice sight honestly

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I just googled it, really your choice if you use it of not, id not use it personally, your diet should be enough to get you into shape.

[Activity2004 Administrator]

I eat protein bars for breakfast, lunch on the go and bedtime snacks. They are gluten free and great for blood sugar control. I'm a type 1 diabetic.

[Bazza1234]

Why not eat real food??? Half of our obesity/cardiac/diabetes/etc problems are caused by commercially produced "quick" so-called foods - which are either high in sugar,sodium or hi GI content. Look at the rows and rows of commercially produced breads,cakes, sweets, crisps, drinks, alcohol in our supermarkets - and I am noticing now an increase in so-called health foods like protein bars !!!

[Hidden in reply to Bazza1234]

That is just a really ignorant view type 1 diabetes isn't caused by too much sugar! Neither is gestational diabetes, it's caused by the pregnancy and the placenta and goes after pregnancy most of the time. Type 1 diabetics do not produce enough insulin to process carbs and sugar in the first place in. I don't eat any sugar at all the only sugar I get is via small portion whole grain carbs which are converted to sugar in the body, all carbs are including potatoes, swede, peas ect. I don't touch any other processed foods and eat vegetables and fish and chicken. So if you got blood sugar highs from any carbs including route vegetables then you will know. Protein helps stabilise blood sugar and if you are on a high protein, low carb, low sugar diet then the odd protein shake does you no harm. The body cannot process insulin with diabetes or does not produce or absorb enough. I agree that some over eating these things leads to type 2 diabetes but not everyone who has diabetes has got it by shovelling loads of sugar down their mouths. Carbs is the big contributor to it. The carbohydrates of which is sugars is the bit people really need to look out for and it's on nearly all processed foods including those meant to be healthy.

[Hidden]

Hi, I use protein shakes one called diet fuel which you can get in holland and Barrett. The reason I use it now is because I have gestational diabetes and it's been proven that slow release protein in whey shakes helps lower blood glucose throughout the day. I have one before breakfast each morning. I am also on insulin injections. At the moment any carbs send my blood sugar high, even whole grain and in very small amounts but they really work for me. My readings stay lower throughout the day but obviously diet is the major thing. I used it before pregnancy though as I can at times miss breakfast if I am busy and they are handy for that. I use them more now though.

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Hidden]

If a person is diabetic and also pregnant, they need to be careful about missing/skipping meals and/or snacks. That can cause lows more often-- especially if the person is on insulin injections.

[Hidden in reply to Activity2004]

I know I don't skip meals as I am also on insulin injections. I don't use mine to miss any meals I have one before breakfast and one before bed as it lowers my fasting results in the morning and it lowers my readings throughout the day after meals. So I do blood glucose testing in the morning on an empty tummy log my fasting result. Have a protein shake then test again an hour after this, inject insulin then have breakfast, test after that, inject insulin before lunch test after that, inject insulin evening meal test after that. Then have another protein shake before 12am and inject slow release insulin. Then start the process the next day. The only snacks I have are rice cakes, cucumber, carrot sticks, maybe a small amount of fruit with a protein, nuts etc. I don't snack much anyhow as the shakes fill me up x

[BadHare]

If the protein drinks contain soya, you're shooting yourself in the foot with regard to loosing weight. Unfermented soya reduces the production of thyroid hormones as well as reducing the absorption of thyroid hormones to cells. In effect, it slows down metabolism, so you'll store calories rather than your cells burning them as energy.

I use nuts, seeds as an important part of my protein intake, & carry a tub in my bag so I'm not tempted to eat any junk when I'm out. 100g is about 10g of protein. I make this the easiest thing to eat by having my nut jar & a bowl of fruit on my kitchen table. Currently, there's only two grapefruits in it. I sometimes buy raw fruit or nut & seed bars, but they're expensive & contain more sugar & fat than real food.

Kefir is high in protein & probiotics, so perhaps a better & cheaper option. A 300ml glass has about 10g of protein. I add a tablespoon each of chia & linseeds, so that makes it up to about 14g. Tasty & nutritious, & it's good for my gut health.

[MrNiceGuy]

I supplement with unflavoured whey powder more frequently than I eat protein bars, adding it to porridge or smoothies on a morning, while also using it as post workout replenishment, after both resistance and cardio exercise.

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to MrNiceGuy]

How much of the whey protein powder can be used in each smoothie? I've never tried that as an option when having smoothies.

[MrNiceGuy in reply to Activity2004]

Since other ingredients within a smoothie will also contain protein, I'll only use a single scoop, which delivers around 21g of protein on its own.

Mixed with 300ml of semi-skimmed milk and a tsp of cacao powder, for example, overall protein content amounts to just over 30g.

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to MrNiceGuy]

Sounds good! It gives me an idea for the next time I need a quick snack. Thanks!