Meal Replacements 101

The options for meal replacement shakes are endless and staring at all the tubs and packets in the grocery store makes me nervous! To try  and ease my own stress  (and hopefully yours!) these are some key nutrition items that I check for to eliminate any lemons from the protein powder shelf.

1) Calories - I try to stay within the 90-120 calories (per serving) range for protein powders so I can keep the end product around 300 total calories (1 cup of vanilla almond mlk + 1 banana = 200 calories).

2) Sodium Content - In general, it’s good to try to eat a lower sodium diet. Too much sodium can irritate high blood pressure, but on a lighter note it can just make you hold water. When you’re holding water you’re usually contradicting the entire reason you’re wanting to have a meal replacement shake, which is weight loss or maintenance. I try to keep the sodium per serving in my protein shakes to under 150 mg.

3) Sugar Content - Bottom line, too much sugar isn’t good and will make you crash a few hours after drinking your shake. Try to keep the per serving amount under 10g.

4) and the obvious…. PROTEIN! I know this is pretty obvious, but many times the reason people are drinking meal replacements is to try to up their daily protein intake without dramatically increasing calories. I would say to keep the protein to calorie ratio to one gram per every 10 calories (ie if the protein shake is 90 calories per serving, then try to have around nine grams of protein).

OR if you don’t feel like going through all the work, here are a few of my favorites:

• Anything from Herbalife  (but the Chocolate Mint is pretty epic!)
• Perfect Fit Protein
• Nutiva Organic Hemp Protein
• Garden of Life Raw Protein - Original

Meal Planning: Just Do It!

First off, this is a classic example of "do as I say and not as I do." Not everyone has time to sit down every single Sunday and plan out their meals for the next week. But, use this as another way to apply the 80/20 rule. If you can strive to do this 80% of the time, you'll still be adding some bucks to your pocket book, while saving some serious calories. If you're having trouble getting started, these are a few steps that might help along the way.

1. Pick a date: I work Monday through Friday, so for me it's easiest to do this on a Sunday morning with some coffee. Maybe it would work better for you on a Tuesday night with a nice glass of red wine. The most important thing is to pick a day/time that you can usually commit to.

2. Plot it out: There are so many things that we all juggle throughout the week: school, kids, work... the list is endless. Do your brain a favor and write out your plan. This is an example of what I usually do. You don't have to be as obsessive as I am about serving sizes, this simply helps me know how much to buy when I write out my grocery list.

3. Prepare in advance: Don't beat yourself up if you can't do this all the time, this is another opportunity to practice the 80/20 rule! If you can, take some time to do some advanced preparation after you get back from the grocery store. Hard boil the eggs, cut up the carrots, cook the pasta. Mornings are typically pretty busy, so this will just be another small thing you can do in your free time that will save tons of time throughout the week.

Have fun meal planning! Feel free to let me know if you have any questions or further suggestions.