By Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD 

Numerous weight loss and diet programs encourage using shakes and bars as meal replacements, claiming that they can help curb hunger and are an easy way to cut calories. 

But do these claims actually hold up? Here are the reasons why Healthy For Life Meals emphasizes balanced meals with real foods over shakes and bars:

Chewing food is more satisfying than drinking a shake. 

Homemade shakes and smoothies can be a healthy option in conjunction with actual food, but consuming them on their own may leave you feeling less satisfied than you’d expect. Chewing helps stimulate the release of hormones that signal satiety. Plus, chewing food takes more time than drinking a shake, which gives the body more time to recognize fullness. 

Fresh food typically provides more beneficial compounds than shakes or bars. 

Premade shake mixes and bars may be marketed as nutritionally complete, but they are often missing the other beneficial compounds that come with fresh foods. For example, fruits and vegetables are rich sources of antioxidants that can help fight underlying cell damage caused by free radicals, which has been linked to a number of chronic diseases. When you eat a variety of produce, you’re also getting a larger variety of vitamins and minerals compared to the specific ones that shakes and bars provide. It’s hard to replicate the benefits of fresh food with a shake or bar, so why not stick with eating actual food instead? 

Our meals will help you learn portions. 

When an entire meal is mixed into a single shake or bar, it’s nearly impossible to know how much of a certain ingredient it contains unless you make it yourself. Once you stop eating these kinds of food products, you may be at a loss of how to put together a meal with the appropriate portions of actual food. 

Healthy For Life Meals show you the amounts of food that go into a nutritious meal. Eating our meals will help you gain knowledge of portion sizes, which you can also use to guide your own cooking as well as the choices you make at restaurants. 

Our varied menus will keep you from getting bored! 

Premade shakes and bars may seem fun and new at first, but how long can that feeling last? It’s easy to get bored with meal replacements. You may even end up indulging in unhealthy foods to get over the boredom. 

Fortunately, our meal plans offer a ton of variety, so you’ll never feel fatigued with your options. Both our traditional and vegetarian menus are on a five week rotation, so you won’t have the same meals too close together. Not only do we use all different kinds of fruits and veggies, but there is a large assortment of protein, carbohydrate, and fat sources. Sounds much better than the same old shake or bar, huh? 

Note from Healthy For Life Meals: We are committed to serving you fresh, delicious, meals with a focus on whole foods that provide you with the nutrients you need and can help you with your health and weight loss goals. You won’t receive any shakes, bars, or powders as meal replacements. Check out our menus and order today for fresh meals next week.