Are Weight Loss Shakes a Total Waste of Money?
How many times have you seen a commercial or ad for weight loss shakes and wondered if they’re legit or not? They claim to taste delicious, be healthy and full of key vitamins and minerals, and tout that by simply drinking their product, you’ll lose weight just like the models in the ad. Almost always, the models claim that they never thought losing weight could be so easy and fun. Then there they are, downing these weight loss shakes with a smile on their face. Sure, it’s cringy enough to raise an eyebrow, but can the brand make good on its weight loss promises? Not so fast.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose any condition. It is recommended that you speak with your doctor before starting any exercise program, changing your daily nutrition, or adding any supplements to your regimen.
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What Are Weight Loss Shakes?
When it comes down to it, weight loss shakes are nothing more than nutritional shakes or protein shakes marketed to you with the “claim” of helping you lose weight. I’m not going to get into the actual names of products and brands, but most of these weight loss shakes are low in calories, have moderate amounts of protein, and are low in carbohydrates, fat, and sugar. Sounds good, right?
Honestly, these weight loss shakes ARE actually good for you most of the time. They are a quick and easy solution to add into your nutrition program and help you reach your daily caloric intake as well as your daily macronutrient requirements. But will the shake by itself cause you to lose weight? No, and anyone who knows anything about nutrition and weight loss is probably banging their head against the wall, knowing that people will get suckered into using these products based on their claims.
Why Are the Weight Loss Claims False?
It’s quite simple when you think about it. You could eat at McDonald’s every day and could lose weight. Why? Because ONE item or ONE meal isn’t going to make you fat. Now, some may argue that the fat content in fast food is unhealthy, and you’d be right. But assuming the rest of your nutrition is clean throughout the day, and you are below your maintenance calories, you can lose weight.
I can see the eyeballs rolling over the above example, but let’s continue down this path. As a sports nutritionist, I have clients who often show me a protein bar or protein shake and ask me if the product will make them fat. Sometimes the bars are even well over 300 calories, and their eyes pop out when I tell them it’s fine to eat.
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When consumed in one serving, there isn’t a single food out there that will “make you fat” or “make you gain weight.” The bottom line is, when it comes to weight loss, it’s calories versus calories out. What do all your other meals look like? What kind of snacks are you eating throughout the day? All of those things added up will determine if you’re going to gain or lose weight — not weight loss shakes.
If you’ve ever read up on the If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) Diet, people are pretty much consuming whatever they want — within reason. Why? Because they are still hitting their numbers every day and consistently losing weight.
If you want a slice of pizza and can fit it within your daily caloric goal, eat it. I wouldn’t recommend eating it every day, but a slice here and there, if the family wants a pizza night, is not going to crush your weight loss progress. So, it’s silly to think that you need to be restrictive and hate every minute of your weight loss journey. When you cut out entire macronutrients from your diet like many of these fad diets have you doing, it’s not going to jive with your lifestyle. I don’t know many people who have the willpower to give up eating pizza for the rest of their life. Or giving up ice cream for the next 70 years. It’s absurd to think this, and you shouldn’t have to.
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It’s for that exact reason so many people fall off the wagon and give up. It comes down to restrictive diets. Drinking weight loss shakes is no different than eating a clean meal — the macros can be similar. For instance, if you had a chicken breast along with some vegetables, it could break down to be nearly identical macros when you compare it to weight loss shakes. Therefore, why would it make sense to think that these weight loss shakes alone account for your weight loss success? It’s all about calories.
Why I’m Not Telling You to Skip Weight Loss Shakes
Well, that heading isn’t exactly 100% accurate. What I recommend is that you pass on any products claiming to be weight loss shakes. If they are sneaky enough to market their shake in such a way, it would be hard for me to believe their products and ingredients are of high quality.
Instead, I WOULD recommend you purchase either a protein powder or RTD protein shakes. The product is, as the name would imply, a protein supplement. Regardless of if you are trying to lose weight or put on lean muscle mass, protein shakes are extremely helpful and beneficial in supporting your recovery efforts following intense workouts as well as helping you reach your protein requirements for the day.
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Weight loss shakes are gimmicks. They aren’t legit products and absolutely will not cause you to lose weight by themselves. And if you fall into their trap and start digging into the information they provide you with, you’ll notice one common theme — they want you to be in a caloric deficit when you use their product. Why is that? Because that’s the only way you’re going to lose weight, and when you do, you’ll think it’s due to their weight loss shakes.
How to Best Use Protein Shakes
For lack of a better term, I’m going to be calling these weight loss shakes what they are — protein shakes. What I don’t want you to do is use them to replace real whole-food meals. Where I would like you to place them would be in-between meals and/or post-workout.
Many people snack between meals, and the choices they reach for aren’t necessarily the healthiest. If this sounds like you, place a shake between your meals so you feel satiated and make it to your next meal. I’m also assuming that if you’re trying to lose weight (hence why you’re considering weight loss shakes), you’re exercising as well — if not, START.
An ideal shake to use between meals would be either a casein protein or a blended protein of whey along with casein. The casein is the key part of the equation as it’s a slow-digesting protein and can help break down the protein and amino acids over several hours. Because of this, you can feel full longer and minimize cravings.
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Post-workout is a crucial time to take in a source of protein to help your body utilize and break down the protein into usable amino acids and aid in rebuilding the torn-down muscle fibers from your workout. Ideally, a fast-digesting protein source such as a whey protein concentrate or whey protein isolate would be a great option.
Overall, don’t believe the hype when it comes to the marketing behind weight loss shakes. Essentially, they’re feeding you a bunch of lies. And if brands are willing to lie and deceive you, I’d recommend spending your money elsewhere.
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