Here Is Your Reality Check.
Many of us are extremely busy during the working week. A very high percentage of us in the UK experience longer working days, working weeks & working months. As well as elapsed time issues & a variety of money matters.
At GHN we want to help people who may encounter the listed issues with a detailed blog on -
Meal Deals Vs Meal Replacement Supplements
Meal Replacements are prepared products such as protein shakes or protein bars to be consumed once or twice a day. This type of food substitutes one of the main meals like breakfast, lunch or dinner. Unlike those products such as energy bars, protein bars, or regular shakes; these products have the needed quantity of carbohydrates included in a meal such as proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. Nevertheless, these quantities have a reduced amount of kilocalories, normally between 200-400 kcal per product. Also, meal replacement supplements often contain added fiber in order to produce a satisfying effect to the consumer.
Meal replacement supplements also benefit us in other situations. For instance, having a trip in which we have not prepared the adequate food, it might be interesting to take a couple of bars to avoid fast food, processed meal deals or some other quick and easy meals which are less healthy. They can also be used incase you get tied up for work and cannot go out for a proper lunch.
This type of product can also help in dealing with overweight and obesity during the a cutting phase. According to EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), which is the entity in charge of giving scientific counseling on food safety, “substituting two meals per day by meal replacements in a low kilocalorie diet helps to lose weight” and “substituting one meal per day by meal replacements in a low kilocalorie diet help to maintain the lost weight. With many "Meal Replacement" products on the market, we always want to give the best examples of products that are low in sugar & fats.
However, why should we always prioritize eating real food?
Supplementing in a well-structured diet can be very important at some periods of the day & week. GHN recommend supplementation as a healthier, cost effective & convenient option.
Why you ask?
In our daily life, we should prioritize real foods that provide us with a good combination of naturally occurring nutrients for several reasons. Real food improves nutrient absorption and this cannot be found in processed food. For instance, antioxidants and phytochemicals (polyphenols, flavonols, phytosterols, etc) are not found in processed food but these help to the vast majority of our body tissues, organs, and produce anti-ageing effects. Also, and there is no way around it, meal replacements are processed products, with a nutritional value that includes reduced kilocuries but with less naturally occurring ingredients.
We should remember that feeding ourselves is not only putting some food in our mouths to satisfy hunger. Although real food is great, life happens, and when it does, make sure you are replacing meals with high quality products, and not low quality processed foods.
Advantages of meal replacements -
- Takes the guesswork out of portion control and estimating calories
- Easy for consumers to grasp
- Nutritionally adequate
- Encourages a regular eating pattern
- Consumers can still have normal foods in their diet
- Widely available
GHN Interesting Fact - There is some significant evidence that the meal replacement diet are effective for weight loss of obese individuals. Lean body mass is better preserved than with very-low-calorie diets, a related kind of diet but unregulated and potentially with unbalanced and insufficient nutrients formulations. Meal replacements can also be used to treat diabetes by maintaining weight loss. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
Some examples of these type of products are -
GHN Ultimate Vegan Super Shake
Meal Deal Disadvantages are not always screamed at us on a daily basis by the media. Obviously, if you are looking after your health, you need to be aware that Meal Deal Food as a rule contains more fat, salt and calories that you really should be NOT taking in on a regular daily basis, especially if you find it difficult to exercise. Yes, the occasional treat won’t hurt at all, and eating Fast Food in moderation is not a problem, but moderation can be difficult when faced with ‘Super Sizing’ and ‘Meal Deals’ that are continuously encourage by the shops for you to buy more than you initially intended just to get a few pounds shaved off of the bill. Don’t be tempted into the ‘Buy One Get One Free’ pizza deals – most people neither want or need extra portions.
The Mathematics -
The numbers do not lie, so GHN to the time to look into 6 major supermarkets and the sandwiches (Pack Of 2 Sandwiches) they sold daily to their customers. Sandwiches that are perceived to be 'Healthy' by most.
We also took 6 (100g Serving) of the nations most favourite chocolate bars as well as 4 of the nations most favourite packet of crisps (25g Bag), made an unpresuming calculation and came up with the following -
Sandwich - 375 Calories
Chocolate - 499 Calories
Crips - 199 Calories
Total Calories - 1073 Calories
With these mathematical calculations being a modest report we do count on the calorie total being substantially higher.
We also took the average cost of a 'Meal Deal' and compared it to 1 serving of our GHN Diet Protein Plus & GHN Vegan Super Shake 'Meal Replacement' products and came up with the following -
Meal Deal - £2.50 - £3.30
Meal Replacement - £0.75 - £1.30
GHN Interesting Fact - This total amount of calories in one lunch time or dinner time sitting will require on average 40 to 45 minutes of exercise to burn.
