Meal Replacements: A Great Tool with the Right Advice

Meal replacements are designed to assist in controlling calorie intake, a critical plank for weight loss. But they can also be confusing, frustrating and disappointing and leave you back where you started.
That's because most meal replacements are sold without any advice, or any supervision from a health professional; as demonstrated by a recent CHOICE Magazine study. This lack of advice leaves you to work out your own treatment plan, adding to the increased chance of failure.

The Benefits of Using Meal Replacements

Used correctly, meal replacements can be a great short term weight loss tool. At the Wesley Weight Management Clinic we've found that meal replacements:

• Help you to become accustomed to eating smaller portion sizes
• Promote independence from food
• Narrow your food choices, allowing you to manage the amount and type of food you consume (people consume fewer calories when presented with a smaller selection of food)
• Increase your rate of weight loss
• Help you to feel satiated (not hungry) for longer
• Can provide all of the essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs if you choose a nutritionally balanced formulation (at the Wesley Weight Management Clinic we use Optifast 800)
• Help to regulate your blood sugar levels and maintain energy levels
• Help you form a habit of eating at regular intervals and focusing on one meal or snack at a time
• Require minimal preparation and fit easily into a busy schedule.

Get the Right Advice

If you want to use a meal replacement as a tool for weight loss, you should engage the assistance of a suitably qualified health professional such as a Dietitian or Doctor.

A health professional can help you work out an appropriate schedule of meal replacements, monitor your rate of weight loss and the nutritional quality of your diet, provide advice if you experience any side effects and help you transition back onto normal food when you reach your weight loss goal.

This advice is critical if you have Diabetes or Hypertension: meal replacements can change your symptoms or impact upon the effectiveness of your medication.

Life After Using a Meal Replacement

Meal replacements aren't a long term weight loss solution. When you reach your weight loss goal you need to transition back onto 'normal' food gradually. You also need to learn the skills you need to keep your weight off for life, including meal planning, healthy grocery shopping, meal portioning, exercise and low fat cooking.

For more information about the healthy use of meal replacements, talk to your Doctor or you can ask the health professionals at the Wesley Weight Management Clinic about our weight loss program.