Are You Addicted to Protein Supplements?

I am using “addicted” and “addict” in the most casual sense and I am NOT in any way referring to an alcohol or drug addiction.

Protein Shake addict or just being on a Protein Shake diet?

If some of your friends are not aware that you are following a special diet plan like the Protein Shake Diet and yet they see you taking shakes all day long, then they might really think you are a protein supplements addict. Well, you probably would need to explain that you are not the newest bodybuilder on the block, and you are just on a meal replacement diet that replaces some or all of your daily meals with protein shakes.

If you are on a diet with shakes then it’s OK to take a few of them daily, but what about the other cases…
People take protein supplements because they think they don’t eat enough proteins, or because they like shakes’ taste and prefer to take one quick made shake instead of one healthy protein meal, or because they’ve heard from friends or read online that shakes are healthy and may help them lose weight easily, etc.

Protein Shake addict or just being a Vegetarian?

If you are a vegetarian, or for any reason you do not consume enough proteins from natural sources like dairy and meat then you might need some protein supplement for the day. Whether it will be a protein shake, drink, bar, cookie or else, it is a matter of personal choice.

Why Choose Real Food to Protein supplements?

Yes, you can replace one or two meals a day with protein supplements, but remember there is nothing healthier than the “real food” – balanced meals rich in proteins, carbs and fats. Do not resort to protein shakes only because you are lazy and don’t feel like making yourself some delicious meal with real food.

You can’t skip one or two meals everyday for the rest of you life and replace them with protein supplements. NO! But you can take one shake when you are on the go and really don’t have time for a real home made meal.

What about protein supplements for weight loss?

Some of you may have heard, read or even tried shakes, drinks, bars and other high protein and low fat supplements for weight loss. There are a few very popular weight loss programs (Medifast and WonderSlim) based on such supplements. They use them as meal replacements for one or more daily meals.

Even the greatest disbelievers can’t ignore the facts all over the Internet that such weight loss plan is very easy to follow and really help people lose weight with almost no efforts:

• no starvation
• easy to store and prepare shakes and other protein drinks
• reduced and controlled intake of calories and fats
• as surprising as it may sound, it turns that meal replacements are cheaper than the meals they replace

More details and benefits of WonderSlim diet and Medifast diet read here
If you wonder how to get started there are wonderful weight loss starter kits

My personal opinion

What I particularly like about meal replacement (protein supplemented) diet plans is the fact they do not cause mental or physical stress for the body by making you eat (chew) healthy foods you hate…even if you don’t like protein supplements’ taste (which I seriously doubt) all you have to do is to drink it and you won’t have a long bad taste in the mouth 😉

Bottom line …

Well, protein supplements for weight loss work very successfully. They really can help you lose weight and maintain it afterwards, but they can’t do it all alone…you need at least one healthy real food meal a day and a well balanced physical activity at least 3 times a week. Not that you won’t lose weight without exercises, but with them it’s more natural for the body and much more quickly for you.