The Best Fiber Drink Shake For Weight Loss

Fiber is one of weight loss's little secrets. The main structural component of plants, fiber can't be digested by the human body. Its primary purpose is to add bulk to the contents of your stomach and digestive tract, which helps move things along and keeps you regular. As a bonus, the extra bulk in your belly helps fill you up and keep you feeling full so you can limit your calorie intake.

Having a fiber-rich shake as a snack or meal replacement each day just might be what you need to shed those extra pounds. Fiber-rich foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, tend to be healthy and low in energy density, or calories per gram. Eating a lot of low-energy-dense foods helps fill you up on fewer calories so you can control your calorie intake to lose weight.

According to a review published in "Nutrition" in March 2005, dietary fiber intake is inversely associated with body weight; people who eat more fiber tend to weigh less and have less body fat. Replacing one meal a day with a nutritious, high-fiber shake can help you create the calorie deficit required for weight loss. To lose 1 to 2 pounds per week, which is considered a safe and healthy rate of weight loss, you need to trim 500 to 1,000 calories from your daily diet.

If you normally go out for lunch with coworkers and take in 800 calories or more, skipping the lunch outing and whipping up a fiber-rich shake in the kitchen at your office can save you 500 calories. That one change is enough to lose 4 pounds in a month. Healthy fiber-rich meal-replacement shakes should contain a mix of complex carbohydrates, lean protein and healthy fats and no less than 200 calories. This ensures you get all the nutrients of a whole meal.

Choose a low-calorie liquid base for your shake such as skim milk, almond or rice milk or low-fat coconut milk. Add in your fiber sources -- berries are one of the highest-fiber fruits with 8 grams per cup. Leafy greens are another good source of fiber and abundant in vitamins and minerals.

Throw in a handful of a mild green such as spinach. Nuts and seeds are other fiber-rich additions that also provide healthy fats and protein. Choose from walnuts, almonds and chia, flax and sesame seeds. Get creative with flavors by adding cinnamon, pure cocoa powder or fresh mint leaves. It's best to make your shake yourself with healthy ingredients of your choosing. Store-bought shakes often contain large doses of sugar and other unhealthy ingredients.

Be sure not to sabotage yourself either; it's easy to get carried away and throw everything but the kitchen sink in your shake, but you could be creating a calorie bomb. Fresh fruit will give you all the sweetness you need without adding sugar, but if you really need a sweeter shake, add a drop of stevia, an all-natural sweetener. Lose Weight. Feel Great! AGE lbs. WEIGHT ft. Protein Shakes for Women to Lose Weight Does Fiber Make You Bloated? Ten Kinds of High-Fiber Beans How to Add Fiber to a Protein Shake Inulin Fiber Side Effects Healthy Shakes That Help You Lose Weight Homemade Shakes to Lose Weight How Does Increased Fiber Affect a Bowel Movement?

Read more about making your own meal replacement shakes in my article Create your own Meal Replacement Shakes. 12. I’m worried that some of the ingredients in my meal replacement shake are unsafe. What do you think? You are right to worry about the safety of the ingredients in your meal replacement shakes, and some are definitely healthier than others!

I know that, when I was researching meal replacement shakes, I noticed that some brands included things like sugar, artificial colors, and other unpleasant things. I’ve always believed that weight loss is about more than just counting and cutting calories - it should be good for your health too. After all, we don’t want just to LOOK healthy, we should want to BE healthy too, and that’s one of the reasons I’m an advocate of regular exercise.

Anyway, I did some digging and, from my research, came up with a list of criteria that every healthy meal replacement shake should be able to meet. There are five questions in all and, if your product meets these criteria, you know it’s a good one. The article is called Are Meal Replacement Shake Ingredients Safe.

13. I was going to replace my lunch with a meal replacement shake, but I see you recommend replacing breakfast instead; why? Replacing your lunch with a meal replacement can definitely work but, for me, replacing breakfast always works best. I’m happy to tell you! For one, I’m usually in a rush in the morning and don’t always have the time to make a healthy breakfast.

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