In this article, we will be taking a look at five of the best meal replacement shakes for weight loss. We will look at the ingredients, the macronutrient ratios, and other issues such as taste, cost per serving, and variety.
We have picked five of the best meal replacement shakes on the market right now. Each one has its own unique benefits. Some are on this list for their ingredients or lack of artificial sweeteners, and some are here for their variety or the price per serving.
Decide what exactly you are looking for in a meal replacement shake, and then choose the meal replacement that best suits those specific requirements.
Rootana is a new meal replacement shake that is taking the industry by storm. Unlike its competitors, Rootana avoids the use of any artificial sweeteners such as sucralose and stevia. This makes it ideal for anyone who prefers natural ingredients such as coconut sugars (which Rootana uses).
Rootana prioritises top-quality ingredients. It has 400 calories per serving, 21 grams of protein, 16 grams of fat, and 44 grams of carbohydrates. It also contains 7.1 grams of fibre per serving. There are currently two flavours available; original (an oaty tasting shake that has a mildly sweet taste) and cacao which has a wonderful, unique taste similar to chocolate.
Rootana is a fantastic choice for vegans and non-vegans alike. It prefers to use top-quality real-food ingredients in its formula. The shakes are high in protein, high in fibre and free from artificial sweeteners. Everything you want in a meal replacement shake!
Are there any improvements that could be made? We’d like to see a new flavour added. Rootana only has the two so far, but other than that, we’re very happy with it. The shakes are highly satiating, and both Original and Cacao flavours are truly unique (and delicious).
The lack of artificial sweeteners ensures that Rootana has a tasty, almost neutral taste. Much better than the overly sweet tastes that most meal replacements offer. If you are looking to lose weight, then Rootana is the ideal meal replacement shake to help you achieve your goals.
While Rootana is our favourite all-around meal replacement shake, Instant Knockout Complete has to go down as the best meal replacement shake for burning fat. It is very high in protein, and it is also high in fibre, all while remaining within 400 calories per serving.
As with Rootana, Instant Knockout Complete uses only the best ingredients, which explains the higher cost per serving than many of its competitors. But it is truly worth it when you look at what ingredients go into this incredible formula.
Instant Knockout Complete contains 400 calories per serving, 35 grams of protein, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 13 grams of fibre, and 13 grams of healthy fats.
As a meal replacement shake, Instant Knockout is one of the best on the market, only just losing out to Rootana due to its use of sucralose and only having one flavour available. But for fat burning? It could well be the top product out there.
Providing 35 grams of high-quality plant-based protein is outstanding, as are the 13 grams of dietary fibre and the use of MCT oils. All of this within a 400-calorie shake is stupendous. Complete could have lowered the price by swapping out premium ingredients such as MCT powder and pea protein with cheaper alternatives, but this would have reduced the effectiveness of the shake.
You can also combine Complete with Instant Knockout’s main product, Cut. This is a fat burner which attempts to raise your metabolic rate while simultaneously reducing your appetite and increasing satiety. The two supplements dovetail perfectly but are also highly effective when taken separately.
In our opinion, the premium price represents amazing value for money, if you are looking to lose weight and want to avoid animal proteins such as whey or casein, then there is nothing on the market quite like Instant Knockout Complete.
The higher-protein, lower-carb version of Huel 3.0, Huel Black, has a bit of a mixed reputation with the Huel audience. On the one hand, it is beloved for its excellent weight loss results. On the other hand, people complain about the taste and suffering digestive issues.
You might think that the ingredients contained in Huel Black would be markedly different from the ingredients in regular Huel. But actually, they are almost identical, just with the ratios changed and the removal of oat powder.
Huel Black contains 400 calories per serving, 17 grams of carbs (rather than 38 grams), 18 grams of fat (compared to 13 grams), and 40 grams of protein (instead of 20 grams). It also has slightly less fibre (6.6 grams instead of 7 grams).
Huel Black is an excellent meal replacement shake, and thanks to its very high protein content it will serve you well while dieting. However, the fibre is quite low, and the lack of oats means you won’t get the same amount of satiety or heart health benefits as you would from regular Huel.
There are also some underdosed ingredients in Huel Black such as the MCT powder and Green Tea Extract. This is one of the more irritating faces of the supplement world. Adding minuscule dosages of ingredients just so that you can use their names in your marketing.
Green tea extract, when properly dosed, can be incredibly effective, but at low doses? You won’t notice any of the health benefits.
This should only be seen as a minor irritation, though, as is the fact that the flavours are notoriously bad, the actual formula and ingredients used in Huel Black are excellent, and it is well worth its top 3 spot on our list.
Most of the meal replacement shakes on this list are included due to their focus on top-quality real-food ingredients. BeNu Complete nutrition shake is added because it is great for weight loss and provides incredible value for money.
While Rootana and Instant Knockout Complete have better ingredients, BeNu is perfect for anyone on a modest budget who is focusing more on weight loss than nutrition. Not that BeNu Complete is unhealthy, it just makes certain sacrifices to keep the price down.
BeNu Complete Nutrition is a surprisingly good shake, that sentence is not meant to be dismissive of myprotein.com (who make it), but we are used to bargain-priced products with cost-effective formulas. That is what made myprotein so popular in the first place!
BeNu Complete does use some cheap ingredients. Sadly, it is not vegan-friendly due to the use of whey protein, but other than that, the ingredients are real-food and of a decent quality.
A single serving of BeNu Complete Nutrition Shake contains 402 calories, 14 grams of fat, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 9.2 grams of fibre, and 33 grams of protein.
This is an inexpensive, fairly nutritious meal replacement shake that is great for weight loss but doesn’t compete with Rootana or Instant Knockout Complete when it comes to ingredient quality. If you are on a tight budget, this may be the ideal shake for you.
But it isn’t perfect. There is a lack of variety when it comes to flavours (compared to Huel), and many users have reported clumping issues when the powder is mixed with a liquid. Clumping is a big deal, and a well-made shake should not suffer from clumping at all. This is because it can really ruin the user experience. Trying to drink a nice and smooth shake before a large clump of unmixed powder hits your mouth is not pleasant.
Luckily, this issue can be fixed, and we are confident that myprotein.com will have sorted this issue out in the near future. It’s a bargain meal replacement, so don’t expect anything too fancy, and you won’t be disappointed!
The final meal replacement shake on our list is NOT a subtle product; it is an in-your-face all-or-nothing extravaganza that is by no means perfect but can be highly effective as part of a weight loss strategy.
Anyone who is familiar with the MRE supplement line will instantly recognise the extreme approach to nutrition that is employed with this whole food protein meal replacement.
The macro and calorie information is very interesting, and MRE meal replacement differs from the other shakes on this list. There are 530 calories per serving, only 4 grams of fat, 75 grams of carbohydrates, 8 grams of fibre, and an incredible 47 grams of protein (94% of your daily value).
The ingredients have been split into three groups, a carbohydrate group, a protein group, and a fats group. There are also some miscellaneous ingredients such as cinnamon, dried goji berry, and dextrose.
This is quite high in calories compared to the others, so it would suit larger bodies who are trying to lose weight. It can also be used for weight gain, but this is all affected by the rest of your diet and whether you are in a calorie deficit or surplus.
The shakes are expensive, but they are also very well designed and packed full of expensive ingredients. The only real downside is that the fat content is quite low (in our opinion). Just 4 grams of fat (36 calories) out of a 500+ calorie shake is crazy. Of course, you could just add more high-fat foods to the rest of your diet, so it isn’t that big of an issue.
We’ve looked at five of the best meal replacement shakes for weight loss in this article, and we’ve chosen a truly diverse range of shakes. If you are looking to improve your overall health, then Rootana offers you the best results. While Instant Knockout Complete is the best for burning fat.
BeNu is the perfect budget shake, and MRE is a great addition to any list, just for the exciting ingredients list. Huel Black is of course a superb shake too, and it provides you with a lot of flavour choices and a smooth shopping experience.
This post was last modified on August 5, 2022 4:03 pm
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