For the past 3 ish years, I have replaced breakfast and lunch with protein shakes during the week. I try and use them as much as possible and for the most part it does offset my overeating, which still happens more often than id like. So i have maintained my weight for a few years now and if i really concentrate i can lose weight when i want.
I carry a cool-box in the car with all the ingredients for my shakes. Up until recently they have been made up of the following:
- One scoop (12.5g) of unflavoured protein
- Two scoops of chocolate slim fast powder (42g)
- 150ml of skimmed milk
For the past month i have modified that recipe to substitute the cows milk with Almond milk. I found i could increase the quantity from 150g to 250g (filling me up more) and still achieve my target thickness. The flavour did suffer but with such a different taste with the almond milk a significant change was inevitable.
The last few days i have been experimenting with alternatives to slim fast powder. The amount of sugar and price were concerning me. The pros for slim fast were the added vitamins and minerals. As the almond milk has added vits and mins i have decided to ignore this factor.
So i have added straight cocoa powder and xylitol to the mix and removed the slim fast. I am still playing around with the amounts but here is a breakdown of the different versions of the shakes and their properties:
| Calories (Kcal) | Protein (g) | Carb (g) | (Sugars) (g) | Fat (g) | |
| RDA (for high protein diet) | 2,000.0 | 225.0 | 125.0 | 90.0 | 67.0 |
| 2 scoop smim fast 42g | 163.8 | 6.6 | 25.2 | 19.7 | 2.9 |
| Protein 12.5g | 50.3 | 10.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 |
| skimmed milk 150g | 52.5 | 5.1 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0.2 |
| Almond milk 250g | 32.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.8 |
| Cocoa powder (15g) | 53.3 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 3.3 |
| Xylitol (10g) | 24.0 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Protein, Slimfast & skimmed | 266.6 | 21.7 | 33.3 | 27.8 | 3.9 |
| Protein, Slimfast & Almond | 246.6 | 17.6 | 26.1 | 20.3 | 6.5 |
| Double Protein, Cocoa, Xylitol & Almond | 210.3 | 24.5 | 13.1 | 1.2 | 7.7 |
Per shake, my intake of sugar have dropped from 27.8g to 1.2g. The calories have also decreased significantly by 56.3Kcal. Protein has increased slightly and fat has nearly doubled.
From what i have seen sugar and carbs are the enemy and fat is all good as long as the Kcal are under control. High protein in my diet is key to filling me up but even with 3 protein shakes a day and two or more portions of meat for dinner, my protein levels are bang on for the RDA of a high protein diet.
Having shakes instead of solid food does take some getting used to but now 2 or 3 a day keeps hunger down pretty well and is more healthy than most foods in my opinion. Chocolate flavour is essential for me to motivate me to stick to the shakes!
agitated seabass 