103 lbs. to lose, and I was just wondering... (shake?)
 

Have any of you lost a considerable amount of weight having a healthy protein shake for breakfast and lunch and then a beautiful healthy dinner?

Not me, I love chewing food too much for that :D

I lost about 70 lbs that way in 1999...but gained it all back plus more. I'd be careful doing it that way, IMO you aren't creating a sustainable lifestyle.

Everyone is different though....

No I think I would get bored of those pretty quickly and want more variety. I just count calories :)

I sometimes have fresh smoothies for breakfast but over all I like to chew my food too ;)

I may be projecting, but I think you are trying to find a simple solution to a complex problem. It is complicated to come up with a whole new set of things to eat--it's like moving to a new city and having to come up with a whole new system of living. It's stressful and takes a lot of sitting around thinking and then trying things. Some of these won't work. But it has to be done, if you are going to develop a new way to live.

Make sure you eat enough calories, as well: if you have 100+ pounds to lose, you likely need to eat more than the 900 calories or so that diet would give you. For me, I found I lost tons of weight at 1800-2000 a day when I weighed 250-300, and because I was eating so much I was never seriously tempted to go off plan: I wasn't fighting my survival instincts every minutes of every day.

Nope, I've lost this weight and will maintain my goal weight by changing my lifestyle forever. I really feel, especially for people with large amounts of weight to lose, that changing one's lifestyle is the only way to go. I know it's sounds hard, and to be honest, it is at first. But after a few months things will start to click and you'll make healthier choices out of habit and because you truly want to. I look at a menu completely differently now and I shop differently too, and not because I HAVE to but because I WANT to and if feels good and sounds delicious to eat the right kinds of foods in the right quantities. Good luck!

A friend of mine lost 40lbs in a little over 3 months on the Ideal Protein diet. She admits she lost that without exercising and just solely drinking their shakes and it is VERY expensive. She said now that she is on one of the later phases, it is really difficult not to eat everything in sight being as she was deprived of normal food for so long. So it takes some pretty EXTREME will power. I honestly dont know how she did it because she literally had NOTHING but shakes for over 3 months...but got the results she wanted.

At the very beginning, I ate whole foods. Lots of veggies, some fruit, lean meats, legumes, etc. At some point, I struggled with breakfast because I don't like eating in the morning so I included some shakes for breakfast. I don't do it all the time but once in a while I will have a shake.

I never used them as meal replacements when I would've otherwise wanted real food though.

I was on the Slim Fast shake in the past, lost weight, but gained it back due from not eating real foods. Now am learning the hard way of eating proteins, whole grains, fruits,nuts,and some sweets that includes in my calories limit.

I have to agree with NCuneo....if you have a hundred pounds to lose, the first fifty or so will come off pretty quick without drinking shakes-- you just have to find a modest plan and stick to it. But to really lose 100 lbs, you HAVE to stick with it for the long haul, and that means something you can do day in, day out for a year or more...

I have a homemade protein shake every morning, made with tofu, fat free yogurt, soy milk, agave nectar, flax seeds, and matcha tea powder. However! On the weekends I eat a breakfast I have to chew (lol), and I don't think I could do it for 2 meals in a row. I like eating lunch. I think a breakfast shake/smoothie is not a bad idea, because it's easy and portable and a good way to get in protein early in the morning without having to cook eggs or something like that. But I don't think that I, personally, could do 2 a day.

:lol: you're funny Michelle!

Same here!

Just my two cents as someone who is still in the early stages of the journey but so far much more successful than in the past.

I'm doing the HMR program which consists of 3 shakes a day, two pre-prepared meals, and 5 servings of fruits and vegetables. I was very resistant to doing any sort of program but I finally decided that I need a tool right now to feel successful, help me figure out portion control, and get past my excuse of being too busy to do this. In the past I've been terrible with getting any fruits or vegetables, and on this program, you still have to make your own servings of those. So in the last couple months I've learned how to cook and eat a lot of things I never had before. Having the shakes and pre-packaged meals freed me up to just worry about the veggies. One of the things I like about the shakes is they're only 120 calories each so if I'm hungry or craving something chocolate I can make one and it satisfies me. I know I won't eat like this forever and in fact I sometimes do eat other foods within reasons, but the shakes have been super helpful to me so far. I always start my day with a shake and a serving of fruit blended in and it puts me on good footing for the rest of the day. I can see myself doing that for the rest of my life.

So my advice would be to see if it keeps you satisfied. If not, make some tweaks but keep what was working.

When I first started all I did was journal every bite I ate. After a couple of weeks I weighed and realized I was already losing weight and stll eating over 2000 calories everyday. So my advice to people just starting out is grab paper and pen and just write down the food\calories you eat every day. You will be amazed.