Transition to healthy eating
While meal replacements may be useful for some people in the short- to medium-term, Professor Collins says the
key to maintaining a healthy weight in the long term is to find an eating pattern you can stick to.
"If you can move to a healthier eating pattern than you had before [meal replacements], or to some other type
of dietary approach that's not as severe as a very low-energy diet, you'll be happier with your long-term result," she says.
Meal replacements, like any diet, are no magic bullet to improved health.
To achieve sustained, long-term weight loss, it's important to address lifestyle, social factors and habits that influence
your diet and exercise program.
There's also research that shows the challenge of keeping weight off long-term has a lot to do with hunger hormones
and the way your body stores and uses energy, not just self control.
Professor Collins adds that putting some weight back on immediately after stopping meal replacements is
normal — much of the early weight loss (in any diet) is due to loss of water.
"All that says is to keep the weight off, you need to move to another approach that you can follow on a day-to-day basis," she says.
It's important to note that meal replacements and very low energy diets are not suitable for children, pregnant women,
people with eating disorders, and those taking medications affected by rapid weight loss, including insulin.
They may also exacerbate some mental health conditions.
The science of weight-loss shakes: How meal replacements work - Health - ABC News