Now I love Pintereset, but it often tells lies. If you are busy, like truly, 100 percent busy, meal prepping can prove to be expensive and difficult. Don't get me wrong, I can pack up a PB&J with the best of them, but that isn't exactly a meal teeming with vitamins and nutrients. So, I decided that I would try my hand at replacing my lunch with a meal replacement shake. I drank the creamy milk chocolate Equate meal replacement shake. While I am naming this company and product by name, this is not a paid review and I purchased the product on my own. All of the opinions in this blog are my own and are to be used as a review. MONDAYLunch Time The idea to do this sort of sprung itself on me when I was on my way to work. I am trying to lose weight and I know that I don't have $10 a day laying in my bank account to buy lunch this week. This morning, I had a 100-calorie yogurt for breakfast. I also enjoyed a nice cup of Hazelnut coffee with some cream and two packs of sugar when I got into the office. The taste of the shake is pretty good, although I do worry I might tire of it as the week goes on. I specifically chose the chocolate flavor because I thought it would be less boring than the vanilla flavor. Although, I wish I did get a variety pack with more than one flavor option. I am surprised that this shake wasn't thicker, but that might be due to the fact it is an off-brand meal replacement shake. I haven't tried others, so I wouldn't know. Afternoon I had another cup of coffee to get me through the day. I needed the caffeine boost! Afternoon (x2) As I was cooking dinner, I started to feel really hungry. My stomach was growling pretty intensely. Tonight, we are having chicken, green beans, and garlic-roasted potatoes. It was so bad that I asked Jonathan to finish the cooking for me. I actually felt pretty void of energy and ended up taking a very short nap. After Dinner I managed not to eat the house down. I only had one chicken breast, green beans, and a good bit of potatoes. I didn't even have a snack after dinner! I think that at some point this week, I may need to find a healthy snack to have between lunch and dinner, just so I have a bit more energy. TUESDAYLunch Time So, I managed to get through the day yesterday with only the shake and a cup of coffee to tie me over until dinner. Unfortunately, I didn't bring anything with me to work to have after lunch, but I may be able to have something when I get home. I'll write an update around 3-ish. Afternoon I'm actually feeling pretty good. I don't think I had a cup of coffee this morning, and I don't think I'll need one this afternoon! That's so crazy. Anyway, I just passed Taco Bell and I am craving it for dinner, so that is probably what we will have. After Dinner I had a lot more energy today than I did on Monday. I definitely ate way to much Taco Bell, but I think it is OK to give in to cravings sometimes. I do think that the coffee may have done something crazy on Monday. My theory is that the coffee provided my body with caffeine and a bit of energy. When my cells went to grab the nutrients from the coffee, I think it may have realized there wasn't much there and used some of my store energy (fat). Hence why I was so tired. I didn't have any energy left after eating only about 300 calories so far. Anyway, I think I will test my coffee theory tomorrow by having a cup in the afternoon. WEDNESDAY
Afternoon I am not feeling hungry or anything, but I decided to have a cup of Raspberry tea today. This tea is supposed to be great for your health, which is why I bought it in the first place. After Dinner Tonight we had steak, fries, and green beans for dinner. I also had a personal bag of popcorn, but it was one of those really low-calorie ones. The bad thing I did today was drink a can and a half of soda with dinner. Also, I have been having a weird pain in my tongue. It feels like my tongue is swollen a bit. I don't think it has anything to do with the shakes, though. I may have burned my tongue on something earlier. I can't quite remember. THURSDAYI stopped by the store yesterday and managed to stock up on yogurt for breakfast. It's just so convenient and easy. If I'm ever running late, I can grab one and eat it in the car. My tongue was still hurting this morning, so I had a yogurt without any granola. Dairy has a soothing effect on burns, so I think it helped a lot. We are almost done with this experiment and I'm excited to say that I haven't had any issues with my health related to drinking these! Who knows, this might become a regular part of my summer. Afternoon I had a really crazy day today, and I had to drink my shake really quickly. This actually made me super hungry later on and I felt like I needed to eat some of those cheese and peanut butter crackers in the afternoon. That didn't really help! After Dinner I totally gave up on eating better tonight and we got pizza. It was really good and filled me up, but it was pizza, which is nothing but carbs (sugar) and grease. FRIDAYAfternoon Based on what happened yesterday, I am determined to take my time drinking this last shake. Today is a lot less busy and it's Friday! I will say that this was pretty painless and I could see myself continuing to replace my lunches with meal replacement shakes. I didn't get tired of the taste, but I will probably try to find ones in different flavors to keep lunch time interesting in the future! UPDATE I am driving 3 hours today after work with Jonathan to head to my childhood home for the weekend. I am kind of worried that I will get really hungry because I won't make it home until around 7, which is an hour after we have been eating this week. We will see what happens! After Dinner Mom greeted us with mashed potatoes, meatballs, green beans, and Hawaiian rolls. The food was delicious and I actually was able to make it home. I did have a Reese's cup when we got closer because Jonathan grabbed me one when he went into the store before we got home. It was sweet (and so is he) so I didn't want to turn it down. I only had one, if that makes it any better. END RESULTSWhen I checked my Fitbit profile, I was really shocked to see that drinking these shakes for my meals actually seemed to lower my average heart rate by a little. I didn't do anything else that deviated from my normal life like to go the gym or work out (which I hope will be something I can add in soon). Here are some screenshots: As you can see, my resting heart rate was 82 bpm on the day I started, and it fell to 81 bpm by the time I ended. But, my bpm rose by two when I went back to eating lunch when I visited my hometown and family.
This seems to be a pretty clear indication that fewer calories and less fast food had a positive impact on my bpm. I unfortunately don't think I lost weight because I really didn't watch my food too much at dinner time. That may be another blog in the future! At any rate, it helped me with my heart rate and also saved me from eating fast food take out every day!
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