Can protein shakes replace meals?!

No but it depends what you are putting into your shakes. If it's mostly powder than ask yourself if your body deserves to run on powder that is manufactured?

You should really incorporate some healthy foods into your diet like nuts, veggies, fruits, etc.

Remember that building muscle you need to eat 1 gram of protein per pound that you weigh. You can use whey protein to help, but I wouldn't recommend more than 30grams of protein powder a day.

Use natural peanut butter, natural yogurt, eggs, chicken breast, and real food to help you get enough protein.

yes ,i really don't see ANY problem with doing that as they contain vits/mins ,low cal ,low sugar,low fat and give a LOT of protein + your NOT replacing ALL your meals with these shakes so go ahead and the result will be a weight loss..

Yes they can, but you still need all the other food groups to keep your body healthy. Protein shakes are just that, protein!

it could replace them

No. What can possibly be the reason anyone would want to buy milk with all the nutrition sucked out of it except protein (whey), reconstitute it by adding water or, duh, more milk, and then pay 4 or 5 times more money for it that what dehydrated milk costs? How stupid is that? Granted some manufacturers put other junk in the shakes but none of it does what you want. Here's the story.

Your body does not store protein as it does fat so there's no point in dumping a large amount of protein into your system at one time. You need protein in small amounts throughout each day so a protein shake will be mostly lost through excretion thereby making the calories in the shake wasted and of minimal nutritional benefit. Here's how much protein you need --> http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/ba… and you can get that easily with a glass of milk and a chicken breast or piece of meat. If you get 150 grams of protein a day that amounts to 10 pounds at the end of the month. Bodybuilders may gain a half a pound of muscle in a good month. The rest of the 10 pounds goes into hair, skin, sinew, organs, and most of all the toilet.

Protein supplements have almost no fiber which means they will do little to give you the satisfaction of a normal digestive process and will not have any appreciable appetite suppression. They are refined foods with all the nutrition taken out of them except protein which makes them a bad addition to any diet. Some manufacturers add flavoring, sugar, and other junk to the protein to make the "shake" more palatable and more marketable which makes them an especially bad choice for any diet.

Here's why protein shakes should be avoided:

- They are not controlled by the FDA like foods and drugs.
- May have harmful or undesirable side effects
- May contain metabolically unavailable proteins
- Will probably provide more protein than you need with the rest going to waste
- Provide you with extra calories
- May contain junk food ingredients to make them tastey
- Possibly provide you unwanted contaminants or toxins
- Wastes money
- Replaces what you really need - good food!
- Perpetuates the myth

Consider the following. Fat is good because you'll die without it. Protein is bad because it can ruin your kidneys and kill you. These are examples of the logic behind the protein supplement. The truth is, carbs, fats, protein, starches, sugars, vitamins, etc. are not good or bad. They are only good when needed and bad in excess. The secret to building muscle, burning fat, and eating healthy is very simply to eat the correct and optimal amount of whole and varied foods as recommended by the US National Institute of Health.

Here is what the US National Institute of Health warns about supplements. "Always check with your health care provider before taking a supplement, especially when combining or substituting them with other foods or medicine."
Ref: http://ods.od.nih.gov/Health_Information…

If you're drinking protein shakes to build muscle, check out these references.

Here’s a white paper you can read which debunks the myth of the protein supplement. Note the following excerpt...“At present there is no evidence to suggest that supplements are required for optimal muscle growth or strength gain.”
Ref: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15212…

Here's one more study supplement users should read. Note the excerpt..."Consumption of a recovery drink (whey protein, amino acids, creatine, and carbohydrate) after strength training workouts did not promote greater gains in FFM (Fat free muscle) compared with consumption of a carbohydrate-only drink.”
Ref: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15105…

Here’s another from Live Science. Note the excerpt…“Medical researchers have advised against protein supplements for years for the average person. But many sports trainers continue to push them on amateur athletes simply because they don't know any better.”
Ref: http://www.livescience.com/health/protei…

Here's what Consumer Reports had to say..."But our investigation, including tests at an outside laboratory of 15 protein drinks, a review of government documents, and interviews with health and fitness experts and consumers, found most people already get enough protein, and there are far better and cheaper ways to add more if it's needed. Some protein drinks can even pose health risks, including exposure to potentially harmful heavy metals, if consumed frequently. All drinks in our tests had at least one sample containing one or more of the following contaminants: arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. Those metals can have toxic effects on several organs in the body."
Ref: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magaz…

Eat like an Olympian...eat food. Don't eat like a musclehead, gym rat, or GNC junkie.

Good luck and good health!

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