Sports Supplements > Meal Replacements

• A protein blend, not just whey.
• A slow-absorbing carb source, not just table sugar (or similar sugars).
• Some kind of fats or EFAs (yes, it is doable in a powder).
• Vitamins and minerals added.
• Fiber added.

The above is a "tall order" list, and we do have MRPs that meet that order. Once you've selected an MRP, you need to see if you are going to ever order it again. Two more features come into play:

1. Taste.
2. Mixability.

This is why we like the Optimum Nutrition MRP. It tastes great, mixes easily, and meets the other criteria outlined above. The MRPs we offer are free of high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oil (both of which are unfit for human consumption--read your labels).

Many bodybuilders have three MRPs and three whole food meals. Figure out the combination that works best for you.

Remember that an MRP has calories, so don't just start adding an MRP to your diet without replacing another meal.

Food that people add to MRPs:

• You might eat it with an apple, for extra carbs, nutrition, and fiber.
• Raw oats (stone ground) mixed into an MRP give it carbs and fiber, plus extra "body."
• Don't pile on massive quantities of fruit or nuts, because the calories add up. A little goes a long way.

1. Increase the intensity of your workout (fewer reps per set, with heavier weight in each set). If you do 3 sets of 10 reps, you are sacrificing intensity for conformity. Change that silly pattern before supplementing. You should find each set harder to do than the last, so it will necessarily consist of either fewer reps or less weight. If each set is the same, you are doing something wrong. Think about the logic, here. Then, implement the change and watch your results improve.

2. Focus on what the muscle is doing, not what the weight is doing.

3. Stimulate, don't annihilate. You need only stimulate the body into an adaptive response. Training beyond that point is counterproductive.

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• If you eat hydrogenated oil for your non-MRP meals, you are still going to have a high risk of colon cancer.
• If you eat high fructose corn syrup for your non-MRP meals, you are still playing dangerous insulin games.
• If you drink "osteoporosis in a can" (aptly named "soft drink"), you will still damage your bones and create other health issues even if you eat an MRP.

The MRPs we offer do not contain high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oil, or motor oil. Many MRPs contain the first two items on that list. All are toxic to humans. An MRP isn't a license for eating wrong. Think of it as a way of ensuring that, by complementing your other efforts, your body is getting good nutrition.

If you could afford only one supplement, make it the Meal Replacement Powder (MRP). A good MRP provides you with a solid nutritional foundation that is essential for good health, general fitness, sensible weight control, and muscular development.

MRPs vs. Protein drinks

There are all kinds of MRPs and protein drinks. We will tell you how MRPs differ from protein drinks, and also what the various permutations of these are about. We'll be blunt about things, so as not to waste your time.

A protein drink is just that--protein. It may have additional nutrients added to it, but it typically does not. Most of these are whey protein isolates--which means they hit your bloodstream fast. Not what you want for fat loss. Protein blends will add in casein, soy, or some other proteins--this blunts the insulin response whey triggers. A good protein powder is going to be expensive--you get what you pay for.

The next step up, nutritionally speaking, from a protein mix is the MRP--Meal Replacement Powder. Most of these simply take a protein blend and add cheap sugars and hydrogenated oils. But now they have the other two macro nutrients (carbohydrates and fats), and so can technically be called a "meal."

We provide the quality edge

I buy and test MRPs before we sell them. The market is loaded with MRPs, and most of them are junk. We provide you a valuable service by weeding out the junk. That's not an easy task. For example, it's almost impossible to get nutritional information ahead of time--imagine that!

Your first line of defense is to weed out the cheap ones and not even bother with them--because those are the ones with high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oil. Which is why they are cheap. They are also toxic and fattening. Companies that aren't forthcoming with their nutritional information have reason to be, so that's another filter. If they are so ashamed of what they put in their product that they'd rather hide this information, we trust their judgment and don't offer the product!

The bottom line for you is we offer only high-quality MRPs that I have personally tested. And I am very picky.

How we decide what to carry

When we first get an MRP, we read the label. If we don't like what's on there, we send it backfor a refund. Then we put it through trials.

Our manager says, "If the ingredients look OK, then I mix this stuff with water to see how it tastes, how well it mixes, etc. If it passes that test, then I stop using any other MRPs and take this stuff straight for a week. I see how my body responds (a bad MRP will cause me to put on fat and/or to have excessive gas). After that, I use the rest of it in mixes with fruit, raw oats, yogurt, other MRPs, whatever"

When the trials are up, we add it to our offerings.

Making MRPs work for you

Other supplement companies might not tell you the following, but we will. Eat too many MRPs, and you will get fat. The key here is to use them as part of a sensible eating strategy. If your body needs 1900 calories per day and you eat 3 of these MRPs per instructions (230 calories per MRP), that leaves you with 1210 calories you can have the rest of the day. At six meals per day, that means about 400 calories for each of your three other meals. Making double-sized MRP shakes is going to make you fat. First, you need a good MRP (like the ones we carry). Then, you need to use it sensibly.