Looking for a simple diet plan that fits into your busy schedule? Meal replacements may be the answer you're looking for! They really can be part of a healthy weight loss program. Get the facts and find the plan that's best for you:

• Check out the latest studies: Meal replacement diets have proven more effective than traditional diets

• Find out if meal replacements are right for you

• Discover six ways to maximize your results on a meal replacement diet

• Get the calorie and carb counts and other stats on popular meal replacement choices

• Learn more about Special K, Kashi and Slim Fast

Meal Replacement Diets vs. Traditional Diets

The March 2001 issue of The Journal of the American Dietetic Association includes a yearlong study of 64 overweight women ages 18-55 who wanted to lose 20 to 40 pounds and maintain the weight loss. The women claimed they couldn't change their eating habits no matter how hard they tried. Half the women were given a standard 1,200-calorie meal plan that you've probably all memorized by now. The other group was told to replace all three daily meals with a liquid shake containing 220 calories, supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables to total 1,200 calories per day.

What happened? After the first three months, both groups of women lost 3 to 6 pounds of body fat without losing lean muscle mass. But after one year on the program, the women on the meal replacements maintained their weight loss, while the other group regained the lost weight (sound familiar?).

Another study of 100 overweight people (21 males and 79 females, ages 35-55) published in the August 2000 issue of Obesity Research also sheds a favorable light on meal replacements. For the first three months, half the participants followed a 1,200- 1,500-calorie diet, while the other half had two meal replacements per day, plus one balanced meal. At the end of the three months, the traditional dieters had lost 1.7 pounds and the group using meal replacements lost 7 pounds. At this point, both groups were asked to use one meal replacement and one snack replacement each day for the next four years. At the end of the study, the traditional dieters lost an average of 3 pounds, while the meal replacement group lost an average of 8 pounds. It appears that initially losing more weight helped the second group maintain their weight loss for a longer period of time -- 8 pounds may not sound like much, but any amount of weight that we can lose and keep off typically translates into improved health. Both groups saw a decrease in blood sugar levels, but only the meal replacement group had lower triglyceride and blood pressure levels.