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Weight loss shakes are an easy way to lose weight, especially after pregnancy. They're great because as meal replacements, you can really get a head start on decreasing the number of calories you consume to lose the weight you want.

How to lose weight

To lose weight, you want to create a deficit between how many calories you consume over how many calories you burn. So let's say you normally eat 2000 calories in a day, and you decreased it to 1800 calories. And, your weight loss exercise plan has you burning 300 calories a day. That's a 500 calorie deficit.

That's 3500 calories in a week, the total number of calories in one pound. You're on track to lose 1 pound a week.

The great thing about meal replacement shakes is that you can make one for as little as 200 calories. Not too shabby for one meal. The shake is filling, full of fiber from the fruits and vegetables, and protein from the milk.

My Recipe

A sample recipe that I use as a base for all of my shakes is 1 cup of frozen fruit (usually strawberries), 1 cup of almond or soy milk, and 1 scoop of brown rice protein powder. You can interchange that base recipe for whatever you have on hand, or whatever flavors you prefer.

Then, you can add the extras. I try to throw in a handful of spinach to get some greens in, a tablespoon of flaxseed meal, a small squeeze of honey, half a banana, and a scoop of peanut butter. It's so good, and that's my usual breakfast for the day.

This meal lasts me about 3 hours until my mid-morning snack. It's so great how something so easy to make as a shake can help you to lose pregnancy weight.

Weight loss shakes aren't an addition to your meal. You don't want to drink the shake with your eggs and toast in the morning. It's a meal replacement.

The Research

Steven Heymsfield, M.D., also of St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, found that people who consumed Slim Fast shakes for one or two of their daily meals lost an average of 7-8% of their body weight over the course of a year. This compares to only 3% of people who lose weight by only lowering the number of calories they ate.

So, what does that mean? For a 150 pound woman, she would lose 10-12 pounds in a year. Not a bad result just by changing one or two meals a day.

Daily Lifestyle

Once you start the habit of making weight loss shakes, you'll find that it's so easy you won't want to go back to making your 3 square meals a day. Making a shake doesn't take a lot of effort.

It doesn't take a lot of time. It doesn't take a lot of thinking. You throw whatever ingredients you have in a blender and you blend it right up.

You don't have to spend money on Slim Fast or other shakes at the smoothie store. Make your own. You get to decide what ingredients you put in your body without the extra chemicals and artificial flavors. Plus, it's healthier for you.