Powders, shakes and bars. No doubt you have seen many of the available Meal Replacement Formulas (or MRFs) in health clubs, grocery stores…just about everywhere.

What do these do and how can they help in achieving your fitness goals? While many are touted to increase muscle mass and strip fat from the body, not to mention numerous other inflated claims, they can actually aid in the achievement of your fitness goals. The following are some of the advantages of using MRFs:

They can be used when eating a regular meal or snack is inconvenient.
This ensures that you do not skip meals, which can sabotage your eating plan, leading to low energy, hunger and poor food choices when finally faced with food.

They provide quick, convenient calories.
Those needing to increase their caloric intake and are having difficulty doing it from whole food alone can use MRFs to increase calories.

They are perfect for a pre-workout snack. Especially for those who hit the early-morning workouts and don't want to eat a meal or wait for it to digest.

They are ideal for post-workout recovery.
There is a 90-minute window of opportunity following exercise when recovery, in the form of glycogen, or the fuel stored in the muscles and liver, can occur at a quicker rate.

At this point, it is worth mentioning the proper design of a MRF. Currently, high-protein formulas are filling the market. This is not based upon good science, but rather the lure of what is easy to sell. This is because of the current trend of low-carb diets and high-protein diets.

All research and experience shows carbohydrate to be the most important food substance to eat after a strenuous bout of exercise.

When carbs come in, they stimulate insulin (gasp!), which stimulates protein synthesis (!), which aids in recovery and rebuilding of damaged tissue.

If case logic, human physiology and common sense fail to win you over, here is one last attempt to help - studies are showing a connection between dietary protein and the muscle-building serum testosterone levels. The higher the dietary protein one eats, the lower the serum testosterone level. This is over the amount a person needs for repair and growth.

They can help you lose more weight and keep it off.
Counting calories is tough. It is hard to know what is in a food. Statistically, the more overweight someone is, the more likely they are to underreport calories. Meal replacements are pre-measured and the calories are easily counted.

Several studies have shown that when dieters were given meal replacements as part of a reduced calorie food plan, they lost more weight than those prescribed the same number of calories with no meal replacements.

Long-term follow-up on those who have lost weight show that those using MRFs have greater success at keeping the weight off. In fact, a one-year follow-up of weight loss in two groups (one with MRF, one without) showed that the group using MRFs maintained their weight loss, while the group that did not use MRFs gained back almost all of the weight that had been previously lost. Another study involving a five-year follow-up echoed those results.

What to look for in a Meal Replacement Formula

• Find one that tastes good to you.
• Do not fall for exaggerated claims. Meal Replacement Formulas are essentially food in a convenient form.
• Look for the vitamin and mineral content to be equivalent to an equal number of whole food calories.
• Carbohydrates are more important than protein! You need more carbohydrates for energy in a day than you need protein to build muscle. No exceptions. If you need protein and cannot get it from food, then get a protein powder. Look for meal replacement powder that has more carbohydrate than protein.
• Don't pay for the story. There is no lack of high protein shakes and wonder powders. These products are used by millions of people. If they were that amazing, everyone would look great and all would be happy.
• Don't obsess over the type of protein used. Any complete protein will be sufficient for the majority of exercisers' goals, provided total protein intake is sufficient. The bitter battles that are waged in the magazines regarding the superiority of one form of whey protein versus another is the most colossal, enormous, monumental non-issue that has ever been.