MET-Rx Meal Replacements

By Robbie Durand, M.A.
Senior Web Editor

Walk into any health food store for meal-replacement shakes, and more than likely you will be overwhelmed with the number of meal-replacement shakes on the market. If you are looking to make gains in strength and size, meal planning is the base on which your body is built. Many top-ranked bodybuilders that I have spoken to state that eating healthier and more frequently has been the key to making more gains in strength and size. Eating three or four meals a day is not going to cut it for the serious strength athlete or bodybuilder.

Many MD readers have full-time jobs and can't walk around with a cooler full of food. MET-Rx Meal Replacements offer the 'next best thing' to carrying around a refrigerator full of food; MET-Rx Meal Replacement shakes are the ultimate meal replacement for the bodybuilder or athlete on the go!

Compared to most other meal-replacement powders, MET-Rx has relatively few calories and a unique protein blend that is patented. MET-Rx Meal Replacement contains 250 calories, 22 grams of carbohydrates and 37 grams of protein. The calorie breakdown of MET-Rx Meal Replacement is 6 percent fat, 12 percent carbohydrate and 82 percent protein. One of the major benefits of MET-Rx replacement packs is the overall nutritional value they provide. The convenient, 'ready-to-go' packs contain 25 essential vitamins and minerals. It is also aspartame free, has no added sugar, and is gluten free.

MET-Rx Proprietary Metamyosyn® Blend

METAMYOSYN® combines milk protein with fast-digesting whey protein and slow-acting casein, plus L-Glutamine and the naturally-occurring branched-chain amino acids isoleucine, leucine and valine. The precise combination of proteins in METAMYOSYN® offers a sustained release of amino acids for up to seven hours, and provides your body with a highly bioavailable fuel that helps build lean muscle mass and strength.

The patented protein blend (METAMYOSYN®) of MET-Rx Meal Replacements contains two main components: whey protein and casein protein. Whey protein is rapidly digested and absorbed, which shuttles amino acids into muscle quickly, but this effect is temporary. Increase in amino acid blood levels inhibits muscle breakdown and stimulates protein synthesis. However, research has shown that whey protein is oxidized (burned up) very quickly in muscle- in short, protein synthesis is stimulated acutely but its effects are very short.

This is where casein protein comes in. Casein protein forms a gel-like mixture in the stomach, which is slowly broken down over a period of hours. It makes the METAMYOSYN® formula work more efficiently because casein proteins have a slower rate of digestion and absorption- and this gives it more time to fuel protein synthesis, and less into energy production. So now, you can see how MET-Rx Meal Replacements, by combining whey and casein, make a good combo for energy production and protein synthesis. The result is a highly bioavailable fuel that helps build lean muscle mass and strength.

MET-Rx Meal Replacements Outperform Whey Protein!

When examining a supplement to buy, I always ask, "Has this supplement been clinically-validated to work?" Can you imagine going into the drugstore and picking up a prescription that didn't work? When purchasing a supplement, this is the same standard you should be looking for.

MET-Rx Meal Replacements can proudly say that they are supported by peer-reviewed research, and independent researchers reported that the product works. METAMYOSYN® protein, based on metabolic research, helps support lean muscle mass in clinical trials.1,2,3 In a groundbreaking study, subjects using MET-Rx Meal Replacements twice per day gained more muscle and strength over 12 weeks than a group receiving only whey protein supplements.3 The interesting part of the study was that it tested police officers- real people who have one of the most stressful jobs possible!

The effects of METAMYOSYN® protein blend found in MET-Rx Meal Replacement have been studied on highly-active individuals attempting to simultaneously gain muscle mass and strength. In the study, police officers were given either a MET-Rx Meal Replacement supplement containing METAMYOSYN® protein blend or a whey protein supplement, twice per day. Total protein intake for both groups was 1.5g/kg bodyweight. A third group was given no additional protein supplement and maintained a lower total daily protein intake. All three groups decreased their total daily calories and followed an intense, resistance-training program. After 12 weeks, both groups receiving the protein supplement gained more muscle mass and strength than the control group. More impressively, the METAMYOSYN® group gained significantly more muscle mass and strength than the whey protein group.3 At the end of the 12-week study, here are some of the impressive gains made by the police officers who drank MET-Rx Meal Replacements, compared to whey protein:

More Gains In Lean Muscle Mass and Strength:

  • The patented METAMYOSYN® protein group, which consumed a MET-Rx Meal Replacement, averaged an 8.8 pound-gain in muscle (lean mass), while the whey protein group averaged a 4.4 pound-gain in muscle.1
  • The average increase in strength when combining chest press, shoulder press, leg extension (as measured by maximum weight that could be lifted for 8-10 repetitions) was 59 percent for the METAMYOSYN® protein group and 29 percent for the whey protein group.

Why take chances with other meal replacements- trust the clinically-studied METAMYOSYN® protein blend found in MET-Rx Meal Replacements, which are placed in ready-to-go packets that can be mixed with water or other beverages. MET-Rx Meal Replacement packets are perfect between meals, directly after exercise, and right before bedtime as the patented METAMYOSYN® blend is slowly-digested and will keep you in an anabolic state during the night.

References:

  1. Demling RH, DeSanti L. Oxandrolone, an anabolic steroid, significantly increases the rate of weight gain in the recovery phase after major burns. J Trauma, 1997 Jul;43(1):47-51.
  2. Demling RH, DeSanti L. Increased protein intake during the recovery phase after severe burns increases body weight gain and muscle function. J Burn Care Rehabil, 1998 Mar-Apr;19(2):161-8.
  3. Demling RH, DeSanti L. Effect of a hypocaloric diet, increased protein intake and resistance training on lean mass gains and fat mass loss in overweight police officers. Ann Nutr Metab, 2000;44(1):21-9.