It depends on the shake. Shakes that contain added sugars and syrups won’t help you to lose weight, but high protein shakes that contain fibre and no more than a couple of grams of sugar can be effective in the short term. In one study of weight loss shakes, patients lost an average of 13.8 pounds over 12 weeks. [popover id=ref6]
While many brands are rich in nutrients though, they’re not really a substitute for a healthy, balanced diet that contains whole foods. You may find that weight loss shakes help you to lose weight, but they’re not forcing you to alter your eating habits. So once you’ve stopped replacing your meals with shakes, it’s likely that you’ll put the weight that you’ve lost back on.
To sum up: they can be an effective measure for weight loss for a period of time, and they are convenient because you can drink them ‘on the go’. But you may find that they’re not a long-term solution.