Why You Shouldn't Try The HMR Program for Fast Weight Loss in 2022

What Is the HMR Program?

The Health Management Resources Program, better known as the HMR Program, is a pre-packaged food plan created about 30 years ago by Dr. Lawrence Stifler. It's been tested and continues to be used as a weight-loss approach in clinical settings. Many hospitals like NYU Langone Health, UC San Diego Health and Henry Ford Health System in Detroit use HMR as a weight-loss program at their facilities.

What You Can (and Can't) Eat on the HMR Program

The HMR at Home Program plan provides 1,200 to 1,500 calories each day and is broken into two phases.

During the first phase, you're allowed to eat three HMR shakes, two HMR entrees and five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. You stay in phase one until you reach your goal weight or until you're ready to have less structure in your diet. A sample day on phase one might look like:

• Breakfast: HMR Multigrain Hot Cereal with 1 cup of fruit
• Snack: HMR Chocolate Shake
• Lunch: HMR Penne Pasta with Meatballs and 2 cups of vegetables
• Snack: 1 cup of fruit
• Dinner: HMR Savory Chicken and 2 cups of vegetables
• Snack: HMR Vanilla Shake with 1 cup of frozen fruit

On the HMR program, especially during the first phase, you are encouraged to only eat HMR foods along with fruit and vegetables. The website has a database of recipes, but they all call for specific HMR foods that you then add to. One example is an Italian Tomato Bisque recipe which calls for combining the HMR Lasagna with the HMR 500 Chicken Soup along with canned stewed tomatoes, Molly McButter (yes, you read that right) and fat-free sour cream.

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Pros of the HMR Program

As with anything, there are positives and negatives to this diet. In our opinion, though, the bad outweighs the good. Here's our breakdown.

1. Meal Delivery

Who doesn't love the ease of a meal-delivery program? No cooking required here, nor having to think about what you're going to eat.

2. Lots of Fruits and Veggies

More specific to this diet is the abundance of fruits and vegetables promoted at each meal. The diet encourages at least five servings each day, which is right in line with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

3. It Works

The diet is endorsed and used by hospitals across the country because, like almost any diet, it will help you lose weight. But as we know, sustainable weight loss and better overall health are more important than a quick drop on the scale — more on that below.

Cons of the HMR Program

1. It's Expensive

The cost of the diet means it isn't accessible to everyone. The typical cost for three weeks of shakes and food delivery is about $300, and you still need to supplement with trips to the supermarket.

2. Sodium Is an Issue

HMR foods can be high in salt. For instance, the previous example of the Italian Bisque Soup recipe provides over 1,800 milligrams of sodium per serving — that's about 80 percent of your total daily sodium needs in just one meal, according to the American Heart Association.

3. The Food Is Packed With Additives

The HMR foods and ingredients called for in recipes are also packed with artificial flavors, sweeteners and additives. Adding Molly McButter — that is, butter-flavored "sprinkles" made with maltodextrin — to the Italian Bisque Soup is a prime example.

A shake recipe calls for "sugar-free white chocolate syrup," and the HMR protein powders themselves contain the artificial sweetener aspartame.

4. It Can Be Socially Isolating

According to U.S. News' reporting, the diet also recommends you "consider temporarily limiting social activities that center around food" while on the diet. Any diet that encourages restricting your social life so that you can sit at home and carefully monitor your food intake isn't a sustainable diet in our books.

The diet is essentially saying you can't have both — a healthy diet and a social life — that they're mutually exclusive. The diet is failing to teach someone how to live a healthy life, which includes a healthy relationship with food while also maintaining social and fruitful relationships with friends and loved ones.

Ready to Lose Weight?

A Healthier Approach to Weight Loss

Any diet that claims you'll "lose weight quickly" while making you 100 percent reliant on their foods to do so is one where you should proceed with caution. Especially when those foods are high in sodium and subpar ingredients and you're encouraged to limit any part of your social life that may center around food.

We understand the desire to lose weight quickly, but what is the point if it's not sustainable? Instead, a slower, more long-term approach that includes focusing on whole foods versus ultra-processed foods and shakes is the healthier route to go.

Shifting away from relying on ultra-processed foods and eating a healthier, whole foods-based diet may be better for our health and our waistlines in the long run.

Need more help? Check out How to Find the Best Weight Loss Diet for You

Read more on: livestrong