Could this pizza help you LOSE weight? It contains just 200 calories but claims to give you all the nutrients you need

It is the hardest thing about being on a diet - depriving yourself of your favourite foods.

Now, one company claims to have come to the rescue - in the form of a low-calorie pizza. 

But before you get excited about carbs and cheese, bear in mind it's a meal replacement - made by adding water to a sachet of powdered dough and sauce.

And while it's topped with vegetables, there is, sadly, no cheese.  

The Exante pizza, it is claimed, has just 200 calories per eight-inch serving, compared with at least 500 calories in a regular thin crust base with tomato sauce.

It is also said to be enriched with more than 22 vitamins and minerals plus added protein and is in line with recommendations of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

And the secret to it being just 200 calories? 

The dough is made from a vegetable protein and egg white and is topped with a tomato sauce containing soya and herbs. 

Eaten in its entirety as meal, it provides a third of the recommended daily amount of vitamins and minerals.

While cheese wouldn't be recommended for dieters, other suitable toppings include green peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, red onions - food low in carbs and calories. 

Chris Rogerson, managing director for the online weight-management company, Exante Diet, said sales in weight-loss meal replacements have rocketed in the last two years.

'Dieters want products that fit into their busy lifestyles,' he told MailOnline. 

'They also want to enjoy meals with their families and our new diet pizza allows them to stay on track with their weight loss without feeling deprived.'

And unlike many meal replacement foods, it does actually resemble real food, he adds. 

But is a meal replacement pizza really the answer, regardless of what it may taste like?

'Meal replacements used to get a really bad press, but they do have a role to play,' dietitian Helen Bond told MailOnline.

'Most of them are required to have 200 - 400 calories by law and must contain an assortment of vitamins and minerals, added protein and fibre. 

'Most people will lose weight if they cut down and will eat just 200 calories - and these meals are good for those who struggle with portion control.'

But she fears any meal replacement paln may fails to educate slimmers in the long term - as they don't learn how to eat 'real food'.

'This means they may gain weight once they stop dieting,' she explains.

'On the plus side, the vegetable protein will be beneficial, and it will help dieters who feel they are missing out on "proper" food' - providing it tastes OK.'  

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