Meal replacement shakes have become all the rage again. Many believe they are a new concept developed by silicone valley tech kids, but that isn’t at all true.
While they are ultimately responsible for making them popular again, meal replacement shakes have been around longer than me. They are nothing new!
Regardless of who came up with the idea of replacing meals with quickly made (yet nutritious) shakes, it is a genius concept. And they have been a life changer for me in many ways, some of which I will get into a bit later.
But first, what are the best meal replacement shakes?
Established vs. Hype Brands
A few years ago I came across a contributed article on Tim Ferris’ blog where a young guy documented going on this meal replacement shake for a few weeks and seeing tremendous benefits despite the shakes being absolutely disgusting in every way imaginable.
Now, as someone who loves food, the first thought that entered my mind was: Why would you do that to yourself?
New Meal Replacement Shake Brand
I then started looking into the company who’s shakes he was consuming and discovered that – at the time – they didn’t care one bit as to what the finished shake:
- looked like (it wasn’t an appetizing look)
- tasted like (it didn’t taste good at all)
- felt like (slimy texture… yuck)
- smelled like (not a pleasant aroma)
- etc
Turns out the only thing the creator of the shake was concerned with was that each shake had about a third of the important nutrients the human body needs to function, so that in replacing 3 meals a day with the shake, the consumer would get the recommended daily amount of nutrients.
He seemed to not care too much if the ingredients being used were synthetic instead of natural. Definitely a very tech/engineering approach to replacing meals.
I am not saying that to discredit or dismiss the company or it’s founders. In fact, I am absolutely intrigued by the momentum they created, the raving fan base they built (in record time), how they contribute to food banks, etc.
Pretty much exactly what I would want to do if I were to start a meal replacement company. Except my focus would be more on making sure the ingredients being used are as natural as possible.
Established Meal Replacement Shake Brand
I then remembered a company I used to be with that too had meal replacement shakes. Even though they marketed their shakes as weight management shakes, the nutritional ingredients were identical if not more extensive than those of the new company I just mentioned.
I then remembered that their shakes had a wide range of flavors to chose from. Which – for a food lover like me – is important. Shake or not – I like to enjoy my meals. I like them to not only be nutritious and satisfying, but taste, smell, feel and look appetizing as well.
So the idea of just gulping down something I didn’t enjoy did not interest me much – no matter how good it was supposed to be for me.
And so – when I finally came to a point where I wanted to replace 1 to 2 meals per day with a shake (for a myriad of reasons of which I will go into later), I ended up choosing the company that had a 40 year track record of making quality meal replacement shakes over a company that was just a few years old.
Best Meal Replacement Shake Company
Anytime I hear someone make a biased claim like “this company makes by far the best product” in whatever niche they are in, I shake my head. Did they try the product of every competing brand? If not, how do they know that their brand is the best?
The same rule applies here. I am not going to pretend that I have tried every meal replacement shake under the sun and that this is the best meal replacement shake company out there, but I will say I have tried and researched enough products (by different companies) to know value when I see it.
In this case, the protein shake that ticks all the boxes for me is the Herbalife meal replacement shake. Aside from an abundance of vitamins and minerals in their shakes, Herbalife has a few important factors going for it that most other meal replacement shake companies don’t have.
Here are just a few examples:
1.) Established Track Record
Herbalife isn’t a new company. Unlike most of the meal replacement shake companies out there, Herbalife has been around for 40 years. What other company has been improving and standing behind it’s products for this long? Not many!
No-one is in business for 40 years unless they have a pretty solid product. Period!
2.) Established Science
Again, 40 years of testing and tweaking with the oversight of dozens (possibly hundreds) of different doctors, nutritionists, and scientists, the Herbalife products are pretty solid.
To add to that: there are roughly 40 million health conscious people around the world consuming the Herbalife products right now. If the science had been off on these shakes for over 40 years, this would not be happening.
3.) Affordable Prices
I remember the first time I purchased the Herbalife meal replacement shakes I thought they were expensive. I suppose I wasn’t used to prepaying for 30 meals at once. Once I looked at it from that perspective, it seemed very affordable.
Also, when I attempted to purchase a similar powder from a couple other brands, I quickly realized how the Herbalife shakes were actually extremely competitively priced. Especially considering the companies long established reputation in the industry.
What’s more, if you buy in larger quantities like I am, you can easily get a 25% discount (message me if this is something that interests you), which makes these one of the most affordable meal replacement shake powders sold today.
4.) Complete Nutrition
Later I will get into how you can customize each shake to your needs/liking, but one thing I have always liked about Herbalife is that their products support (and can be customized to support) various nutritional needs. It’s not at all a one glove fits all approach.
Every one of their meal replacement protein powders comes with at 9 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, and over 20 essential vitamins and minerals per serving.
On top of that, there is plenty of room for you to customize each shake/smoothie to be:
- the best meal replacement shake for weight loss
- the best meal replacement shake for muscle gain
- the best meal replacement shake for runners
- the best meal replacement shake for diabetics
- etc, etc.
I will get more into how I do this a little later, but for now…
Why Should You Consume Meal Replacement Shakes?
As just hinted at, people look for meal replacement shakes for a variety of reasons. My reason was to get my gut health under control. I was having so many food sensitivities that I was always in pain or discomfort.
Replacing 1 to 2 meals a day with a nutritious meal replacement protein shake has allowed me to get that part of my life under control. No more pain. No more discomfort. And I feel healthier and stronger than I felt in my youth.
Here are some more reasons as to why people choose to replace their meals with the Herbalife meal replacement protein shakes.
1.) To Save Time & Simplify Daily Life
It really depends on how you make your shake, but a simple version – where you put the powder and your choice of milk into a shaker bottle and shake it – can be made within 30 seconds and can be consumed within a minute or two.
This makes it a huge time saver. Not just that, but it makes it extremely convenient as well. No need to spend an hour or more every day cooking or eating out. You got all the fuel you need with less than a minute of prep time. It doesn’t get any easier than this.
2.) To Balance Daily Nutritional Intake
Having a toast with jam first thing in the morning is nice, but how nutritious is it really? Having those hamburgers and fries for lunch is delicious, but how stuffed and tired will you feel after? Having pizza for supper is fun and convenient sometimes, but again: does it have the optimal nutrients your body needs to run on all cylinders?
Whether you replace one meal a day or three meals a day with the Herbalife meal replacement shakes, you can rest easy knowing that your body gets the nutrients it needs to thrive. Especially if you customize the shake to your needs (as I outline further down this page).
3.) To Help Deal With Food Allergies & Sensitivities
As mentioned earlier, this was the primary reason for me to start replacing meals with these protein shakes. I had severe bloating issues whenever I ate something containing wheat or cow milk. On top of that I was supposedly allergic to eggs (according to an allergy test I did).
This didn’t leave me with many breakfast options. So I started replacing my breakfasts with the Herbalife meal replacement shakes. At times I will even replace lunch (and/or) supper with a shake and I always feel great doing so.
4.) To Help With Weight Management
Weight loss (weight management) is by far the most common reason why people take meal replacement shakes.
It is also the main reason Herbalife made the meal replacement protein powder to begin with: to help men and women from all walks of life burn fat and then make it easy to keep off as well.
You can – however – use these shakes to gain healthy amounts of muscle weight as well if that is your end goal. Instead of using them to replace a meal, you would add them to a meal – thereby increasing your daily calorie intake instead of reducing it.
Why Herbalife Meal Replacement Shakes?
I am careful with what I put in my body. You could argue I am not very trusting of mass produced consumables. So finding a product with a long history of consumption was important to me. Herbalife ticks that box with 40 years of history in the meal replacement category.
Herbalife has been under the microscope too long to have subpar products. Beyond that though…
Herbalife Gives You Options
As delicious as the Herbalife shakes are (they really are), I like to mix things up so it isn’t the same shake every time.
Flavors:
First off, I love the ability to pick a different flavor whenever I feel like it. Depending on what country you live in, Herbalife has a wide range of flavors. Here are the ones available to me in Mexico:
- Dulce de Leche (caramel)
- Vanilla
- Strawberry (my daughter’s favorite)
- Banana (my favorite)
- Choco Mix Mokaccino
- Choco-Hazelnut
- Coconut
- Cookies’ n Cream (my wife likes this one)
- Strawberry
- Tropical Fruits
- Piña Colada (great addition to a real Piña Colada 😉
Optional Add-ons
These shakes are formulated to give you the nutrients you normally need to get from a meal, except at about half the calorie count. This makes them ideal if you want to lose weight or if you don’t live a physically active lifestyle (where you don’t burn a lot of calories).
I personally don’t consume these shakes to lose weight (although they have helped me manage my weight), so I am not too worried about the calorie count. Meaning I usually throw in a real fruit into the blender with the roughly 25 grams of recommended powder – just to boost my fresh fruit intake for the day.
I often add one of the following:
- a banana
- an apple
- a handful of fresh or frozen berries
- a table spoon of powdered additive like:
- hemp protein
- spirulina
- moringa
- acai
- etc
- a table spoon of coconut oil
- etc.
Point is: a shake will have less calories than a typical meal. So unless you are trying to use meal replacement shakes for weight-loss, you can add your fruit of choice into it. Ultimately giving you the freedom to have a different tasting (yet delicious) shake every meal of the week.
Heck, some mornings I’ll blend the shake powder with a cup of soy-milk and pour it over my cornflakes. It’s to die for delicious 🙂
Herbalife Saves You Money
The cost of a Herbalife meal replacement shake obviously depends on how you prepare it. I laid out some of my favorite ways of doing it earlier (25 grams of powder, a cup of soy-milk, plus whatever else I feel like adding), but it costs me a whole lot less than I would pay if I were to eat out that meal and on average probably less that it would cost me to cook something at home.
The cost of a container can seem expensive at first, but when you look at how much time and money you save by replacing 30 meals, it is starting to make a lot of economical sense. And it sure is a whole lot more nutritious than a typical on the go sandwich.
Where To Get The Best Meal Replacement Shakes
I have seen people buy the Herbalife meal replacement shakes off of Amazon but I strongly discourage it. And for good reasons:
- They aren’t actually Herbalife products. With so many fake products being sold online, you just never know if the product is legit… even if the containers appear to be legit. What if the container being sold was resealed and sold as new? You just can’t be 100% certain what you’re getting when purchasing from any source that isn’t the official one. So DO NOT BUY HERBALIFE PRODUCTS FROM THIRD PARTY SOURCES.
- It isn’t fresh inventory. Distributors often buy large quantities of Herbalife products to get a discount. When they don’t use all that inventory, they attempt to sell it through sites like Amazon. This often leads to them selling products near or past the expiry date. NOT GOOD!
- You get no guarantee. Herbalife is so committed to their product that – if for whatever reason you do not like the shake – you send the container back within 30 days for a full refund. No questions asked. When you purchase through Amazon, you bypass this guarantee. So… DON’T DO IT!
I always order mine directly from their closest warehouse. That way I always get fresh products and have the official Herbalife guarantee with each product I get. No room for monkey business that way.
To get your own meal replacement shake protein powder, order them here.