Shakeology mixes as a meal replacement |
What is Shakeology?
So what is Shakeology, or more correctly the family of Shakeology cocktails or mixes? In short, Shakeology is a supplement that’s meant to give the body the perfect balance and amount of nutrients to give you energy through the day. Not only that, but it also stimulates the immune system by its blend of antioxidants, phytonutrients, minerals and vitamins. It also includes some ingredients they call “adaptogens”, which are meant to reduce the body strain when under stress.
It also contains a healthy dose of prebiotics, probiotics and digestive enzymes, which will improve your regularity and digestion. They also facilitate the absorption of nutrients and proteins.
In short, it is a complete cocktail of ingredients that will boost your digestion, energy and overall health. That is why some people use it as an aide in their weight loss routines. But even if you’re not on a specific weight loss diet, Shakeology will facilitate your weight loss goals by cutting down your craving for junk and unhealthy foods. The craving for junk food and sweets is what makes most people eat away and breaking their own will to stop. Shakeology mixes are sweet and tasty, but in a healthy way.
Whenever you feel like having some food, and regularly before meals, you should have a shake. The proteins and fibers in the shake will reduce your appetite (not ruin it), and as a result it will decrease your food intake to a healthy level.
So what is Shakeology, or more correctly the family of Shakeology cocktails or mixes? In short, Shakeology is a supplement that’s meant to give the body the perfect balance and amount of nutrients to give you energy through the day. Not only that, but it also stimulates the immune system by its blend of antioxidants, phytonutrients, minerals and vitamins. It also includes some ingredients they call “adaptogens”, which are meant to reduce the body strain when under stress.
It also contains a healthy dose of prebiotics, probiotics and digestive enzymes, which will improve your regularity and digestion. They also facilitate the absorption of nutrients and proteins.
In short, it is a complete cocktail of ingredients that will boost your digestion, energy and overall health. That is why some people use it as an aide in their weight loss routines. But even if you’re not on a specific weight loss diet, Shakeology will facilitate your weight loss goals by cutting down your craving for junk and unhealthy foods. The craving for junk food and sweets is what makes most people eat away and breaking their own will to stop. Shakeology mixes are sweet and tasty, but in a healthy way.
Whenever you feel like having some food, and regularly before meals, you should have a shake. The proteins and fibers in the shake will reduce your appetite (not ruin it), and as a result it will decrease your food intake to a healthy level.
Shakeology and regular protein shakes
Compared to regular protein shakes, Shakeology is a lot more than that. While most protein shakes focus almost exclusively on providing a protein intake, Shakeology contains not just proteins, but a balance of other nutrients, antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, prebiotics, probiotics, enzymes. This gives a healthy dose of what the body needs. You’ll take the rest from your meals, as Shakeology won’t replace your meals. Try to keep those healthy as well, do not eat junk foods unless really necessary. Also, don’t skip on meals unless you’re really on the run and don’t have the time for it. Just don’t make a habit out of this.
There is no limit to how much you can drink a day. Before meals, before or after workouts, it only takes a couple of minutes to prepare a shake. That being said, I just touched on an important topic: workouts. You can’t stay healthy without exercising. You’ll most likely gain weight. Plus, being a sedentary like most of us are inclined to become these days, is not a healthy choice.
Cost and Alternatives to Shakeology
Of course, Shakeology doesn’t come cheap. 30 servings cost some $130. If you drink 3 servings a day, a full month course will cost you a whopping $520. Even at only one serving per day, not a lot of people will commit to paying the $130 a month. At least not in the long haul. To be able to afford more than that, you’d have to have rather deep pockets. So this is why you can find on the market a host of alternatives to the Shakeology brand. Some people vouch that some of these alternatives are just as good in both taste and nutrients as Shakeology. Head on to our Shakeology Alternatives page for more information.
Compared to regular protein shakes, Shakeology is a lot more than that. While most protein shakes focus almost exclusively on providing a protein intake, Shakeology contains not just proteins, but a balance of other nutrients, antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, prebiotics, probiotics, enzymes. This gives a healthy dose of what the body needs. You’ll take the rest from your meals, as Shakeology won’t replace your meals. Try to keep those healthy as well, do not eat junk foods unless really necessary. Also, don’t skip on meals unless you’re really on the run and don’t have the time for it. Just don’t make a habit out of this.
There is no limit to how much you can drink a day. Before meals, before or after workouts, it only takes a couple of minutes to prepare a shake. That being said, I just touched on an important topic: workouts. You can’t stay healthy without exercising. You’ll most likely gain weight. Plus, being a sedentary like most of us are inclined to become these days, is not a healthy choice.
Cost and Alternatives to Shakeology
Of course, Shakeology doesn’t come cheap. 30 servings cost some $130. If you drink 3 servings a day, a full month course will cost you a whopping $520. Even at only one serving per day, not a lot of people will commit to paying the $130 a month. At least not in the long haul. To be able to afford more than that, you’d have to have rather deep pockets. So this is why you can find on the market a host of alternatives to the Shakeology brand. Some people vouch that some of these alternatives are just as good in both taste and nutrients as Shakeology. Head on to our Shakeology Alternatives page for more information.
Why choose other health shake brands?
Shakeology may be a market leader, but they are not the only ones. Over the last years many companies claim to produce equally good products. The selection is really large. Here are a few options for you.
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310 Nutrition
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Nature's Bounty
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A really popular option. Each serving contains 15g of proteins. There's a mix of veg proteins from brown rice, peas, and hemp. This helps control your hunger at half the price for Shakeology.
ViSalus NutritionalThe ViSalus Vi-Shape nutritional shake mix is one of the TOP RATED meal replacements on Amazon since 2011. This delicious sweet cream is consistently rated as the best tasting shake on the market. The low fat shake is packed with over 20 nutrients, protein, and fiber to help your body shed unwanted pounds. Each bag is 22 ounces and contains 24 servings.
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Optimal mix of proteins and vitamins in 16 oz jars. Each serving provides important protein, fiber, B vitamins, antioxidants, electrolytes, probiotics, and more. Mostly for women.
Vega One OrganicAll-in-one plant-based protein powder made from real, whole food ingredients. 20g of premium, plant based protein from pea, pumpkin, sacha inchi, and flax for a complete amino acid profile. USDA certified organic, Non-Gmo project verified, vegan certified, low-glycemic, gluten-free, and made without dairy or soy ingredients.
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I have been using Vega One All-In-One for years now. I was drinking Carnation Instant Breakfast but one day realized how much sugar I was putting into my body. A trusted health food store employee suggested this as a alternative. It was a bit of a challenge at first, going from something with so much sugar to this, but now it tastes good and keeps me full for a while.
A brief overview of Shakeology
Beachbody is a company that manufactures good quality products. They are known for their workout videos such as P90X, Insanity, 10 Minute Trainer, to name a few. We love Insanity and Tony Horton and Beachbody, they make high quality products.
Shakeology is an MLM type of product. Multi Level Marketing is a tiered system of selling where each seller is earning a commission off of the tiers underneath them. So Shakeology is being sold through such a multi-level sales structure. Usually MLM has been tied to lower or mediocre quality products. It is not the case with Shakeology, which is a decent to good quality protein shake.
It doesn't have any artificial flavors, nor artificial sweeteners like aspartame. Most other protein powders have those. They're filled up with junky stuff that you shouldn't be putting into your body. So right from the start, Shakeology has got our OK. It doesn't contain anything that's going to hurt you.
Next it's the micronutrients or the ingredients list that we should be looking at. It passes the test, there's nothing there that's magical. You'll see soy extract, pea and hemp as well. There isn't a really high dose of protein in Shakeology, it's not like you're taking a full dose of soy.
As for the macronutrients: the calories, the fat and the carbohydrates, let's touch on that quickly. There are 150 calories in one serving of Shakeology, which is pretty standard in a protein powder. Now, here's where it gets a little sticky for us: the protein to carbohydrate ratio is almost 1 to 1, that is, 18 grams of protein to 17 grams of carbohydrates. When you're doing a protein powder, we're not that crazy about the idea of getting your carbohydrates from the sugar in the protein powder. We feel that carbs should come very lean sources that are high in fibres, like vegetables, fruits, leafy greens, long grain brown rice etc. So we feel that the carbohydrates in Shakeology or any other protein powder are rather pointless. That's the main drawback for us.
Also, the cost of Shakeology is on the expensive end, and you'd have to order through Beachbody alone.
Shakeology is an MLM type of product. Multi Level Marketing is a tiered system of selling where each seller is earning a commission off of the tiers underneath them. So Shakeology is being sold through such a multi-level sales structure. Usually MLM has been tied to lower or mediocre quality products. It is not the case with Shakeology, which is a decent to good quality protein shake.
It doesn't have any artificial flavors, nor artificial sweeteners like aspartame. Most other protein powders have those. They're filled up with junky stuff that you shouldn't be putting into your body. So right from the start, Shakeology has got our OK. It doesn't contain anything that's going to hurt you.
Next it's the micronutrients or the ingredients list that we should be looking at. It passes the test, there's nothing there that's magical. You'll see soy extract, pea and hemp as well. There isn't a really high dose of protein in Shakeology, it's not like you're taking a full dose of soy.
As for the macronutrients: the calories, the fat and the carbohydrates, let's touch on that quickly. There are 150 calories in one serving of Shakeology, which is pretty standard in a protein powder. Now, here's where it gets a little sticky for us: the protein to carbohydrate ratio is almost 1 to 1, that is, 18 grams of protein to 17 grams of carbohydrates. When you're doing a protein powder, we're not that crazy about the idea of getting your carbohydrates from the sugar in the protein powder. We feel that carbs should come very lean sources that are high in fibres, like vegetables, fruits, leafy greens, long grain brown rice etc. So we feel that the carbohydrates in Shakeology or any other protein powder are rather pointless. That's the main drawback for us.
Also, the cost of Shakeology is on the expensive end, and you'd have to order through Beachbody alone.
Why Shakeology is so expensive
Now, here's what the company explains why Shakeology is expensive. First off, they claim it's much more than just a protein shake, while it shouldn't be compared with $20 to $50 protein shakes that you can buy at Costco or Whole Foods or at Trader Joe's. Let's take Vega Sport for instance, that we use as a post-workout recovery shake. It's got 160 calories per serving, 3 grams of fats, 6 grams of carbs, 1 gram of sugar and 3 grams of protein. The function of this is not to replace a meal. It's a post-workout supplement that you need to drink in order to recover the muscles from the wear and tear suffered during the workout. It will help you recover faster and build the muscles that you want. So whatever athletic goals that you have, protein powders are a great way to make sure that you repair the muscle tissue.
On the other hand Shakeology, as a meal supplement shake, has pretty different nutritional facts. One serving has 170 calories, 4 g of fat, 18 g of carbs, 8 g of sugar and 16 g of protein. We notice right off the bat that there are a lot more carbs, less protein and a little more sugar. The reason for that is that, while a shake like Vega Sport contains mostly protein extracts, Shakeology has over 70 more ingredients besides the protein sources that it has. The protein source that it has is chia, pea, flax, quinoa, rice and oat. In addition, it has superfood blends, antioxidants, super green, phytonutrients, adaptogens, prebiotics, probiotics, digestive enzymes. These are all ingredients that you can find at the natural food store in different containers, but with Shakeology they come combined all in one bag.
While some may find the amount of sugar and carbs too high, they are naturally found in the ingredients. They are not artificial and you need them to stay healthy. So if you replace your meal with a regular shake, you're lacking in nutrients. To make a balanced meal, you'll need to combine carbs, protein and fats to help make you feel full and satisfied after your meal. This will help you curb those hunger cravings because you're getting a full balance of carbs, fat and protein. So you cannot compare a regular protein shake with the complete recipe that's Shakeology.
Secondly, Shakeology is a natural meal. Many people use it for their breakfast. Instead of going to Starbucks and buying a latte or frappuccino and a muffin that ends up costing $8 or 9, or of going to a fast food and spend anywhere between $6 to $12, you can have a serving of Shakeology which costs some $3.50. So that's the reasoning behind the pricing. Plus, you're eating a healthy food. The end perspective is that you're spending less for something of more value. It's basically an investment in your current and future health that will help you potentially avoid spending a lot more on medication and doctor visits. You get the picture.
On the other hand Shakeology, as a meal supplement shake, has pretty different nutritional facts. One serving has 170 calories, 4 g of fat, 18 g of carbs, 8 g of sugar and 16 g of protein. We notice right off the bat that there are a lot more carbs, less protein and a little more sugar. The reason for that is that, while a shake like Vega Sport contains mostly protein extracts, Shakeology has over 70 more ingredients besides the protein sources that it has. The protein source that it has is chia, pea, flax, quinoa, rice and oat. In addition, it has superfood blends, antioxidants, super green, phytonutrients, adaptogens, prebiotics, probiotics, digestive enzymes. These are all ingredients that you can find at the natural food store in different containers, but with Shakeology they come combined all in one bag.
While some may find the amount of sugar and carbs too high, they are naturally found in the ingredients. They are not artificial and you need them to stay healthy. So if you replace your meal with a regular shake, you're lacking in nutrients. To make a balanced meal, you'll need to combine carbs, protein and fats to help make you feel full and satisfied after your meal. This will help you curb those hunger cravings because you're getting a full balance of carbs, fat and protein. So you cannot compare a regular protein shake with the complete recipe that's Shakeology.
Secondly, Shakeology is a natural meal. Many people use it for their breakfast. Instead of going to Starbucks and buying a latte or frappuccino and a muffin that ends up costing $8 or 9, or of going to a fast food and spend anywhere between $6 to $12, you can have a serving of Shakeology which costs some $3.50. So that's the reasoning behind the pricing. Plus, you're eating a healthy food. The end perspective is that you're spending less for something of more value. It's basically an investment in your current and future health that will help you potentially avoid spending a lot more on medication and doctor visits. You get the picture.