Serious about Shakes!

I really need to make a chart showing the attributes I find most important in a meal replacement protein shake and how I rate each one, but that shall come later here are my overviews of 3 fairly well known brands and my experiences with them:

310 Nutrition: I first tried this a few years ago and thought it was too good to be true. No sugars, HIGH protein, and tastes amazing... but apparently it was too good to be true. My mom loved the old stuff so much, she logged onto the website when mine finally ran out and purchased six more bags. When she received it she realized that the bag looked different... and so did the powder. Sometime between my bulk order and hers (which was a span of at least a year), 310 changed their formula. The new formula is something I have been greatly disappointed with. It has a strong, unpleasant after taste that I just cannot get used to. Even when blending with fruits and extracts and almond milk. My mom can tolerate it after adding these, but I can't. More importantly to me, it is texturally not great. It now does not mix well with water, juice, almond milk, regular milk.... anything that my family could come up with, that chalky, gritty, protein powder texture would slap us back in the face. The protein content per serving is still one of the best I've seen, but I personally cannot get over the new taste and texture. For the money, there are better options.


Herbalife: I remember my first taste of Herbalife. It was the Mint Chocolate flavor. I mixed my two scoops of Formula 1 with my two scoops of vanilla protein powder with just water and when I took a sip I said, "wow." The texture was creamy and smooth and the flavor was SO yummy. All that added sugar substitute really makes their fun flavors taste great. Speaking of flavors, I loved the variety and how great they were without adding extras to the mix. I started taking these to work in a blender bottle for a quick lunch, which is when I found that the damn powder does not mix quite as well without an actual blender. I'd get big clumps of slimy powder balls as I was drinking which made me want to gag (again, I'm all about texture.) Doing Herbalife shakes twice a day was totally doable for me, but after a few months I started to have a lot of digestive problems... it turns out all that soy protein can reek havoc on your body and coupled with the amount of sweeteners in the product, I started to get sick. I still think the flavors are great, the texture is pretty great, the hassle of having to have multiple products to make a meal replacement was a little annoying, and I don't like the harmful side effects soy can have on the body. I've also been told that this product works best if you also take several of the supplements in the Herbalife line, I took some, and I did see results, but the cons outweighed the pros for me on this one.


Shakeology: I tried Shakeology after having tried Herbalife, and as such my first response to the flavor was, "Meh... I guess I could get used to this." This flavor comparison is strictly on taste of powder mixed with only water and ice. Because the Shakeology itself is only one scoop from one canister and is lower calorie than the Herbalife meal replacement, I started adding frozen fruits, extracts, and/or almond milk while making them and that's where I found the true beauty of Shakeology. My concoctions are oh so yummy, there is no "getting used to it," they definitely hold their own. There's still the downside of not loving it just mixed with water like I was doing for lunches sometimes at work... but then I realized, duh, take a shaker bottle with almond milk to work, put in the fridge, and at lunch time... enjoy. I do love that this particular meal replacement blends well whether it's in a blender or a shaker bottle. The texture is okay with water, thick and creamy with almond milk, and my idea of perfection with half water, half almond milk. I like that there are the regular flavors (Greenberry, Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla) all made with mostly whey protein, and that they also have a soy free vegan alternative for Strawberry and Chocolate made with plant proteins. I find that the vegan flavors are a little bit more gritty in texture, but that mostly goes away with a mixing agent thicker than water. I've seen fast results with replacing one meal a day with this product and I foresee myself using this one for quite some time. It is a bit pricier than some of its competitors, but I find that for the quality of the product, there's no comparison.


And that would be my two cents. I'm sure there are many opinions out there that differ from mine, and I'm certainly okay with them being voiced. I used many of those opinions in my research to find what works best for me, my body, and my lifestyle, and I implore anyone else looking to replace meals with a protein shake to do their own thorough research on the ingredients, uses, and results as well as what will work best for them.

P.S. I do currently have some of ALL THREE of these products in my house and have been playing with the idea of doing a shake tasting and nutrition review. If YOU would like to try any of these and are local to me, let me know if you have any interest in this idea. :)