Herbalife

Dazzler21
Dazzler21 Posts: 1,249 Member
edited November 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Great easy nutrition

Or

overpriced con.

Discuss!
«1

Replies

  • ejsilvi
    ejsilvi Posts: 205 Member
    Over priced not that good of products
  • Dazzler21
    Dazzler21 Posts: 1,249 Member
    I decided to give their f1 shake a trial as well as some of the snack options. They're a lot tastier than the cheaper ones.

    I don't know if the price makes up that difference for me though.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    No discussion to be had!
  • rianneonamission
    rianneonamission Posts: 854 Member
    It's a pyramid scheme. You buy the overpriced shakes and before you know it they'll be trying to recruit you.

    The same goes for: Forever Living, JuicePlus (because why have fruit and vegetables when you can have the next best thing to, without the healthy fibre), Cambridge Diet Plan, Ariix, etc.

    Sold by people with *kitten* all knowledge of nutrition or the human body, obvious if you look at the ridiculous health claims they make.

    Forget meal replacement altogether. A nice healthy balanced diet is a) more sustainable and b) healthier.

    FWIW: The Great Run, organisers of long distance runs, teamed up with Herbalife as their sponsor. There was a backlash. A BIG backlash. Then this happened: bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-39732151
  • rianneonamission
    rianneonamission Posts: 854 Member
    Dazzler21 wrote: »
    I decided to give their f1 shake a trial as well as some of the snack options. They're a lot tastier than the cheaper ones.

    I don't know if the price makes up that difference for me though.

    I'd be reading the label given that unhealthy/unnecessary additives make a huge difference to flavour.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Overpriced Con - I just watched an interesting documentary on it over the weekend. They don't even care about the product - only recruiting new suckers to sell it.
  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
    Pfsht... This is a 'Nope'!
  • rianneonamission
    rianneonamission Posts: 854 Member
    You wouldn't need much fortification as part of a healthy balanced diet. The number of sweeteners in that bar are staggering (Maltitol, Dextrose, Glycerine, oligofructose, sucralose). And the bar may be fortified, but the ingredients are at the end of the list and thus likely miniscule in terms of quantity.

    I know I lack in iron, so I take a tablet for that. But a protein bar homemade, without the highly processed ingredients, is surprisingly high in terms of nutrition thanks to naturally occurring minerals in oats, seeds and nuts. All these additives are needless overkill.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    rianneonamission wrote: »
    You wouldn't need much fortification as part of a healthy balanced diet. The number of sweeteners in that bar are staggering (Maltitol, Dextrose, Glycerine, oligofructose, sucralose). And the bar may be fortified, but the ingredients are at the end of the list and thus likely miniscule in terms of quantity.

    I know I lack in iron, so I take a tablet for that. But a protein bar homemade, without the highly processed ingredients, is surprisingly high in terms of nutrition thanks to naturally occurring minerals in oats, seeds and nuts. All these additives are needless overkill.

    Whether or not one "needs" fortified foods, they certainly can be part of a healthy and balanced diet if one decides to use them. For example, I drink a plant milk that is fortified with calcium and vitamin D. It works well for me and my goals.

    I wouldn't personally eat that bar above (I think Herbalife is a huge scam), I just don't think it's reasonable to fault a fortified product for having more ingredients than a non-fortified one.
  • Rammer123
    Rammer123 Posts: 679 Member
    edited June 2017
    rianneonamission wrote: »
    You wouldn't need much fortification as part of a healthy balanced diet.

    Unfortunately thats not true.... Mineral nutrient depletion in crops makes it very difficult to really get the amount of nutrients you need in a healthy balanced diet without supplementation.
  • Dazzler21
    Dazzler21 Posts: 1,249 Member
    edited June 2017
    We'll see I suppose. As I said I was on a trial. It can't be denied it was so much better than MyProtein for taste. (I had Vanilla F1 mixed with Soya Milk)

    It tastes better than other shakes and so far I don't see it as a con, over priced yes but it definitely works.

    Let's not even talk about the dubious business side.


  • Dazzler21
    Dazzler21 Posts: 1,249 Member
    p.s Just to confirm if I am unsure on a product I will always give it a trial to see how I get on with it. If it benefits me, then I'll praise it, if it doesn't I'll say why.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    just look at the profile picture of the people trying to sell you this crap on FB... that should tell you all you need to know 99% of the time
  • SmithsonianEmpress
    SmithsonianEmpress Posts: 1,163 Member
    tiffanifair wrote: »
    I did Herbalife shakes and supplements about 5 yrs ago when I was desperate to lose weight I'd gained during pregnancies. I've tried so many diets I figured I'd give it a shot. I signed up to get the discount and lost about 25lbs in 2-3 months which I'd never been able to lose before! I was impressed but as a stay at home mom I couldn't keep affording the shakes and pills and I got tired of drinking shakes for two of my meals so I started eating the way I ate prior to going on the shakes and I gained it all back with interest in about 3 month:( It didn't teach me how to eat or count and record my food/drinks. I figured up what I ate most days and it was around 800/900 cals so no wonder I lost so fast. Also, I believe eating so low cal I lost a lot of muscle because my body is way squishier than it was prior to that weight loss. So thankful for MFP and learning about healthy portions for my body and CICO. Now I have taken 17lbs off this year with 25 more to go to my ultimate goal weight and know how to eat for a lifetime!

    You CLEARLY didn't have a good coach or didn't follow his/her plan for you. Inhaling the products themselves isn't the 'teaching' process. The relationship with the person who signed you up is. You weren't supposed to be replacing 2 meals a day for the rest of your life and the shakes are meant to have additives...which would have given you more calories.
  • SmithsonianEmpress
    SmithsonianEmpress Posts: 1,163 Member
    TeaBea wrote: »
    SmithsonianEmpress wrote: »
    tiffanifair wrote: »
    I did Herbalife shakes and supplements about 5 yrs ago when I was desperate to lose weight I'd gained during pregnancies. I've tried so many diets I figured I'd give it a shot. I signed up to get the discount and lost about 25lbs in 2-3 months which I'd never been able to lose before! I was impressed but as a stay at home mom I couldn't keep affording the shakes and pills and I got tired of drinking shakes for two of my meals so I started eating the way I ate prior to going on the shakes and I gained it all back with interest in about 3 month:( It didn't teach me how to eat or count and record my food/drinks. I figured up what I ate most days and it was around 800/900 cals so no wonder I lost so fast. Also, I believe eating so low cal I lost a lot of muscle because my body is way squishier than it was prior to that weight loss. So thankful for MFP and learning about healthy portions for my body and CICO. Now I have taken 17lbs off this year with 25 more to go to my ultimate goal weight and know how to eat for a lifetime!

    You CLEARLY didn't have a good coach or didn't follow his/her plan for you. Inhaling the products themselves isn't the 'teaching' process. The relationship with the person who signed you up is. You weren't supposed to be replacing 2 meals a day for the rest of your life and the shakes are meant to have additives...which would have given you more calories.

    Let's face it - a "coach" is a sales person. It's really not in his/her best interest to help you lose weight the first time AND keep it off. I'm sure most "coaches" don't mind the repeat business.

    How much do you pay an Herbal Life "coach" to ween you off their products? Is that process measuring & logging food perhaps?

    The bottom line is NO ONE needs HerbalLife, because measuring food & logging portions teaches us about our eating habits. Measuring food & logging portions is also free.

    800-900 calorie diets are just awful....unless you are under medical supervision.

    I had a great coach with Herbalife. I was never pressured and I learned A LOT and I clearly am still not on it so I was "weaned" off. My experience with the program was very positive. I imagine my coach didn't mind the financial loss as he is very good at selling the products and has several clients.
  • Dazzler21
    Dazzler21 Posts: 1,249 Member
    edited June 2017
    Worth remembering that a lot of the coaches are also PT's.

    My best mate was my coach and PT whilst I trialled it. He is also a professional Nutritionist and Exercise Physiologist.

    His words to me last night were ''If you don't get a result from the products and don't feel better whilst on them, I don't want you even thinking about being part of the business''

    He has trained like a machine since his teens and was stagnant at 3:15ish for years, then he started on Herbalife. He is certain that the 24 range have taken him from a 3:15 Marathon to sub 2:45 in a year. Any runners will know that's a very decent improvement. He is 29 years old so it's not just luck that has got him there.

    Maybe he's brainwashed, maybe it's true. I doubt I'll join him with those kind of results, but I definitely won't berate the products as they seem to work.

    The business I don't want/need to think about, I am a pretty successful Business Analyst so if I ever do think about it, I will scrutinise everything I learn.
  • HeliumIsNoble
    HeliumIsNoble Posts: 1,213 Member
    edited June 2017
    rianneonamission wrote: »
    In fact, here you go. This is the ingredient list for the Peanut Butter Protein Bar. I stopped counting when I reached 50 :o :

    Maltitol Syrup, Chocolate Flavored Coating [Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, Maltitol, Milk Protein Concentrate, Cocoa Powder (Processed with Alkali), Dextrose, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla Extract], Soy Protein Isolate, Peanut Flour, Peanut Paste, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Glycerine, Whey Protein Isolate, Casein, Polydextrose, Natural Peanut Flavors, Oligofructose, Milk Mineral Concentrate, Margarine [Canola, Soy Oil, Water, Fractionated Palm and Palm Kernel Oil, Salt, Monoglycerides, Soy Lecithin, Soy Protein, Potassium Sorbate (added to retard spoilage), Natural Flavor, Citric Acid], Soy Lecithin, Water, Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Monoglycerides, Magnesium Oxide, Potassium Lactate, Mixed Tocopherols (added to protect flavor), Beta Carotene, Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Ascorbic Acid, Ferric Orthophosphate, DL-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate, Sucralose, Niacinamide, Zinc Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Copper Gluconate, Chromium Chloride, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium D-Pantothenate, Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenite, Retinyl Palmitate, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Cyanocobalamin, Folic Acid, Biotin and Phytonadione. CONTAINS SOY, MILK AND PEANUTS. MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF OTHER VARIOUS NUTS AND SEEDS

    That's a ridiculous amount. You can make tasty peanut butter protein bars with:
    • Organic peanut butter
    • Oats
    • Protein Powder
    • Cacao Powder or Choc Chips
    • Honey / Agave Syrup / Other syrup of choice (choose one)
    • A selection of seeds/nuts as desired
    Hang a minute. I've no love for Herbalife, but you're not comparing like with like.

    The ingredients list for the Herbalife bar includes sublistings for main ingredients like margarine, broken down by their own components, to the extent that the same ingredient is repeated multiple times, whereas you are giving an alternative bare bones recipe. What's in your peanut butter? It's probably got at least two ingredients, possibly more. What's in the protein powder you're going to use?

    This is the ingredients list for a random protein powder called Total Protein (Chocolate Smooth flavour) by Myprotein, which I got off google:

    Chocolate Smooth Flavour: Protein Blend (96%) (Whey Protein Concentrate [Milk](Emulsifier(Soy Lecithin)), Whey Protein Isolate [Milk](Emulsifier(Soy Lecithin)), Hydrolysed Whey Protein [Milk], Milk Protein Concentrate, Micellar Casein [Milk], Calcium-Caseinate [Milk] (Acid Casein [Milk], Calcium-Hydroxide, Sodium-Carbonate), Free range Egg White Powder) , Flavourings (Fat Reduced Cocoa,Flavourings , Sweetener [Sucralose]), Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder,Thickening Agent (Xanthan Gum)

    Source: https://www.myprotein.com/sports-nutrition/total-protein/10529951.html


    Back to Herbalife now.
    If I change the layout on the Herbalife bar, you may see what I mean about repetition. I'm also going to italicise every repeated ingredient, or ingredient that is very similar. For example, peanut flour and peanut paste.
    Maltitol Syrup,

    Chocolate Flavored Coating [Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, Maltitol, Milk Protein Concentrate, Cocoa Powder (Processed with Alkali), Dextrose, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla Extract],

    Soy Protein Isolate, Peanut Flour, Peanut Paste, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Glycerine, Whey Protein Isolate, Casein, Polydextrose, Natural Peanut Flavors, Oligofructose, Milk Mineral Concentrate,

    Margarine [Canola, Soy Oil, Water, Fractionated Palm and Palm Kernel Oil, Salt, Monoglycerides, Soy Lecithin, Soy Protein, Potassium Sorbate (added to retard spoilage), Natural Flavor, Citric Acid],

    Soy Lecithin, Water, Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Monoglycerides, Magnesium Oxide, Potassium Lactate, Mixed Tocopherols (added to protect flavor), Beta Carotene, Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Ascorbic Acid, Ferric Orthophosphate, DL-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate, Sucralose, Niacinamide, Zinc Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Copper Gluconate, Chromium Chloride, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium D-Pantothenate, Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenite, Retinyl Palmitate, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Cyanocobalamin, Folic Acid, Biotin and Phytonadione. CONTAINS SOY, MILK AND PEANUTS. MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF OTHER VARIOUS NUTS AND SEEDS

    What remains still looks long, but as already discussed above, a significant proportion of that is added vitamins.
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