Herbal Life Question/Opinions

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tnjrichter
tnjrichter Posts: 23
in Health and Weight Loss
I recently started using Herbal LIfe for a couple reasons. 1) to increase protein 2) I have been so stuck in my weight loss journey 3) Improve my health.

I am supposed to have a snack with 18-20 grams of protein in between meals and after supper (before bed), 35 grams at my 1 meal of the day. The 2 shakes I have are the 24 grams of protein each. My calorie intake is to be 1560, which I am good with but they said I am NOT to increase when I work out. When I do my hour workout on the elliptical & treadmill I burn 500 plus calories which brings my intake down to 1000 calories or less.

Since starting their "plan" I have notice a significant decrease in snacking or the urge to snack (very good thing). The protein shakes for both breakfast and lunch keep me quite "full" feeling, in fact usually uncomfortably bloated. The choices of snacks I choose are healthy ones but there are a lot of calories as it is generally so form of nut mixture. In the profession I am in it is difficult to "schedule" snacks so small snack packs work best for me. This is also why I choose to drink my shakes breakfast and lunch. Most food does not even taste good anymore, making it harder to eat. I force myself to eat as that is what I am supposed to do but then I feel sick afterwards. I have actually really backed off from any workout as I get so sick afterwards that it is just not worth it. I really miss the working out but cannot stand the sick feeling.

I have been trying very hard to stick with the "plan" as the "coach" keeps telling me I will see positive results. Yes my blood sugar has resumed being good. Actually, they have become better. BUT I have had a constant headache for more than a week now, I feel so bloated and nauseated from it. There are times that I am not able to lay down as I feel as though I will vomit from so much fluids. In the 2 weeks I have not lost anymore weight (I keep bouncing between the normal 8 pounds that I have been for several months) or inches. I have also noticed I am more agitated than I was.

I am looking for any suggestions, especially if you have used their products. I am not selling the product but I do not want to keep feeling this way.

Thank you in advance.

You may also friend me if you want.

Replies

  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    I've never used herbalife because in my opinion it's just very over priced supplements that are available much cheaper elsewhere. That being said, if the product makes you sick, I would discontinue the product. There is potentially an ingredient that you are not tolerant of. There are dozens of different types of protein powders made from different ingredients (whey, casein, egg, soy, milk, etc). Try some other kinds to see if you tolerate them better.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
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    In my opinion, herbalife is not worth it. You could go and buy a good quality protein powder at your local health shop and save a lot of money. Everyone that I've known that has used herbalife(and the other scam companies) has just gained back the weight after stopping the program anyway. Save your money and go buy your own supplements :-)
  • cjaydoubleu
    cjaydoubleu Posts: 1
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    Look at the Fat 2 Fit radio website. I have never used Herbal Life but I have tried other diets that had results in the short term but left me bouncing back to my earlier weight (or above) when my body decided enough was enough with starvation. While no new podcasts are being produced they have back episodes and very good tools on Fat 2 Fit for assessing what you need for calories. Look at what they are saying; I think they have a sound strategy of determining what you will need when you reach your goal weight and then stepping down to that caloric count as your weight reaches closer to your goal.
    Assess whether you just want short term gains via starvation with the inevitable rebound to weight when your body fights back or a sound strategy for being more healthy with gradual but sustainable results.
    Apart from an ebook and downloads of the first year's episodes they are not selling anything.
    Best of luck - whatever you decide.
  • tazroni
    tazroni Posts: 24 Member
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    I too agree with every person who made comment. Stop the herbal life. You can track your protein intake with my fitness pal and eat your calories as opposed to drinking them. This will allow you to feel better and you will be able to resume your work outs. It might take you a week or so to transition back to food without feeling sick. I am sure if you checked with your physician and told him everything you just told us, you would probably be told to stop the herbal life. Of course your coach is going to tell you to stick to herbal life because there is financial gain for them by your continuing. Hope you start feeling better soon.
  • FoxyLifter
    FoxyLifter Posts: 965 Member
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    All three of your goals can be accomplished without herbalife.

    I'm willing be bet that you can achieve weight/fat loss while netting more than 1000 calories per day.

    Check this out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    And this too: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here
  • GreatDepression
    GreatDepression Posts: 347 Member
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    Herballife products are okay but are hindered by the multi-level marketing it relies on for most of its sales. There are better supplements you can buy in stores IMO. The marketing might not be as nice and trim on those products but many of them have reliable reviews you can find easily online. Herballife tends to market towards women but you don't have to be scared of the "regular" supplements that lack the nice colors and touchy feely images.

    BTW, I should point out that I have bought Herballife and Shakeology in the past. Both are decent products but I have found better, cheaper ones that are sold through stores (online and brick) rather than MLM schemes.
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
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    the "coach" keeps telling me I will see positive results

    Ummm..... Ya.
    All three of your goals can be accomplished without herbalife.

    I'm willing be bet that you can achieve weight/fat loss while netting more than 1000 calories per day.

    Check this out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    And this too: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here

    ^^^ QFT ^^^
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    Your 'coach' wants you to keep losing weight (drastically) so you keep buying the shakes - they don't care if the weightloss comes from fat or muscle. If you don't fuel your workouts, especially cardio ones, you're going to be losing lean mass along with the fat. The 'coach' doesn't care about this but you should. You can lose fat, muscle, bone density and hair.

    I have no problems with using herbalife shakes to top up your protein ( there are cheaper, nicer protein shakes btw) but you should definitely eat back your exercise cals (and make sure you're getting enough fibre if your protein's high).

    ETA: a good tip I found in NROLFW is to mix a protein shake with a slim fast shake (if you find drinking cals convenient) so you are getting some carbs and fat in there too :)

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