Thoughts on Herbalife as a nutrition booster?

KeshiaBeard
KeshiaBeard Posts: 63
in Food and Nutrition
My friend sells Herbalife products and has offered me a month trial with a 50% discount, I don't need to sign up or anything, just try it...

Normally I'm against replacing whole meals with a shake, but sometimes I will have a protein shake. I'm thinking of trying it in smoothies for breakfast every morning (added in with fruit/vegetables) as a general nutrition booster as I find it hard to eat all the foods required for substantial nutrition. I'm not too concerned about the weight loss side of things, more as a boost on my general health and wellbeing.

Waste of time or worth a go?

Replies

  • KeshiaBeard
    KeshiaBeard Posts: 63
    I should add that I already take several supplements (which are never cheap!) already so the Herbalife products would only be replacing things that I already take. Currently I take Vitamins D and B12, Fish Oil, Aloe and every now and then some Vitamin C.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    If it seems a good price, you're not talked into signing up for any long term commitment to the brand, and you're not expecting dramatic weight loss or health benefits then why not.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    If you are eating whole, nutritionally sound foods, you do not need a nutrition booster. Total waste of money. Save the money to buy a good quality multivitamin if you are concerned about getting in enough/proper vitamins and nutrients.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    I should add that I already take several supplements (which are never cheap!) already so the Herbalife products would only be replacing things that I already take. Currently I take Vitamins D and B12, Fish Oil, Aloe and every now and then some Vitamin C.

    Yeah, not necessary in my opinion, then. Save your money.
  • vegwrangler
    vegwrangler Posts: 143 Member
    Garden of Life's Raw Meal is organic, more nutritionally dense, and by far a cheaper option.
  • chadya07
    chadya07 Posts: 627 Member
    eat a balanced diet, mostly in things that grow in the earth or eat what does. bam. done.

    supplements are a huge industry that exists only because they can convince us that we need more than we actually do of what we already get from our food.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,956 Member
    As a nutrition "booster"? Well, since most packaged supplemental product are manufactured by a 3rd party and they don't usually use the best high quality ingredients (it's rare that any distributor will tout the purity of the raw materials and have evidence for it when used for manufacturing), you're much better off eating food and just supplementing with a generic brand of vitamin/mineral for much less money.

    A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • KeshiaBeard
    KeshiaBeard Posts: 63
    As a nutrition "booster"? Well, since most packaged supplemental product are manufactured by a 3rd party and they don't usually use the best high quality ingredients (it's rare that any distributor will tout the purity of the raw materials and have evidence for it when used for manufacturing), you're much better off eating food and just supplementing with a generic brand of vitamin/mineral for much less money.

    A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I tend to find the generic brands low quality and any kind of multi-vitamin leaves me feeling lethargic. The supplements I buy now average about $20 each for 1 months supply, and on top of that the protein shakes (high quality, all organic, gluten, dairy, wheat free etc) are around $70 for 1 months supply - so in total I'm already spending around $150-$200 a month on extra supplements, vitamins and herbal teas. Considering this, why not try Herbalife for a month at the heavily discounted price I'm being offered? From what I've read and heard the company makes good quality products that work, although it can be a little over priced at full price.
  • KeshiaBeard
    KeshiaBeard Posts: 63
    Also, I meant nutrition booster as in supplement / addition to my diet which even though it is fairly balanced, I still struggle to get all the nutrients I need. This is mainly due to lack of access to fresh fish (I refuse to eat fish that hasn't been caught sustainably for ethical reasons), decent farm fed meat (too expensive) and I do not eat eggs or much dairy as both flare up my IBS. Having an office job means that I'm confined indoors for much of the day so I miss out on Vitamin D as well. Ideally, I would be able to get all the nutrients I need from food alone, in fact I would LOVE to be able to do so, but sadly this is just not realistically possible due to many factors in my life.
  • xLexa
    xLexa Posts: 482 Member
    Also, I meant nutrition booster as in supplement / addition to my diet which even though it is fairly balanced, I still struggle to get all the nutrients I need. This is mainly due to lack of access to fresh fish (I refuse to eat fish that hasn't been caught sustainably for ethical reasons), decent farm fed meat (too expensive) and I do not eat eggs or much dairy as both flare up my IBS. Having an office job means that I'm confined indoors for much of the day so I miss out on Vitamin D as well. Ideally, I would be able to get all the nutrients I need from food alone, in fact I would LOVE to be able to do so, but sadly this is just not realistically possible due to many factors in my life.

    Seems like you already know your answer ;) Let us know how it goes for you! :)
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    $70 a month on protein powder???!!! WTF

    I get over 200g per day of protein and a 4lb tub from bb.com lasts a couple of months at least. About $40 from memory. It's probably not gluten/dairy free or any of that BS though.
  • fullersun35
    fullersun35 Posts: 162 Member
    Meat is too expensive but Herbalife is not?

    My general take on MLM sales pitches - people who are willing to push that stuff on me aren't really my friends. What friend would push you to throw your money down the drain? Really?
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    Meat is too expensive but Herbalife is not?

    My general take on MLM sales pitches - people who are willing to push that stuff on me aren't really my friends. What friend would push you to throw your money down the drain? Really?

    I totally agree.
  • kdhamner
    kdhamner Posts: 309 Member
    I drink Herbalife shakes and love them, but it's my own personal choice. I actually take several of the Herbalife products, but I also get the discount. I know people trash it regularly, but it was/is right for me at this point in my journey.
  • TheBookSiren2316
    TheBookSiren2316 Posts: 226
    We took it for a couple years straight (Me it was more like 9 months), years ago. We heard about it through a radio station that is very selective on the products it promotes, but this was long before we really understood nutrition and actual health and fitness. I'm going to be 100% honest even though I want to tell you to run far from it, and never stop running.


    I did lose weight while on it BUT it was just the calorie deficit and I gained all the weight back and then some. Now there were some very GOOD side effects we did not expect, 1. My husbands hay fever and allergies do not bother him at all when he takes it. It shocked us. He takes different vitamins now in the spring and summer with the same effect.. 2. Myself and my Mother in law both have bad immune systems. I'm talking if anything's going around we catch it. My mother in law even more so. I did stop getting sick, I actually went an entire winter without spending half of it in bed. My MiL for that reason still takes it. I got really sick of all of it though, I can't even smell their multivitamin pills now without wanting to vomit lol. Their soup, bars, smoothie powder and all of that tastes TERRIBLE. Only some of their lemonade flavor drink pouches were good in my opinion.


    Another thing is the company is a total scam. Any MLM is basically a pyramid scheme and the ONLY people making money are the schmoozers at the top. I met people who got schemed into going into incredible debt to buy all this stuff and then never made their money back. It's sad. One woman is in her late fifties and spent a ton of money one that, never got it back. Then started following some MLM guru's on youtube and went through their training and lost more. She's gotten out of all of it finally but I can't imagine she ever made her money back.. They are also very culty and brainwashy during their "seminars", it's creepy. When you buy from anyone with that sort of marketing plan you are essentially promoting your friends and family you buy from, to keep wasting their time and money, and those schmucks higher up to keep conning people into believing this is healthy or a good way to make money.


    All of those "Healthy shake" selling companies are exactly the same. In product and scheme. Herbalife, BodybyVi, PlexusSlim, Beach Body (and I love the beach body workouts so it sucks to have to lump them in here), ad naseum. You can take almost any one of them and have the same effect.


    For anyone looking into Herbalife or any of their clone competitors I'd say just find a good protein powder and make some smoothies with real FOOD if you're into smoothies. Don't replace meals, just eat. Eat a diet of mainly healthy fresh (as in unprocessed) foods, work out., and take some multivitamins. Shop around and find ones that have the most of whatever it is you're looking for. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel or look for a quick fix, financially or fitness wise. <3
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • KeshiaBeard
    KeshiaBeard Posts: 63
    Will that chicken, fish pork and beef be substainably caught and/or farmed? I doubt it. When 1kg of chicken costs $17 I cringe and ask myself is it really worth it? Can you get adequate protien, vitamins B12, D, C and omegas found in fish oil from chicken, pork or beef? The current protein powder I use is called Ezy Protein, it's not cheap either but it lasts longer than $70 worth of chicken would with both myself and my partner eating it.

    My friend is not being pushy, she is simply offering me something to TRY for 1 month, not commit to for life, or push on other people, or so she can make money off me, it's just something that is working for her so she thought I might like to give it a go and see if it works for me. One product providing all the nutrients I need rather than having to hunt around for separate products... sounds good to me!

    I will admit Herbalife is too expensive for me to use long term, however at HALF PRICE what can be the harm in giving it a go for a month? I'm not going to die or destroy my body. I don't like the way the products are sold either, however it is my friend's decision to sell them. She is putting a lot of effort into making Herbalife work with her current business as a personal trainer. She's has her head screwed on and won't let herself lose money by doing business with Herbalife.

    TBH I get why people are scared away from the company. They are pushy and cult like. I don't like a lot of the distributors I've met, it's like they can't talk about anything else but Herbalife. However my friend is a very honest and down to earth person, I don't think she would be offering me the products unless she genuinely thought they were good for me.

    Anyway, I'm going to give them a go regardless. As I feel like I've been a bit ridiculed on here for simply asking for an opinion on an alternative supplement to trial for a month, I've decided to avoid the forums for a while.

    Thank you and goodnight.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • KeshiaBeard
    KeshiaBeard Posts: 63
    It is absurd to some to only eat the organic, free range, hand reared or wild caught meat, but to someone who has seen first hand the amount of suffering that animals are bred, farmed, fattened, pumped with drugs then killed in cages it is not absurd at all. Some of my own family farms animals this way. Not supporting this market is one of the few ways I feel I can help these animals. I could go vegetarian, but I think we are meant to eat some meat. It's also more satisfying if you can eat meat that you've caught yourself!
  • Wetcoaster
    Wetcoaster Posts: 1,788 Member
    ", I don't think she would be offering me the products unless she genuinely thought they were good for me."


    she is trying to recruit you.

    The end.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    $200 a month on supps?

    Wow.

    So yeah, try the Herbalife, report back and let us know how it goes. You're going to anyway.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,956 Member
    As a nutrition "booster"? Well, since most packaged supplemental product are manufactured by a 3rd party and they don't usually use the best high quality ingredients (it's rare that any distributor will tout the purity of the raw materials and have evidence for it when used for manufacturing), you're much better off eating food and just supplementing with a generic brand of vitamin/mineral for much less money.

    A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I tend to find the generic brands low quality and any kind of multi-vitamin leaves me feeling lethargic. The supplements I buy now average about $20 each for 1 months supply, and on top of that the protein shakes (high quality, all organic, gluten, dairy, wheat free etc) are around $70 for 1 months supply - so in total I'm already spending around $150-$200 a month on extra supplements, vitamins and herbal teas. Considering this, why not try Herbalife for a month at the heavily discounted price I'm being offered? From what I've read and heard the company makes good quality products that work, although it can be a little over priced at full price.
    Hate to tell you that if you're spending that much in supplements, you're either wasting your money, or you're eating really nutrient difficient food.
    Again, there are only about 5 manufacturers of supplements in the US. The only exceptional company I know that uses great RAW material is Optimum Nutrition. Other manufacturers get their raw materials from China (which has no regulation for the purity that they package for raw materials) which is why 7 out of 10 supplement products tested usually have unwanted trace elements.
    You're probably getting the "placebo" effect from spending all that money (trust me at one time I spent about $250 in supplements a month till I researched more) and SHOULD spend the money on more nutritious food.

    A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • KeshiaBeard
    KeshiaBeard Posts: 63
    Just to clarify, I don't spend $200 on only supplements. This budget includes:

    - protein powder (no matter how many high protein foods I try to include in my diet, MFP always tells me that I'm too low, hence why every couple of days I will have a shake on top of what I eat daily)
    - vitamins taken on Dr's orders (I have a B12 deficiency and don't absorb it very well)
    - herbal teas (various imported good quality teas I buy that use herbs I cannot grow myself)
    - wild caught fish oil (I've already been through why I don't eat store bought fish)

    Despite this effort, according to MFP and quarterly blood tests I don't get enough of all nutrients and minerals required from my diet alone. Maybe I don't eat enough variety, or I slip up and don't eat enough raw foods for a week or so, or I'm just stupid and don't know what I need to be eating. I'm only going off what I know and doing my best.

Categories