Diet Schemes Series #2 - Herbalife

Herbalife - What's it all about?

Let's start with the basics. Herbalife markets itself as "Scientifically designed with your success in mind." It then goes on to state:

Herbalife's innovative products have been developed by scientists and nutritionists with your personal wellness goals in mind. And while Herbalife's nature-inspired formulas are designed to put a lifetime of well-being within reach, the promise of the business opportunity also makes your financial success a rewarding possibility!

So what does this tell us?

In essence we're being told that not only can the products produced by Herbalife make a difference to someone's health and well-being, they also offer the opportunity for people to join as a business venture and be financially successful. Who wouldn't want all of that? 

The Products

Herbalife offer a large range of products to contribute to a healthier you. From a quick glance, they offer the following verticals - 

• Weight management
• Energy & Fitness
• Targeted nutrition
• Personal care

In the interest of being thorough, I'll go through all of these categories individually. 

Weight management

The first thing that struck me after hitting this page was their main video for their 'meal replacement products'. It proclaims that "Substituting two daily meals of an energy restricted diet with a meal replacement like F1 helps weight loss". So basically they're saying that being in a calorie deficit helps weight loss - in this respect they're bang on the money. For anyone that's read my Flexible Dieting article, you'll know that weight loss is a numbers game - you simply have to burn more calories than you consume. With this in mind, where would the benefit be from substituting two meals for shakes or energy bars if you're already in a calorie deficit? I'd argue that an actual meal (as long as it has good micro and macro nutrient content in) would be much better in terms of satiety than a 500ml shake or 60g meal replacement bar. If you're already in a calorie deficit then what does it matter? However, some people may feel like they're being more 'hardcore' and that they'll get to their goals quicker by replacing meals with shakes. It's a fairly narrow minded way to look at things, but each to their own. 

As for the products themselves, its hard to find a macronutrient profile for them. I took a look at the F1 shake and found a few things out. 

• They contain 18g of soy protein per 220kcal serving - First of all, there's an ongoing debate as to the effectiveness of soy protein within a diet. If you trawl through the internet, you can find various articles arguing for and against soy protein. Interestingly, this article suggests that Whey Protein is more effective for fat loss than soy protein - http://jn.nutrition.org/content/141/8/1489.short. - The debate is still ongoing but personally I've always preferred whey. Now, on to the nutrient content. 18g of protein contributes to the 220 overall calories for an F1 shake, which means that protein accounts for 72 calories out of 220 - leaving 148 to be allocated to fat and carbohydrates. Unfortunately this isn't specified by Herbalife, which causes me concern.
• Proclaimed as a 'Healthy alternative' to a high calorie meal - interesting choice of words here, Herbalife. How would it compare against a low calorie meal? 
• Quote - "Underpinned by science: Clinical studies show that daily use of meal replacement shakes as part of a calorie restricted diet is proven effective for managing weight, along with moderate exercise." - Clinical studies have also shown that calorie restricted diets are effective for managing weight, without the need for meal replacement shakes. Note that they don't reference these studies. 
• Quote: " helps you to control your calorie intake whilst also providing essential vitamins and minerals, with carbohydrate and protein" How does it help to control a calorie intake? I'd argue that vitamins and minerals, along with carbs and protein could be just as readily accessed through eating the right foods and supplementing with a good multivitamin.

So basically their flagship weight management shake is a 220kcal soy protein shake without a macronutrient profile but with the promise of 18g of protein and "vitamins and minerals".

How does it compare to other products?

Simple - it doesn't. Let's take a look at the protein powder that I use from JBC Nutrition for example. In a 226kcal serving it provides 48g of protein (hydrolysed, whey), 2.8g of fat and 10.6g of carbs (8g of which are dietary fibre). Herbalife's F1 shake practically pales in comparison. Surely if you were to want to substitute one of your meals for a shake, then you'd pick JBC Iso Whey over Herbalife F1 due to far superior macronutrient profile. It also contains a good amount of BCAAs which F1 doesn't even make reference to.

                             

Energy & Fitness

This range consists of three products - 

• Liftoff Lime - Quoted as "a caffeinated low calorie, effervescent energy drink. Caffeine helps to increase alertness and improve concentration." - Essentially that's a berocca (or cheaper equivalent) with caffeine. Also great for hangovers.
• H30 Pro - "a carbohydrate-electrolyte drink, designed to be taken before, during or after exercise." - After looking through the ingredients and the purpose, it basically translates as Lucozade sport. 
• N.R.G tablets -"NRG tablets contain caffeine from guarana to help support alertness and helps reduce the feeling of mental fatigue." - Essentially its pro plus with guarana, or a low cal energy drink. 

To me, this is a very lacklustre attempt at being 'innovative' as Herbalife claim to be. The products are very basic, which in one way is good - they use tried and tested ingredients such as carbohydrates, caffeine and guarana to draw energy from. There's a reason that they're so widely used in the fitness industry today. So although they aren't innovative products, I have to tip my hat to Herbalife on this one for keeping things simple and going with what works. However, I'd also like to note that they're lacking a stronger product from the range, something more along the lines of a pre workout like Ignite from Icon Nutrition or Gold Standard from Optimum Nutrition. Shame that none contain creatine or beta alanine.

Targeted Nutrition

This range essentially contains a lot of multivitamin supplements, and a couple of fibre supplements. The products are all pretty similar and I'd argue that there are probably cheaper options in terms of multivitamins and some of the micronutrients offered such as ones contained in their Roseguard supplement are probably a touch of overkill. All in all, a pretty basic range, just packaged cleverly. 

Personal Care

I'm going to brush over this as they're mostly beauty products, but from a glance they look rather the same as any other beauty product name. 

The Conclusion

Herbalife is now bringing a lot of products to the market, and despite a clearly effective marketing campaign style, their products don't really bring a lot to the table. The company itself promotes a calorie restriction and meal replacement shakes as a lifestyle. As I said earlier in the article, there's no need for both of these. A calorie deficit will always result in weight loss, there's no need to make yourself miserable by replacing the food that you can fit into your deficit with shakes and bars. To find out more about a way of eating the foods you love whilst losing weight, click here. As for the products themselves, they're pretty poor in comparison to what's already available on the market (see reference to Herbalife F1 vs JBC Iso Whey) and the quality of the ingredients is questionable. Its also a cause for concern when the full ingredient list isn't readily available on the website. You'll find that most (if not all) supplement companies will have a full ingredient list to accompany each product. Firstly it establishes trust through full disclosure, and ensures that you're not buying a product containing ingredients that you might be allergic to. Herbalife don't even discuss whether there are any allergens in their products or disclose allergen information. In my opinion, this is another cause for concern  - what do they have to hide? They claim to have products containing amazing nutrients, but fail to mention what these nutrients might be - so do we just take their word for it?

I've also seen a lot regarding the Herbalife 24 range. Most have probably seen or heard of this. Unfortunately it seems to have fooled a lot of people through their main endorsement. This range is endorsed by Cristiano Ronaldo, and as he's one of the best footballers in the world, anything that he endorses must be amazing - right? WRONG. Endorsements mean nothing - all they mean is that the individual in question is getting paid a lot to be seen with the brand. For example - David Beckham was the face of Pepsi - does that mean that you should go out and buy/consume gallons of it? No, not unless you have an unnatural love for it.

Would I recommend Herbalife to anyone? Definitely not. They do offer some good products such as their energy & fitness range, but the truth is that you could quite easily find cheaper (and just as effective) alternatives in a variety of brands. If you want to lose weight then just stay in a calorie deficit (see more about that here), and if you feel that you'd like to replace a meal with a shake or bar, then take a look around the market for a good quality product (E.g JBC Iso Whey) rather than buying in to a multi level marketing scheme with below par products. 

On a final note - This article hasn't been designed to upset or offend anyone - its simply my own opinion coupled with factual research. If you'd like to get in touch with me to discuss more, or you're interested in writing for Muscle & Macros, follow the links below.

  

Thanks for reading

Alex