Shakeology Review
Shakeology is a new meal replacement smoothie created by Team Beachbody. Here’s our review of Shakeology.
What is Shakeology?
Shakeology is a lineup of meal replacement protein shakes that comes in the form of a powder. You can buy a big tub of Shakeology powder or order it in single serving packets.
Shakeology is made by Beachbody, a company you might recognize for being the creators of popular workout programs like Insanity and P90X. Beachbody has also branched into the supplement industry and now offers a variety of different nutritional supplements and protein powders to help you achieve your weight loss goals.
Shakeology is one of these supplements. It’s been on the market since around 2010.
There are six different flavors available, including Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Greenberry, Tropical Strawberry Vegan, and Chocolate Vegan.
The idea is that you replace one meal per day with a Shakeology shake in order to boost your weight loss goals with no cravings or hunger pangs.
How Does Shakeology Work?
The creators of Shakeology claim that the supplement is clinically proven to help you lose weight, lower cholesterol, and lower blood sugar levels.
In order to achieve those goals, Shakeology contains many of the same ingredients as other protein powders, including:
— Proteins and fiber to help reduce your hunger and food cravings
— Antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals
— Adaptogen herbs (“traditionally used to help the body adapt and respond to the effects of stress”
— Prebiotics, probiotics, and digestive enzymes that boost nutrient absorption, support regularity, and enhance healthy digestion
Much of the power of Shakeology comes from its high number of servings of fruits and vegetables.
In one video on the Shakeology website, the narrator claims that you would need to eat one bowl of “exotic fruits” including goji and acai, four cups of raw broccoli, seven whole carrots, ten cups of raw cauliflower, three cups of romaine lettuce, four cups of uncooked mushrooms, three raw mushrooms, a cup of peas, four cups of red radishes, four cups of non-fat yogurt, plus a shot of wheatgrass to get the same nutrients that you see in a single serving of Shakeology.
Instead of eating all of these things, you can drink just one serving of Shakeology.
Ultimately, Shakeology promises to be “the healthiest meal of the day”.
Shakeology Ingredients
Shakeology’s ingredients vary slightly from flavor to flavor, but the core nutrients remain the same. You can check out the Chocolate Shakeology nutritional facts chart from the PDF hosted at the official Shakeology.com website.
Each serving comes with literally dozens of different ingredients, ranging from a protein blend (whey protein isolate) to pea protein, flax, chia, quinoa, kale, rose hips, ginkgo biloba, and spinach.
One serving (a single scoop) of Shakeology contains 17 grams of protein and high levels of many important daily vitamins and minerals (300% of your Daily Value of Vitamin C, for example, and 100% of your DV of vitamin A, vitamin B1, Vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and manganese).
Other key nutritional stats from Shakeology include:
— 140 calories per serving (10 calories from fat)
— 1 gram of total fat per serving
— 15mg (5% Daily Value) of cholesterol
— 100mg (4% DV) of sodium
— 17g (6% DV) of total carbohydrates
— 3g (12% DV) of dietary fiber
— 9g of sugar
— 17g (34% DV) protein
Meanwhile, some of the popular super fruits used within Shakeology include acerola powder, camu-camu powder, pomegranate powder, bilberry fruit powder, blueberry powder, goji berry powder, acai berry powder, cordyceps, maitake powder, citrus bioflavonoids, rose hips fruit powder, suma root powder, ginkgo leaf powder, and cordyceps.
How to Buy Shakeology
Shakeology is currently available from Shakeology.com as well as the official Beachbody website. You’ll find six different flavors available at the site:
— Chocolate
— Vanilla
— Strawberry
— Greenberry
— Chocolate Vegan
— Tropical Strawberry Vegan
Can’t decide which flavor you like? You can actually combine up to three flavors together to create your own unique flavor. Popular flavor combinations include chocolate and greenberry, chocolate and vanilla, and Neapolitan.
You can also choose to “alternate” your favorite flavors, which lets you switch between two different flavors from month to month when using the autoship program.
No matter which flavor you buy, the price remains the same: you pay $129.95 + $15 shipping for a 30 serving tub of Shakeology. You can also pay $129.95 for 24 single-serve packets in a box.
If you sign up for the autoship program, then you’ll still pay $129.95 for each box. However, you’ll get discounted shipping. On the autoship program, a new package of Shakeology will be delivered to your home every month.
Shakeology is also available from Amazon, although it’s a virtually identical price:
— Shakeology Chocolate 30 Servings (Bulk) in a BAG: $129.95 + $14.94 estimated shipping
Buy from a Beachbody Coach
You may also receive an offer to buy Shakeology from a Beachbody Coach. This is where things can get a little confusing. Beachbody Coaches don’t actually require any formal nutritional or fitness training. Instead, they only need to sign up to Beachbody through a multilevel-marketing like system.
Beachbody Coaches pay $39.99 to join the company and receive a commission on all sales they make.
There’s no certification process here. Beachbody Coaches may not have any formal nutritional or fitness training – or they may be experts in their field. Just be aware of this fact if you encounter a Beachbody Coach who claims to be a world-class expert and tries to give you the hard sell on Shakeology.
Conclusion: Who Should Use Shakeology?
Shakeology is one of the world’s most expensive meal replacement powders. It contains a handful of superfoods and delivers your daily value of a few major vitamins and nutrients. It also contains 17 grams of whey protein isolate per serving.
But given its high price tag, it’s hard to recommend Shakeology. The supplement works out to a price of about $5 per serving (that price is over $6 per serving when you buy the 24 serving package). It also comes with ridiculously large shipping fees ($15 for shipping in 2015?).
Yes, this is a very good protein powder that will undoubtedly support your weight loss goals and boost your overall health. But you’d be able to save a lot of money by buying a premium protein powder, a digestive supplement, and a fat burning pill separately.
