Here's what's inside a Herbalife Formula 1 Shake

A few months ago we were talking about Betting on zeroa documentary that you can watch on Netflix in which the company's sales system is revealed. Herbalife, famous for the sale of nutritional supplements and meal replacements for weight loss. It is, as you know, a system of pyramidalThe most important aspect of direct and multilevel sales is the recruitment of new salespeople who also consume their products.

But, what's really inside an Herbalife shake? Can it be effective in achieving weight loss? We analyze the contents of its most famous shake, Formula 1, to see what's inside the famous white and green bottle.

What is the Formula 1 milkshake?

The Herbalife Formula 1 shake is the brand's flagship product, the most representative of all those on sale. It includes, according to its websiteThe product line includes products for weight control, together with other products of the brand such as protein sachets, bars or vitamin complexes.

The product is presented in a 550-gram jar which, according to the manufacturer's instructions to consume a portion of 26 grams (two tablespoons, more or less) together with 250 milliliters of semi-skimmed milk, gives us about 21 intakes.

The price is usually around 40 eurosThe cost of the shake is approximately two euros or a little less.

What does the Herbalife Formula 1 Shake promise?

The Formula 1 shake is sold, as it says on its own label, as a meal replacement for weight loss. In the same boat we can see how it is recommended replacing two of the daily meals with weight loss shakesThe diet is also accompanied by a low-calorie diet.

It is also recommended in case of want to keep the weight off after you have lost it: in this case, they recommend replacing one of your daily meals with a Formula 1 shake.

What it promises on its label the Formula 1 shake is an "excellent balance of high quality soy and milk proteins (it contains soy and milk protein isolate), essential nutrients (these are vitamins and minerals, basically), botanical ingredients and herbs (it contains 0.02% of parsley powder, for example)".

In addition, a little further down it tells us that it is "rich in protein", that it "provides vitamins and minerals (...) that contribute to normal energy metabolism" and that it also contributes "to the protection of cells against oxidative stress". And it alludes to the 221 kilocalories from each shake (including those that milk can provide).

What's in an Herbalife Formula 1 Shake? Ingredients and nutritional information

To know what exactly is in a Herbalife Formula 1 shake we have to look at, as you can imagine, both nutritional information as the list of ingredients.

Let's start with the list of ingredients, which is usually much more revealing: first we find the soy protein isolate (34% of the total of the shake), which would be the main ingredient, while in second place, and therefore in a higher proportion to all the other ingredients that follow (which are not few, by the way: more than 40), there is fructosea sugar.

The second ingredient of a shake recommended for weight loss is one sugar. Not only that, but also further down in the list of ingredients we can find other sugars such as dextrose or honey powder. This alone should set off our alarm bells.

If we go to the nutritional information provided on the package itself, we find the following: 35 grams of protein per 100 grams of product. If to prepare a shake we need 26 grams, as the manufacturer tells us, this means that in each shake there are 9.1 grams of protein provided by Herbalife and 7.9 grams provided by the milk with which we make the shake. It is not a marvel of protein intake, rather it is quite discreet, but they call it "rich in protein". Just to give you an idea: 30 grams of peanuts make a similar protein contribution.

In terms of calories, the Formula 1 shake itself is also low in calories: according to its data, 97 kilocalories per shake, rising to 221 kilocalories when semi-skimmed milk is added.. The milk, not the shake, is providing the most energy.

Is the Formula 1 shake good for weight loss?

Here I refer you to the text of the dietician-nutritionist Pablo Zumaquero on the blog of My diet is limping: they do serve to lose weight because they are providing much less energy than what we would provide with a meal.. 221 kilocalories per meal is an anecdotal contribution: they are a little more than 100 grams of tuna in oilwhich, in addition, provides a better protein intake than the shake.

Would you lose weight if instead of eating what you are having for dinner right now you only ate a can of tuna? What if you also had another can of tuna for breakfast and the other meal you have each day is low in calories? Of course you would you will lose weight, but because you are practically fasting..

Be careful, because this is not exclusive to Herbalife: is the same mechanics that all companies selling detox shakes follow.Do you lose weight if you drink these shakes for five days? Evidently yes, but not because you are learning to eat, but because you are making such a low energetic contribution to your body (and surely you are coming from a previous caloric excess), that it is practically impossible not to lose weight this way.

The downsides of the Herbalife Formula 1 shake

• It does not imply nutritional reeducation: living on smoothies is neither sustainable nor advisable. Any up-to-date (and ethical) dietician-nutritionist we approach is going to recommend eating food, real food to be more specificand not replacing food with shakes. Not only are you not re-educating the way you eat, but this also encourages a relationship of dependence with milkshakesnot at all positive in our country. relationship with food.
• They do not create adhesion: the adherence to a diet or way of eating is, to a large extent, what will determine its long-term success. In the case of substitute diets, there is no variety and, therefore, adherence decreases. Anyone can be an Herbalife distributor. No need to have studies on nutrition in this regard.
• It is not a customized plan for you: Anyone can be an Herbalife distributor. No need to have regulated (or unregulated) studies on nutrition in this regard. This means that you have many possibilities that a person without formation in nutrition (more than the one that the own company gives him) can guideline your diet. In this case it is convenient to remember that the only people who can legally prescribe diets are dietitians-nutritionists. (degree in nutrition and dietetics) and senior dietetics technicians (professional training degree), as pointed out by Lucía Martínez in this article about Herbalife on his Tell Me What You Eat blog.

The dangers of substitute-based diets

Here we refer to any diet based on substitute products. Shakes, bars, prepared sachets, pills... and not just Herbalife, because they all work the same.

The premise used in this type of diets is always that of replace real food with shakes. Sachets or bars of a specific brand, thus creating a relationship of dependence with these products. There is no nutritional reeducationThe number of meals to be substituted is simply indicated.

Weight loss occurs when based only on a lower calorie intake at the end of the day. Other important factors such as the eating habits of each person are not analyzed. For example if you have an emotional relationship with food. What are the causes that have led that person to suffer a problem of overweight or obesity. A multidisciplinary approach to nutrition is not carried out, but we base ourselves only in the calorie count.

Even if in the short term there is a weight loss, what happens after a while? Since a diet based on substitute products does not create adherence, as we have indicated above, or we cannot maintain it in the long term for economic reasons (it is expensive) and nutritional re-education has not been carried out in the process, the normal thing to do is to go back to the poor nutritional habits we had before starting this diet, recovering the lost weight.

These diets, in addition, can pose a risk to our health: from a energy intake far below what we need to meet our energy needs.s, especially if we are sportsmen and women, to possible liver problems (as previously documented(although an AESAN report related the liver damage to bad habits of consumption of these products and not to a specific product), possible dependency relationships with food, etc.

If you are looking to lose weight, our advice will always be that you turn to a professional in the sector. A dietitian-nutritionist who can treat you in a personalized way and instill in you changes of habits towards more positive ones. In addition, maintaining daily physical activity and practicing sports regularly can also help you to maintain an adequate weight.