Friday, May 27, 2011

Shakeology: The Friend's Review

What's the etiquette on reposting material from a friend's blog?

This is all from my friend, Scott: 

First off, let me remind you that I am not a writer, not a nutritionist or even a fitness professional. What I am though, is the average guy working to better myself by improving my health and fitness. Now onto the review....

When I first started working out I looked at nutrition options to determine what the best route was. First I picked up some multi-vitamins from the nearby Vitamin World. I took these for quite some time, but never really felt any improvements. Maybe behind the scenes it was doing something, but it never really seemed to benefit me. I had a few friends that were drinking 'Shakeology' and I looked at doing this a few times, but to be honest, the price turned me off. Why should I spend that much on a 'protein' shake when I can buy a two month supply from Costco for a third of the price?

I shoved that the idea of Shakeology in the back of my mind as I drove towards Costco to pickup a bag of Whey Protein. I took this for a few months while working work using the Power90 (P90) program. I drank the protein shakes after my morning workouts and again before I headed to bed to help fuel me for the morning workout. There were days that it was still difficult to get going, but I felt my energy levels improve and I usually had some steam to get moving in the mornings.

After slacking off through late last summer and during the winter months, I started getting back on track. I brought up the issue of Shakeology again and discussed it with a good friend that has been using it for some time now. Every time this subject came up, his eyes would get bigger, he'd get excited and he'd rant and rave about it. I finally sat him down and asked point blank: Why should I buy Shakeology when I can get protein at Costco for considerably less?" He looked at me, shook his head a little and said, "Becuase that's only protein. Shakeology is SO much more than that! Don't like vegetables? Don't eat enough fruits? Still want your whey protein? It's all there, it's all in Shakeology and SO much more!"

I decided it was time, I had to try this. I went home, read a few more things online and even read over a powerpoint presentation my friend emailed me. I logged in and ordered my first bag. One bag, right? Give it a try and see how it goes. What's the worst thing to happen, I'm out some money? WRONG! Shakeology has a "bottom of the bag, money back guarantee!" If you decide, for any reason you don't like it - even if you use the entire bag - send back the empty bag and they'll refund your purchase! With a description (and guarantee) like this, I had to give it a try!

I received my Shakeology about a week later and started taking it. I was used to my whey protein shakes. I could add some water, screw on the cap, shake a few times and I was ready to go. This stuff was different. It's very light and powdery, almost creates dust as you dig a scoop out. I put this in my blender bottle, added some water, shook it up and took a swig. The taste was definitely different. It had a different 'chocolate' taste than my protein did. Wasn't chalky but you could certainly tell it didn't mix as well as the 'other stuff'. I read over the package some more and noticed you could make this in a variety of ways. You could add ingredients, use water, almond milk, soy milk or even skim milk. The next day I tried it with skim milk (I really haven't been able to drink anything thicker than skim in years) and found this took away the 'edge' that I noticed before. However, it still didn't blend as well as I had hoped. The next day I broke out the blender and tried this. It took a few days to get it right. I found that adding the milk first really helped. I've even now gotten to the point that I'll kick the blender on, get the milk (or water depending on my mood) whipping around and then dump a scoop in. This blends very quickly and works better than a blender cup.

The great thing about using a blender is that you can really change things up. You can toss a handful of ice cubes in this really chill it down and give it a milkshake texture. You can drop a spoonful of peanut butter (chunky or creamy) in and really give it a twist. Throwing a banana in adds a nice change to it as well.

One thing I did notice was that I only drink this in the mornings and it has completely replaced my breakfast. Additionally, I decided to not use this in the evenings. Each bag comes with 30 servings, so you get a full months supply. The one fall back to this was that I lost my evening protein shake. While I felt great throughout the days, I noticed that I didn't have quite the 'boost' I wanted in the mornings to get the workouts started. I decided to pick up another bag of whey protein from Costco. I started using this only at night, just to help with the mornings. I find it easier to wake up, workout, shower and then make my Shakeology. This means that I'm working out on an empty stomach. Having that scoop of protein in the evenings helps.

As expected the bag started to run low. I decided it was time to order another bag. This time I ordered using the Home Direct option. With this you don't pay any shipping charges and the company sends out a new bag every month without you having to place additional orders. If you miss some servings and aren't ready for a new bag - no problem! Give the company a call, let them know to postpone or delay your order for a week or two! Decided you want to quit for a while, again - no problem. Give them a call!

I'm now on my third bag and should be receiving my fourth in a few weeks! You can order this in two packaging forms: a bulk bag (30 day supply) or 24 individual packets (single servings). Since I am going to a motorcycle rally in a few weeks I am going to be placing an order for 24 single servings to take them on the road. I can't see hauling around a bulk bag on a motorcycle, but a pocket full of individual servings will get me through the extended weekend with no problems!

Oh, and did I say it yet? I've completely stopped taking those multi-vitamins. I was always concerned that those hard to swallow horse pills weren't even dissolving completely in my system. With Shakeology, I have no doubt that not only has it dissolved, but it's been absorbed in its entirety! I believe my color has gotten better as well!

Simply put, if you haven't tried it yet, you should! With their "bottom of the bag guarantee", how could you go wrong?

By the way, have you ever heard of a 'cleanse'? There is a cleanse that can be done using Shakeology and many people have received some amazing results. I have one friend that completed a 3 day cleanse. He lost an amazing 8.2 pounds and 2 inches in 3 days! When I receive my single serving packets, I plan on completing my own 3 day cleanse! Let me know if you'd be interested in trying the cleanse yourself. I can work out a good deal for you!

Link:
Fat Man Down Review of Shakeology

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