Shake Scam?

oliviamanda · Post by **oliviamanda** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 3:41 pm

I took an afternoon trip and found I was starving with no time to eat. There was a nutrition place opened up in the area that sold shakes, I'm thinking much like a juice bar.

The flavor of the day was Butterfinger. I told them I didn't want something to mimic candy. (Death to the sweet tooth). I opted for a strawberry banana shake. They wanted to know if I wanted it vanilla or chocolate based. I chose vanilla thinking it was the lesser S. The shake was not a big size and it came with a flavored green tea of my choice... so I picked peach and sugarless.

The shake was filling, I didn't get to eat dinner until 9 pm, so it was a lifesaver at 5 pm. Of course they wanted to do a weight loss evaluation on me and sell me all their stuff, but I had no time... baby and husband in the car.

The stuff was Herbalife. I'm sure some of you out there may have heard about this scam. Anyway it got me thinking that it is not realistic to go the rest of your life with meal replacement shakes and horse pills. Anyone try a shake diet before? I did slimfast for breakfast years ago... look at all the sugar in it... it far outweighs the nutritional value of a healthy balanced meal.

dockanz · Post by **dockanz** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 3:54 pm

I once talked with my high school track coach about slimfast and he told me, "if you eat a brownie for breakfast, a brownie for lunch, and eat a sensible dinner, you will lose weight too." There are so many scams out there it is ridiculous and people buy into them like crazy.

PORTION CONTROL, PEOPLE, NOT MAGIC!!!

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 4:27 pm

Hi Olivia

I used to do Herbalife many years ago.. It's not really a scam, per se, but it is an annoying multi level marketing thing, and it's definitely *NOT* a good plan for life and does *nothing* for helping change habits..

The shakes are actually alright, especially if you make them with juice or soymilk..
I thought they tasted very good actually.
But,,,,,
The main thing is, they aren't the key ingredient in their weight loss program..
The appetite suppressant pills are.
That's what they really want to sell you.
The vitamin supplements and the stimulant pills..
Used to be they used Ma Huang..
Now that that's illegal for a number of years, I think they had to switch to caffeine from green tea, or something.
I did lose weight doing the Herbalife for a number of months, but that was mainly due to my decreased appetite from taking the pills.
When I decided to quit the pills cos I knew that it wasn't very smart and could be dangerous, guess what???
The weight loss really came to a halt..
At any rate.. Having shakes gets so old so fast, especially in the Winter when you don't want cold stuff and you'd kill for a large steaming bowl of barley mushroom soup or whatever.

Debs

oliviamanda · Post by **oliviamanda** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 6:22 pm

I do like shakes, though. Is there a shake that can be had on No S during the week... with a meal??? Anyone got recipes?

BTW, I am vegetarian, so shakes would be a welcome addition to feeling a bit more full at meals.

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 6:52 pm

I don't think a shake is a good choice, because they are really sweet and I would definitely count a milkshake as an S food.

Is there something else that could keep you satisfied? Could you bake a sweet potato the night before and just reheat it, or make some kind of bean salad? I know everyone's different, but those really fill me up!

I suppose an unsweetened yogurt drink, like an Indian lassi, would be fine. Those are also very filling!

dockanz · Post by **dockanz** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:09 pm

Thalia wrote: Is there something else that could keep you satisfied? Could you bake a sweet potato the night before and just reheat it, or make some kind of bean salad? I know everyone's different, but those really fill me up!

Perhaps you could make a sweet potato shake.

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:09 pm

Post by **reinhard** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:56 pm

"Meal replacement" -- what an intrinsically horrible concept.

I would stay far away from that trash. Meals aren't the problem, they're the solution.

Reinhard

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:19 pm

dockanz wrote:
Perhaps you could make a sweet potato shake.

Hahahah!!

Olivia.. A nice shake/smoothie that's very delicious and healthy is simply soymilk, frozen berries, and ice.. Cranberries are nice.
I'd have it as *PART* of your meal, but def not a "meal replacement"

Another yummy one is Soymilk ice, banana, and a tablespoon of peanut butter.

You could use cows milk of course too.. I use soy.

Debs

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:39 pm

I'm not much of a breakfast eater, but when I do eat breakfast it's usually toast and fresh, seasonal fruit. In those months when the choices of fresh, seasonal fruit is slim (like now!), I'll have a smoothie for breakfast. 1 cup juice, 1/2-1 cup plain yogurt, 1 cup frozen berries and sweetener to taste (I usually use honey).

I have friends who make "green" smoothies, adding spinach, kale or romaine to their smoothies. I've done it, too. The greens change the color and taste of the smoothie very little -- and it's a great way to boost the nutrients in your daily diet.

janmarie · Post by **janmarie** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 2:09 am

i have been having a protein shake for lunch, almond milk and soy protein, some vanilla...pretty bland. because of my hours at work i bring lunch and dinner and i don't feel like carting so much food so hence the shake. almond milk is a great alternative to milk for those with lactose intolerance. even when i use lactase a large serving of milk will not digest. almond milk has 40 calories per 8 oz, i use it in oatmeal too.

vmelo · Post by **vmelo** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:50 pm

Since we're on the subject of smoothies, I make one that's easy and delicious and is the next best thing to a milkshake. I take about 1/2 cup of frozen dark cherries (you can use any berry, but I LOVE cherries) and 1/2 a frozen banana. I cut up the banana (which you can still do even though it's frozen). I put in approx. 1/2 cup of 1% milk. I don't measure any of this, so these are just estimates. Then, using my invaluable KitchenAid hand blender, I blend it all together. Because the fruit is frozen, it comes out thick and delicious, like a milkshake. I have a major sweet tooth but I don't have to add any extra sweetner to this smoothie because the banana and the cherries make it sweet enough.

oliviamanda · Post by **oliviamanda** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 3:34 pm

It seems my problem is a few days of unplanned meals and I am not eating enough at my meal to be really full. That's why I have shake on the brain!

I made a banana, milk, no fat greek yogurt, pb, and honey shake and it was good. These are all healthy items that can be had at a mealtime in addition to my lunch.

The cherry/banna thing sounds great. I think it's a good way to get some fruit in.