Shakeology Review

Disclaimer: At the time of testing and the writing of this review, I was not a coach, not being paid for this review, or any other sort of BS.  I'm just a person who's trying to lose weight and be healthy. 

My Beach Body coach, Brandy, and I had a conversation one day about Shakeology. She suggested I try a few samples and write a review to go on my blog.  I said okay, why not?  Be forewarned, I cut a HUGE amount of words from this review.  I copied it into Open Office and it was 5 pages long.  I hope I've cut it down enough to where I can still get my point across without boring you.  :)

Little information on Shakeology:  It is a meal replacement drink made from entirely natural products from all over the world.  They've even created one that is entirely vegan for you ... vegans.  :)  If you want more information, click this link to go to the Shakeology website.
 
So, here's the skinny on the Shakeology.  I got my 7 packets.  6 chocolate, and one of the new Vegan Tropical Strawberry.  I mixed them in a variety of ways, just in case you don't keep ice in your house, or fruit (either fresh or frozen).

Day 1

This was the day after my enormous Brownie Extravaganza.  I was crabby & irritable.  It was Cardio Recovery day, so not a hugely intense workout day.  I made my first Chocolate Shakeology with plain old water mixed in a cup with a spoon.  I used 16 oz of water to one packet, because I didn't have ice and didn't feel like dragging out the blender.  It tasted like cold hot chocolate, which is a bonus in my mind.  No weird after taste or that chalky/pasty film that some meal replacement or protein shakes leave.  It was about the consistency of hot chocolate too.  It filled me up, so I didn't want dinner.

Day 2

I wasn't feeling good that day.  I woke up, ate some cereal, had a glass of water and went back to sleep for about 6 hours.  I made the Chocolate Shakeology packet after my Cardio Power & Resistance workout, except this time I mixed it with 2% milk in the same fashion as the water.  I refuse to buy skim milk.  It's disgusting.  Because I did my workout earlier in the day, I didn't want lunch.  I ate my snack even though I wasn't terribly hungry, and for dinner I had another cereal bar & some fruit.  I still wasn't terribly hungry.

Day 3

Normally, Cardio Power & Resistance leaves my legs feeling aching the next day.  I had no muscle pain in my legs, though I worked my tail off.  Bonus!  It was Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs (my first set of double workouts).  After workout, I made the shake in the blender with 2 cups of frozen strawberries (since we don't have ice) and 2% milk.  It was freaking awesome!  I was sad I wasted the other two packets by not using them with the blender, but I wanted a full-fledged review of Shakeology made different ways.  Let TH try it, he loved it.  Made this way, it tasted like a combination of a chocolate shake and a malt, mixed with the awesomeness of strawberries.  It also had the consistency of a traditional shake, thick & creamy.  Ice or frozen fruits are a definite must for these in my opinion.  Filled me up WAY better than the previous mixtures, and I treated it as dinner.  I had a ton of energy about 30 minutes after drinking the shake.  Felt great!

(Sunday, Rest Day, no shake.)

Day 4

Fit Test Day! Made the shake the same way as Day 3 only with 1 cup of frozen strawberries (it's all I had left).  Was freaking fantastic again.  My muscles weren't' hurting, I had energy, was in a better mood, sleeping great! 

Day 5

I blended fresh strawberries and an almond/coconut milk blend with the Chocolate Shakeology after the much hated Plyometric Cardio Circuit.  It was looser than the previous two shakes, but not runny like when I made it without using the blender, because I didn't have anything frozen (fruit or ice) to add to it. But OMG, the almond/coconut milk gave it such a depth of flavor!  It was amazing, even more amazing than before.  Huge amounts of energy, still sleeping great, not feeling hungry after drinking it, and still, no hurting to the point of madness muscles!  Yay!

Day 6

Second round of double workouts with Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs.  Made the chocolate shake the same way as Day 5.  Very sad that my chocolate is now gone.  Have been sharing sips of it TH, he's liking it a lot for it's flavor.  I've noticed a difference in my attitude, my energy levels, and the awesome effect it has on my body when I have it after my workouts - meaning little to no aching muscles.

I have not had a Shakeology shake for 5 days.  I still have the Tropical Strawberry to try, which I will have today after my Cardio Power & Resistance.  Let me tell you how much HELL the last five days have been.  I can definitely tell the difference from shake days versus no shake days.  My muscles are killing me, my attitude has gone down the toilet, and I'm sleeping sporadically and for too long.  I don't have the energy after my workouts that I did on days when I had my shake, nor do I have the energy to actually DO my workouts.  I still do them of course, but I don't have that "Let's do this!" mentality I had while I was drinking the shakes.  And I really, really miss my chocolate.

Now, to be fair, I did replace the shake with a healthy meal 20-30 minutes after working out, simply because your body is still revved and it will absorb nutrients the best during that time frame (or so I've read).  It's not the same.  I feel...bloated would be the word.  Sluggish and tired too.  I'll get tiny bursts of energy but they fade quickly and leave me exhausted and annoyed.

Day 7  - Tropical Strawberry Shakeology (Vegan)

 My blender didn't like it, so right off the bat I knew something was up.  My frozen fruit was clogging the blades, it was too thick, and really just an annoyance.

Then I tasted it.

I wish I hadn't.  I really, really don't like it.  Remember how I said the chocolate one was nice & smooth & creamy?  Yeah, this one isn't.  It leaves that "film" in your mouth and it's kinda chalky tasting.  Now, still being fair, I didn't use just frozen strawberries this time.  I picked up a mixed fruit that has strawberries, pineapples, mangoes, and peaches in it.  But none of those fruits, when blended, is chalky tasting.

I've never tried any other vegan shakes, so I don't know nor can I comment on how they tasted.  I just know that I personally did not care for this version of Shakeology at all.  I believe I said I would rather eat moldy bread and drink stale water than drink this again, and it's true.  I would.  But, for you vegan folks, this just might be better than what you've been using.  All you can do is try it and find out.

So, overall, I love the Chocolate Shakeology.  I love everything about it - taste, consistency, and effects.  I love that I can add anything I want to it - fruits, different types of milks or water - and it STILL tastes great.  The only thing I didn't test was adding veggies to it, but I thought of the shake as a dessert, because it was just that good and veggies don't scream dessert to me.  :)

Want to know the best part about Shakeology?  It is EXACTLY what it says it is, and it does EXACTLY what it says it will.  So you know what?  For $120 bucks, it is absolutely worth it.  I tried making 30 meals for that amount of money, and the closest I came was $138 bucks, and that didn't include a bunch of things like gas, taxes, eggs, milk, bread-type things, membership fees (I only got to $138 by using Sam's Club bulk foods, everything else was way over).

So, try it.  You'll like it.  :)