Lose Weight with Herbalife

How does the Herbalife Nutrition Weight Loss plan work?

Herbalife Nutrition products offer a simple and convenient way to reduce your calorie intake and at the same time maintain or increase the quality of your nutritional intake. A typical daily routine for a person following a weight loss plan would be something like this:

A typical Herbalife Nutrition Weight Loss Plan

To lose weight, you:

replace two meals with a Herbalife Nutrition Formula 1 (F1) shake,
have a snack containing protein mid-morning and mid-afternoon and
eat a healthy, balanced, colourful meal in the evening.

The main evening meal and lunch shake can be swapped of course, if this suits your schedule. This is what we call our 5 Small Meal Plan (more about that later).

Once you have lost weight you move onto the Herbalife Health and Energy Nutrition Plan, where you just chose a heathy balanced Herbalife Nutrition Shake for breakfast while you cement in the dietary changes that you have made (more about this later too!).

The key to the success of the Herbalife Nutrition Weight Loss plan is that it simplifies making the permanent transition from energy dense foods, that are high in fats and sugars, to nutritionally dense foods that are low in calories:

The World Heath Organisation (WHO) has identified that there has been an increase in the “intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars”, so a person’s typical daily nutrition might look like this:

**A typical intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars**

The simple explanation for the cause of unwanted weight gain is an energy imbalance between foods consumed and calories burnt. You have no doubt heard the well known solution, "to lose weight, simply eat less and move more"?

The challenge with this approach is, if people ate less of a bad diet they can still be undernourished* and feel the negative effects of that, e.g. tiredness, headaches, irritability etc

*“Facing a double burden of malnutrition” - World Health Organization

What the body needs is to replace energy dense foods with nutritionally dense foods, that are low in calories. For example:

A balanced intake of nutritionally dense foods

This is what Herbalife Nutrition offers: a simple way of reducing your calorie intake (eating less of the energy dense foods) whilst at the same time maintaining (and even improving) your nutritional intake. This can result in you eating more food, in terms of quantity.

Link: How can I lose weight by eating more food than before?

Making a transition from an “energy dense” to “nutrient dense” nutritional intake might sound a bit complex and even overwhelming, but the secret to Herbalife Nutrition’s success over the past 40 years is simplicity and support - more on that later...

Herbalife Formula 1 Meal Replacement Shake: FAQ

The cornerstone product in the Herbalife Nutrition Weight loss Program is the Formula 1 Meal Replacement Shake. It is the company's best-selling and most important product, so let's answer some frequently asked questions on the Shake:

Question: How do you use the Herbalife Nutrition Formula 1 shake?

It is fast and simple to make a shake – simply add two scoops of shake to your base liquid, be it soya milk, regular milk or water and our Herbalife Protein Drink Mix, and blend - or hand shake in one of our specially designed shakers.

It literally takes 30 seconds to make a shake, so this reduces the temptation to pick up and indulge in unhealthy convenience foods, your calorie consumption is better managed, and the quality of your nutritional intake is maintained or even increased.

(More information on what you can mix your shake with later)

Question: Is Herbalife Nutrition Formula 1 a ‘protein shake’?

No. Herbalife Formula 1 is classified as ‘Meal Replacement’ and the label states:

‘Formula 1 - Healthy Meal. Meal replacement shake mix for weight control and healthy nutrition. 25 vitamins and minerals, High Protein’

The Herbalife F1 shake is labelled ‘high in protein’, for reasons that will be explained below, but its primary classification is a ‘Meal Replacement’.

This is not something that you will find written on a typical high street ‘protein shake’ - a product that is officially classified as a ‘Protein Shake’ and a product that is officially classified as a ‘Meal Replacement’ are two very different things.

Question: How is a Herbalife Formula 1 ‘Meal Replacement’ different from a ‘Protein Shake’?

A regular protein shake is designed to supply ‘what it says on the tin’: Protein.

‍Protein shakes, such as Herbalife 24 Rebuild Strength, are often consumed as a supplement before and/or after a workout to fuel or replenish fuel in our muscles, which can help build and repair muscle.

To be legally classified as a meal, a ‘meal replacement’ shake on the other hand, must meet the compositional and labelling requirements set out in EU Commission Directive 96/8/EC of 26 February 1996 which includes requirements on energy, protein quantity and quality, fat quantity and type, minimum and maximum levels for dietary fibre and minimum levels for certain vitamins and minerals.

If you compare the nutritional values on a Protein Shake to a Herbalife Nutrition Meal Replacement, bear in mind that one is designed to replace a meal and the other is not.

Protein shakes have their place, and their purpose, but if you want to replace meals with the convenience of a shake, chose one that meets the nutritional requirements to carry the ‘Meal Replacement’ label – e.g. Herbalife Nutrition Formula 1

Question: Can I replace all meals with Herbalife shakes?

No. Herbalife Nutrition Formula 1 is designed, and legally classified, as a Meal Replacement product for weight control, not a Total Diet Replacement (TDR) product for weight control.

The Herbalife Nutrition Philosophy (explained below) is designed to be a long-term approach to weight control and living a healthy active lifestyle. A Total Diet Replacement does not fit within that philosophy.

Question: How many flavours are there, and will I like the taste of a Herbalife shake?

There are currently 10 shake flavours:

Banana Cream, Café Latte, Spiced Apple, Mint &Chocolate, Summer Berries, Strawberry Delight, Cookie Crunch, Smooth Chocolate, Vanilla Cream, and the latest delicious addition to the family is the first savoury option, Mushroom & herb.

I usually ask new a new client which flavour of ice cream they would choose, and match that.

As you can see, there are a good variety of options to suit all tastes, plus shake flavours can be mixed for more combinations such as banana and vanilla, Café Latte & Chocolate for a mocha style shake.

Within reason, fruit and nuts can be added for extra flavour combinations, such as a handful of blueberries and a few almonds in the chocolate shake.

Many people (me included!) enjoy the shake flavours ‘straight out of the can’, but we have numerous recipe ideas to help people find a shake that they love and look forward to enjoying every day. I certainly would not have had at least one shake every day for the past 20+ years if I did not love the taste and how the good nutrition makes me feel!

**Herbalife Nutrition is the number 1 brand in the world, in meal replacements and protein supplements combined.**

The Herbalife F1 shake was the first product in the Herbalife product line and has been continuously developed and sold world wide since 1980. Herbalife Nutrition is the number 1 brand in the world, in meal replacements and protein supplements combined*.

More than 4.8 million Herbalife shakes are consumed around the world every day, so there is good reason to believe that most people will find a shake flavour they love. (If they do not, there is a 30-day full money back guarantee).

*Source Euromonitor International Limited; Consumer Health 2019ed, meal replacement category definition; % RSP share GBO, 2018 data.

Question: What can I mix my Herbalife Nutrition Shake with?

The shake can be mixed with:

regular semi-skimmed milk,
lactose-free milk,
soya milk,
rice milk

or for optimal results and maximum convenience, mix with water and Herbalife Nutrition Protein Drink Mix (PDM).

It is worth noting that the nutritional information on a shake canister label is calculated from a serving of the shake mixed with 250ml of semi-skimmed cow’s milk.

This is to meet the EU’s nutritional requirements for a shake to be classified as a Meal Replacement. The nutritional values therefore include the content of cow’s milk e.g. milk protein and sugars (lactose) which are naturally found in cow’s milk.

If we stray from cow’s milk, which some may wish to, for dietary reasons, we will advise you on how you can meet your minimum protein requirements.

Once again, comparing the nutritional information on a product classified as a 'Protein Shake' and a Herbalife Nutrition 'Meal Replacement Shake' is not comparing like with like.

Protein Shakes are usually mixed with water and maximise protein delivery, whereas a Meal Replacement needs to have the required nutrient levels including carbohydrates, in the form of sugars for energy, plus sufficient protein, and vitamins to be classed as a meal.

Of course, there is the option of simplifying things still further by mixing the Herbalife Formula 1 Meal Replacement shake with Herbalife Protein Drink Mix (PDM). PDM can be made with water and brings 15g of high-quality protein, 20 essential vitamins and mineral and 7g of carbohydrates to the equation, thereby making the use, and refrigerated storage, of all forms of milk redundant.

Question: What is the nutritional makeup of a Herbalife F1 Shake?

A Herbalife F1 shake has 222 kcal per serving, 18 g protein per serving***, contributing to the growth of muscle mass, 5 g of fibre per serving and a minimum 38% of the daily recommended intake for 25 vitamins and minerals per serving, including Chromium which helps maintain normal blood sugar levels

***18 g of protein per serving when prepared with 250 ml of semi-skimmed cow's milk, for reasons mentioned earlier.

Question: I have specific dietary requirements; can I still use Herbalife Formula 1 shakes?

The whole Herbalife Formula 1 range has Vegan ingredients & is gluten free. Additionally, the Raspberry & White Chocolate flavour F1 shake is also free from Soya.

We work with our clients to make sure that the choice of F1 shake, and what it is mixed with, will meet their dietary requirements, if possible.

Click to play this 1 minute 45 second overview video:

Will I be hungry on the Herbalife Nutrition Weight Loss Plan?

The nutritional composition of the Formula 1 Meal Replacement Shake is balanced between protein and complex carbohydrates to give us long lasting satiety (the feeling of fullness and the suppression of hunger for a period of time after a meal).

Why is this important?

A study by Cornell University in the US, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine, suggested that if you are hungry you are more likely to make poor food choices.

‍While this particular study may not have been large scale enough to be considered conclusive, compare this idea to your own experience; have you noticed that your shopping trolley is more loaded when you shop hungry, than if you shop just after a meal? I certainly have!

One of the biggest obstacles that people encounter when trying to change their diet to lose weight is hunger – it is just no fun feeling hungry. So how does the nutritional makeup of what we eat affect hunger? The chart below explains:

The pink spike: Refined sugars/simple carbs give you a quick burst of satisfaction. Even a ‘sugar rush’ or a ‘sugar high’. This can feel amazing & very satisfying, but the downside is that it is short lived. It will not be long before you experience the ‘sugar crash’ and will be looking for the next ‘fix’.
The blue line: Complex Carbohydrates. This is a better option with a satiety time of 30-60 minutes. Complex carbs are an important part of your nutritional intake, but if your meals or snacks are made up of only this macronutrient, hunger can once again become an issue.
The orange line: Lean protein. There is convincing evidence that a higher protein intake increases thermogenesis and satiety compared to diets of lower protein content.
In plain English, you can see from the orange line in the chart that lean protein meals can keep hunger at bay for a good 2-3hours.

The green line: Balanced meals consisting of a combination of complex carbs and lean protein give the best results when looking at hunger satisfaction.

* Thermogenesis’ is the process by which we mammals ‘burn food’ to generate heat.

Herbalife Nutrition shakes are a combination of lean protein and complex carbs.

Also, our delicious Recipe Packs are also full of meals that are nutritionally balanced between lean protein and complex carbs, and so are our Herbalife Nutrition (and alternative) snack recommendations.

Will I be tired on the Herbalife Nutrition Weight Loss Plan?

To achieve good all-day energy levels, we need frequent, nutritionally balanced meals throughout the day.

A Herbalife Nutrition plan therefore provides the right combination of balanced nutrition and frequency to keep your energy levels high, while you transition from an “energy dense” to “nutrient dense” nutritional intake. For example:

‍

Balanced Nutrition Equals Balanced Energy — The 5 Small Meal Plan

People often find making a long-term change in diet to lose weight incredibly difficult because they experience energy crashes and irritability.

Why? It is all to do with the nutritional composition of what you eat and, as discussed above, the frequency of your intake and your body’s reaction to this.

Snack attacks and energy crashes can result from inadequate nutrition

Whenever you eat and digest carbohydrate-rich foods, like fruits, vegetables and grains – the result is a rise in your blood sugar (blood glucose). As blood sugar levels rise, the pancreas produces insulin, a hormone that prompts cells to absorb blood sugar for energy or storage.

As cells absorb blood sugar, levels in the bloodstream begin to fall. When this happens, the pancreas starts making glucagon, a hormone that signals to the liver to start releasing stored sugar.

This interplay of insulin and glucagon ensure that cells throughout the body, and especially in the brain, have a steady supply of blood sugar.

The composition of what you eat, and the frequency is therefore key and that is why we use the 5 Small Meal Plan to achieve good all day energy levels

‍Link: How does what we eat for breakfast impact our energy levels?

Will I lose muscle mass on the Herbalife Nutrition Weight Loss Plan?

Protein is the building block of your muscles, therefore eating adequate amounts of protein helps maintain your muscle mass and prevents muscle wasting.

This is why all of the meals and snacks in our Herbalife Nutrition 5 Small Meal weight loss plan include protein. This is why the Herbalife Formula 1 Meal Replacement shake is labelled "High Protein", even though it is not classified as a "Protein Shake", (as discussed above).

You may think that maintaining muscle is only of interest to body builders and athletes, but this not so; your lean muscle mass is a key part of your body’s fat burning mechanism.

The number of Calories an individual burns is determined by their body composition. Each pound of lean body mass including muscles and organs in the body burns on average 14 Calories per day (or 30 kcal/Kilogram per day)*.

* “Who Burns 2000 Calories Per Day?” David Heber. M.D., PhD, FACP, FASN – Chairman, Herbalife Nutrition Institute

Fat tissue burns only about 6 kcal/kg so the lean body mass (also called the fat-free mass) accounts for about 75% or more of the total calories burned per day.

When calories are cut, as in a weight loss diet, the body may adjust total calories downward about 10 to 15 percent. The differences between individuals in number of calories burned is largely accounted for by differences in lean body mass.

It is important therefore, especially while we reduce our calorie intake, that we maintain our lean body mass or calorie burning engine by consuming sufficient protein throughout the day.

This is why crash-dieting (e.g. the cabbage soup diet) can lead to the yo-yo dieting effect: the calorie intake is dramatically reduced so the body burns fat and loses weight, but without the nutritional support of adequate protein, the body also burns its lean muscle mass.

The result of the diet may be weight loss, but the reduced muscle mass reduces the capacity of the calorie burning engine.

When normal eating resumes (because who wants to live on cabbage soup forever?!) the body has less capacity to burn calories and even more weight is put on, possibly leading to another bought of crash-dieting, hence the ‘yo-yo effect’, or ‘yo-yo dieting’.

Helping you succeed with a Herbalife Nutrition plan

We will use our many years of experience to provide the kind of support that may tip the odds of success in your favour. For example, we will provide:

1. A simple Nutrition Plan

Complexity is the enemy when we are trying to change habits, some of which might have been engrained in our lives for many years.

As explained above, the daily nutrition plan is designed to be simple to prepare and simple to follow, plus we have recipes and tips to make the transition easier.

2. A way to enjoy the foods you love

No, we are not saying that you can still enjoy five pints of larger and a takeaway three times a week and get the results you are looking for…. after all,

“For things to change, we have to change. For things to get better, we have to get better”

– Jim Rohn

However, we can offer some close alternatives so that you can enjoy some of your food-favourites and still stay on plan (and therefore on track) to get the results that you desire:

The Herbalife Nutrition Cookbook features a collection of 80 delicious signature recipes from across Europe& Africa. The recipes are backed by science - they have been tested by the Herbalife Research & Development team, in Reading, Berkshire - and a professional chef, so that our customers can enjoy food that tastes great and complements their nutritional needs*.

*Only when prepared as instructed on the product label does our product deliver the full nutrition benefits described on that label. Please remember that if a Herbalife Nutrition product is used in a heated recipe, some vitamin levels in the finished product may decline in comparison to label values.

Link: Click here for some examples

3. A friendly Support Network

There is some truth in the old saying “a problem shared is a problem halved”.

Researchers found that people who were with a friend estimated that the hill in front of them was less steep than the estimates made by people who were alone. (In the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology)

If you have a friend that you would like to go on this journey with, that is great, but if not we have two social support structures ready for you to plug into:

1 – A WhatsApp based ‘5day Eat Clean Challenge Group’ that has been running every week since the first UK lockdown in March 2020.

2 – A 28 Day Challenge that runs in a private Facebook group multiple times a year

Both social support networks are made up of primarily UK based Herbalife Independent Distributors and their Customers, but they are free to plug into for all our customers, wherever you are in the world.

LINK: More details on the support we offer can be found by clicking here.

Many of our customers say that it is the support and camaraderie they experienced in these groups that helped them stay on track or get back on track when they lapsed. The value of the friendships formed in these groups cannot be overstated.

The Distributor Difference: What sets us apart from other offerings?

This is how Independent Herbalife Members work with the Herbalife Company:

The Herbalife Nutrition Scientists (300 scientists, including 36 PhDs) design, develop and manufacture the nutrition products
Herbalife Nutrition Scientists and educators provide the Independent Distributors with guidance on how to use them
The Independent Herbalife Distributors provide the personal and social support to help their customers make the transition to a healthy active lifestyle, and teach them how to use the nutrition products as directed

This is why Herbalife Nutrition products are not sold in shops; when you make the purchase through us the Distributor, you get the physical product but you also get us - real people at the other end of the phone, text, email or chat - plus access to the support networks we provide.

This is one of the reasons the Herbalife Weight Management approach is not a “quick fix” solution or “crash diet”: Every product, support material and training session that the Herbalife Nutrition company provides is geared towards the long-term goal of helping people lead healthy active lifestyles, with nutritional support.

Our role, as Independent Herbalife Distributors, is to use the information supplied to us by world leading experts in the field of nutrition to support our customers on their human journey to better nutrition, and a healthy active lifestyle. After all, what we put on our plates is governed by what goes on in our heads.

Will you put the weight back on again?

If you revert to the old lifestyle and eating habits that resulted in the initial weight gain, then of course you will get the same result. The weight will go back on. There is simply no way around that.

The only way to keep your results long-term is to make changes that you can maintain over the long term. As I said at the top of this article, that is what the Herbalife Nutrition approach is all about – helping people make a permanent transition to a healthy active lifestyle, supported by good nutrition choices.

How do you keep weight off, long-term?

For a customer who starts with us to lose weight, there are three possible phases that Herbalife Nutrition products are designed to support:

Phase 1: The Herbalife Weight Loss Nutrition Plan

We have focussed on this plan for the bulk of this article, so I will not go into any additional detail here.

Phase 2: The Herbalife Health and Energy Nutrition Plan

The Herbalife Health and Energy Nutrition Plan reduces the number of Herbalife Formula 1 Meal Replacement shakes to 1 a day and keeps to the five small meal principle.

Of course, for high days and holidays, or special occasions, there may be some 'variation' to the healthy balanced meals and possibly some over indulgence… but you will be equipped with the knowledge, nutrition products and support to repair the damage by getting back on to two shakes a day for a while.

Many people like the way they feel starting the day with a Herbalife Formula 1 shake, with the balance of protein and carbs + the support of the 24 vitamins and minerals, so they permanently swap their potentially high calorie breakfast for a quick, convenient healthy breakfast; a Herbalife F1 Shake.

It’s as sustainable as deciding to swap toast for cornflakes every day for breakfast, except the nutrition values are vastly improved if you swap from toast to a Herbalife F1 shake, for example.

It is advisable to stay on the Health and Energy plan for twice the length of time it took you to lose the weight on the weight loss plan, so that new habits and routines can be firmly established. This reduces the chances of slipping back into old ways and the old weight gain result…

[Having said that, we do have customers that we see every six months or so – they get the result they want for a special occasion, slip back into old habits and then they are back on the weight loss nutrition plan, rinse and repeat. Short of moving in with them, or keeping them under surveillance, we accept that we may not change that pattern!].

Phase 3: The Herbalife Fit and Active Nutrition Plan

The Herbalife Nutrition Fit and Active plan is intended to support a healthy active lifestyle.

It never ceases to delight us when we see clients who originally just wanted to lose some excess weight make the transition to a healthier active lifestyle and then go on to take part in sporting events - everything from a weekly Park Run to a full-blown ‘Iron Man’ endurance event.

Of course, this is entirely optional, but if that is where you end up, we have the nutrition and support waiting for you!

At this point, you may have decided that you want to get started on a Herbalife Nutrition Plan and are ready to plug into our support options (including one-to-one support if you prefer).

Link: To get started, choose a Herbalife Nutrition program that suits you

What foods can I eat on the Herbalife Weight Loss Plan?

New eating habits are especially hard to maintain if you do not enjoy the food. Our clients love our selection of delicious balanced meals and snacks that are quick and easy to prepare, and family friendly!

All of our recipes are put together using the Herbalife Nutrition Philosophy's macronutrient balance of:

- 40% Carbohydrates
- 30% Protein
- 30% Healthy Fats

Link: More information on the Herbalife Nutrition Philosophy

Our recipe packs are either sourced from Herbalife's own registered dieticians, working with celebrity chef Rachel Allen and/or our own in house Nutritional Therapist.
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Click below to have a look at some of our delicious snacks and meals.

The video is one of our professional recipe examples, but the photos are not professional stock images, they are actual meals from our recipe packs taken by some of our customers.

Choosing your Herbalife Nutrition Programme

There are a number of factors to take into account when choosing your Herbalife Nutrition programme, including price, body composition and general nutritional needs.

You can build your own programme in our Shopping area or contact us if you need any help, (that is what we are here for!)

To make things simple, here are 4 example programmes: