Over the last few weeks i have been speaking to ladies looking for my help through online programs and Bootcamp.

During the consultations its amazing how many people that have tried one of the shake diets that are out there.

Now, i dont want to get into the names of the companies at this point as im sure most of you are aware of 1 or 2 of them.

The bit that really annoys me is most people get into these schemes though PT’s!

So, do Shake Diets work?

The answer to this question really comes down to

WHY YOU SIGNED UPTO THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE?

The most common reasons for people signing upto shake diets are the following

>Looking for a quick fix
>The marketing is hard hitting and appealing
>The idea of drinking a shake 2-3 times a day to lose weight seems easy
>Seriously fed up with not getting results
>low self esteem
>Poor relationship with food
>Confused from all fo the diets they have tried before

Here is the hard truth about diet shakes

THEY WILL MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT

Yep, shock horror, they actually do what they say they will, they actually help you lose weight which lets face it, is the reason most people start taking them.

Now, this is the worrying bit most people overlook

They allow you to lose weight because they put you in a calorie deficit each day

At the end of the week your body has lost weight and you are encouraged by the results

The trouble is the calorie deficit is too much and your body starts to crave food, probably sugar as this is the quickest form of energy it can convert.
Eventually you end up giving in and start eating and probably end up binging because you get gripped by food again and end up with a lot of expensive product just sitting in the cupboard.

If you are one of the mentally strong, hard bodied people that actually manages to take these things long term using will power at its best to beat of the cravings when you stop taking them at start eating food again, the viscous cycle starts again, the weight piles on and you end up really confused and down hearted.

One of the biggest things the people selling wont actually tell you is where the weight loss comes from.

Generally you will lose a lot of water, muscle and a little body fat.

The body will also get less nutrients in the shakes so you will become pale, light headed, shaky, dizzy and generally feel shit!

Is it worth it?

So, do they actually work?

Short term, possibly (weight loss), long term NOT AT ALL!

All that happens is you waste a shed load of money on poor products.

I say poor products because the ingredients are so so poor in these things, cheap protein, artificial sweeteners and a whole host of chemicals (that’s another blog post in itself)

Anyone selling you these products is not thinking of your overall health, they are simply making money from you.

But we all have to make money dont we?

Yes we do, but for me, not out of sacrificing someone’s long term health.

So, lets get back to the question, DO THEY ACTUALLY WORK?

I would answer No

The reason?

Because they are not teaching you anything, they are not educating you in the long run.

Do you realise that if you decided to not sign up for one of these shake diets and invested the money in Protein Shakes with better ingredients and replaced each meal with a protein shake you would actually get the same results but actually a lot cheaper?

NOW IM NOT TELLING YOU TO GO AND DO THAT!

When you come off of these shakes your relationship with food has not changed so why do you expect to keep the weight off long term?

You go back to eating all those foods you did before and eventually you end up putting the weight back on.

Lets face it, we have to be brutally honest here

Eating those foods before the shake diet got you in this position, it will get you there again.

Unless you are changing your eating habits, unless you are being coached on how to change those habits to suit your lifestyle and unless you start eating healthier foods YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD WILL NOT CHANGE.

Well, you could of course take shakes for meals for the rest of your life and hope that strong mindedness and will power dont give in to the tempting treats all around us.

You can turn every invitation down for a mela out or special occasion and continue with your shakes.

Or you can make a decision to hire a coach who can help you improve your relationship with food.
Someone you can speak to daily about your worries, your cravings, your lifestyle, your struggles with food and lean on them and other people that have been through exactly what you are going through to improve the situation long term.

To me, its the only way to true happiness with weight loss.

All of our clients online or at Bootcamp are coached to making smarter choices with food and as a result when they walk away from us are better educated to make smarter decisions in the long run.

As a result, those special occasions get easier, those meals out and nights out get easier and your life in general becomes happier.

So next time someone offers you a shake diet or you see an advertisement for one, think about long term changes rather than quick fixes

THINK ABOUT YOUR HEALTH!

You deserve to lose weight the healthy way and keep it off

YOU DESERVE TO FEEL A MILLION DOLLARS WHEN YOU LOSE THE WEIGHT