Herbalife is a global nutrition and weight management company that develops protein shakes, weight loss supplements, sports and energy products, and a skin and hair product line. Its signature product— composing 30 percent of its sales — is a soy-based meal-replacement shake powder called “Formula 1”.
Herbalife was founded by entrepreneur Mark Hughes in 1980, and has over three million independent distributors selling its products in over 90 countries. Each new distributor is expected to recruit more distributors, expanding the Herbalife network and taking a percentage profit from each person they bring on board. This “pyramid scheme” has attracted a lot of controversy, and many question how Herbalife is able to maintain ethical consistency and integrity with so many “independent” distributors, each employing their own (sometimes questionable) tactics to make sales. Despite these questions, Herbalife boasts a huge and ever-expanding following, an active social media community, and a number of high-profile sponsorship deals with sports stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and teams like the LA Galaxy and the Ospreys.
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Herbalife: How Does It Work?
The Herbalife weight loss program is comprised of protein shakes, weight loss supplements and teas. Herbalife replaces certain meals with its own meal-replacement protein shakes to “induce weight loss”.
Here is an example of a typical day on the Herbalife weight loss plan (taken from the website):
08:00 Breakfast -- Formula 1 chocolate shake with skim milk and half a banana
11:00 Snack -- Medium apple
13:30 Lunch -- Grilled chicken breast with vegetables and whole wheat bread
17:00 Snack -- Can of tuna and iceberg salad
20:00 Dinner -- Formula 2 vanilla shake with skimmed milk and half a banana
The supplements and teas supplement this meal plan.
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Herbalife Pros
- Because the protein shakes and teas can be prepared anywhere and require no special ingredients, the program is very practical.
- The diet is very prescriptive, making it convenient for individuals who like being told exactly what and when to eat.
- It is likely to result in short-term weight loss.
Herbalife Cons
- The principles of the plan are based on outdated science. Low-fat and very low-calorie diets are no longer recommended as the most effective or sustainable approaches to weight loss.
- Despite being described as protein shakes, the Formula 1 shakes only contain nine grams of protein each. That’s less than half the protein content recommended for a standard meal.
- This is a calorie-restricted diet, so dieters are likely to feel hungry and may feel low in energy.
- Expensive, especially if doing it long-term.
- Restrictive, making long-term compliance difficult.
- There is a lack of transparency on the website regarding what ingredients are in the products.
- Herbalife products are highly processed and contain undesirable ingredients such as artificial colors, flavors, fructose and sucralose.
The Verdict
“I am not a fan of weight loss programs that use liquid meal substitutes. As a dietitian, the only time I consider using these is when someone needs to lose weight fast for health and medical reasons, for example before urgent surgery”, says Themis Chryssidis, dietitian. “In my opinion, meal substitutes simply are not sustainable. Liquid meal substitutes simply don’t encourage or create behavior change or improve knowledge. If you are looking to improve your health and lose weight forever, instead of focusing on eating less or restricting your diet, try improving the balance of your diet.”
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As already described, the Herbalife weight loss program comprises of shakes, supplements and teas, all supplied by Herbalife. The Herbalife plan is likely to provide short-term weight loss results for some individuals. However, the general consensus amongst nutrition professionals is that it is unsustainable and vastly inferior to a healthy, balanced whole-food diet. There is also a concern about the lack of clinical support for the Herbalife weight loss plan, with no peer-reviewed research to back up its claims.
