I've been meaning to do this for a while now, I've talked about it briefly before seeing as my views are very clear for the main part. I'm going to go in more depth today.
This was sparked mainly by the new Body by Vi and their product Visalus.
I'm not picking on Body by Vi in particular, but it happens to be the most prominent and dominant of these types of products out there.
First and foremost, Body by Vi is a network marketing scheme. What this basically means it is a product/service sold by people (mainly your friends) in order to get money out of you. Sounds fantastic, doesn't it?
I had some of my clients and some of my clients friends/family ask me about the particular product Visalus. So I googled the info.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 2 rounded scoops (26g)
Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 10Calories 90
% Daily Values*
Total Fat 1g 2%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 15mg 5%
Sodium 75mg 3%
Potassium 125mg
Total Carbohydrate 7g 2%
Dietary Fiber 5g 20%
Sugars 1g
Protein 12g
Vitamin A 30% Vitamin C 30%
Calcium 30% Iron 5%
This is what I found.
Now, to most of you, this might seem "sound" enough.
Let's look at it a bit closer.
Most competing protein brands are around 22-27 grams of protein per 30 grams.
This is 12 grams of protein per 26 grams. What the HECK is that other 14 grams?
Well, 5 are fiber according to the nutritional info. 7 grams of carbs total. 1 gram of fat.
The protein comes from 3 sources. Soy Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Hydrolysate, and whey protein concentrate.
This is not an ideal source of protein (soy) for a lot of reasons. They Hydrolysate is a fantastic expensive source of protein, and concentrate is one of the cheapest you can find.
But, at only 12 grams per 2 scoops, I wouldn't expect miracles as it is.
So there is also "fibersol" in here, which looks to be a form of metamucil. I could be wrong, but that seems to be the brunt of the carbs.
So long story short, we're looking at a tiny bit of protein with a lot of fiber.
Why does this work then? Because everyone is under dosed on mainly those 2 things. Fiber and protein.
Put out a product with both, make up some hilarious "it's better than X" claims, market the hell out of it, get some people to lose weight on it, and POW! success!
I have a beef with products like this because:
1) it is overcharging customers big time
2) it is an inferior product in most cases
3) people attribute the success to the product instead of the nutritional clean up.
This means that if you were eating junk, and you even replace it with something less crappy, you'll get results! It really is that easy !
If these products would help set people on the right path, aka a non-crash diet plan with sustainable results, then there really would be nothing wrong.
People become dependant on these products and don't grasp the basic nutritional background as to why they're working.
My recommendation:
1) up your vegetable intake or buy some metamucil
2) buy a cheaper, higher quality protein supplement aka. Isoflex
3) replace these with one or two of your junk meals you usually have.
Watch what happens. Same or better results with more money in your wallet.
As always, if you have more questions, ask away. I'll be more than happy to answer them !
