The Herbalife Diet emphasizes the need to have a very low calorie diet plan that includes pre-packaged, specially manufactured replacement meals, including shakes, soups, and bars.
Type - Low Calorie Liquid Meal Replacement
Are special products required - Yes
Is eating out possible? - Yes
Is the plan family friendly? - No
Do you have to buy a book? - No
Is the diet easy to maintain? - No
So how does it work?...
First and least complicated of all of the rules of the Herbalife Diet is the need to restrict calorie intake to about 1000 per day.
Limiting calorie intake to 1000 calories per day is low enough to be difficult and result in substantial weight loss, but high enough to keep your metabolism from slowing down to an undesirable level.
The second half of the program is substituting two meals per day with their manufactured shakes, soups, or bars (though the emphasis is on the liquid supplements).
The plan comes in two varieties for the two types of dieters the authors identified: those who are carbohydrate sensitive and those that are not.
The replacement meals are purported to increase weight loss beyond the 1000 calorie restriction alone.
The Diet Plan...
In addition to needing to restrict below 1000 calories per day total, you must also replace two meals per day with one of their special supplements.
The emphasis is on the liquid supplements (the soup and shakes) but there are also bars available.
The plan also requires a specific regimen of supplements including vitamins, minerals, and special herbs.
The addition of fresh vegetables to every meal is also suggested, along with snacking on fruit between meals.
The authors of this low calorie diet plan identified two types of dieters: one type that is sensitive to carbohydrates – who feel a significant sugar crash after eating them – and one type that is less sensitive.
Non-sensitive dieters are assigned to the “green” weight loss plan which has standard formula supplements. The “gold” diet plan is for the sensitive dieters. It features extra high protein content and a lower carbohydrate content to reduce sugar crash.
Is it good for you?...
It is true that restricting calories will cause weight loss, so any low calorie diet will probably have similar short term results as the Herbalife Diet .
However the main criticism of this plan is that it causes a reliance on the pre-packaged meal replacements and does not do anything to teach you about eating healthy on your own.
Long term success with the Herbalife Diet plan would require you to permanently commit to buying their bars, shakes, and soups; as well as their special vitamin supplements.
Example Day...
Breakfast
• Herbalife protein bar
• Piece of fruit
Lunch
• Herbalife shake
• Large green salad
Dinner
• Herbalife shake
• Large green salad
• Steamed vegetables
Snacks
• Herbalife soup mix
• Herbalife roasted soya nuts
• Piece of fruit
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