Short-Term Weight Loss
With two meal replacement shakes per day, calorie intake will be significantly reduced, so most people will experience
short-term weight loss. Herbalife Nutrition says you can expect weight loss of half a pound to 1 pound per week.
- One of the largest weight loss trials ever conducted, Look AHEAD, published in 2015, found that the use of meal replacement shakes over the last two decades has been an effective way of helping people lose weight (1).
- Herbalife Nutrition has also conducted several studies demonstrating the success of its program, including a 2020 meta-analysis of nine randomized controlled trials that found participants who consumed the Herbalife high-protein products experienced significantly larger decreases in body weight, body mass index and fat mass compared to individuals consuming control diets (2).
Additional studies have examined how the Herbalife Nutrition program benefits individuals with different health conditions, such as
metabolic syndrome and
high blood cholesterol, and those in different countries.
- Herbalife research also found that a calorie-restricted, high-protein diet that included Herbalife meal replacement shakes helped individuals with metabolic syndrome lose weight while preserving lean body mass (3).
- A 2016 study in China found that overweight and obese Chinese people with high blood cholesterol using Herbalife meal replacement shakes lost significantly more weight and reduced their waist circumference compared to individuals following a standard protein diet (4).
- Research from 2017 among Asian Indians found that the Herbalife diet plan with meal replacement shakes resulted in more reductions in weight, belly fat, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels than a standard control diet (5).
Long-Term Weight Loss
A diet that relies on meal replacements is rarely sustainable in the long-term, says Connie Diekman, a registered dietitian and food and nutrition consultant with weight management experience based in St. Louis.
“They often limit who people can dine with, if they can
dine out, and they provide real limits to enjoyment” she says. “
Weight loss should be about
improving your health, finding a lifestyle that is maintainable and one that is enjoyable.”
Yet, the support provided by Herbalife Nutrition may be beneficial.
- A 2019 systematic review and meta-analysis of studies found that programs incorporating meal replacements with enhanced levels of support led to greater weight loss at one year compared to those following alternative diets and regular support. The Oxford researchers conclude that meal replacements should be considered as a valid option for management of overweight and obesity in community and health care settings (6).
“As a practicing registered dietitian who also has a degree in
counseling, I find that my counseling skills are often the things that clients find most helpful as they go through the weight loss process,” Diekman says.
Although support is a key aspect of achieving behavior change goals, Diekman adds that she is concerned about untrained individuals providing
nutrition advice.
“I would caution them to be sure that they are complying with state licensure laws that define who can provide nutrition information,” she says.
Colleen Tewksbury, a senior research investigator at the University of Pennsylvania, has similar concerns.
“As a weight management dietitian, I spend a lot of my time helping people navigate misinformation about weight loss and food,” Tewksbury says. “Unfortunately, depending on the state you live in, it can be hard to tell if the person providing you with weight loss information has the training and expertise to do that. One of the best ways to know (is to) ask.”
Diekman raises other issues about the Herbalife Nutrition approach.
“I hate to see eating become so limited, so rigid and so boring,” she says. “Meals should be enjoyed, nourishing and flexible to meet varying lifestyles. Too often programs with such proscriptive plans work in the beginning and when they get challenging people quit, they gain weight and they
feel as if they failed when it was the meal plan that didn't work for them that failed.”
Successful weight loss, therefore, is not a one-size-fits-all approach.
“Ultimately, it’s not about whether one particular program is best,” Tewksbury says. “It’s about figuring out what type of support is best for you.”
Weight Maintenance and Management
In the maintenance program, members continue working with an Herbalife Nutrition coach and consume the Formula 1 shake once a day, typically breakfast, instead of twice daily. The Herbalife weight maintenance program also recommends a fiber tablet and multivitamin supplement.
The weight management meal plans range from 1,350 to 2,250 calories and 90 grams to 170 grams of protein a day. Guidance is provided on creating a personalized eating plan, along with recipes and meal planning inspiration.
Herbalife offers continued community support through Herbalife Nutrition Clubs, store fronts owned by Herbalife distributors that have reached 70,000 clubs globally. The stores look like a smoothie shop (Herbalife branding is not promoted), but all the offerings are Herbalife shakes and teas with colorful toppings and drizzles that are promoted on social media (#loadedteas, #proteinshakes). The clubs also sell protein baked goods – from donuts to waffles – that are made with the Formula 1 shakes and Herbalife’s protein baking mix. The clubs have become a popular way to recruit members and new distributors.
- A study funded by Herbalife Nutrition found that individuals participating in Herbalife Nutrition Clubs have better perceived health and cardiometabolic health compared to community-matched controls (7).
“For people who need extreme structure, ease of getting meals and the ability to get support when needed, programs like this can be helpful,” Diekman says. “The caution I would provide is that once weight is lost, people have changed their lifestyle to maintain that weight loss. These low-calorie weight loss plans often are too difficult to maintain and shifting back to old behaviors is not uncommon.”