Response to: Ask The Dietitian: What’s The Deal With Shakeology? by Abby Langer

After coming across this on facebook today, I thought I'd add in my two cents.
I think the tone of this article was a little "high and mighty".   To be frank, the entire second paragraph was childish and bitchy. That aside, I feel that there were some very critical things wrong here:

"You can’t fairly compare whole food to a drink." - You are very correct.  Whole foods are definitely the best option for nutrition.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of people struggle with that, for various reasons.  For me, I have sensory/texture issues that make it so I cannot eat most fruits/vegetables without triggering my gag reflex... so Shakeology fills that gap in my nutrition for me.  It's obviously a better alternative than not eating any fruits or vegetables at all, don't you think?

"The only thing Shakeology should be replacing, if anything, is $41 worth of crap food like the chips and chocolate bars that are in your pantry." - Also true.  But you're failing to acknowledge that THAT is what people struggle with the most, in my experience.  Do you have any idea how hard it would be for a person to go from eating junk foods all the time to being a perfect whole foods eater?  That's completely unrealistic.  There's nothing wrong with learning how to get there, and getting help in the process.  And yes, my chocolate shake is MUCH healthier than any chocolate bar in someone's pantry.  Does your chocolate bar have superfoods and probiotics in it? ;)

"Essentially these are protein shakes, but the 17 grams per shake is a bit below the 20-25 grams of protein that I recommend per meal." - It's not marketed as a protein shake, actually.  And if any person is advocating that Shakeology is a protein shake, then they're misinformed or under-educated about it. Not to mention, you can easily kick that protein up to 20-25 grams by adding milk, peanut butter, yogurt, etc to your shake.

"Each shake has only 160 calories, which is about 340 calories short of an actual meal by my recommendations. You’re basically relying on 17 grams of protein to keep you full until your next meal or snack, and good luck to you." - Once again, almost everyone I know adds things to their shake (milk, fruits, veggies, etc), upping the caloric content.  Secondly?  Shakeology DOES keep me full, for about 2.5-3 hours, and I know for a fact that I'm not alone there.

"Something that does irk me about Shakeology, and I have to mention this, is the ‘Team Beachbody’ thing that it’s associated with. Can we please stop talking about beach bodies? A beach body is a body in a bathing suit. A fat body, a thin body, a pink, green, yellow, or orange body. Whatever body you have is your beach body. Let’s stop idealizing the ‘perfect bikini body’, because that BS doesn’t exist. Be the healthiest and happiest that you can be, and stop trying to fit into society’s warped vision of ‘beach body’, which we all know is unrealistic for 99% of us." - I'm sorry you're so angry about this and clearly feel attacked, but not ONE of the coaches on the team I'm a part of talks about getting a "perfect bikini body".  We're all here to help you be the best version of you that you can be.  Quite frankly, my entire business revolves around the fact that "skinny" isn't a goal you should have (#strongnotskinny , anyone?).  A Beachbody IS a body on a beach.  And you should be happy with that body and proud of it, no matter what it looks like, as long as it's healthy!  That's why good coaches exist in this business.  That's what we're here for.  So please don't trash a company due to your incorrect views of it.

Shakeology isn't the healthiest thing ever on the planet Earth.  But do you know what it IS?  Way healthier than the majority of what people are eating on a daily basis.  A wonderful source of vitamins and minerals that a lot of people lack.  A great source of pre- and probiotics to help your digestive system.  A great substitute for the breakfast that I don't eat.  A good substitute for fruits and vegetables that I'm lacking due to my texture issues.  A source of nutrients that's helped my hair and nails be so much stronger than they ever were.  An energy providing drink that's a clearly way better option than soda.  The only thing that's ever been able to even TOUCH my levels of fatigue when my body spends too much time attacking itself.

And it's delicious.  I rest my case. :)