If you want to read a review of ********** from someone who is NOT a beachbody coach, I found one. It's another blog and it's not letting post a link. I've reprinted it below if you want to read it. But to give credit where credit is due, its'from KatDoesDiets blog.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
I am NOT a Beach Body Coach--********** Review
I sort of feel inclined to put that in the title because when I first heard of ********** and searched for reviews, the only ones I could find were written by Beach Body Coaches. I am not, nor will I be any time soon, a Beach Body Coach.
Disclaimer: My race sponsor provided me with a week's worth of ********** to try and review. Links go to my Beach Body Coach's site. I receive no compensation for this review or for referrals.
I tried both the Greenberry and the Chocolate.
But let me back up a little. Before this I had heard of ********** through Beach Body Coaches that are Twitter friends. They all had so many great things to say about it and what it had done for them; they had me intrigued. It sounded a bit too good to be true. So I went to Beach Body's site and checked it out. I saw the price and immediately said, pffft, no way. Never gave it a second thought. To me it was just glorified whey protein and who would drop that kind of money on that? Not me. I love my whey protein and am perfectly happy with the brand I use. I wondered at what these people were thinking!
When my race sponsor told me I would get to review **********, I thought, aha, now I can see what all this hype is about. I tried a sample the night before race day. I liked the taste of both flavors (although the Chocolate is yumtastic). Phew, that makes a review a whole lot easier!
The front of the package claims:
********** The healthiest meal of the day, Replace one meal a day with ********** to help: Lose weight, feel enrgized, improve digestion & regularity, What's Inside **********? protein & essential amino acides, antioxidants, digestive enzymes, prebiotics, vitamins & minerals, phytonutrients, gluten-free, caffeine-free.
Hmm, now this had my attention.
Then I read the back of the package. Wow. This is not glorified whey protein. In fact I wouldn't even use this like I do my regular whey protein. I see this as more of a multivitamin, nutrition drink.
Nutritional information from the back of my Chocolate ********** packets:
Calories 140
Total Fat 1g
Cholesterol 15 mg
Sodium 100 mg
Total Carbohydrate 17 g
Dietary Fiber 3 g
Sugars 9 g
Protein 17g
Vitamin A 100%
Vitamin C 300%
Vitamin D 50%
Vitamin E 50%
Vitamin K1 50%
Vitamin B1 100%
Vitamin B2 77%
Vitamin B3 25%
Vitamin B6 100%
Folic acid 50%
Vitamin B12 100%
Biotin 30%
Pantothenic acid 50%
Calcium 50%
Iron 22%
Phosphorous 25%
Iodine 35%
Magnesium 20%
Zinc 40%
Copper 40%
Manganese 100%
Chromium 50%
Molybdenum 40%
Whey protein 15 g
Proprietary super-fruit blend: 2075 mg
Acerola powder (fruit, Camu-Camu powder (fruit), Pomegranate powder (fruit), Bilberry powder (fruit), Blueberry powder (fruit), Lycium (Goji) powder (berry), Acai powder (berry), Cordyceps, Maitake powder, Reishi powder, Citrus bioflavonoids, Rose Hips powder (fruit), Schisandra powder (berry), Suma powder (root), Gingko powder (leaf).
===You would think I'm done, nope. I may have carpal tunnel at the end of this===
Maca powder (root) 1000mg
Sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubiis) meal 1000mg
Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) powder 1000mg
Flax (seed) meal 700mg
Chia (seed) meal 500mg
Chiorella 350mg
Spirulina 350mg
Hydrilla 300mg
Apple pectin powder 250mg
Astragalus powder (root) 200 mg
Blue green algae 200mg
Spinach powder 200mg
MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) 150mg
Pea fiber 150mg
Quinoa (sprouted) 150mg
Proprietary nondairy probiotic blend: 150 mg
Bifodobacterium longum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacilus casei, Streptococcus thermophilus.
Stevia 135mg
Proprietary enzyme blend: 130mg
Amylase, Papain, Cellulase, Lactase, Lipase, Protease, Bromelain.
=====yep, definitely carpal tunnel, nope, still not done!===
Ashwagandha powder (root) 100mg
Barley grass 100mg
Kamut grass 100mg
Oat grass 100mg
Wheat grass 100mg
Amaranth (sprouted) 50mg
Grape seed extrade (seed, 95% proanthocyanins) 50mg
Green tea decaffeinated extract (leaf, 50% polyphenols) 50 mg
Holy Basil powder (leaf) 50 mg
PHEW! The Greenberry is just slightly different, but ain't no way I'm typing all of that too! You get the picture. Normally I would never type out all of what is in something, but this blew me away. There is a lot of amazing things in this. When they say healthiest meal of the day, I see what they mean. I couldn't wait to try it out.
I tried it plain. But I really like my smoothies thick, so I tried adding things to thicken it. I tried the Chocolate with peanut butter. I tried the Greenberry with spinach and strawberries. I even tried the Chocolate with spinach, you know me and spinach in my smoothies, and it was good! I tried it a couple times alone as a meal, and a few times together with an egg white omelet for breakfast. I really like the Chocolate just plain with a little unsweetened vanilla almond milk and ice blended. Yummy.
It's yummy, it has a lot of amazing ingredients that are good for you, but you know what else? I felt fabulous. I had more energy and just overall felt better. I say this a little begrudgingly. I really didn't expect to fall in love with this stuff. I expected to just try it, review it, and move on. I texted my sis (who is also my Beach Body Coach) and told her I had felt fanfriggintastic all week and I thought it might have to do with the **********. She of course knew that.
But I told myself that I HAD really turned a corner mentally and physically lately, and that was probably the explanation. I have felt overall better since losing weight and exercising regularly. That was it.
The true test would come when I ran out.
I ran out 2 days ago...and I miss it. Dangit! She was right. I still feel good, as I usually do, but I really miss how great I felt. I had more energy and just felt more ready to tackle anything that came my way, I felt....well. I know that sounds crazy, it sounds crazy to me too. But I am in love with **********. I will be looking hard at our budget to see if I can fit it in. Considering how cheap I am I would say that is nothing short of amazing
I am also extremely curious if it would make my husband (with narcolepsy) feel more alert and overall better too.
From the Beach Body site:
********** can help you:
•Lose weight
•Reduce cravings
•Increase energy and stamina
•Promote healthy digestion and regularity
•Lower cholesterol1
I didn't use it long enough to give a true report on many of these claims, but I can say that I had more energy and felt better overall. It is packed full of amazing good for me ingredients and I give ********** 5 Stars, yep I'm in love with the stuff.