Body By Vi vs. Shakeology Comparison

In today’s society it seems that everyone is drinking “meal replacement” shakes for one reason or another. Some drink them to get more protein in their diets, others drink them to cut calories, and some drink them for a quick and easy meal on the go. There has been a lot of hype and debate lately when it comes to the Shakeology vs. Body By Vi Comparison. Most people see these as “weight loss” shakes, and when doing comparisons of the two, many people stop after looking at cost and do not dig deeper to inform themselves on what they are truly putting into their bodies. I will give you the ingredient & cost breakdowns, some pros and cons, and my own PERSONAL preference.

LET’S COMPARE

Shakeology- Here is one of each. One whey protein formula and one vegan.

 Tropical Shakeology     

 

Chocolate Shakeology

Vs.

Visalus

Looking at Body By Vi shakes and Shakeology there are some obvious differences.

Body By Vi vs. Shakeology

1. Calories

• Shakeology has 160cals/scoop vs. 90cal/2 scoops for Visalus. The obvious winner should be Visalus…right? WRONG!!! 90 calories is far too low to be considered a meal replacement. One might ask, “how many visalus shakes do I need to drink for weight loss results?” Visalus distributors suggest you replace 2 meals a day with shakes and eat 1 REAL meal. WHAT??? Your body needs calories for fuel. If you are not providing your body with the proper calorie intake it will send your body into starvation mode. This causes you to store fat you consume instead of burning it off. This will cause your body to burn muscle which will in turn slow your metabolism instead of speeding it up like you’d hoped. As a result, your body will store MORE fat long term. Also, 90 cals of anything is not going to “keep you full for 3-4 hrs” In reality, the fiber in the shake is what makes you feel full.

2. Sugar

How much Sugar is in Shakeology and Body By Vi?

• Shakeology has 6g(chocolate has recently been lowered) of sugar which is all natural coming from different plant sources. Body By Vi has less than 1g of sugar which is great, BUT to make the “shake that tastes like cake” they replace the sugar with artificial sweeteners like SUCRALOSE(splenda).

Vi shakes contain SUCRALOSE: a very harmful chemical sweetener.

Side Effects from Sucralose:

• Gastrointestinal problems
• Seizures, dizziness and migraines
• Blurred vision
• Allergic reactions
• Blood sugar increases and weight gain

3. Protein

• Visalus has only 12g of protein in 2 scoops! That’s super low, AND it contains SOY protein which may seem “healthy” but there is extensive research that states otherwise. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SOY
• Shakeology’s original whey formula has 17g of protein in 1 scoop. It is made from whey protein isolate and it is a grade 7. It comes from untouched(by chemicals) farms.It also contains sprouted brown rice protein, AND pea protein.
• Shakeology’s VEGAN formula has 15g protein in 1 scoop(with an additional 3g from the brown rice and sacha inchi) and is made from sprouted fermented brown rice protein and pea protein.

What kind of protein is in Body By Vi shakes?

Body By Vi shakes contains Soy Protein Isolate. Many people don’t see anything wrong with this but here are some facts about soy that you may want to look at.

What’s the PROBLEM with SOY????(Not just GM soy ALL SOY)

{taken from Dr. Mercola at mercola.com}

1. 91-95% of soy grown in the US is genetically modified (GM). The genetic modification is done to impart resistance to the toxic herbicide Roundup. While this is meant to increase farming efficiency and provide you with less expensive soy, the downside is that your soy is loaded with this toxic pesticide. The plants also contain genes from bacteria that produce a protein that has never been part of the human food supply.GM soy has been linked to an increase in allergies. Disturbingly, the only published human feeding study on GM foods ever conducted verified that the gene inserted into GM soy transfers into the DNA of our gut bacteria and continues to function. This means that years after you stop eating GM soy, you may still have a potentially allergenic protein continuously being produced in your intestines.Even more frightening is the potential for GM soy to cause infertility in future generations, which has been evidenced by recent Russian research.
2. Soy contains natural toxins known as “anti-nutrients.” Soy foods contain anti-nutritional factors such as saponins, soyatoxin, phytates, protease inhibitors, oxalates, goitrogens and estrogens. Some of these factors interfere with the enzymes you need to digest protein. While a small amount of anti-nutrients would not likely cause a problem, the amount of soy that many Americans are now eating is extremely high.
3. Soy contains hemagglutinin. Hemagglutinin is a clot-promoting substance that causes your red blood cells to clump together. These clumped cells are unable to properly absorb and distribute oxygen to your tissues.
4. Soy contains goitrogens.Goitrogens are substances that block the synthesis of thyroid hormones and interfere with iodine metabolism, thereby interfering with your thyroid function.
5. Soy contains phytates.Phytates (phytic acid) bind to metal ions, preventing the absorption of certain minerals, including calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc — all of which are co-factors for optimal biochemistry in your body. This is particularly problematic for vegetarians, because eating meat reduces the mineral-blocking effects of these phytates (so it is helpful—if you do eat soy—to also eat meat).
6. Soy is loaded with the isoflavones genistein and daidzein-Isoflavones are a type of phytoestrogen, which is a plant compound resembling human estrogen. These compounds mimic and sometimes block the hormone estrogen, and have been found to have adverse effects on various human tissues. Soy phytoestrogens are known to disrupt endocrine function, may cause infertility, and may promote breast cancer in women.Drinking even two glasses of soymilk daily for one month provides enough of these compounds to alter your menstrual cycle. Although the FDA regulates estrogen-containing products, no warnings exist on soy.
7. Soy has toxic levels of aluminum and manganese-Soybeans are processed (by acid washing) in aluminum tanks, which can leach high levels of aluminum into the final soy product. Soy formula has up to 80 times higher manganese than is found in human breast milk.
8. Soy infant formula puts your baby’s health at risk. Nearly 20 percent of U.S. infants are now fed soy formula, but the estrogens in soy can irreversibly harm your baby’s sexual development and reproductive health. Infants fed soy formula take in an estimated five birth control pills’ worth of estrogen every day.

Those 2 ingredients (Sucralose & Soy) are RED FLAGS to anyone considering the Vi shake.

What’s in Shakeology?

Shakeology contains ALL NATURAL ingredients including super-foods, probiotics, prebiotics, antioxidants, phytonutrients, digestive enzymes, vitamins and minerals that come from the earth and there is evidence to prove it. They also work synergistically to make sure you are getting the proper amounts and absorbing the nutrients.Body By Vi contains chemical sweeteners, synthetic(means they are not from real food they are man made in a lab) ingredients such as dicalcium phosphate and fillers such as Maltodextrin, which is most likely made from corn and 85% of corn in the US is genetically modified. Another thing that is disturbing about the ingredients in Vi shakes is “natural & artificial flavors”. Neither of those are good. Did you know that food manufacturers can label MSG as all natural? It also contains ZINC OXIDE…REALLY?? That is a diaper rash/sun burn cream and is NOT meant to be ingested. I cannot find anything from Visalus explaining how they get their ingredients or how they are obtained. When I searched Visalus’ youtube page all I found, was “celebration” videos and Ryan Blair talking business strategies. You would think that if the company were promoting a “health” shake they would provide some scientific information or research informing the customer of what’s in Visalus shakes. I also could not find any articles put out by Visalus about health or weight loss benefits from these shakes. There are many  distributors claiming the benefits, but nothing I can find that is from the company itself. Beachbody does an enormous amount of research, puts out numerous articles and doctor’s reviews, and  publishes facts describing how Shakeology ingredients are formulated, how Shakeology works in your body, what shakeology can do for you,besides accelerate weight loss, and a considerable amount of additional information. You can even learn the science behind Shakeology from the “ingredient hunter” himself, Darin Olien, co-creator of Shakeology. You can even learn Where Shakeology ingredients come from?

4. COST 

How much is Visalus?

• Visalus kits range from $49 for the maintenance kit(if you are looking to maintain weight) up to $299 for the Fit Kit(you can get your kit “FREE” when you promote it and get 3 people to join-that is another topic), which states that you can “build muscle”. REALLY??? Last time I checked you don’t just build muscle by drinking a shake and eating some snacks, nor do you build muscle by drastically cutting your calories. You actually have to workout to build muscle.
• If you want to want to lose weight(I have heard people say they’ve gained weight), Visalus recommends the Shape Kit. The shape kit is $99 for 2 bags of the shake mix  and 10 shape up mix-ins(to change the flavor if you get tired of “cake”). The shape up mix-ins contain artificial ingredients as well. Visalus recommends that you drink 2 shakes a day to lose weight. 2 Problems with that: 1) That means you will run out of one bag of mix in 15 days, so the 2 bags will only last you 1 month instead of two, resulting in you having to buy MORE product sooner than expected.  2) 90 cals + 90 cals=180. That, is very low in calories for 2 meals, and you will have to make up at least 1020 calories between your 1 meal and 2-3 snacks. If you don’t get the additional calories in daily, your calorie intake will be much lower than the minimum calorie intake recommended for the day(for women) of 1200 CALORIES which leads to many health problems.

How much is Shakeology?

• Shakeology is $129.95 customer price for a 30 day supply(suggested 1 serving/day) of whey or vegan flavors and $97.46 for a coach. That being said, with  the coaching fees paid, you are paying $113/month for Shakeology Home Direct(HD). When you become a coach, you can get yours paid for buy retailing it to 3 customers.

5. TASTE

What are the Visalus flavors?

• Visalus claims it tastes like “cake”. That is the only flavor. I do not have personal experience with the taste because I refuse to put all those harmful ingredients into my body. I can only base taste off of friends, clients, and family that have tasted it. I have heard everything from “It’s good, but I got sick of the taste after a while” to “It’s disgusting!” and everything in between.  I have also heard complaints that Visalus only offers 1 flavor. You can buy Shape up flavor packs at $12.50(if you’re not on auto-ship) a pop and load the shake with more artificial ingredients.

What flavors of Shakeology are there?

I have tried ALL flavors of Shakeology and do have favorites. First the, Greenberry has just been improved and has a mild strawberry flavor to it and is great mixed with fresh or frozen fruit. The Chocolate whey formula is my FAVORITE!! Very yummy. Chocolate Vegan is very delicious as well! Very chocolatey(One of my faves). Tropical Strawberry is also very good and has a very mild strawberry taste and can be great by itself or with fruit mixed in. Either way is very delicious. The only complaint about the Vegan formulas is texture, which is due to the brown rice protein and pea protein. If you are not familiar with this, it takes a little longer to absorb the liquid than whey protein, so the Vegan formulas need to be blended longer and given extra time to absorb the liquid mixed with it.(Kind of like quinoa). There is also a NEW vanilla flavor. I personally like this flavor very much. Strawberry whey was recently released and it’s a contender for my FAVE.

In conclusion, which shake is better Body by Vi or Shakeology? Shakeology is the obvious WINNER in my book! Beachbody as a company truly has the customers’ best interest (their health) in mind. They do their research and make sure you are consuming only the highest quality product with NO EXCEPTIONS!! They promote healthy lifestyles, not just a “magic” shake. In my opinion, I feel that Visalus is more about making money and earning a car. They are not promoting health by recommending dramatic calorie deficits and a shake made with chemicals. It is in no sense of the word a health shake nor is it clean.If we actual research what is in our “health” shakes we might think twice about what we put into our bodies.