For my first in the series, I'll start with a followup on my Nutrimeal experience linked here. I've been drinking the meal replacement shakes off and on for 17 months, and my original assessment stands - it is great stuff. Now that I'm in "maintenance mode", I've also kept off all the weight I lost - almost 30 pounds. I've tried all the flavors in that time, and here are my thoughts:
- Vanilla - mild, just enough flavor to notice it. Great for (possibly designed for) blending with something else like a fruit.
- Wild Strawberry - "wild" does not describe intensity. It's very mild, and like vanilla, blends well with frozen berries.
- Chocolate - pure heaven. I've been a chocolate addict since birth, and this tastes like Ovaltine - which might be why it masks the flavor of ground-up HealthPak. Grape seed extract can be bitter, so it took me some experimenting to find something that works. This does, every time.
- Chocolate Whey - It's chocolate and good, but the whey formula kind of threw me for a loop. I'll stick with the original formula as my first choice.
- Cappuccino - Not my favorite. It definitely had a coffee type flavor, but I can see why it an orange were discontinued.
- Orange - see Cappuccino. Tasted sort of like orange, but I don't think it hit the target.
There are so many ways to vary coffee and orange flavors, that they'd have to focus on another company's brand recognition, like Orange Julius or Creamsicle. The classic three flavors are doing quite well, and I'm happy to have a recipe that allows me to be creative with three base flavors.
As to effectiveness, Nutrimeal never disappoints - the taste is consistent and it's filling, with enough energy to last several hours. Remember, when choosing a diet plan or meal replacement, you DO want enough calories to last from breakfast until lunch. That's what they're designed for. Artificial sweeteners are misleading; you want smart carbs, not zero carbs. Starve the body and it goes into hibernation mode. Get carbs too fast, and you have an insulin spike for storage as fat.
I have a regular shipment of chocolate Nutrimeal to take care of breakfast and the occasional lunch. It's a great hurricane supply, too. When I had to hunker down for 3 days during Katrina, I got tired of canned meat and PB&J - possibly because they weren't nutritionally complex enough. I can live on Nutrimeal alone for 5 days if necessary. I could probably live for 30, with most of my health, but that goes far beyond the intent of the product.
So now to answer the question : "Who needs this?"
- Anyone looking to lose weight in a healthy way, especially someone looking at a surgical option because "diets" have failed. Nutrimeal is not a diet. This is a simple tool that can have a potentially life-changing effect. For someone looking to a guided diet-style method to lose weight fast, I recommend USANA's RESET program, of which Nutrimeal is a key component. Trust me, with RESET, you'll lose weight fast and feel a lot better about your hopes in a week.
- Anyone in a hurry who might otherwise choose to skip a meal, go for fast food, or grab a snack bar for lunch. Managers, police, firefighters (though they'll need to add Soyamax for protein), students - the list is endless. It costs about $3 per serving, less than a mocha at a coffee shop. I dare you to find a healthy lunch in under 5 minutes for $3 anywhere.
- Anyone with troubled blood sugar (i.e. diabetes); note, while I am not qualified to recommend this as a treatment, I will say that it's macro- and micro- nutritionally complex, with a glycemic index of 23. It's been used in at least one study to demonstrate the effectiveness of low-glycemic eating on metabolic syndrome, a precursor to diabetes. Next time you go to the doctor, ask if this specific product will help - show the doctor this study and the nutrition stats.
- Anyone at risk of losing power for 5 days at a time. It's shelf stable for at least 18 months and a whole lot better than canned chicken.
If you know anyone that meets those criteria, email me: markjholmes@usana.com or browse my website at http://supergeek.usana.com. If you tell me don't know anyone meeting those criteria, you're not looking hard enough. With a 30 day money back guarantee, it's worth a try.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
