Herbalife is a one-stop solution for all your weight management needs. A huge number of celebrities swear by their products today! But is Herbalife keto friendly?
Herbalife meal replacement shakes are not keto-friendly because a single serving contains 5-9g of sugar. Consuming such high amounts in a single serving can kick you out of ketosis.
But there are some sneaky ways to minimize its damage if you decide to go for it it.
In this article, we’ll find out whether you can have herbalife products on keto. You can make a much smarter choice after looking at the full picture!
What is Herbalife?
You’ve seen big shot celebrities posing with Herbalife products. You might even have a few friends who are “members” of their channel. But what actually is it?
Herbalife is a well established fitness and dietary supplements brand spread across the globe. It’s a myth that they’re just a “weight-loss supplement” brand. But in reality, they have a huge range of products catering to every need.
Here’s the complete list of Herbalife products:
- Meal Replacement Shakes
- Protein Shakes
- Protein Bars
- Healthy Snacks
- Immunity Booster
- Heart health products
- Women’s health
- Children’s health
- Men’s health
- Hydration
- Skin and Hair Care products
They aim to support your weight-loss goals, improve personal care and cater to your nutritional needs.
What distinguishes Herbalife from other supplement brands is their unique distribution system!
It is an MLM (just like Amway) company and you can only buy their products from an authorized “member”. In fact, you’ll never even find their prices online!
Now you realize why your neighbor next door is always recommending Herbalife products?
Well, it’s because he gets a fat commission every time you purchase something!
But that doesn’t mean Herbalife is a scam. It’s just a more effective way of marketing your products!
The monetary incentive shifts from a retailer to your friend next door, who is an authorized member of their distribution system.
Herbalife doesn’t give you a strict diet to follow! But they expect you to compliment their supplements with an overall balanced diet.
For example, for a person trying to lose weight, they recommend having their Formula 1 (or F1) shakes twice a day followed by a balanced third meal.
And those who just want to maintain their current weight, one shake along with two balanced meals is all you need.
But what if you jumped onto the keto wagon? Will Herbalife survive our low-carb test?
Are Herbalife Products Keto Friendly?
Herbalife has a wide range of products under their belt. Each one has its own nutritional value and they all differ in terms of carbs.
However, most of us know Herbalife only for their meal replacement (F1) shakes.
Herbalife meal replacement shakes are not keto-friendly because they are high in carbs. Their different variants contain 6-9 grams of sugar which is too much to stay in ketosis.
These meal replacement shakes are designed for a healthy “regular” diet with moderate amounts of carbs.
However, we keto folks should limit their consumption as they don’t match our macro goals.
A keto-friendly meal should have majority of the calories coming from fat. Whenever in doubt, follow this basic keto pyramid:
Sadly, Herbalife shakes are made for fat-conscious people trying to shed weight the traditional way (non-keto folks!)
Here are the complete nutritional facts for 2 scoops of Formula 1 Healthy Meal Nutritional Shake Mix:
- Calories: 90
- Protein: 9g
- Fat: 0g
- Carbs: 13g
- Fiber: 3g
- Net Carbs: 10g
Clearly, their shakes have a pathetic fat-to-carb ratio which makes them a very poor choice on keto.
And for some reason, even if you decide to have it, here are a few ways to minimize the damage:
- Use it only as a meal replacement and NOT a snack.
- Eat only high-fat and extremely low-carb foods throughout the rest of your day.
- Ditch the regular milk and opt for a combination of water and almond milk (or any other nut milk)
- Count your macros carefully and try to stay within your daily carb limit (20-25g).
Herbalife shakes have a high carb content with minimum fat. Adding some high-fat ingredients can quickly turn the macros in your favor:
- A tbsp. of coconut oil
- Chia seeds or flaxseed
- MCT Oil
- Avocado
- Low Carb Peanut Butter (or any nut butter)
(If you are always in a hurry and want to minimize your kitchen time, check out our keto meal prepping guide!)
Herbalife also offers various protein protein powders, energy bars, and healthy snacks to support your weight loss. Let’s look at them one by one and determine whether they fit into a low carb diet.
Is Herbalife Liftoff Keto Friendly?
Herbalife Liftoff lifts you to the higher levels of energy and strength! It’s a flavored energy tablet that gives you a kick of caffeine.
Not just caffeine, it also boasts an excellent profile of minerals and vitamins required for healthy functioning.
A single liftoff tablet has 4g of net carbs which isn’t worth it if you are on the keto diet!
All of the carbs are in form of sugar to enhance the flavor of your energy drink/tea. You are better off with simple black coffee for a quick energy boost!
MORE: Bang Energy Drink on Keto
Is Herbalife Protein Shake Keto Friendly?
Herbalife protein shake is moderately keto because it only has 5g of net carbs per serving.
Each serving of 2 scoop contains:
- Calories: 110
- Carbs: 5g
- Protein: 15g
- Fat: 3.5g
- Fiber: 0g
- Net Carbs: 5g
The protein-to-carb ratio isn’t really good for a keto-friendly protein shake. Compare this with premier protein shakes that have 30g of pure protein for only 2g net carbs!
Are Herbalife Protein Bars Keto-Friendly?
So far we have seen that Herbalife doesn’t really care about carbs in their supplements.
After all, they are catered towards fat-fearing fitness enthusiasts who always worry about calories!
Similarly, their protein bars have a ton of carbs and it’s not suited to the keto dieters!
These are the two kinds of protein bars they currently offer:
- Herbalife24 ACHIEVE Protein Bar: 22g net carbs per serving
- Protein Deluxe Bar: 15g net carbs per serving
Practically speaking, a single bar is enough to wipe out your daily carb allowance on keto!
Diving deeper into their catalogue, I finally found a protein supplement with zero net carbs. It’s their Personalised Protein Powder.
It’s called that way because the powder comes unflavored and you are free to consume it any way you want.
Add it to your coffee, mix it with almond milk, or simply consume it in water to fulfil your protein requirements without adding extra carbs!
Conclusion
Is Herbalife keto approved?
Herbalife replacement shakes are not at all worth the carbs. They have almost zero fats and 5-9g of net carbs per serving. On a diet where each gram of carb counts, you simply can’t take such risk.
The only supplement worth trying is their Personalized Protein Powder since it has zero carbs per serving.
A keto meal replacement shake should have high amounts of fat, moderate protein, and minimum carbs.