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Cut the B.S.: Herbalife Nutrition Clubs

Yum

October 25, 2019 By Laura Ligos, MBA, RD, CSSD Leave a Comment

Okay, so there is this new chain of shake shops popping up all around my area in Upstate New York. They are promoting healthy shakes & teas with very vague information on their ingredients and contents of their shakes. They are 100% trying to hide the fact that they are nothing but a front for Herbalife. That’s right these so called shake shops are nothing more than Herbalife Nutrition Clubs that are part of the larger MLM company.

Cut the Nutrition B.S.

So I’ve been focusing on my brand a lot lately and what I like to educate you on. One thing I love doing is providing you with my real take on all things nutrition, fad diets, supplements, influencers, etc. I want to be the place you come when you have ANY questions on diet culture, brands, or humans giving out nutriiton advice. I also want to be a person that stands up for you in the nutrition space and calls out BS! when I see something that’s not right.

That being said I figured I want to put my B.S. (Bachelor of Science) in Nutrition into full effect and break down the fads and everything in between in the nutrition space and hence the term “Cut the Nutrition B.S.” really speaks to me. So I’ve been sitting on a topic for a few months now and think it’s finally time I break my silence. Today I’m going to cut the nutrition B.S. by starting with Herbalife Nutrition Clubs.

Herbalife Still Exists?!

HOLD UP. Herbalife still exists?!?! Yes, I couldn’t believe it either to be honest. I remember hearing about Herbalife many moons ago. I remember them getting in some kind of lawsuit back in 2017 where they had to pay back consultants because they were losing money and never made what they were promised. And I swore they must’ve died off. The FTC was involved and was quoted saying “it’s virtually impossible to make money selling Herbalife products” (read more here). 

I was terribly mistaken. They still exist. 

What is Herbalife!?

Herbalife is a MLM supplement company promoting health and weight loss products. They even have meal plans that incorporate their shakes, bars and supplements. These meal plans are atrocious and well under even what you need for weight loss. It recommends for my nutrition plan to eat 1500 calories (for maintenance). Yeah, no thanks. 

I’d recommend if you have 2 hours to dedicate to a Netflix documentary, that you watch Betting on Zero so you can familiarize yourself with Herbalife. While I know documentaries can be incredibly one sided, what you find from talking to those in the biz and all over the internet is that it’s pretty much true. This company is more or less a pyramid scheme and people are not losing financially but also health-wise. For crying out loud their was evidence that Herbalife caused liver toxicity & death (read here) due to heavy metals, toxic compounds, bacterial contaminants and psychotropic agents, YIKES!

Herbalife Nutrition Clubs

Okay, so why do I bring all of this up?! Well there has been a recent rash of nutrition shake shops popping up in the Albany area. I live in upstate New York where we tend to be late adopters to things like this. So when I realized we had NINE Herbalife Nutrition clubs in my area I figured this had to be more of a widespread problem then even I was aware of. 

These clubs all have very similar features because they are not allowed to do certain things based on Herbalife’s rules/regulations. For one they are normally in  strip mall with very minimal signage and almost no marketing (except Facebook pages). There is no noticeable reference to Herbalife unless you peak behind the counter or catch the owners posting something with an Herbalife sign on accident. 

Per the documentary, Betting on Zero, these clubs are not allowed to have advertising outside of the club and are not allowed to “attract” customers. However, it appears once your inside, all bets are off. I’ve had people tell me when they go in there they have to sign up to be a “member” and are asked to give their email address. While the shakes and teas only cost about $4-6 this is because the goal of the nutrition club is NOT to make money off of the shakes but to make money by getting YOU, the consumer to sign up to be an Herbalife distributor. They are hoping that you will be on their team and that’s how they bank on making money.

Per the documentary, the average Herbalife Nutrition Club loses $12,000 per year. Ouch. 

What are in these Shakes & Teas?!

Well, interestingly enough the shakes are just powder mixed with more powder and water. No joke, the use 2 scoops of their Formula 1 Protein mixed with 2 scoops of their Protein Drink Mix mixed with water, sounds yummy, am I right?!!?

I found the above on Herbalife’s website because I also asked a local shop what their ingredients and nutrition information was. When they sent it to me (below), I wanted to find out where they got that nutrition information, bingo! 4 scoops of protein powder and 8 fl oz. of water for $5 and you’re good to go. 

The biggest issue?!!? The FDA doesn’t regulate supplements and thus you have NO idea what are in these drinks. You could be paying for metal, bacteria, drugs, you literally have NO idea. It’s too risky of a business for me to even TRY one of these because what’s the point?! It’s not regulated and it’s not real food, I’m all set. 

From their facebook page

“SHAKES

Calories – 200-235 (some specialty shakes may run a little higher, or if you opt for extras you will need to take that into account)

Protein – 24g of plant based protein

Sugar – 9 grams of sugar (except for Cookie Dough which has 1/2 TBSP of Chocolate Chips)

Carbs- 13g of net carbs (18 without subtracting fiber) If you get Oatmeal Cookie, Oatmeal Raisin or No Bake Cookie your carb count will be slightly higher as there is 1/2 TBSP- 1 TBSP Oatmeal.

Fat – 4.5g of fat

Fiber – 5g (Apple Pie & Cider Donut have additional fiber and any Shake has the option to have unflavored or Apple flavored fiber added for an additional charge)

TEAS :

Our teas have 0g of fat, 0g of sugar (we use Stevia (plant based) beverage mixes) and have less than 4g of carbs (Boosted and Lit) and less than 1g for energizing.

Energizing – 5 calories, 82mg of caffeine
Boosted – 15 calories, 157mg of caffeine
Lit – 29 calories, 197mg of caffeine

All of our Boosted and Lit Teas contain 100% of your daily recommended dose of Vitamin C, 300% of your B6 and 200% of your B12 as well as other energy supporting B vitamins.

All of our teas are thermogenic therefore naturally boost your metabolism and become a negative calorie beverage.”

Capital Region Herbalife Nutrition Clubs

From the research I’ve done, I’ve been able to find 9 local nutrition clubs (…and counting) in my area. I’m not sure if there are any more or what they are called in your neck of the woods but I wanted to give you the information so that you would know what I’m talking about.

These clubs have little signage, only have a Facebook page (no website) and you’ll find all the powders galore when you walk into their shops, ZERO real fruits/veggies or real food.

Photo Credit: Unbreakable Nutrition Facebook Page

 

Here’s a list of the 24 I’ve found, do yourself a favor and unfollow them: 

Beyond Nutrition– Glenville, NY

Elite Nutrition– Latham, NY

Essential Nutrition– Albany, NY

Good Vibes 518 Nutrition – Queensbury, NY

Ideal Nutrition– Halfmoon, NY

Iconic Nutrition – Queensbury, NY

Identical Nutrition – Troy, NY

Incredible Nutrition – Saratoga Springs, NY

Irresistible Nutrition – Waterford, NY  

Loyal Nutrition – Schenectady, NY

Maximum Nutrition – South Glens Falls, NY

Unbeatable Nutrition– Troy, NY

Unbelievable Nutrition– Troy, NY

Unbreakable Nutrition –  West Sand Lake, NY

Uncrushable Nutrition – Delmar, NY 

Undeniable Nutrition– Mechanicville, NY

Unique Nutrition– Kinderhook, NY

Unmatched Nutrition– Rensselaear, NY

Unreal Nutrition – Schuylerville, NY 

Unrivaled Nutrition – Bolton Landing, NY 

Unstoppable Nutrition– East Greenbush, NY

Untapped Nutrition – Albany, NY 

Untouchable Nutrition– Albany, NY

Upstate Nutrition – Guilderland/Altamont, NY

*Note: I am trying to update them as I find them, so feel free to let me know if I’ve missed any. This list started at 9 and is now up to 14 since this posting first went live. 

The Verdict? I call B.S.! 

Ok, the whole segment of Cut the B.S. is meant for me to expose the good, the not-so-good and the down right bad that’s out there as far as nutrition goes. I call mad B.S. on Herbalife and their Nutrition Clubs. These clubs are promoting nothing healthy and are looking to make you one of them, if that doesn’t scream cult or pyramid scheme I don’t know what is. Save your $5 and go buy yourself something from somewhere that sells REAL FOOD. 

What You Can Do About It

Listen, I’m not here to shame you or blame you for having gone to these clubs in the past. It’s easy to think they are healthy and good for you when the marketing tells you nothing to make you second guess. These nutrition clubs want to promote health but they are doing anything but. This nutrition club is actually just a way to make money selling Herbalife and unfortunately the managers of said clubs are misinformed by Herbalife themselves and will most likely stop selling at some point. 

Here’s what I would recommend: 

  1. Do not buy from these clubs. I get it, you might have a friend’s sister who owns one, but you aren’t helping them in the long run. Most nutrition clubs don’t ever see a profit anyway so the sooner they shut down and focus on other jobs, probably the best for everyone. 
  2.  Inform those around you and send them this blog post. You don’t have to shame or blame them, just inform them. 
  3. Support local businesses that are selling REAL FOOD. There are plenty of other shake and smoothie and tea shops in your area. Go spend the extra $$ on them because they are spending good money to provide you with real food and real nutrition. 

It’s that simple. I’m not trying to bring anyone down, I just want YOU to do what’s healthiest for you. We do not know whats in their powders and it’s not worth putting it into your body when you can get all your nutrition needs from REAL FOOD. If they are selling you on the weight loss qualities of their products, believe me there are far better ways to lose weight if you need to, it’s called reducing caloric intake and eating REAL FOOD. 

Okay, that’s a wrap, if you’ve seen these clubs before, list them out in the comments so we can all be aware of them! And don’t hesitate to tag me on social media @thesassydietitian .

xoxo,

Sassy

…

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@thesassydietitian

We’ve made it over a week together and it feels We’ve made it over a week together and it feels like it’s always been this way.

Motherhood is a wild ride & it’s only getting started. I have never been so tired & simultaneously so fulfilled in my life. That’s not to say it’s not filled with tears, worries and doubts but what fun would it be if it were all sunshine and roses anyway?

Going into this all I have felt so supported by friends going through this with me BUT I felt so unsupported by the general public. It seems like we want to fear and shame moms because misery loves company, right?!

The focus quickly shifts from mom to baby (still shocked that I only have an appointment at 6 weeks even though my body went through the biggest event of its life) and there also seems to be this shift from joy to shame & guilt.

Here’s some of what I heard from people:

😕Sleep when baby sleeps. You’ll never sleep again.
😕Don’t let baby sleep in a car seat, or a bouncer, or anywhere but their crib EVER. 
😕You’ll never have time to shower again, enjoy it now. 
😕Cry it out is cruel and harmful to the baby. 
😕Get baby on a schedule/never put baby on a schedule.

These are all things I heard and that truly led me to believe I was going to lose all sense of who I was and my life as I knew it.

What I wish people had said instead were:

🥰Your heart will grow bigger than you could imagine.
🥰You’ll cry the happiest tears you’ve ever cried.
🥰You’ll feel like a giant hole was filled that you didn’t even know was there.
🥰You won’t feel guilty about cleaning your house, it just won’t matter anymore.
🥰Babies pooping will make you laugh so hard you will feel like a kid again.
🥰You will have time to eat and shower and you don’t have to neglect yourself.

We need to do a better job of building each other up, supporting one another and our decisions while refraining from offering unsolicited advice and opinions. 

So for all you future mamas and new mamas out there, I see you, I’m proud of you and I cannot wait to share our stories with one another and the world.

Let’s stop fear mongering (just like the diet world) and start building one another up.

Xoxo,
Sassy & lil sassy man
🌈Some things truly are worth the wait. It’s b 🌈Some things truly are worth the wait. It’s been a long year of loss, unknowns and worry but it’s all been worth it to get to meet my lil man🥰
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Now time to introduce this sassy human who is already so well loved to the world...
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Introducing 

💙 Connor James Ligos 💙
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After an almost 24 hour labor, Connor joined us over a week past his due date on 2/12/21 at a whopping 9lb2oz & 22.5 inches long with a full head of hair and lungs to scream hello to us with.
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We are so in love already and cannot wait to share him with the world. Thank you for all the love and support from friends and family and to all those that helped us in the hospital. Holy cow labor & delivery teams are truly magical and I cannot imagine doing it without all of their support.
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Now back to snuggling this human of mine and trying not to cry at every last thing he does 🥰 
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Mom, Dad & Bode are all doing well!
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#babyboy #pregnancyafterloss #rainbowbaby #birthdayboy #birthannouncement
I get it, we all eat so we all then want to talk t I get it, we all eat so we all then want to talk to others about what worked for us. That's great!
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What's not great is when we push our nutrition and eating behaviors onto others ESPECIALLY when we are not qualified to do so.
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So often when people meet me for the first time they are worried to eat around me and/or buy groceries around me. My friends can attest I am not judgemental around food and will gladly eat that cake, queso dip or sip on that glass of wine right alongside of you. I am not the food police and do not offer unsolicited nutrition advice unless it's a client who is paying for my help OR on Instagram and other social media platforms where my goal is to educate.
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Why do I share this? 
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Because I see far too many people diving down diet rabbit holes, finding success & then claiming to be nutrition experts purely because something worked for them. 
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I've also seen this alot being pregnant, everyone wants to tell you what worked for them. IF you use that stipulation of "this worked for me" then fine, share away but if you start doleing out advice please pause, take a breath and think about NOT doing it.
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People are OVERWHELMED by diet culture and some so badly want to change but YOUR way is not the only way and it most likely is not what will work for your friend/coworker/cousin/neighbor so please, stop trying to be an expert in something you aren't.
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Got it!?! 
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Ok, carry on.
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xoxo,
Sassy
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#nutrition #nutritiontips #nutritionist #dietitianapproved #rdapproved #rdchat #dietitiansofinstagram #dietitian #dietitiansofig #albanyny #albanynutrition #albanynutrition
Your nutrition does NOT need to be all or nothing. Your nutrition does NOT need to be all or nothing. I'm not saying you have to find perfect balance (does that even exist?) but I am saying that we shouldn't feel like either we have to eat perfectly or that we might as well give up.
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Instead we should look to the grey area in between for our nutrition guidance. 
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What do I mean?
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I mean that we need to realize that we can still eat cookies but we probably should throw some veggies in there. 
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We can have a glass or 2 of wine but we should probably also drink some water. 
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We can take rest days but we should also find ways to move our bodies regularly.
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And the list goes on.
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It's not about all or nothing it's about doing something daily to help your health and nutrition without it feeling like a set of rules or a free for all.
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How do we find that grey area in between?
👉🏻 stop hopping on and off fad diets
👉🏻listen and trust your self, not your coworkers and cousins 
👉🏻focus on the simple things (ie drinking water instead of worrying about supplements)
👉🏻work to remove guilt and shame around food & body
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Where do you currently fall Right now?!
🤪 all
👍🏻in between 
🙅🏻‍♀️ nothing 
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Xoxo,
Sassy
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#dietitian #dietitiansofig #dietitiansofinstagram #nutrition #nutritionist #nutritiontips #thesassydietitian #rdchat #realtalk

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