Let's Shake It Up: Advocare Shake vs. Vi-Shape Shake

Me Mondays: 

It’s hard to think that by drinking a shake you could better your health, but for decades with products like Slimfast, Advocare and Vi-Shake, you can now drink your meal while lose weight. Additional, some of these companies also allow you to make money while changing your lifestyle. Since this month I’ve really concentrated on losing some much needed weight, I decided to take a look at the two shakes I’ve had a chance to sample, AdvoCare Meal Replacement Shake and ViSalus Vi-Shape Nutritional Shake to see which one was better.

But before going any further, I am adding the disclaimer: I am receiving no financial gain for this post and do not sell either of these products. However, if you choose to purchase either of these brands, I am supplying two friends’ links, so you can easily purchase your meal replacement shake choice!

BUY AdvoCare Meal:  Replacement Shake     BUY ViSalus Vi-Shape Nutritional Shake

Taste:

Plano-based AdvoCare Meal Replacement Shake is available in three flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, and Berry. The basic recipe calls for water and then if you like, you can add fruit, ice, etc.

Vi-Shape Nutritional Shake Mix is available in Sweet Cream flavor. By adding milk, Almond milk or water, you can add your own ingredients to create a special recipe.  You can also get ViSalus Health Flavor Mix Ins like chocolate, banana and strawberry are also an option for a quick variation or base.

I enjoyed both of these shakes’ flavors, especially the Almond Joy Vi-shake recipe I found (along with the more than 100 other recipes.) While I didn’t try it with the Advocare chocolate base, I’m sure it would work similarly to the Vi-Shake recipe. The Advocare shake, as directed, and the Vi-Shake blend I concocted (the basic recipe with Almond Milk and a provided Chocolate Mix in) tasted like a Carnation Instant Breakfast and didn’t seem like I was skipping out or having a “diet” shake.

Nutrition:

While both shakes taste good, we are talking meal replacement shakes that most people drink in efforts to LOSE or manage weight. So let’s get straight to the point.

Advocare Chocolate Flavor	Vi-Shape Shake
Total Calories: 220 Total Fat: 3 g Total Cholesterol: 40 mg Total Sodium: 80 mg Total Carbohydrates: 24g Total Dietary Fiber: 6 g Total Sugars: 12g Total Protein: 24g	Total Calories: 90 Total Fat: 1 g Total Cholesterol: 15 mg Total Sodium: 75 mg Total Carbohydrates: 7g Total Dietary Fiber: 5 g Total Sugars: <1 g Total Protein: 12 g

In addition to the list of minerals and vitamins each of the meal replacement shakes contains, Advocare utilizes a combination of whey protein concentrate, calcium caseinate, milk protein isolate and an amino acid blend while Vi-Shape Nutritional Shake comprises a blend of Tri-sorb protein, non-GMO soy protein, fibersol, pre-biotics and aminogen.

Now before looking at the list to see the obvious, consider what exactly we are comparing. For instance, ViSalus Vi-Shape Nutritional Shake may seem like it has fewer calories, less fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugars and carbohydrates, the label is only for the basic cream flavor (smells like birthday cake) recipe using water. Unfortunately, I’ve rarely heard of people (including myself), using water, but rather milk as well as mix-ins like fruit, extracts, etc. So actually, you need to add these additional products like milk (which adds additional carbs, sugars and protein) to the mix as well as any other flavors. So make sure you are looking at apples to apples before making your meal replacement option!  

Cost:

AdvoCare Meal Replacement Shakes are $39.95 for 14 individual pouches so each shake is approximately $2.85.

Vi-Shape Nutritional Shake is $59 for a 30-serving supply sack or $49 if you choose to get join their auto-ship program, so each Vi-Shape is $1.63. (However, if you are adding other items to the shake, the bottom like cost is more than $1.63.) Additionally, if you refer 3 customers to buy the Vi-shake mix via your link, you get yours free the next month.

So what’s the best option? I’ll admit, it’s a hard to look at just taste, nutrition and cost to make the best choice. I know I couldn’t based on these facts. Both made me full, tasted good and provided my daily vitamins and minerals. I loved the fact that with the Advocare I could dump water, ice and the envelope into the blender and I had a delicious breakfast rather than to put together a special recipe with mixins and milk from Vi-Shake. However, late at night when I craved something bad, the Vi-Shakes are what I craved to fight off the bad things I wanted to eat, but shouldn't.

So unfortunately, like many diet and nutrition programs, you have to make the best choice for your and your body. I've seen and heard many success stories for both products and I know I’ve tried both programs and certainly will continue with both challenges to see what works best for me.

          BUY AdvoCare Meal:  Replacement Shake     BUY ViSalus Vi-Shape Nutritional Shake

Have you tried Advocare or the Vi-Shake? I want to know which one you prefer! Leave me a comment here!