This is about my weight loss journey with Herbalife, which I received from their PR agency. So kinda sorta sponsored.
I first tried Herbalife in 2005. Thanks to working shifts my metabolism didn’t know what time of the day it was, and I gained a lot of weight. Once I started keeping normal office hours, I called up a Herbalife rep, got some provisions and had my weekly measurements taken. I felt amazing when I lost some of the weight. I wasn’t able to continue using Herbalife products after being retrenched – for obvious reasons.
Bad medicine
In 2015 my life spun out of control. Just circumstances. I realised I was in trouble and hurried over to a psychologist, who prescribed a combination of meds to help me get out of that bad place. And it worked.
But after a dispute between my doctor and the medical aid, I decided it was time to find someone new; hopefully, someone who didn’t annoy me.
New doc reviewed my meds, looked at me and said she’s surprised I don’t weigh 50 kgs more than I do since one of the pills prescribed is known to cause weight gain. Well, that explained why I couldn’t shift the excess weight, no matter how many salads I eat.
Long story short, we started a plan to get me off the bad meds and onto better meds. That transition concluded on New Year’s Eve.
New Year, New Me
About a week before our office closed for the holiday, I received a Herbalife media drop. On the same day, I got a box of chocolates for my birthday. Clearly the universe was trying to tell me something, which I ignored until work started again.
Weighing something ridiculous and not having much that fitted properly, I decided to make the most of this windfall.
I combined the Multifibre powder with my chocolate Formula 1 Shake Mix. The Multifibre is “delicate apple flavour” which might sound strange when mixed with chocolate, but it’s quite tasty. One meal a day replaced with this (Monday to Friday) and I still have some left, almost exactly a month after I started.
I didn’t even try the Instant Herbal Beverage. With 85 mg caffeine, it’s more than what my delicate stomach lining can cope with, and I had no intention to suffer unnecessarily.
Somehow I managed to eat one of the Formula 1 Express Bars. I find them utterly revolting, but fortunately, some of my colleagues disagreed, and so they didn’t go to waste at least.
My absolute favourite product by far is the Herbal Aloe Concentrate. I battle to drink enough water, but this made it delicious. Unfortunately, it only lasted about nine days.
 The verdict?
If you’re wondering whether I’d lost any weight and if I’d continue with Herbalife, here’s the deal:
Without any exercise, with having the occasional sweet coffee (and two extra-large Starbucks S’mores Frappuccinos), I have lost 3.7 kgs to date. I’m pretty chuffed with that; not losing too much too fast means a) I don’t starve myself and b) I’m developing a sustainable lifestyle.
I absolutely would continue with Herbalife – the Formula 1 Shake Mix, the Multifibre Drink, and especially the Herbal Aloe Concentrate – if it was financially possible. Sure there’s been years of research done or whatever for them to think the price is justified, but I can’t justify this expense.
So that’s it, in a measuring scoop. I plan to continue with a different meal replacement shake, one I can afford. And plan on joining the gym by the end of this month.
If you want to find out whether I meet my weight-loss goal by the end of the year, check-in later.
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