What is Visalus, aka Body by Vi?
Today a Young and Raw Facebook Fan inspired me to do a little digging, and when I say a little, I mean all I had to do was google the ingredients for 10 minutes to realize this product is total crap. I wrote a review for you below, including a list of the ingredients that I searched on, mostly preservatives and cheap fillers. Any positives are outweighed by the negatives added into the product. It’s like dipping an apple in preservatives and saying it’s better than eating a regular apple, make sense?
After really going through the ingredient list on this Visalus shake product, just for 20 minutes, pulling up the basic definitions of the ingredients, I’ve concluded that this shake is just another business opportunity, not an opportunity for someone to cleanse & heal their body. I would never put this in my body, and I mean never. If I was starving, I would even question it then. Sad but true, this shake is packed with preservatives and milk products which inevitably means puss and other nasty hormones, antibiotics that are all results of consuming dairy.
Body Visalus also contains soy protein which is hard for the body to process in its isolated form. It’s not a winning protein option, there are so many better choices out there, like brazil nut protein, hemp protein, sun warrior protein, the amazing, natural and sustainable choices are abundant!
It’s sad to me that this company can sell a product packed with preservatives and expect people to create long-term, sustainable results for themselves. These people may lose weight, but inside their bodies are fighting to process all of the foreign ingredients they are consuming from these shakes. Weight loss is not some crazy circus act, where we have to run around with a bunch of specialty patented shakes all day, consuming preservatives and other crap. Weight loss comes naturally when we consume natural, plant-based foods. I lost 30 lbs in 3 months, without the gym, but eating a raw, vegan diet. Everyone experiences results at their own pace, but results always come when you commit to eating real, whole foods.
A transition to plant based living may not be for everyone, because it requires commitment. I’m not saying that this Visalus challenge doesn’t require commitment because clearly people are taking it seriously, but it’s not the type of commitment that promotes long-term habit building. Visalus is more like: ”do this for 90 days and then go back to what you’re doing”. Or, you can keep drinking the shakes but due to the preservatives and questionable ingredients, taking these shakes long term isn’t the most ideal and would be better substituted for a green smoothie or plant based protein. It takes our brain 28 days to lay down new pathways. What I mean by this, is we can un-learn and re-learn things in 28 days, our brain creates habits for us, and then we run on those habits.
So think about this, if we spend 90 days consuming processed shakes to lose weight, we’ll have to continue consuming processed shakes to maintain our results. It’s set the people up for inevitable failure. Or we can spend 90 days, choosing plant-based, mostly raw, all vegan foods. We can drink fresh vegetable and fruit juices, big hearty raw meals of greens, delicious fresh ingredients, nuts, seeds, dehydrated breads! We can literally teach our brain to enjoy the healthiest, best, most sustainable organic food in existence and lose weight, but more importantly, lose the negative mindset and limiting beliefs that kept us reaching for the crap food and running from pleasure (healthy food, happy weight.)
90 Days is more than enough time to change your taste buds, your lifestyle and create new, successful habits, that you can sustain. I understand there is a huge market for these types of programs, and they are very helpful when the food choices that are presented are in alignment. If you were to do a 90 day program that included eating natural, organic foods, i’d say Hell yes! Here’s the thing, this company cut corners big time, all I had to do was google a few ingredients to see that they use cheap fillers that soda, candy and fake processed sugar companies use. It’s betrayal, don’t buy!
Other Ingredients: Protein Blend of (Soy Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Hydrolysate, and Whey Protein Concentrate), Digestive Resistant Maltodextrin (Fibersol™), High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Natural and Artificial Flavor, MCT Oil, Maltodextrin, Gum Acacia, Xanthan, Sodium Caseinate, Lecithin, Aminogen™, Mono & Diglycerides, DiPotassium Phosphate, Sucralose
Contains: Milk and Soy
Here’s a fun list of some of the ingredients (and some preservatives) that I found nicely placed on the site as if it’s no big D. How many people are trusting this stuff without taking a second look? Not everything on this list is bad, you’ll have to read them all to conclude which ones’ you want in your body and which one’s you don’t. If you’re thinking about consuming this product, I highly recommend you take the time to do so. All I had to do was google an ingredient and pull up a few definitions to see that wikipedia had it right. This is what I got from wikipedia:
Resources:
1. Whey is an animal based protein with dairy and again, a top allergen or irritant for the body. It’s certainly not a product one would use when intending to cleanse the body, but if that is not your intention it might be fine for you. Excessive protein intake can be hard on the organs, though the research on this has not been conclusive. Other studies suggest that taking in high amounts of protein derived from dairy sources can actually create higher risk for osteoporosis.
2. Soy Is a top allergen and should be avoided in processed forms, such as isolated soy protein. There is a big difference in eating whole, organic soy products vs. eating isolated, processed soy products. Soy also contains the highest levels of phytic-acid, which has been known to inhibit mineral absorption in the body. I’m not convinced that if you have a few cups of soybeans a day that you’ll automatically become mineral deficient, but I do believe in optimizing the diet for optimal absorption. A way better alternative to a soy protein powder would be hemp, and it just so happens that hemp protein is very affordable as well.
3. Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are medium-chain (6 to 12 carbons) fatty acid esters of glycerol.MCTs passively diffuse from the GI tract to the portal system (longer fatty acids are absorbed into the lymphatic system) without requirement for modification like long-chain fatty acids or very-long-chain fatty acids. In addition, MCTs do not require bile salts for digestion. Patients that have malnutrition or malabsorption syndromes are treated with MCTs because they do not require energy for absorption, utilization, or storage. Coconut oil is composed of approximately 66% medium-chain triglycerides. Other rich sources of MCTs include palm kernel oils and camphor tree drupes. The fatty acids found in MCTs are called medium-chain fatty acids.
4. Maltodextrin: Maltodextrin is a polysaccharide that is used as a food additive. It is produced from starch by partial hydrolysis and is usually found as a creamy-white hygroscopic spraydried powder. Maltodextrin is easily digestible, being absorbed as rapidly as glucose, and might be either moderately sweet or almost flavorless. It is commonly used for the production of sodas and candy. It can also be found as an ingredient in a variety of other processed foods.
Gum Acacia or Gum arabic: a complex mixture of polysaccharides and glycoproteins, is used primarily in the food industry as a stabilizer. It is edible and has E number E414. Gum arabic is a key ingredient in traditional lithography and is used in printing, paint production, glue, cosmetics and various industrial applications, including viscosity control in inks and in textile industries, although less expensive materials compete with it for many of these roles. While acacia gum is now produced throughout the African Sahel, it is also still harvested and used in the Middle East. For example, Arab populations use the natural gum to make a chilled, sweetened, and flavored gelato-like dessert.
5. Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide, derived from the bacterial coat of Xanthomonas campestris, used as a food additive and rheology modifier,[2] commonly used as a food thickening agent (in salad dressings, for example) and a stabilizer (in cosmetic products, for example, to prevent ingredients from separating). It is produced by the fermentation of glucose, sucrose, or lactose by the Xanthomonas campestris bacterium. After a fermentation period, the polysaccharide is precipitated from a growth medium with isopropyl alcohol, dried, and ground into a fine powder. Later, it is added to a liquid medium to form the gum.
6. Casein: from Latin caseus, “cheese” is the name for a family of related phosphoprotein proteins. These proteins are commonly found in mammalian milk, making up 80% of the proteins in cow milk and between 60% and 65% of the proteins in human milk. Casein has a wide variety of uses, from being a major component of cheese, to use as a food additive, to a binder for safety matches. As a food source, casein supplies amino acids; carbohydrates; and two inorganic elements, calcium and phosphorus. p.s – Casein protein is like glue in our systems, it’s much different then the amounts of casein in human breast milk, and I’m sure this may seem obvious, but if we were meant to be drinking it, women would probably produce breast milk all of their lives, but they don’t, because breast milk is for babies, and cows milk is for baby cows. Dairy products are mucus forming, this is a problem for many people who take in dairy products of any form.
7. Lecithin can easily be extracted chemically (using hexane) or mechanically from readily available sources such as soy beans. It has low solubility in water. In aqueous solution its phospholipids can form either liposomes, bilayer sheets, micelles, or lamellar structures, depending on hydration and temperature. This results in a type of surfactant that is usually classified as amphipathic. Lecithin is sold as a food supplement and for medical uses. In cooking, it is sometimes used as an emulsifier and to prevent sticking, for example in non-stick cooking spray.
Mono- and diacylglycerols are common food additives used to blend together certain ingredients, such as oil and water, which would not otherwise blend well.The commercial source may be either animal (cow- or hog-derived) or vegetable, derived primarily from partially hydrogenated soy bean and canola oil. They may also be synthetically produced. They are often found in bakery products, beverages, ice cream, chewing gum, shortening, whipped toppings, margarine, and confections.
8. Aminogen: Patented enzyme, hard to find anything but fluffy reviews with no real information on the ingredient aside from planted reviews. I’d like to see what it consists of. Here’s something to keep in mind, when a scientist who’s being paid by a company, or an employee of a company gives a review, it’s bias. If you want real reviews, you need to find opinions from people and experts who have ZERO vested interest int he product or company they are reviewing. For example, this is my personal opinion after the research I did on my own, as a human being who cares for other human beings in this world, that’s it. I don’t get paid either way. Find more people that are willing to give non-bias reviews and you’ll find something that resonates with you. If you want to be sold, go ask the people getting paid what they think of the product.
9. Dipotassium phosphate (K2HPO4) – also phosphoric acid, dipotassium salt; dipotassium hydrogen orthophosphate; potassium phosphate, dibasic – is a highly water-soluble salt which is often used as a fertilizer, food additive and buffering agent. It is a common source of phosphorus and potassium.The pH of a dipotassium phosphate solution is almost neutral. It is formed by the stoichiometric neutralization of phosphoric acid with potassium hydroxide.
10 . Sucralose is an artificial sweetener. (Are you kidding me?) The majority of ingested sucralose is not broken down by the body and therefore it is non-caloric. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number (additive code) E955. Sucralose is approximately 600 times as sweet as sucrose (table sugar), twice as sweet as saccharin, and 3.3 times as sweet as aspartame. It is stable under heat and over a broad range of pH conditions. Therefore, it can be used in baking or in products that require a longer shelf life. The commercial success of sucralose-based products stems from its favorable comparison to other low-calorie sweeteners in terms of taste, stability, and safety. Common brand names of sucralose-based sweeteners are Splenda, Sukrana, SucraPlus, Candys, Cukren and Nevell. A little note on this one – after posting this I’ve added some more comments because I have to acknowledge the people out there who justify using preservatives to lose weight or make healthy changes. Here’s the thing, if you’re using preservatives to lose weight, that is not a healthy change. Just because your body is shedding excess weight, doesn’t mean you are automatically healthy. We have to switch our frame of mind to “thin equals healthy to I want to be healthy from the inside out”.
Not So Raw, Vegan THEN
Young and Raw NOW
Everything you desire is at your fingertips. If you want to find out what you’re eating, do a bit of research, if you want to be happier, read an amazing book like Conversations with Richard Bandler, If you want to lose weight and KEEP it off, experiment with a vegan and mostly raw diet. Raw Food is a reset button, you don’t have to be 100% raw to be successful. I’ve watched clients reverse sugar addictions in 1 week with our raw food program, I lost weight without the gym, and I’ve watched countless others do the same and lose a lot more weight then I did. A friend we just met at the last Longevity Conference with David Wolfe lost 150lbs with raw food alone, just eating natural plant based foods, that’s it! If you want to join a loving and supportive community that will deliver you the most non-bias, health information around, come over to join Young and Raw on Facebook and ask as many questions as you like! We’re here to help 
Keep asking questions!
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Love the write up!
Thanks Zach!
*hugs*
Love S
wicked review!!! i’m no vegan, or even vegetarian, but i am against eating shit. i eat food, real food. no lab made ‘food’. it was tough and costly transitioning my pantry and fridge a few years back but now i spend no more on groceries than i did before. maybe even less!? i am now ‘naturally’ the right weight for my body without really having to watch what i consume. i do exercise, always have…but before eating truly healthy(when i was eating government standards of healthy) i had to watch what i ate to stay at a healthy weight for my body even with lots of exercise. annoying!
i have a gf that is pushing this product annoyingly hard all over fb….i hate to be the know it all so i haven’t dared to ask her what is in these shakes she’s downing(poor body, getting nothing but shit), but today i took the time to google….your review proves my point.
Hey Danielle,
Thanks for your comment. Real food is definitely where it’s at. Everyone is on their own path, and it’s important to recognize visalus for what it is, a business. Their products are weak in terms of nutritional value and don’t contribute to long term, sustainable health. Real food however, does just that. Caleb and I also talk about how ironic it is that the people who lose all this weight on Visalus don’t even get the credit or the boost of confidence, it’s always “Visalus did this”, when in order for the brain to truly make lasting change, they need to be saying “I did this”. Hope to see your comments again in the future.
*hugs*
Love S
I’ve been on literally thousands of diets in the last 30 years. I agree with you about real food being better for you etc. Still, I needed something that would help me not to be focused on “food” all the time. Wondering what I would cook for breakfast, lunch and dinner that my whole family would like was more than difficult. In the real world I found it impossible to juice consistently as well as buying fresh veggies daily… not to mention the cost of doing that. Visalus is a way for me to plan one good healthy meal a day and although it does have some preservatives in it, I find I am consuming a lot less of them than I was. Just about everything you buy in a grocery store has preservatives in them. You are also right when people keep giving the credit to Visalus. I’m working very hard and I’ve been succeeding so far. I also find that I am eating healthier “real food” as well since I only have to worry about preparing one meal a day. I’ve lost weight and have abundant energy which I never had before. Also, I’m not depressed and watching TV 24/7 anymore. Several people I know have been able to get off their diabetic medication in a relatively short amount of time on the shakes which I think is phenomenal. So as skeptical as I am, I’m not so sure as some on this site are that the negatives outweigh the positives. For me, if I have to eat a few preservatives to loose 120 lbs…so be it. Also, I’d like to say too that 50% of the time I eat 2 real food meals a day with only one shake. So, this program has helped wean myself off junk food and hundreds of food choices that were killing me.
Maggie, very well said. Good for you on losing that weight and starting to transform your life by eating healthier!!! You hit the point of the company on the head. It’s about a life style transformation, Visalus has the tools for people like you to get them on the right path where they may never had made that choice if it wasn’t simple and affordable. Keep it up! Ignore the naysayers and focus on the positive. It worked for you and that is what counts . it may not be for everybody and that’s OK. Keep on shaking!!!!
Wow! Thanks so much, I spent hours trying to find a list of their ingredients and it seems to be a super guarded secret, as every sight I checked out was promoting their shakes, offering samples, but not telling what kind of protein they used or if they were vegan or not. I can’t believe they use soy protein and whey protein, and yet pass it off as easy to digest. Sorry, but some of us avoid whey for “gut” reasons, don’t they know that?
Anyway, so glad I finally found the info. I was trying to find out about their ingredients.
Thanks for stopping by Toni
No, they don’t know that, in fact they don’t seem to know much about health and more about business. Kudos to them for kicking ass in the business realm, but to convince the herd these shakes are valuable to the human body is deceptive.
*hugs*
Love S
Finally someone said it!!!! Can’t believe such crap is so popular. Thanks for this.
Haha, you’re welcome Margaux
I could see freak and vegan all over this in the first paragraph.
Thanks Kathy
Caleb and I definitely don’t follow the herd that’s for sure. We’re committed to abolishing the sheeple mentality we see far too often in the realms of nutrition or lack there of and bringing truth and authenticity into what we put in our bodies. Thanks for reading! *hugs* Love S
So are xantham/guar gum and MCTs bad? Even sun warrior contains these….
Hey Bee
They’re not “bad” but they are additives which is why I posted them. These are the ingredients so I wanted to post a non-biased look at everything they have in their product rather then only posting the garbage they stuck in there. I’m much more concerned with the whey protein, soy protein and the sucralose. For a weight loss product, I find this a bit shocking that they would use a 0 calorie artificial sweetener. The body doesn’t really break down sucralose and it’s been proven that 0 calorie sweeteners cause a rebound effect which actually cause more weight gain. When the brain tastes “sweet” it immediately anticipates calories, however when calories don’t follow, this is when the rebound eating kicks in to compensate for those perceived “missing calories”. Not to mention artificial sweeteners are detrimental to the body. I also can’t find anything out about their “patented enzyme” and even if I could I still wouldn’t take this stuff because you can’t patent nature, therefore this is obviously not an enzyme we would naturally produce or find in our food naturally.
Hope this clears things up for you
Love S
Don’t worry about all those people hounding you about your review. I’ve learned the hard way that when you write a REAL informative article about something sold by MLM you get a lot of uneducated people that have vested interest spewing their manufacturer provided sales pitch ‘science’ at you, and pissed off that you don’t like their product. I’m glad to see some actual info about the ingredients after getting my FB bombarded with girls trying to win a BMW.
I just wish they knew the level of health they could reach through raw foods, without chemicals, additives, preservatives and isolated chemically processed proteins!
Hey Kimmi
No worries over here, it’s all about being authentic and sometimes you have to light a few fires before people can see the light! Thank you for your support. Indeed it’s interesting to watch the herd mentality play out in organizations that are in fact meant to be increase the bottom line ($$$) not improve the health and lives of others. Perhaps Visalus is enhancing the lives and mindset of others through their efforts, however the products are garbage and it’s silly to think these shakes are going to make you healthy. My desire is for people who are stoked on this “opportunity” to take a better look and recognize visalus for what it is, a business opportunity and that is all. You may get wealthy, but internally you will not get healthy. Materials do me no good so I see things from a far different perspective, having an expensive hunk of metal isn’t at all appealing to me, I would much rather have an experience.. like foraging in the wild or growing food, playing with animals, feeling good from real food. To me, that is a reward 
Looking forward to conversing with you more in the future, thanks for stopping by.
*Hugs*
Love S
Hey, what do you think of herbalife products? I sell them and take the products so I was curious to see what your opinion is? Also Isn’t a raw diet a bit expensive for the average person?
We tried Visalus. It tastes great! However, I’m so sad that they chose to use such terrible ingredients, especially the sucralose.
We’ve also tried Seven Point 2, which has all organic ingredients and is alkaline. It doesn’t taste as great, but is still good. http://www.sevenpoint2.com/products.asp
This is what sticks out to me Nikki… all those “healthy” shakes and other foods that contain artificial sweeteners like sucralose. Talk about doing a number on your health…
Nothing is better than eating healthy on your own and eating raw, however, MOST people find it very challenging to eat healthy and get enough protein (whether it comes from meat or plant), fiber etc.. period. That is why Americans are so overweight.
What I found is that Visalus has helped several of my friends with IBS feel much better AND several other friends have improved their blood results after their 90 day challenge. Not to mention it has some GREAT nutrition in it and many people have lost a lot of weight.
If you think about it.. how many people do you know that wake up and drink coffee? Natural or not.. it’s HIGHLY acidic. Then, they eat lunch meat in the afternoon (whether lean or not.. still VERY bad for you) and then for dinner some kind of meat (most likely not organic) and starch and a little veggies.
THEN.. throughout the day they drink sugary drinks.. oh yea.. also cereals for breakfast.. loaded with preservatives and sugar..
So… back to Visalus. If it takes supplementing shakes for eating crappy foods and then snacking on tons of raw veggies and fruit in between drinking the shakes AND adding fresh veggie juice and fruit to the shakes… then go for it!
Bottom line… Visalus has saved a LOT of lives so far and will continue to do so.
Kim I appreciate your dedication to this company but from where I’m sitting they’re just another network marketing company making big bank. People aren’t learning to honour themselves, they don’t even get the credit for their own weight loss it’s always “Visalus did this”. No! Visalus didn’t, YOU did. The thing is, the more we give away our power to companies who prey on our laziness, the more our health will decline. Consuming soy and whey protein is certainly not the healthiest option out there, not too mention there are far better protein sources and smoothie recipes out there for people. Why would we choose processed additives over real food? When we’re constantly making excuses for this stuff, it’s really time to take a step back and get to the root of the issue. Just my thoughts
Love S
Well.. that’s really not true.. People do honor themselves and we always give credit to the folks that have lost the weight.
See, what you all don’t understand is, again, WE know how to eat healthy. That is you and me. The problem is you and I can share this info with everyone under the sun…. but the truth is a small % will follow. Why? Because people are BUSY. People don’t have the money, time nor desire to prepare healthier options and juice fresh veggies. Trust me, I’ve been an advocate of eating healthy for years. I’m also a fitness trainer for 19 years. All my friends say.. “Oh Kim, if you only lived by me to prepare my foods and train me in fitness”.
People ARE LAZY PERIOD. Sad to say I know but it’s the truth and we cannot change that. Plus, we can introduce people to the healthy options and teach.. but honestly it takes people awhile to catch on.
Sooooo.. Visalus gives that opportunity for people to quickly and easily mix the shake and they can add some fresh veggies or fruit of their choice if they want. That’s what I do because honestly, I’m a busy mom of my children as well as my partners children (5 total) and I run two businesses and life is crazy. I don’t have time nor the desire to always think of what everyone should eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday. It drives me crazy. NOt everyone loves to be in the kitchen. I hate it. Somedays I will eat avocado and a hard boiled egg for breakfast with olive oil drizzled and herbamare seasoning.. yum.. but some days I don’t want it.. I’d rather prepare a shake with almond or coconut milk, banana and organic strawberries.
My son who hates to eat anything.. loves the shakes. It’s an easy after school food that I know he’ll consume.
And please don’t go on about how unhealthy the shakes are. C’mon.. the majority of people consume BAAAD foods everyday. Even me, who knows about alkalizing the body and raw and everything in between… I eat sweets, I drink coffee, I eat NON organic foods… not all day everyday but that is just life. It’s super expensive to eat organic and veggies are sooo expensive as well.
As far as the sucralose… I did research before joining Visalus and 1. The co-founder is vegan. 2. the amount of sucralose is .002 (don’t quote me.. that is the number I remember and I don’t feel like searching for the fact) but either way it’s such a small amount that it would take someone to drink 2 shakes per day for FIVE years to consume ONE packet of splenda. That’s NOTHING. Do you all realize what the normal population eats?? And in my opinion .. it’s waaaay better of an option than sugar.
The company tried Stevia, fructose and agave and one gives diarrhea, one makes you more hungry and I forgot the reason for the other. So, it’s not like they haven’t tried and they are still researching other avenues for the sweetener.
It’s lactose free and NON GMO. Also, there are Chelated Aminos.
I don’t understand how people can put down a company that has given lots of people “hope”. People have been programmed since birth to NOT eat healthy so it’s hard to change that over night. Once people get on the shakes, start to notice the changes, feel healthier, get off meds, lose weight and learn healthier options…. what happens? Most of them start to automatically eat more veggies. They then get the desire to LEARN more and WANT to eat healthier. Visalus is like the stepping stone.
Yes, people can lose weight by simply eating healthier and working out.. but does that work for a lot of people … no! Visalus gives the opportunity to do a 90 Day Challenge.. of whatever it is they want.. off meds, lose weight, gain muscle.. whatever.. and again, it’s a stepping stone.
.
Again, I’m a personal trainer and a home business coach. I started Visalus and don’t make tons of money yet, but my income increases every few weeks and it’s a beautiful thing when people text me telling me how they finally lost weight or when my promoter got her first check in the mail. I make sure I tell people to eat “whole foods” in between their shakes and this starts the whole process of learning better eating habits. Plus, people then look forward to their shakes because you can make a TON of different flavors.
I just chatted with a women Staci on Facebook two days ago who earned her BMW. I congratulated her and you know what.. she said she finally got out of debt and got a free car. How beautiful is that!
How can you condemn a company that GIVES people FREEDOM? Freedom to live a life they have wanted of healthier living and having money to pay their bills.
Right after “people are busy” is the perfect spot to point out why McDonalds is so popular. But since you didn’t, I would like to mention to everyone, if all those who ate at Micky D’s have a BBV shake instead then you wouldn’t have the same grounds to claim this as CRAP. It’s only crap in comparison to the perfect diet… and so is everything else that isn’t perfect. But, if you compare the shake to the food that it’s replacing, you can’t honestly claim the bad outweighs the good because all that good is what peoples diets were missing.
GO KIM! I agree with you 100%
I just hope others will see what we are trying to say. Also, btw, this is not the definition of non-biased. Just because you threw in that “people will decide what they want to put in their bodies” it didn’t fool me and I feel bad for those sheeple on the other side of that coin who listen to you bashing a product that has made unhealthy people healthier just because it doesn’t have the potential to make them the healthiest. Shame on you. I have never seen anyone claim that this is the very best thing period for anyone to consume.
-Rant over.-
I hate to stir the fire but Body Vi is not a non gmo product. The front of the package says “NON GMO SOY” Meaning the only product in it that is gmo free is the soy. The rest of the ingredients could be anything. In order for a product to be NON GMO certified, Organic Certified, Kosher Certified, they have to have a certain percentage of the ingredients fall into line with the claim being made. There are also certain stamps put on products that the Body Vi packaging is missing to show consumers that the product is, as claims. My girlfriend just bought 60 meals worth and I really wish she hadnt have wasted her money. The more research I do about this product and company the more I dislike them. Anything being marketed as a “Magic Shake” needs to really be looked into before committing to it. “Magic Shake” is the words of the 5 year old by the way, not mine. Its deceptive marketing for a product that doesnt shine more than any other product on the market. Unfortunately this is just the American way now. Sexy, money, free, fast.
I have a few friends that sell ViSalus and swear by it. I looked at the ingredients, and decided to not put that stuff in my body. Mostly cos of the sucralose, but the gums weird me out too.
Here’s the thing… ViSalus has a great marketing team behind them. They really do. Have you watched one of their pitch videos? They are really quite brilliant! I use those videos as an example of how to sell sell sell! The best way to build residual income is to sell something to people once that they will have to buy many times over (think of your cell phone bill…), and ViSalus is doing this very successfully through the autoships.
And as far as the challenge goes – you’re supposed to replace at least one meal a day with a shake, exercise, and eat healthy foods with lots of fruit and veggies. In other words – a lifestyle change! I’m pretty sure if you did all that minus the shake, you’d still lose weight and get healthier.
It’s a lot harder to neatly market and make lots of money off a healthy lifestyle and eating real food. Therefore there are a few and far between people (like yourself) who take that on.
(fyi – I’m not vegan, or vegetarian even. I do, however, believe that we can all benefit from more veggies in our diets.)
My roommate and I have been discussing this exact thing over the last couple of weeks since we’ve seen many friends getting deeply involved in the company. You do a great job pointing out the facts of what this product has in it… It’s up to the consumer to decide after that. As for me, I’ll stick with eating raw foods, super foods and herbs.
Thanks for sharing Brendan, glad you and your room mate are aware of the realities of good marketing and trust in real food
Hi Nikki,
If you want to learn about the most potent all natural body alkalizing products around,
take a look at YOLI The Better Body Co!
It makes me sad that some MLM’s will run on hype & ignore quality & common sense!
Let me know what you think & I will send you some samples if you would like.
http://www.up-your-ph.com
To our health!
Vicky
Loved the review! Nice work on informing all of us… i knew this stuff was crap! THANK YOU!!!
Thanks for the review on the body by vi shakes. I thought it was very accurate and true. I’m curious to see what your view is on Beachbody’s Shakeology?
People could do ever more for their body with Shakeology, rather than Body by Vi. I have had friends who went over to the ‘dark side’ because their compensation plan was awesome. Every single one of them are back with our company.
I personally know a distributor at my church. She looks like heck and has the shakes. But, these shakes are so good for you! o.O
I would have a lot more respect about this product and the “distributors” if they were up front about the fact that they earn a ton of commission from each ‘recruit’ and sale. Friendships have actually been ruined because of the drive to make money. For many who are associated with this business, it is not about being more healthy or making a lifestyle change. It’s about making money. Simple as that. People who don’t like to cook and claim they have “no time” to exercise (when they are stay at home mothers – all kids in full-time school) are running a scam (yes, I said SCAM) to promote this product.
What is sad and disheartening is that the “distributors” are target people who have low self-esteem and/or weight issues. Rather than encouraging exercise and healthy eating, they encourage putting cookies (yes, COOKIES) in a shake and “lose weight while eating cake”.
What kind of nonsense is this?
What is even more sad is that people with weight issues are so desperate to get rid of the weight, the will try anything. Bingo, money in the pocket!! Nobody bothers to read the ingredients. Sad, sad stuff.
I know people in this business, and I am ashamed of their lack of values and morals. Just be up front about your commission. PLEASE! Stop pretending to care about peoples health when it is all about money.
I’m so glad you did this! I am so tired of seeing Vi promoted everywhere and everyone thinking it’s healthy! There are many mlm’s with way better products and only 1 company that promotes Raw Food products out of all of the mlm’s.
I personally think Shakeology is a better option, though they do have a few of those gums in them. I would be curious as to your thoughts as I am a Beachbody coach and this is a product I do think can be beneficial to people…moreso than ViSalus.
Great post! Thanks.
The soy is NON GMO, so the isoflavons have been removed and there is no danger.
The maltrodextrin is derived from brown rice, not from corn.
The sucralose is less then .003 per shake. The FDA forced them to put a sweetner in it and they chose to use an inanimate amount that was safe for diabetics.
I think combining the raw, vegan lifestyle with the shakes is a great choice. That girl looks very
sexy
I couldn’t refrain from commenting. Very well written!
Visalus, just like any other supplement, is JUST a replacement. What happens when people start eating solid food again? Liquid “diets” are fads just as any other, no different than Slim Fast. So they have more ingredients…and??? UNLESS A PERSON DECIDES TO EAT RIGHT AND EXERCISE, the problem will never be solved! There is no magic pill, no magic potion, you just have to put the right foods in your body and MOVE! It’s not rocket science people, it’s fact! Once you get off the liquid, don’t be surprised when the pounds creep back on, the only thing that will get smaller is the user’s wallet…
Alissa, This isn’t a liquid diet. Depending on your goal, depends on your intake. the most the company recommends is 2 shakes a day whether to replace meals for weight loss, in between meals for athletes as a protein shake. We also recommend that you have 2 snacks in between your shakes (can be protein, veggies, yogurt, etc) and to eat a healthy sensible dinner. I guide customers as to what compromises a healthy dinner if they are not aware.
Most people have been able to keep their weight off, even after a year, once they have reached their goal. The program works, I have seen to many people which it has helped and as someone else has previously posted- it is a stepping stone to a healthier lifestyle. Once they start losing that weight and are feeling healthier they want to learn more about healthy eating and exercising, so it becomes a life style transformation. BUt it all comes down to choices. If someone chooses to partake in The Challenge don;t knock them down, at least they are stepping forward to make a better change for themselves.
Raw food and organic is great but not everyone can do it or WANTS to do it. I don’t ridicule it but I may not partake in it.
As far as the difference between Slim fast and other good shakes out there like ours there is no comparison. It’s not just “more ingredients” but quality and how they ingredients are formulated, for example the tri-sorb protein blend. If you want more info in that you can look it up.
If people decide to do this as a business what is wrong with that? Don;t you buy your food? So someone is taking your money and putting it in their pocket. It’s called making a living like any other retail job out there- it just uses a different mode of getting paid. If you don;t like it don;t do it.
But it seems alot of these posts most people are not well informed about the products and start bashing. I can start bashing a lot of other companies if I chose to but I don’t. I just don’t buy their products.
Thanks for sharing your opinion. As I mentioned in the beginning, this was a review and I did this because our fans requested my opinion. If you want to participate in a program like Visalus that is your choice but this is my opinion
Sheleana,
Interesting comments- you stated “I would much rather have an experience.. like foraging in the wild or growing food, playing with animals, feeling good from real food. To me, that is a reward”
So how many people can go foraging in the woods and playing with animals for 90 days? Be serious!!!! Have you done any of that or you just dreaming? So instead of drinking 2 shakes a day, etc, people should be foraging in the wild for their food and playing with animals? OK!
BTW, I have done that when I lived in AK for 12 years. I foraged in the woods but always with a gun because you REALLY can’t play with those wild animals. I collected my plants, edible flower parts, berries, etc. Hunted for spruce hens and moose- guess what the meat is organic too! Been there done that- now back in NJ. So since no Moose I raise my own animals for meat (chickens and goats) and I drink my shakes!!!!
The reward may be greater for those that lose 100 pounds that frolic in the woods.
So if you want to frolic in the woods then do it and make it your lifestyle- I did. What is stopping you?
Yes except for you missed the context of my statement, read again “you may get wealthy, but internally you will not get healthy. Materials do me no good so I see things from a far different perspective, having an expensive hunk of metal isn’t at all appealing to me, I would much rather have an experience.. like foraging in the wild or growing food, playing with animals, feeling good from real food. To me, that is a reward.” Meaning – I don’t care about winning a BMW to drive around because materials are not motivators for me, I am fuelled up by being in nature, working with animals and eating raw food. Have I done any of these things? Heck yes my friend, and I will continue to do so. For 90 days straight, not sure I said anyone needed to do that. Your choices are your own and if you don’t like my review that’s also your choice
Best wishes to you.
Great article and I totally agree. I actually work in network marketing but I could not bring my self to promote this garbage. It is hard. There are not many companies out there hat make quality products. There is one however and I am going to start promoting for them. All organic nutrional supps, body and house products. I won’t mention the name because I am not trying to promote them here. Also I do drink a shake but it kicks ass. The ultimate meal blows all other shakes out of the water and its raw. I cant say enough about that shake.
I love it. I wish they were an mlm so I could actually make a living promoting the stuff.
Great article keep up the good work.
Hey Cesar… send me an email on what you’re promoting. I’m interested. showdlt@hotmail.com
thanks
Loved all the info! Thanks so much for this. My boyfriend and I are starting a weight loss program now that summer is over and I finally have some time to lose baby weight after having two kids! After a LOT of research we have decided to do the It Works program which contains all natural ingredients and the one I was the most impressed with.
I stumbled across another protein comparison website which shows more info comparing Visalus. It compared Visalus, It Works and Shakeology. I know everyone has the right to chose their own shakes but I thought this also might be helpful to some people! Not here to cause a fight between people and the products they choose because I know everyone will have something different that works for them!
I have heard good things about Shakeology as well but we decided to go in a different direction (But Im still a lover of the TurboFire workouts!) But I know it is hard to make a decision when it comes to choosing a company because there are so many out there now.
http://www.proteinshaketruth.com/?fb_comment_id=fbc_10151050879373417_25462236_10151230281243417#f1469d3624d5ea1
This article (and yours) helped me a lot in making my decision! We are very excited to start this program and taking steps towards a healthy lifestyle! Love the recipes on here as well, great site! xoxoxo
The artificial sweetener alone is enough to make me say NO THANK YOU. That sh*t is scary bad for you.
I recently attended a Visalus rally, at the invitation of a friend…yes, I will call it a rally. Admittedly, I had never heard of the company, but I listened. I heard nothing at ALL, in an hour, about the nutritional value of the product. Yes, I read the label…there was hardly anything that I could pronounce…Major flag, in my opinion. I am not a health guru, but I do use whole food supplements instead of store-bought pharmaceutical-drug vitamins. Another flag: half-way down the list–not at the bottom, which means there is a lot used–was sucralose, which is Splenda, one of the most dangerous artificial sweeteners on the market today. This is one reason why the shakes taste so good…they use a lot of artificial sweetener. Google the dangers of Splenda, also aspartame, and you won’t want it your body, either.
I watched a short video claiming to show that the shakes contained more nutrients than several hundred pounds of vegetables. There is a HUGE difference between the natural nutrients in real food, and the man-made, pharmaceutical-drug additives. If the ingredients listed had been whole-foods-derived, I would have instantly been more enthusiastic. And whenever someone says, “I have so much energy,” that means that they are using a product with stimulants, usually caffeine, which is nothing but an addictive drug…partly used to get people addicted to needing the product. Coca-cola and Pepsi do the same thing–adding drugs so people will become addicted. I couldn’t get the reps to say what was actually in the energy drinks. All they did was make recipe after recipe of delicious-tasting (yes, they tasted good) shakes.
Any company (usually MLM) that spends more time telling about the earning side of the products rather than their value, in my opinion, is nothing but a farse. I don’t at all doubt that people might lose weight with Visalus, but at what cost to real health? Sorry, I am not interested in any product that uses nearly all man-made, artificial ingredients, including large amounts of dangerous artificial sweeteners. I care about what I put into my body, and I want something that is healthy, not full of ingredients I can’t pronounce. This company spends more time talking about BMWs, 6-figure incomes, freebies, and drug-induced energy than they do about the real value of its product…probably because it has very little. Sorry, no sale.
First of all I want to say terrific blog! I had a quick question which
I’d like to ask if you don’t mind. I was interested to find out how you center yourself
and clear your head before writing. I’ve had trouble clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out there. I truly do enjoy writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally lost just trying to figure out how to begin. Any recommendations or hints? Cheers!
What a fantastic question Juliet! My biggest piece of advice if you hare having trouble organizing your thoughts before writing is to sit down with a piece of paper, and just scribble all your ideas out. Make it point form, and just write and ramble. Let all the ideas come, and don’t worry about it making any sense on the paper. Then, when you have “brought up” all the thoughts you have, then go about organizing them. I find it really helpful to have my thoughts all written out in front of me, and out of my head. Organizing from there is much easier! After that I like to pick a main point of focus, and decide what my point is. I write out my last sentence, if it is an information blog, so that I know what my anchor is. Then I choose points to support my point, and writing from there is pretty easy!
Hope that helps you <3 Ali
I was interested in the ingredients of the Visalus shake as I had a friend who was considering this for super quick weight loss. I agree with your assessment, you will probably lose weight but you won’t be healthy from the inside out. With Obamacare the law of the land, I think you are going to quickly realize you have to be your own advocate and take care of your health. I don’t think losing weight to be thin for thins sake is the solution. I have lost well over 50 pounds on a weight loss shake that was featured on the cover of the American Journal of Bariatric Medicine. The product has over 56,000 ORAC fn antioxidants in each serving. Increasing my antioxidants has improved my health and that is what matters in the end. This is not about the best business opportunity but what is ideal for your health and the health of your family. I am sure there are companies with great options, I am sticking with my Xocai Chocolate Diet shake as it works for me. Increasing the antioxidants is improving my personal health. Thanks so much for sharing your comments on youngand raw.com. Truly appreciated. Anyone needing to increase their antioxidants, I get mine in chocolate and would be happy to explain why this helps. No matter what you do, think twice about the Visalus unhealthy shake. There are other ways to lose weight like ones mentioned in this article, going raw.
Thank you for the review. I could not agree more! I was gifted into the business for Visalus. I am a big gal who eats very clean. (I used to be 100% RAW but now more like 60%) Because of the huge expense my friend went through I thought I would give it a try. I did the 90 day challenge faithfully! NOTHING! My body would not loose weight. I believe it was because it was not a step up for me..but a major step down! I believe it works for some because for them it is a step up (from eating McDonald’s everyday!) Again thank you! I will coming by your site often because I a getting ready for a personal challenge of going RAW again! Thank you!
I agree. We as a society are looking for a quick fix. I know many people who sell Visalus for a living. I honestly could not sell something I don’t believe in. I personally suffer from many health problems which have been helped greatly by improving my diet including eating a ton of antioxidants. Most of my antioxidants I receive in the form of cold pressed raw cacao. I have also lost over 50 pounds, not the quick weight loss like Visalus claims, but by improving my diet, increasing fiber and adding lots of antioxidants. I doubt that Visalus was on the cover of the American Journal of Bariatric Medicine touting it as a healthy cold pressed chocolate diet like the one I take is. Just being thin any way you can is not the solution. Improve your health, eat as natural as possible and do your research. I have been eating Xocai cold pressed chocolate for years now. I eat over 150,000 ORAC fn antioxidants a day and that is helping me. Asking my rheumatologist, he will agree. Diet does matter, just don’t get caught up in the hype. Working on losing my last 70 pounds and I will do it by including the cold pressed diet shake, exercise and eating health and natural foods. No processed crap. If you would like a copy of the cold pressed diet summary that was featured on the cover of the American Journal of Bariatric Medicine, email me and I will forward it to you. I just can’t sit by and watch people put this crap in their bodies thinking this will help them. My brother died at 42 and that has caused so much pain in our family. I don’t wish that on anyone. Make sure you are eating right and staying healthy. It makes all the difference in the world. (lynette @ my3sonsmom.com)
Sadly our culture looks for the quick fix for health. Health is an ongoing process and requires education and diligence. What’s great about social media is we gave so many great minds sharing valuable information. It’s up to each of us ultimately to see what’s true. Not everyone does well on a vegan or raw diet or paleo or Whatever “diet” as we are all unique in our physiology and emotional makeup which influence our bodies on a cellular level. So yes it does take reading the ingredients and knowing what you are consuming, hopefully eating a whole food diet and ultimately learning what is best for you mind-body-spirit. Thanks for sharing this information and have a wonderful holiday and healthy, prosperous new year!
Just an fyi…I was in Visalus for 22 months. I was a 3 Star Ambassador. After 18 months of consuming the shakes, I had extremely blurry vision, stopped taking them and my vision has come back…almost fully. I have talked to 25 other people who have told me they too have experienced either blurry vision, memory loss, headaches or dizziness after long term use of the shakes. Some of these people have done their own tests and the symptoms improved. When they went back on the shakes…the symptoms came back. My own personal opinion is that it’s the maltodextrin (which is MSG) but I suspect it may also be Sucralose. Either way I will never recommend anyone to ever take a Visalus shake again. Thank you for writing this post. Unfortunately all the Visalus Kool-Aid drinkers believe everything Audrey says…I mean c’mon ..she’s a food marketer. Her job is to make food that you enjoy eating and market it to you not to make you healthy.