It can be easy to get overwhelmed and confused by the number of products claiming to be a meal replacement. However, if you dive into the nutritional information, some of these products don’t provide the correct balance of micro and macronutrients in order to be considered a full meal. The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia states an optimal macronutrient split for a meal is around 30% protein, 50% carbohydrate and 20% fat. Rest assured that vybey’s macronutrient profile hits these guidelines & can be classified as a nutritionally complete meal.
In this series we are going to put some of vybey’s biggest Australian competitors under the microscope and compare them to our meal replacement shake to help you make the best decision. Today, we’re going to compare vybey to The Man and Lady Shakes which are protein shake based weight loss programmes in Australia.
This article has three main takeaways:
- vybey is a 100% nutritionally complete meal.
- The macro and micronutrient information of The Man and Lady Shake prove that they are in fact merely protein shakes and do not provide a complete meal replacement. This is primarily due to the lack of carbohydrates and fat profile.
- vybey contains premium ingredients including nootropics and probiotics compared to The Man and Lady Shake’s basic nutritional profile.
- vybey contains all naturally occurring sweeteners compared to The Man and Lady Shake that contains artificial sweeteners.
Despite both vybey and The Man/Lady Shakes aiming to offer convenient and affordable nutrition, there are a number of variances between the two. The products may look the same and can be used for the same purpose however, they are in fact very different!
Let us switch on the microscope for you…
Protein Comparison
Both vybey and The Man and Lady Shakes have a high protein content and achieve this by using a mix of both slow releasing and fast digesting protein. Protein brings various benefits to the body, such as building muscle and repairing tissues 4, therefore it’s important to ensure you’re getting an adequate amount in your diet. The Man Shake contains 53.5g of protein per 100g compared to vybey with 29g. Although it may look like The Man and Lady Shakes offer more than vybey in terms of protein – if we look deeper, we discover The Man and Lady Shakes lack sufficient amounts of essential macronutrients in order to be a full meal – such as complex carbohydrates and essential fat. From this data, we can conclude that The Man and Lady Shakes are in fact just protein shakes.
Carbohydrate Comparison
The body needs carbohydrates to function, and as complex carbohydrates take longer to break down, the energy is released slowly and therefore helps to regulate energy levels 5. It’s important to remember that consuming lots of complex carbohydrates isn’t a bad thing and as vybey aims to have the same nutritional content as a full and balanced meal, the complex carbohydrate content per 100g of vybey is 44.7g. Whereas, The Man Shake has less than half the carbohydrate content with only 20g, showing it doesn’t have a sufficient amount of carbohydrates in order to be a full meal. As a result, the Man Shake could leave its customers feeling less full and tempt them into snacking. vybey’s higher carb content helps vybers to feel fuller for longer which can curb snacking and support weight loss.
Healthy Fat Comparison
As well as a sufficient amount of protein and carbohydrates, vybey also contains healthy fats such as Omega 3 and Omega 6 to create a balanced and complete meal. The macronutrient content of vybey is the optimum ratio to meet the body’s requirements. A plentiful supply of Omega 3 and Omega 6 helps to make up vybey’s 10.3g of fat content. These fats are essential to the body and bring a range of benefits like regulating blood pressure 4. The Man Shake contains 7.1g of fat, but does not state the omega 3 and omega 6 split, highlighting that their omega ratio may not be, as effective as vybey’s in order to provide optimal complete nutrition. The Man and Lady Shakes have a major focus on protein content and lack the appropriate number of other macronutrients, showing it may be more suited as a protein shake as opposed to a meal replacement.
Sugar and Artificial Sweetener Comparison
vybey derives part of its incredible taste from naturally occurring sugar such as monk fruit extract and stevia leaf extract, with nothing artificial added. In our plant based powder, there’s only 1.9g of sugar per 100g! We take pride in ensuring vybey brings as many benefits as possible, therefore, we only add natural ingredients. However, The Man Shake contains 4.1g of sugar per 100g, including sucralose, which is an artificial sweetener. At vybey, we make a conscious effort to ensure our meal replacement shakes are as natural as possible and stay clear of artificial ingredients.
Probiotics Comparison
Compared to vybey, there is a lack of probiotics (in particular Bacillus Coagulans) in The Man and Lady Shakes. Probiotics are a healthy form of bacteria that improve gut health and digestion 6. Our internal health is just as important as our external appearance and for this reason, we’ve ensured vybey has as many unique benefits as possible in order to offer a premium product. These additional premium ingredients arguably set vybey ahead of local and global meal replacements in Australia.
Organic and Premium Ingredients
Furthermore, vybey has numerous organic ingredients including; coconut flour, flaxseed flour, brown rice protein and cocoa powder. Again, highlighting the premium and healthy ingredients of vybey’s meal replacement shake. As mentioned above and unlike The Man and Lady Shakes, vybey contains premium ingredients like the nootropic Lion’s Mane Mushroom. Lion’s Mane is an edible and naturally occurring medicinal mushroom 4. It contains bioactive ingredients that have positive effects on not only the body but also the brain 4. In addition, studies have shown the consumption of the Lion’s Mane has enhanced the mental functioning of older adults with mild cognitive impairment 4. These innovative food ingredients have been added to vybey in order to help our vybers to perform at an optimal level and get that extra 1%.
Product Purpose Comparison
The primary objective of The Man and Lady Shakes is limited to aiding weight loss. However, vybey can cater for everyone and their specific goals, whether it be to lose weight, maintain weight or gain weight. Flexible serving sizes and 100% complete nutrition allows users to tailor vybey to their needs. It’s really up to you how much you consumer depending on your goals!
Conclusion
Despite The Man and Shakes being high in protein, they don’t have a sufficient quantity of carbohydrates and fats to be a complete nutrition product. It also lacks flexibility for users to adapt it to their personal goals and solely focuses on weight loss. On the other hand, vybey does meet the definition of complete nutrition and contains even more added benefits. vybey also allows flexibility and is packed with healthy ingredients, helping your body to feel good and stay fuelled for prolonged periods of time.
Now we’re not saying that The Man and Lady Shakes aren’t good products. but with vybey, you can trust you are getting complete nutrition along with additional premium ingredients, like Lion’s Mane Mushroom and Bacillus Coagulans.
To help you out with comparing like for like, we have included a detailed nutritional table below of both vybey and The Man/Lady Shakes.
Start your vybey journey today! A great way to kick off the journey is to go for our Starter Packs. This allows you to test out all of our flavours and decide which one is your favourite.
Please let us know your thoughts on our article by sending a message to hello@vybey.com.au – We would love to hear from you!
References
1. vybey, (2021). Nutritional Information. [online]. vybey. Available from https://vybey.com.au/pages/copy-of-nutritional-information
2. The Man Shake, (2021). Nutritional Information. [online]. The Man Shake. Available from https://shop.themanshake.com.au/the-man-shake
3. The Lady Shake, (2021). Nutritional Information. [online]. The Lady Shake. Available from https://shop.themanshake.com.au/lady-shake-1-week-supply
4. Wu, G. (2016). Dietary Protein Intake and Human Health. Food Functioning. [online]. 7(3), pp. 1251-65. Available from https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2016/fo/c5fo01530h
5. American Heart Association, (2018). Carbohydrates. [online]. American Heart Association. Available from https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/carbohydrates
6. Gammone, M. A., Riccioni, G., Parrinello, G., & D'Orazio, N, (2018). Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Benefits and Endpoints in Sport. Nutrients. [online] 11(1), pp. 46. Available from https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/1/46
7. Zhang, J., An, S., Hu, W., Teing, M., Wang, X., Qu, Y., Liu, Y, Yuan, Y., Wang, D., (2016). The Neuroprotective Properties of Hericium Erinaceus in Glutamate-Damaged Differentiated PC12 Cells and an Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Model. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. [online]. 17(11), pp. 1810. Available from https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/17/11/1810
8. Lai, P., (2013). Neurotrophic Properties of the Lion's Mane Medicinal Mushroom, Hericium erinaceus (Higher Basidiomycetes) from Malaysia. International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms. [online]. 15(6), pp. 539-554. Available from https://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/708ae68d64b17c52,034eeb045436a171,750a15ad12ae25e9.html
9. Mori, K., Inatomi, S., Ouchi, K., Azumi, Y., Tuchida, T., (2008). Improving Effects of the Mushroom Yamabushitake (Hericium Erinaceus) On Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Phytotherapy Research. [online]. 23(3), pp. 367-372. Available from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ptr.2634
10. Konurary, G., Erginkaya, Z., (2018). Potential Use of Bacillus Coagulans in the Food Industry. Foods. [online]. 7(6), pp. 92. Available from https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/7/6/92/htm
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