I never thought I would be someone who chose "drinking" their calories over eating them. But that was the old me talking, the me who didn't have to wake up at 7 am every day and adult. For an experiment, I tried IdealShake to replace my meals for breakfast.
With little time to make a hearty, protein-filled breakfast (and build up an appetite that early), I wanted to find a meal replacement that would keep me going in the morning. After doing research, I ended up choosing IdealShake by IdealShape.
IdealShake is said to curb your hunger, and I wanted to find out if this product did just that. For one week, I tried IdealShake to replace my meals in order to see if that was true. But most importantly, I wanted to see if these shakes made me feel good, too.
As a first-timer, I went with the chocolate flavor. One can never go wrong with chocolate, right? While the container seems to be rather large, the product only fills up about two-thirds of it. But don't let this fool you because IdealShake contains 30 servings, each of which is only 100 calories.
To create your shake, just add one level scoop of IdealShake and pick your mixer. Instead of using water, which can make the shake too runny, I went with almond milk. Definitely a good call, so thank you online reviews for this suggestion. My taste buds are gracious. It does take a few minutes to mix everything together. And even then, you may find small clumps stuck to the bottom or on the sides of the container.
Day 1
To say I was excited to try my first shake was an understatement. I was even looking forward to work because now I actually had something of substance to "eat" instead of my usually granola bar (or nothing at all).
The first sip was smooth, creamy, and definitely not what I was expecting. Neither chalky nor pungent, my IdealShake was quite delightful. However, it was a bit on the sweeter side. So if you don't have a big sweet tooth, I suggest using less than the recommended scoop.
A Few Hours Later...
There was no hunger and zero cravings for snacks. And while the shake was easy to down, it did not settle too well with me. I didn't feel like I was going to puke, but I did have a slight headache. I felt as if I had drank coffee (which happens once in a blue moon), but the strange thing is that there's no caffeine in IdealShake.
To be honest, I didn't even think about the side effects. I knew certain shakes weren't for everyone, but I never considered that I would be one of those affected.
Days 2-4
After feeling muddled in the head, I wasn't as enthusiastic as I was the first day to drink it. But I thought maybe using less than one scoop would ease my nausea.
Was I right? Hell no. I still got a strange headache that made me even less motivated to make my shake the next day. I also began to realize how thirsty these shakes made me. That feeling in the morning when you're parched and eagerly reaching for water—that was me.
Days 5-6
Although my appetite for IdealShake lessened a bit as the week went on, my headaches did begin to go away. I think my body just needed time to adjust and once it did, each sip was more enjoyable.
Last Day
I was more pumped about ending my experiment than I was bummed. Regardless, replacing my first meals with IdealShake did curb my hunger for longer than the advertised time of three hours. On average, I went a little over four hours without eating my next meal. It made me feel full as if I had a meal but without feeling bloated.
Although I wasn't 100 percent compatible with this product, I would recommend IdealShake to anyone looking for a quick and easy meal that tastes good. As for me, I'm glad I tried IdealShake but I think I'll just stick to my good old H2O.