Thread: Man Shake

I figured my main fixable problems were eating poorly and being overweight so in July I started
counting and limiting the calories that I eat using a calorie counting ap. This worked very well and I lost 15kg without discomfort. Doesn’t work for everyone but it does for me.

Then I started thinking about how to keep it off and decided on the 5:2 fasting routine, for ongoing health reasons not just weight loss. So far I’m only doing 6:1 but still losing weight (very near ideal weight now).

The other side of the coin is improving exercise and fitness, but haven’t found that at all easy due to everything being injured or worn out including back, knees, arms, hands, shoulders.

I’m 65.

I think calorie counting is the oldest and the best weight loss method. No fads, no marketing, no overpriced purchases, no cringey celebrity endorsements. Just works because how could it not.

vs. the original Man Shake.....

Eilison Fitmax KM818 Vibration Plate Highly recomended by USA Most Famous Fitness Coach Ross Tschirn - YouTube

Personally if yo like drinking flavoured plaster go forit , I ended up biting the the bullet and completely changed what I eat, with great success, 35 kgs in 18 months

Originally Posted by China

Personally if yo like drinking flavoured plaster go forit , I ended up biting the the bullet and completely changed what I eat, with great success, 35 kgs in 18 months

Certainly the better long term approach. There's no getting around the fact that if calories consumed exceeds calories burned, you may eventually lose sight of your feet. These "shakes" and things like that are designed to appeal to the instant gratification brigade, who would rather throw money at the problem than make a real effort IMHO. Hence the huge market for snake oil weight loss pills and potions.

in essence its glorified calorie counting with 2 meal replacements to help track calories



i did the man shake for about 3 or 4 months and lost 14kg (89 - 75). there is actually a pretty decent facebook group (if you're social media incline). A few of the main pluses i've heard for the man shake is the amount of flavours. I think a number of other meal replacement shakes are very limited in their flavours. They also tell you to go and have one reward meal each week, so go smash a KFC boxed meal, or out for dinner with friends etc which is why they advertise it as you don't have to give up the beers. As long as your under your recommended calorie intake have a beer or two.

There wasn't really too much of an official program but really you just have:
2 shakes a day
some recomended snacks - they have their own man bars but really any high protein bar works
a ton of water
try and walk minimum of 6000 steps
1 single healthy main meal


I'd just have a shake for breakfast, shake for lunch. have a bar and some fruit as snacks and have dinner with the family (we mainly eat something with vege 6 nights a week with young kids) Giving up the beers was the harder part for me and probably what helped with the weight loss. that and I'd pump out the steps. I'd do 10 - 12 most days.


the man shake really does help you to try and change your eating habbits, gets you to stop and think about what you're shoving into your body but its not a magic pill. It still takes some discipline for it to work. You have to remember that you didn't put all the extra weight on over night, so you can't expect to burn it off instantly either. It is meant to have a decent amount of protien and some other stuff to help you "feel full". personally I didn't mind the taste and the textures where OK you just have to put more water in it (the recommend 300mL but it really needs 500+)

I can't really comment on its price vs others as I didn't really look. I just bought it and ripped in as I Got to 89Kg i thought if I don't do something about my weight now I'll just keep going and I'll end up at 120kg or something.

I used a separate free app for food/calorie tracking as I dont think the man shake have anything like that.



fun fact
the footy player who held the majority stake and pretty much started it sold it off a few years ago for $400 million...
NRL news 2022: Adam MacDougall, Man Shake, investment of $400m, Newcastle Knights

The problem with shakes etc is that you don't relearn how to actually eat "for you", so when you stop the shakes it goes back on... Of course you could drink shakes forever (I think that's what the marketers hope for)

I decided ketosis ("Keto diet", extremely low carbs) was the way to go. 4 years ago I lost 32kg in 19 weeks - not a typo. I'm a little above my lowest weight now, but I've also been in the gym doing resistance training regularly for the past year. I've changed my ways for a lifetime and know what I need to do if I relax the diet a little at this time of year...

Doing intermittent fasting (IF), e.g. 16:8 (24 hours) or 5:2 (7 days), or getting lost on the side of a mountain, puts you into ketosis for short periods of time, which results in burning fat to make ketones for energy, instead of burning carbs to make glucose for energy

Edit: the primary health warning I would mention re keto is to consult your doctor if you have diabetes.

I am on the man shake, I have lost 7kg in about 7 weeks. The flavours are ok, but I like that they have vitamins and minerals included and thus being a proper meal replacement

thanks all.
Id forgotten I had a medical results lined up for today
Doc...'your actually OK, not obese but for your age you ought to be happy. What do you do for exercise?'

me...'eat choc fudge biscuits and walk 50metres to the ute'

I was shown the door.

I know Iam not overweight, exercise is my biggest failure and that needs to change, but this year with other family members health my health and exercise have been fleeting dreams or nightmares

Originally Posted by Tonyz

thanks all.
Id forgotten I had a medical results lined up for today
Doc...'your actually OK, not obese but for your age you ought to be happy. What do you do for exercise?'

me...'eat choc fudge biscuits and walk 50metres to the ute'

I was shown the door.

I know Iam not overweight, exercise is my biggest failure and that needs to change, but this year with other family members health my health and exercise have been fleeting dreams or nightmares

to be honest diet has ALOT more to do with weightloss then exercise will.

you should definitely do both, but don't think just exercising with out changing your diet habits will fix much.

We both decided that we were both carrying a bit too much weight .
After listening to Dave Stanton and Jay Bates we realized that cutting back on the carbs was a good way to go.
This is not a diet but a lifestyle choice, we are both not big people but realized that we were both struggling with the weight we were carrying.
Irene checked with her doctor just to make sure there were no other underlying issues she had to worry about and got the all clear.
We both have knee issues so getting the weight of the knees was a big thing.
So far over 18 months I have lost 15kg and Irene has lost 11kg.
We feel a lot better about what we are eating and how we feel.
By doing a bit of reading and checking what each item has for carbs and sugar on the packaging it was amazing what things we eliminated from our shopping list.
We are definitely eating better and our portions are smaller as well as we do not over eat , you don't have to eat everything on your plate once you are satisfied.
We don't exercise but do realize that to keep active , we are both 65 we do need to do some light exercise, still have not worked that one out yet.
We are both at a weight we are happy with going forward.

Originally Posted by havabeer69

to be honest diet has ALOT more to do with weightloss then exercise will.

you should definitely do both, but don't think just exercising with out changing your diet habits will fix much.

Totally agree. I lost all the weight I mentioned with zero extra excerise, just an occasional walk, nothing out of the ordinary.

Exercise is great, but you won't lose weight doing that alone unless you do it to elite levels (those days of hope and wonder are long gone )

Any exercise that rasies your heart rate for 30 minutes is a good start, e.g. a brisk walk up an occasional slight incline etc.

Originally Posted by Jim Carroll

....
This is not a diet but a lifestyle choice...

It's interesting what we mean when we use the word "diet". "Diet" is tarnished with terms like 'fad' and is portrayed in the media as something done for short periods. And that's why many fail. In its truest sense, diet is what you eat, and it is your choice to find and then do the right thing for you, ongoing, or get back on the yo-yo. So Jim, I agree it's not "a diet", but I'd suggest it is "your diet".

People say to me, "Are you still dieting?", and I'll say "Yes, and so are you, it's just that our choices are very different".

I get the man shakes every morning after I've been on the p***.