Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Last year, my wife got interested in losing a few pounds, and she considered Nutrisystem, but I vetoed and searched for some shakes solutions. I heard very good things about Herbalife from a few colleagues, but I personally didn’t like their distribution system which is kind of like a pyramid scheme. Long story short, after reading a lot of reviews from different protein shakes and diet pills, we finally chose RAW Meal, and we were very skeptical about it. I should also add that we tried the Garcinia Cambogia pills a few years ago, and it didn’t work for us. We first ordered the Chocolate and Vanilla as our first batch. We used a hand blender, and the recipe that we followed was this one: 1- One Cup of Frozen Fruits preferably from an organic or co-op store (~70 Cal) 2- One Cup of Unsweetened Almond Milk (30 Cal) 3- Two Scoop of RAW Meal Powder (240 Vanilla, 250 Chocolate) Total Calories per Cup: 340-350 The first time we had the Chocolate, we easily could taste the Raw Meal Powder aftertaste. It is a very distinct taste that you want to almost gag. However, we were determined and had already bought two large containers, so we continued having four shakes per day for two weeks. It worked amazingly great and in just two weeks, we started to lose a lot of weight. Also, our body kind of went into a cleansing state after a few days, which I am not going to repeat what happened, since it may be different for you, but you will definitely notice when it starts to happen. Another problem is that you need to drink this shake quickly. If you wait, and it gets warm, the taste is going to be a lot worse. It also changes its texture and becomes something very gooey. We find it impossible to bring a cup to work as our lunch. Even so, we were so happy with the results that ordered the second batch: Vanilla and Vanilla Chai. At first, I preferred the “chocolate” taste more, but “vanilla” kind of grew on me, and we changed the recipe a little bit: first, we used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and then we only used one scoop of the powder (under 250 cal. total). Later, we also tried the unflavored version, but aftertaste was stronger with that one. We lost a lot of weight we decided to only make the vanilla shake for breakfast. So after more than a year, we maintained our desired weight, and only make this once a day. We hardly notice the distinctive taste of the powder anymore, but it’s there. If you are very sensitive to the taste, maybe it helps if you get a better blender. We recently upgraded our blender to Blendtec 675, and you can tell the difference between shakes made by our hand blender and shakes made by this beast. You certainly don’t feel the fiber texture in your mouth anymore, and the blend is so smooth you less notice the aftertaste. Lastly, my wife prefers frozen fruits with lots of berries, and I prefer berries mixed with mango. Sometimes we add a fresh banana or an apple to make it taste different than the last one. You should experiment with different frozen and fresh fruits mix and find your ideal blend. You may also like to have different kinds for breakfast and lunch. Conclusion: this diet works and you feel amazingly light and healthy after a few weeks. If you have a hard time adjusting to the taste, try vanilla version and mix it with vanilla almond milk and frozen fruits. Also, you can start with one scoop of powder which results in each cup to be about 220-230 calories. Lastly, don’t forget that your choice of blender can have a huge difference on the aftertaste. Happy shaking and best of luck. *** UPDATE *** July 2015: RAW Meal has recently changed the container, and at first glance, you will notice that you are paying the same price for less amount of powder; to be exact, the price has increased by 17%: 949 gr vs. 1,150 gr. However, if you look closely at the nutrition facts, you will notice that they have changed the formula quite a bit. The new stuff has about 30 gr less sugar in each scoop, but it's somewhat sweeter. They also say on the label that it has 15% more protein. It is true in a sense that they raised their prices by 17%, but they've at least improved their product. *** UPDATE *** December 2018: More than four years has passed, and this product is still being used daily. Many of my friends tried this powder and changed their life style soon after. Most of them even got good blenders after a while, like Vitamix or Blendtec, and tried other blend combinations with or without this powder. Needless to say that all of them are happy shaking. YMMV.