Written by Jamie Weiss

In today’s society, we’re all about convenience and wanting quick solutions to any problems we have. A shared goal of many is to lose weight without having to switch out our regular diet for rice crackers, lettuce leaves and sawdust.

One such product that promises to offer “the easiest and fastest way to lose weight” is the Man Shake. Claiming it can help you lose weight by acting as a meal replacement – and with a number of testimonials to support these claims – I decided to try it out for myself to see if it really could be the product to make weight loss a piece of cake.

Firstly, subjecting yourself to The Man Shake doesn’t mean you need to give up eating anything else entirely. In fact, the company says you only need to have up to 2 shakes a day, in combination with a couple of snacks and a meal in order for you to see results on the scales. Secondly, however, it is worth remembering that ‘weight loss’ and ‘fat loss’ are two separate entities, and as we’ve discussed before, an effective route to fat loss is to put yourself on a strength training program to build muscle.

Where To Buy The Man Shake

There are plenty of retailers who stock The Man Shake. Many offer monthly discounts and sales, we recommend checking out the following retailers to see who’s got a deal this month.

How Does The Man Shake Work?

The Man Shake has been developed to replace one or two of your regular daily meals, and you take it alongside a couple of snacks and a regular meal each day.

Each sachet of the Man Shake powder contains a range of ingredients designed to replace the nutrients you’d consume in regular meals, but in the majority of cases, you’ll be consuming these nutrients in greater quantities.

For example, the company’s website claims each serving of Man Shake contains 30g of protein, 11.2g of carbohydrates and 4g of fat. It’s also packed with essential vitamins and minerals including B12, A, C, D, E, magnesium, calcium and zinc.

For each serving, you need to combine 2 scoops of Man Shake powder with 350ml of water and shake well, in a similar vein to taking a more conventional protein shake. I did find that preparing it this way resulted in a pretty thick consistency, but it tasted creamy and without the naff pea protein flavour that many shakes have.

I also found that it’s best to try and consume the Man Shake as quickly as possible, rather than sip on it, because if left to get warm, it can become really unpleasant to drink.

Does The Man Shake Work?

I soon noticed that the Man Shake did a good job of satiating me. I only consumed one Man Shake each day, and used it to replace my regular breakfast.

If you’re not used to meal replacement shakes, it can take some getting used to. In the first few days I did find the temptation to snack was huge, but as a quick and easy way to get some food into you, especially if you have a busy day, it proved to be invaluable.

This is where the Man Shake shines, if you just want something to keep you feeling full until lunch, it’s great. It’s also incredibly easy to prepare and if you’ve ever had a protein shake after going to the gym, then there really isn’t much of a learning process.

If you do feel the urge to snack, then I’d recommend trying out the company’s Man Bars; they’re decent-tasting protein bars that will also serve to fill you up. The choc peanut flavour in particular is very more-ish.

But ultimately, did it produce results?

I tried the Man Shake for a month, and after consuming one every morning (apart from the week or so I, unfortunately, contracted covid), at the end of the month I lost around 1.5kgs. It’s a noticeable but fairly modest amount of weight loss, and certainly backs up the Man Shake’s claims that it guarantees weight loss.

What Flavours Are There?

Anyone who knows protein powders will understand the natural flavoured ones taste pretty damn nasty. This is where flavoured powders come into their own.

Fortunately, Man Shake offers a range of flavours to make your weight loss journey that much more enjoyable. Flavours include chocolate, vanilla, coffee, choc mint, strawberry, banana and caramel.

I tried the Starter Kit, which comes with a selection of (but not all) the flavours listed above. The majority of the box I received did have mainly chocolate and vanilla, however, so be sure to check the website for flavour distribution so you know what you’re going to get.

Unfortunately, you can’t mix and match the smaller sachets. Instead, Man Shake pre-determines which flavours you’re going to get

All of the flavours I tried were pretty sweet to taste. This may be a turn-off for some or a plus for those who have a sweet tooth. I personally didn’t enjoy the vanilla flavour and found it to taste quite ‘chalky.’

Strawberry was pretty average and chocolate was ok. The coffee flavour tastes a bit artificial, but not offensively so. It does contain 6.7% coffee (not just flavouring) according to the nutritional information, so will likely include a small dosage of caffeine which can help to speed up your metabolism. Not a bad thing by any means, but something to perhaps make note of.

For me and my tastebuds, the choc mint flavour was the best by far.

Would I Recommend The Man Shake?

Meal replacement shakes can be a contentious subject. Ultimately, I did notice results from drinking the Man Shake over a course of a month.

However, would I continue to drink the Man Shake as a means to keep the number on the scales as low as possible? Probably.

While Man Shake says “studies have looked at the sustainability of long-term meal replacement shakes use and found no adverse effects,” I’d argue that ultimately, it will be far healthier for you to consume a healthy diet of whole foods which are rich in protein, carbs and healthy fats.