“Here, try this,” my friend Jeremy said to me as he passed me the bottled protein shake he’d brought to our Cardio Crunch class as post-workout snack.
I looked at the bottle, and took a small sip.
“Did you bring a milkshake to the gym?” I questioned.
“Nah, it’s good for you!” he laughed. “I’m drinking these three times a day to get ready for my family trip to the Caribbean this Christmas — gotta look good in those trunks!”
“So, have they been helping you lose weight?” I asked.
“Here’s the thing,” he said, sheepishly. “They’re not doing much in the way of helping me shed pounds. I’m feeling a little stuck.”
I looked at the back of the bottle. “Here’s your problem,” I said. “This is full of high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, dairy, artificial color, and enough preservatives to keep this shelf stable until your great-great-grandkids are in college.”
“And they’re marketing this as a health drink?” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve got to be more careful about these things!”
After giving him a primer on a tasty way to get leaner with Zero Belly’s 8 Best Lose-Your-Gut Smoothies, I let him know about the 40 Best and Worst Meal Replacement Shakes on the market, and at our next workout, that icky shake had been replaced by a tasty Zero Belly Smoothie!