Thursday, May 10, 2012

{Ideal shape} review


Ideal Shape


Does losing 20 lbs in a month sound good to you? How about doing it pretty easily and without losing out on much?





We received this package in the mail. It contained 4 CDs of hypnosis on Deep Sleep, Healthy Eating Habits,  and other weight loss support, an actual Blender Bottle (which I have wanted to try for a while), 2 shake mix containers (chocolate and vanilla), and a bottle of Resvera Shape supplements. 

I like that it encourages you to eat 5 times a day. Even with the meal replacement shakes, you are to drink 8 ozs of  water after you drink your shake- think of it as your meal and drink separately. The Resvera Shape pills have some caffeine to it so they encourage you to only take one at breakfast and once at lunch. Then eat a sensible dinner. In between your shakes, you should eat healthy snacks. 


Ok so here is our take on it and how it actually went down in our home. I had my hubby try this out and I have questioned him about it daily. I just delivered a baby and am breastfeeding so I don't want to throw off my milk production and I am already down lower than my pre-pregnancy weight. So hubby's weight at the start of this plan was 241 lbs. He started it on a Monday.

First off- Blender Bottle is AWESOME. Mixes things up like you would not believe. I am totally in awe of this bottle- weird, yes I know, but I will be ordering another of those bottles so we both have one. :-)

The Hypnosis CDs- I wish there was a digital option or MP3 of these. We had to go find a portable CD player for hubby to listen to these. You are told not to listen to them while driving or doing anything that you need to pay full attention to- so my welding hubby couldn't do it at work. Bedtime was his best bet- and he has a iPhone dock type alarm clock. No worries- I grabbed a portable CD player from Goodwill for $2. He did not feel or know if he really was hypnotized but he did say that he found himself repeating phrases from them through out his day- at bedtime he would repeat Deep Sleep, at meals he would repeat- small bites, take your time, you don't need that much, stay hydrated. From my perspective- I didn't listen to the CDs. He is pretty controlling about them lol, and we only have the one CD player so he listens to it and changes up with CD he listens to, but in the 10 years we have been married- he has to sleep with a TV on for noise or he hears everything and wakes up. Well he hasn't had to sleep with the TV on since he started these CDs. This is HUGE for me. I cannot sleep with a TV on. I usually had to wait til he fell asleep and then I would turn the TV off, down, or change it to a boring channel.

The Resvera Shape pills he took and was also drinking Monster- that didn't work too well. He got shaky from all the caffeine combined. He would not give up his Monster drinks- and he does do the more natural ones, so he gave up the pills. Heck- I may give the pills a try myself for the extra energy needed to chase 3 kids and keep up the housework - can I get an AMEN?

Ok so the taste- I tasted each of them myself so I could describe it to you, we all know men are not necessarily good at describing flavors. I figured I would like the chocolate flavor the best since it is my favorite flavor, but really I was surprised to find I like the vanilla best. The chocolate had a bit of a chalky taste to it. Hubby said the same thing, but after drinking them alternating over a month now, he says he has become accustomed to the taste and enjoys it. The vanilla tastes light and not an overpowering vanilla flavor, probably more like a cake mix. I would assume I could add it to orange juice and it would taste like an Orange Julius. I felt I could add things to change the flavor or supplement the vanilla easier, but it also was more enjoyable to me as it was. I am not a fan of adding a lot of stuff to meal replacement shakes to taste better. I feel that defeats the point as you end up adding more calories that way. 

Anyway, so we already eat fairly healthy meals in our house since my son has a lot of food allergies- corn being the worst one since it is in everything. We mainly keep to fruits, veggies, and meats/proteins. So our dinner meals were pretty basic and sensible. I know most of his snacks at work between shakes were carrots, some granola bars, some days he would even grab breakfast at a nearby cafe-that breakfast would consist of bacon or sausage, grits or hash browns, and pancakes. It was a pretty big breakfast. He works 4 days a week, and would only do the shakes on work days, so weekends - Fri, Sat, and Sun- he would eat what he wanted. 

We tried to only weigh in once a week- and he didn't even want to do it then, but I wanted to track progress- and to be honest there was a week that he didn't do any shakes- that would be week 2. He wasn't accustomed to the taste, or starting the habit of packing it to take to work. I harped on him that it was my reputation for the review on the line- nothing like a little guilt lol. Also- full disclosure- he does not exercise. He works on his feet doing heavy lifting for 12 hours, then takes care of feeding up our animals. He is pretty beat by the end of the day. So there has been no exercise except a few days of walking to his parents house from ours a couple days each week.

So after a month, we still have shake mix left because he only does 2 shakes 4 days a week. He has lost 23 lbs. His weight after a month was 218. He is now used to the routine of it all, and has felt better since losing that weight with little change to his normal routine. That breaks down to just over 5lbs a week. I like to attribute some of this to drinking more water vs other drinks. He has cut out the soda, we do drink sweet tea though. Also to actually eating throughout the day. Many days it is so hot in his work shop that he doesn't feel up to eating a meal. In these cases the shakes make an easy fix. They actually hold his appetite and fill him up, and he is not starving himself. I think not eating throughout most days really killed his metabolism and this boosted it back up. 


I would love to post of pic of his before and after but he refused to do that. There is only so much guilt can get a girl. I will say that I didn't think this would really last long around here, but it has surprised me. I couldn't see how a shake could replace meals for a man. I can see it for women, but men and their eating habits are a different beast. 
 
Pricing for this is very competitive, in fact, cheaper than some other options we have priced, like Visalus. For a 2 a day meal replacement plan you receive the following:
 
2 Meal Replacement Shake Tubs +FREE Bonuses for $89.99
 
 
 
  • Your Choice Chocolate or Vanilla
  • 60 Day Supply
  • FREE Blender Bottle
  • FREE IdealShape for Life Book

The Hypnosis CDs are $19.99 each
 
There are some kits that include the CDs, so check out the different options.
 
I hope this has answered your questions about Ideal Shape products.
 
You can find Ideal Shape here: Idealshape.com
on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/idealshape
:Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/@ideal_cooking
 



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