Diet Profile: Almased

I’m on a search for a diet I can stick to for just one week. This past week my experiment brought me to “Almased Synergy Diet,” a powdery protein that claims to “speed up and improve your metabolism.” Did I lose weight or did I lose my mind?

I’m pretty much willing to try any diet as long as it’s working. A diet that works, for me, is not just about weight loss but about feeling healthy, maintaining muscle mass and having energy to work out.

I’m not a fan of fasting but I am a fan of soy-based protein shakes such as Almased. I have always had great success in losing and maintaining weight loss by substituting a meal a day, or even every other day, with a high quality protein shake.

For the purposes of my one week on a diet experiment I decided to try the Almased “Bikini emergency plan.” At first, I thought I’d be fasting for just two to three days, but then I realized I had the bikini plan confused with the Almased Figure Plan. Big difference for me since I hate fasting!

In a nutshell, the bikini plan involves one week of three Almased shakes which are made by allegedly smart German scientists of honey, soy and yogurt. They are advertised as having an extremely low glycemic load of 4 and a low glycemic index of 27.

After the first week, you have one meal – a healthy lunch – and a shake for breakfast and dinner. For me, right off the bat there is a problem. I don’t typically have just three meals a day but I’m willing to give it a try.

Day No. 1 was bearable. I think everyone can use a break from eating once in a while. I had a lot of black and green tea and organic vegetable broth in between shakes. For the shakes, which are extremely plain and need to be jazzed up, I added plain Activia yogurt, cinnamon, dark cocoa and sometimes strawberries. My mood was great. I probably did not need to Activia since Almased contains probiotics and enzymes to aid digestion.

Day No. 2 was unbearable. I felt high after having the Almased shake but after a few hours I’d feel weak, lightheaded and hungry. I don’t recommend driving a car while on a semi-fast such as this one. Also, my digestive system was no longer a smooth-running engine – instead it began shutting down, so to speak, and then speeding up in an unpleasant way to put it politely. On the positive side, my mood stayed pretty positive so that even when my child annoyed me, I did not snap as I would on many diets.

Even with a few positives, I gave up by the afternoon of the second day and ate solid food. I was way too hungry and weak!

Day No. 3 I had an insane amount of energy from having eaten the night before. I exercised at high intensity for an hour – something I was too weak to do during the semi-fast. Day No. 3 and beyond I began simply using Almased as one of my variety of protein shake options as a healthy meal replacement. I feel a million times better and am back to healthy eating and exercising.

Did I lose weight on Almased? I lost one pound the first day and gained it back after the second day. As for future weight loss, I think for me it’s more of a maintenance tool.

I’m not saying the Almased plans can’t work for some people. Having the protein shakes may indeed help to maintain muscle loss while lowering caloric intake, but for me, I’d rather have the energy to work out. I DO recommend using Almased for that one day quick fix day of fasting after an insanely high caloric day such as Thanksgiving Day, a birthday or wedding if you are like me and eat so much wedding cake your sister chastises you after inquiring, “How many pieces have you had?

Just remember a few key points:

1. You will want to mix Almased with flavors such as cinnamon, cocoa, fruit or Stevie sweetener.

2. Follow the correct portion amount on their chart. Shorter people don’t need the full 8 Tablespoon serving size.

3. The ideal meal to replace is dinner because it’s the time of day when you require the least amount of energy before winding down for bed. Also, Almased has a soothing, relaxing affect and may help you get a good night sleep. (Do I sound like a commercial?)

4. If you want to use Almased twice a day, use it for breakfast and dinner or as a breakfast “snack” since it helps decrease appetite the rest of the day.

5. Don’t drive a car or operate heavy machinery while on a fast!

My bottom line: Buy Almased but don’t give up solid food for more than a day.

Reference:

• www.almased.com/