Update 3/10/20. This is a follow up to my post on Shakeology. When I wrote my first Shakeology review, my biggest disappointment was that I didn’t have any Shakeology to try. I could never find a BeachBody Coach to give me a few samples. Well that all changed when I was given several packs. The person gave them to me because she didn’t like the taste. I was surprised because Shakeology is so heavily marketed that I figured this stuff would have to taste great. So I was anxious to taste them. The flavors I received were Greenberry and Chocolate. I made the shakes with exactly 8 oz of cold water, just as Beachbody recommends. I blended the shakes up in my VitaMix. This is what I found…
I first tried Greenberry. I have to say Greenberry flavor Shakeology doesn't taste anything like a berry. Rather it tasted, well, kind of ‘green”. 
That’s about as good as I can describe the taste because I don’t think I've ever tasted anything like it before-and that's not a compliment. I think I tasted a hint of mint flavor (maybe) but there was definitely an aftertaste that I didn't care for. The bottom line is that Greenberry didn’t taste good to me.
It looked very dark green color– which wasn’t appetizing at all. I'm OK with that. It doesn't take much to make me happy. It was the taste that turned me off. It just tasted bad. I took the picture you see here. That's what it looked like.
A few hours later I tried Chocolate flavor. This did taste like chocolate but it wasn't good tasting chocolate. It had a kind of bitter taste to it 
and there was a bad aftertaste as well. Chocolate was better than Greenberry (anything would have been better than Greenberry!) but I've tasted much better products.
I know taste is an individual thing but for me, neither Chocolate or Greenberry Shakeology would be something I would pay for.
I predict that Beachbody will eventually reformulate Shakeology so it tastes better. I have no proof of this. I'm just guessing. I say this because I can’t believe no one hasn't complained to them about the taste.
Update: Shakeology has been reformulated. See my review of Vegan Chocolate Shakeology for more on this.
But don't just take my word for this. We are all different. I'm sure some people like the taste of Shakeology. I suggest that before you plunk any money down that you see if you can get some free samples to try first.
Hi! I am also a beachbody coach and I find that many people either love it or hate it. However the majority that hate it say two things, I was hungry or it tasted bad. There’s never going to be a protein that’s full of sugary lovely things you crave and want but still so it’s job. I add Silk coconut milk to mine, unsweetened and almond butter.
I add these to every flavor except greenberry and strawberry because they can stand alone with the coconut milk. When you’re thinking of doing your body justice and losing weight you hate, think of giving your body what it wants instead of needing the best tasting shake in the universe!
GNC, and all other organic raw companies claim it but you still have to tweek your products to get what you want out of them! That’s life and Shakeolgy is pricey, no doubt but for my body it’s done wonders! My skin is great and my migraines stay at bay and for me, I’d pay $104/bag! How much do you pay for pharmaceuticals that only help the symptoms? If you’re not on Medicaid then probably a lot like I use to!
With healthy choices I saved money even with the shake being a hundred bucks! And I say all this being a non gmo advocate, I am an Environmental Scientist who actually is obsessed with finding great food and enjoying my planet. I have tried Raw fit, GNC lean fit, Juicing, Starving and Isagenix. Nothing has compared to how Shakeolgy has made me feel and that my friends is why I’m loyal to it.
I’m doing P90X….(I didn’t like exercise much, and the gym bored me, even though I did zumba 2 times a week. Now i love exercise and look forward to it. I start week 4 tomorrow, though I’ve not lost weight, which is odd, I’ve lost 2 1/2 inches at least in my waist.). So I’ve been reading your columns, on Rhabdo, and now on Shakeology. I bought a couple of samples of Vanilla from my BeachBody coach, and really liked the vanilla. I put it in my Vitamix with a banana and almond milk and ice.
The price makes it impossible to buy,and I became a Beachbody coach to get a 25% discount, cause I wanted the discount for the workouts and skin care. Yes, skin care. I don’t push Shakeology on people, nor even suggest it, it costs too much money, but if they choose to buy it, they can. I bought Energyfirst Proenergy protein shake in vanilla. It’s whey and it sometimes has a strong whey taste, sometimes I can taste it when it’s blended in the Vitamix.
It’s around $44 a tub, and mine will last for a long time. But it’s not bad, and in vanilla I can do alot with it.
I don’t drink dairy milk I’m allergic to it, but I can handle drinking whey protein. I would never buy the chocolate Shakeology. cause oddly enough, chocolate gives me migraines. Vanilla Shakeology is good…really good and tempting to order. Strawberry vegan is good, but I’d not want it every day, I’d get tired of it.
Beachbody increased their prices on Shakeology, which completely turns me off of the product. If they would decrease the price, I’d not be saying this,but I’d be more inclined to buy it. I do use the P90X recovery drink, almost didn’t due to carrageenan, but with what I saw at GNC,something called “Ripped,” the price of the P90X recovery drink isn’t that bad.
I don’t mind the creatine in it, I just use a half a scoop. It really helps my muscles recover even with that small of amount. I double my water, and it doesn’t make that much of a difference on muscle size. Vega makes a protein shake, but it made my heart race, I had to return it. Jay Robb’s protein shake is pretty fair,but I think Energyfirst tastes better.
I have had wheat grass juice,which didn’t set well with me, and Greenberry looks like wheat grass juice.It makes me feel awful just looking your picture. I’ve never seen Greenberry mixed up,and I’m so glad you reviewed it. Cause I won’t be buying Shakeology nor suggesting it for people, until they bring it down in price. Beachbody=skin care and workouts for me.
You’ve shown alternatives that will work great. I’m going to try your smoothie recipe, without chocolate or milk, using almond milk and vanilla protein powder. Excellent column. Keep writing them!
Rhonlynn, thanks for the feedback and Im glad you were able to find my review (I do plan on writing more!). Fantasic you have a vitammix. It’s been the best thing Ive bought in a long time. I’ve had my Vitamix for over 10 years and it sill works great! For those who dont know what it is Here is Vitamix on Amazon. I didnt know Beach Body increased the price of shakeology or that they had skin care products so thanks for letting know about that.
Thanks also for the heads up on the EnergyFirst shake. I’ll take a look at it next time I’m at vitamin shop 🙂
I’m pretty sure you can only get it Energyfirst at the Energyfirst website. Shakeology is $112.00 for retail, $92.00 for me as a coach. Energyfirst is around $40.Just google Energy first is on the Energy first whey protein site. It has a slight twang to it. I learned about it from the Beachbody message boards,
Thanks Rhonlynn, that explains why I couldn’t find it at Vitamin shoppe yesterday 🙂
I made my first greenberry shake this morning and I honestly didn’t find it that bad. I also must say I HATE most shakes because I cannot stand tasting powder at all. I mixed 1 scoop greenberry, 3/4 cup water, sliced strawberries, sliced peaches and a little orange juice with ice. Now, let me say this: it was not FANTASTIC however I did not feel the need to chug it because it was gross either. I drank it all the way to work and now I’m full. I will try a mixed berry (blue, black and raspberry) one with non-fat blueberry yogurt tomorrow.
I sampled the Chocolate, Chocolate Vegan, and the Tropic Strawberry Shakeology Flavors and they have all tasted horrid. I could not drink these. The tropical strawberry, which I made with primarily water (but added about 1/4 cup of skim milk), and at least a cup of fresh strawberries, was SLIGHTLY more bearable than the others. I do not even want to sample the Greenberry!
Like Joe said, they have a bitter taste, they taste very veggie-like, and had a bad after taste. I personally really enjoy the Herbalife shakes. I have tried cookies and cream, dulce de leche, strawberry, and cafe latte. When I tried these I had the formula 1, the added protein, and added fiber, sprinkled cinnamon for taste, and made with Ice and water. The shake was thick, filling, and very tasty!
I personally like these shakes, because I am really big on sweets. Drinking these shakes as a replacement for a meal or 2 per day help me not even think about eating dessert! So along with feeling full for a few hours, I do not feel the need to have dessert.
I am a beachbody coach, and I only like the regular chocolate shakeology (the flavor has been changed since the original post and I mix it with skim milk). I enjoy the taste, but more importantly it gives my body the nutrients I can’t get elsewhere. I have never tried the greenberry because it sounds bad, people have told me it tastes bad, and it looks like the picture above.
But, they just came out with a new greenberry flavor which I will try so i can make an honest assessment. And, they just released vanilla which I will try a well. I am not a big fan of the vegan flavors, but from what I understand if u are a vegan they would taste normal to you. So, do I recommend shakeology? Absolutely. Yes, It is higher priced, but well worth it for the nutrition.
I try not to sugarcoat anything. When things are bad, I will tell them it’s bad. I am not one to think that the company walks on water or has the perfect product. But, I do believe they have the best overall product. Can they do better with taste? Yes, and I think they are making an effort. I would only as, Ondrea, how your body feels after taking it ever day for a month.
Joe, thank you for your objective research and reviews of all supplements. I appreciate it. I know there are not peer reviews, but I also know how Shakeology has helped my friends and family. I have friends who were on cholesterol medicine and where taken off of it because shakeology helped so much. I know of people who had their thyroids start working properly after shakeology. My wife has had digestive issues for years, and this has significantly helped her. I am not trying to say shakeology is a miracle cure, but I do know there is something to be said about their blend, regardless of scientific studies and peer reviews.
Thanks Rob, appreciate your words!
I looked into Shakeology as a meal replacement but couldn’t get over the insane cost. I already take a daily multivitamin with superfood boosts and a 5 billion probiotic, so spending $100/mo on a glorified protein shake was out of the question.
I went to my local supplement warehouse and asked him for something natural as a meal replacement. He suggested Raw Meal by Garden of Life. It is vegan, raw, contains organic plant based proteins, live enzymes and probiotics, sprouts, soluable and insoluble fiber and its only $30 for a months supply! I purchased the cocoa flavor. The taste is interesting, almost like chocolate grass, but that is when mixed with just water. Normally I mix with unsweetened coconut almond milk and 1 banana. It’s basically a milkshake then.
By replacing one meal a day with that shake and staying at or under 1700cal/day, I lost 10 pounds over about 3 weeks, and have kept it off going on 2 months. 🙂
Fast forward to yesterday. My boyfriends aunt gave me a brand new bag of greenberry Shakeology because she didn’t like it. I was pumped to try it out after hearing how tasty it was. I blended 1 scoop with 6oz coco almond milk and 6oz orange juice (ran out of coco almond milk). When I smelled the shake, it smelled exactly like vomit. Even worse, when I tasted it, it TASTED exactly like vomit.
Luckily, I was already used to chugging the water+Raw Meal mix without breathing, so I was able to down the greenberry. I was insanely disappointed that something so expensive could taste so terrible. Not even a “natural” terrible, but just gross! I love fruits and veggies so it can’t just be me.
When I drink the Raw Meal (nutrition profile almost mirrors Shakeology) I feel full for 3-4 hours after. Shakeology felt like I hadn’t had anything. I ate a normal meal within 30 minutes because I was still so hungry.
I am very glad the bag was free for me, otherwise it would be getting returned to the coach IMMEDIATELY.
It was nice to see your posts that have honest reviews unlike most of the coach sites that just go on and on about how “It’s only $4/serving, isn’t your health worth it?” and “If you were to buy all the stuff we put into Shakeology separately, it would be $300+/month!” I already know that is FALSE because of my experience with Raw Meal and my vitamins!
Overall, the Shakeology will get finished, just because I don’t like to waste. But once it’s gone I am going back to Raw Meal!
Ondrea, thanks for writing and your kind words and for the heads up on Raw Meal by garden of life. Never heard of it but I did find raw meal on Amazon. It is cheaper. Glad you were able to find my review 🙂
I’m sorry, but I am laughing! You mixed Greenberry with chocolate almond milk AND orange juice and expected it to taste good? That’s like making a peanut-butter, vegemite and mayonaise sandwich and being surprised it was gross! 3 very different flavors mixed together, usually doesn’t taste good. Hahaha
Shakeology can be used as a supplement OR meal replacement. As a supplement(ie, in addition to your normal 3-5 meals a day), you usually want 150-200 calories. Mixing in water or low calorie Almond Milk is recommended.
As a Meal Replacement, let’s say you are on a 1500 calorie “budget”. You have 2 snacks a day at 200 cals each. That leaves you with 1100 calories to divvy up between 3 meals. If you like big dinners that are around 500 cals, then that leaves you with 600 cals for lunch and breakfast. If you do not want to be “starving hungry” within an hour of drinking your Shakeology in the morning, then you need to be adding more calories to it. Add Peanut butter, Almond Milk and a Banana. Or Applesauce, cinnamon and Almond Milk. Or Canned Pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and Almond Milk. Or the list goes on and on and on. There are hundreds of delicious recipes online. They even make it super easy and divide them up into Calorie categories.
To keep from going into “starvation” mode(where your body will then start to hoard fat, etc), you should be eating every 3-4 hrs. Breakfast, snack, Lunch, snack, Dinner. A final snack if you are really that hungry.
Jessica, not sure who you are replying to. I didn’t mix shakeology with anything. If you can mention the name, maybe that person can reply to you.
more to the point though, considering the price, I’m of the opinion that shakeolgoy should not have to be mixed with anything to taste good.
I was replying to Ondrea. I hit the reply button under her post.
Everybody’s taste palette is different. I happen to like chocolate mixed with water, but I HATE vanilla, greenberry or Strawberry mixed with water. So, I mix them with other things. You can make your Shakeology taste however you like it, just by adding a couple things. You don’t have to have 1 flavor you choose for a month that tastes like “cake batter”. You can have cake batter one day. An apple pie the next. Reeses peanut butter cup the next. just plain chocolate the next. Fruity the next. Pumpkin Spice Latte the next. And on and on! All from the same bag!
To everyone who complains about it not being “filling”:
Meal replacements *should* be more than 200 calories. You are *suppose* to mix Shakeology with other things, to add up enough calories for your needs, to jump start your metabolism every day! If you just mix it with water, of COURSE you are going to be hungry within a couple hours! Your body didn’t get enough calories to keep it going for 3-4 hrs.
You, Joe, mix your Dymatize with fruit and other things. Why not just mix it with water and drink that? Do you mix it for the added calories, the taste, to get a “better” shake?
Hi Jessica
I dont always use protein powder. Sometimes I drink it as is. the protein slows digestion and I like the taste of chocolate so thats another reason I like adding protein. If I have it with dinner, I dont use protein powder.
When I looked at the Shakeology pack, it doesn’t say to mix it with anything. rather it just says use water and ice if I remember. Also, as to shakeology (or food) jump starting metabolism, it really doesn’t do this much. there are 3 things burn calories in any 24 hour time period:
1. exercise
2. resting/basal metabolic rate
3. calories used to digest /process food
of these, distressing /processing food only accounts for about 5% of daily calories used (burned). RMR and BMR use most (~60%) of the calories we use (so we use the most calores when we are doing nothing!). Exercise accounts – at most – for about 30% of calories (and thats only in the most active people. most people dont use that much energy during exercise.