Yes You Can! meal replacement shakes have been designed by Latino American celebrity Alejandro Chabán as a weight-loss tool. But are they any good?
The Yes You Can Complete meal replacement shake diet plan is quite underwhelming. The shakes are very low-calorie and highly processed. The cost per serving is also high when you consider the low-quality ingredients used.
In this article, we will take a look at the Yes You Can company, the diet plan it promotes, and the ingredients contained within, and we will also identify some high-quality alternatives.
About Yes You Can! Meal Replacement
Yes You Can! is a supplements company started by Venezuelan actor and TV host Alejandro Chabán in 2012.
According to the Yes You Can! website, Chabán is a certified nutritionist, but the Yes You Can! system has some major red flags.
It starts off with a “detox” phase which involves you spending a fortune on detox dietary supplements, which are renowned for not working.
There is also an aloe vera drink and fifteen servings of their complete meal replacement shake.
Then there is a transformation phase, which involves dietary supplements such as “colon cleansers”. There is also a mediocre fat-burner and a poor-quality appetite suppressant.
The final phase is the maintenance phase, which just involves complete meal replacement shakes and protein bars (alongside a healthier lifestyle). This is by far the most well-thought-out phase.
Healthy Habits
Let’s ignore the detox and transformation supplements and focus on the meal replacement shake and diet plan.
One of the good things about this system is the focus on improving your diet and lifestyle with healthy habits. This is the core of Chabán’s philosophy and it is what he covers in his many books and online articles.
This is what is so frustrating about this company. There are so many aspects of weight loss that they address, but they do it with sub-par ingredients and a lot of badly designed products.
Yes You Can! Uses the traffic light diet plan as a nutrition guide, and there are a lot of clinically proven techniques in the reading material.
But combined with poor products and expensive duds, it feels more like a scam than an effective weight loss program.
Yes You Can! Calories and Macros
Each meal replacement contains just 210 calories, with 20 grams of protein, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, and 5 grams of fat. To be honest, this feels more like a regular protein shake than it does a meal replacement product.
210 calories are too few to fit into a safe and effective weight loss diet plan. Particularly if you are supposed to replace two meals with it.
That’s just 420 calories! Sure, you will lose weight, but it will not be healthy weight loss. There is a healthier way to lose weight than this!
Yes You Can! Complete Meal Replacement Ingredients List
The ingredients list of Yes You Can! is uninspiring. There are a lot of ingredients that are highly processed, and many of the ingredients are very cheap.
But it isn’t all bad news, the use of MCTs is good, and whey protein concentrate is ideal for weight loss and muscle building. Still, these ingredients don’t really justify the price.
Whey Protein Concentrate
There are several forms of whey protein out there, but the main two are concentrate and isolate.
As you can imagine, considering Yes You Can’s track record, whey protein concentrate is the cheaper option. It has a lower protein content and contains higher levels of lactose.
Still, this is probably the best ingredient in Yes You Can! complete meal replacement shake, and provided you consume dairy, whey protein is a great source of protein.
Maltodextrin
Maltodextrin is a highly-processed powder that comes from carbohydrate sources such as wheat or grains.
It is used in industrial cooking as a low-cost thickener and preservative. It is very similar to table sugar and provides a similar blood sugar response. Maltodextrin has no nutritional benefits.
Soluble Tapioca Fiber
This is another ingredient that is cheap, yet offers very few nutritional benefits. Other than being an okay source of fiber, soluble tapioca fiber is fairly uninteresting.
Sunflower Creamer
This is basically sunflower oil, maltodextrin, and a whole host of highly-processed ingredients, its main purpose is to provide a smooth consistency and it is also the main source of fat for this complete meal replacement shake.
Medium Chain Triglycerides
MCT oil is a great addition to this ingredients list, and it has many health benefits. However, it is hard to tell how much MCT is actually present.
There are only 5 grams of fat per serving, and at least some of that will be present in the sunflower oil. The most likely scenario is that there is a negligible amount of MCTs in each serving.
Vitamins and Minerals
All the nutrients in Yes You Can! Appear to be found in the vitamins and minerals blend. There isn’t much to say about this part of the supplement. It’s a useful ingredient and one that all meal replacement shakes contain.
How to Take Yes You Can!
Our advice is to pour 500 ml of water into a shaker and add water. Shake thoroughly until you reach your intended consistency and then drink slowly.
What Flavors of Yes You Can! Are Available?
There are seven flavors available: Chocolate, coffee, cookies and cream, dulce de leche (a sugar and milk confectionary that is very popular in Latin America), strawberry, vanilla, and vegan vanilla.
Can Yes You Can! Complete Meal Replacement Help You Lose Weight?
No matter how badly we rate this product, it is certainly true that you can lose weight while taking their meal replacement shake.
The shakes are very low calorie, and the recommended calorie intakes (following the traffic light diet) are certainly low enough to cause weight loss.
But any diet can cause you to lose weight in the short term, the issue is whether the diet is sustainable or not.
Putting overweight men on a 1,500-calorie-per-day diet is definitely going to cause them to lose weight, provided they can stick to it for at least 6 weeks. But they are going to be very hungry while on this diet.
For women, the calorie target is between 1,200 and 1,500 calories per day. Again, this is very low and if you are able to follow it you may be able to reach your ideal weight, but can you maintain it?
That is the thought process between Yes You Can’s maintenance phase. Of course, their idea of a maintenance phase is selling a huge package of carb blockers, appetite suppressants, meal replacement shakes, and protein bars.
None of these products is bad, however Yes You Can! Use proprietary blends, and low-quality ingredients, and are very expensive.
You can create your own version by purchasing the meal replacement shakes and protein bars separately, and following the traffic light diet plan.
Yes You Can! Complete Meal Replacement Shake Review
The Yes You Can! Complete meal replacement shake is pretty poor, reminding us of Soylent in its pursuit of low-quality ingredients and general cost-cutting.
The biggest issue is the low calories per serving. Remember, these are supposed to be replacing your main meals, but 210 calories is barely a third of what many people eat for breakfast or for lunch.
If you are looking to improve your health via nutrition then this is not the meal replacement for you. It is designed for short-term weight loss and as a way to grab as much money from you as possible.
There are better ways to lose weight, and there are a number of meal replacement alternatives that are better for your health and your diet.
Yes You Can Positives
- The focus on long-term maintenance is smart
- High in protein
- Packed full of essential nutrients
- Accompanied by a diet plan
- Some interesting flavors are available
- Convenient
Yes You Can Negatives
- Needs more calories per serving
- The cost per serving is too high
- Low-quality ingredients
- Sold alongside poor supplements
- Not vegan friendly
- Poor nutrition plan
Alternatives to Yes You Can!
If you are looking to lose weight, improve your diet, or help maintain a healthier lifestyle, then there are a number of excellent alternatives to Yes You Can! Stop taking Yes You Can! shakes and try these instead.
Rootana
Rootana is a wonderful substitute for Yes You Can! It contains 400 calories and has a much better ratio of protein, fats, and carbs. Unlike YYC, Rootana uses top-quality ingredients to help support your diet and it can also help you lose weight.
Rootana uses real food ingredients, and it avoids artificial sweeteners and colourings. Your shake is comprised of oats, plant-based protein, flaxseed, and coconut sugars to sweeten your shake.
Rootana offers a chocolate flavor (cacao), vanilla, and an original flavor. It is high in fibre, high in protein, and high in nutrition.
Instant Knockout Complete
Developed to help the fighting community make weight for competitions, Instant Knockout Complete is hugely popular in MMA and boxing. But it is also increasingly becoming the go-to meal replacement for weight loss.
Thanks to its very high protein and fiber content, it is the best option for anyone trying to lose weight and improve their diet. It can also be combined with one of the best fat burner supplements on the market – Instant Knockout Cut.
This is completely optional, but many people enjoy the metabolism-boosting benefits of taking both Complete and Cut simultaneously. Yes You Can! offers a similar product combination, but it is nowhere near as good.
Huel
Huel is the most well-known meal replacement on this list and has been repeatedly found the be effective for a weight loss diet.
The shakes are an excellent source of protein and fiber, and there are a number of flavors available (though avoid chocolate if you can). What we love about Huel is how convenient it is, and how polished the service is.
If you want to go on a diet, then Huel is a great option, particularly Huel black.
This is a higher protein version of Huel that is great for people on a weight loss diet, or people who want to supplement their budding bodybuilding career with high protein instant meals.
Ka’Chava
Ka’Chava is an interesting alternative to Yes You Can! On the one hand, it suffers from a couple of similar issues: It is low in calories (just 250 per serving) and expensive. However, that is where the similarities end.
Ka’Chava is packed full of incredible ingredients. With a number of fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, and adaptogens that can help improve your health and nourish your body.
Ka’Chava is like the healthy cousin to Yes You Can! It’s not perfect, but you have to commend the effort they have put into creating a healthy meal replacement.
Yes You Can Complete Meal Replacement: Final Thoughts
Stop taking supplements from the Yes You Can! brand, they are not good enough and are a waste of money. It won’t boost your metabolism, it won’t support a healthy lifestyle, and it is packed full of uninspiring highly-processed ingredients.
If you want our advice, we would recommend finding one of our alternate meal replacements to purchase. They are better in every way, use real-food ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices, and are better value for money.
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