Introduction
Meal replacement shakes and shake-diets have become an extremely popular method of losing weight. Just last year we saw over 200 new products enter the market, which speaks volumes for the demand of these types of products.
The popular UK-based weight loss supplement manufacturer XLS Medical has finally arrived to the weight loss shake party (albeit about 24 months late) with their latest product XLS-Nutrition – Healthy Weight Loss Shake.
In this review XLS Nutrition Shake review, we’re taking a look at the formulation to establish what we believe consumers can realistically expect from it.
Readers please note that statements on this page are fair comment based on observation. This content is produced on a matter of public interest. Statements on this page are our honest opinion.
What Is XLS Nutrition Shake?
XLS Nutrition is a self proclaimed healthy weight loss shake produced by a UK-based company named Perrigo (trading as XLS Medical).
One tub of XLS-Nutrition shake costs £14.99 and contains 10 meals (i.e. servings); it is available via the official XLS Nutrition website and Amazon. It’s also available in stores like Boots, Superdrug, Tesco and Holland & Barrett.
The product is targeted towards those who are looking to lose weight in a more natural manner (i.e. they don’t want to use fat burners or appetite suppressants). Much like its rivals Yokebe, Almased and Slim Fast, XLS-Nutrition offers consumers any easy means of lowering their daily caloric intake via a nutritious meal replacement shake – it’s ideal for anyone looking for a shake for a VLCD (very low calorie diet).
There are no magical “fat burning ingredients” inside XLS-Nutrition, rather it’s a low-calorie, nutrient-dense shake loaded with protein, vitamins and minerals. Consumers are told that the shakes can help contribute towards weight loss by reducing their daily caloric intake into a range low enough that the body starts utilizing fat reserves.
Does XLS Nutrition Work?
Based on our research into this product, we believe that you likely can see decent weight loss results with XLS-Nutrition, but only if you use it correctly.
Firstly, we’d like to clear up any misconceptions you may have about this weight loss shake. The formula does not contain any “fat burning” or “appetite suppressing” ingredients and it is not able to produce miracle-like weight loss results within a short period of time (a product like that doesn’t really exist unfortunately).
The concept behind these meal replacement shakes is extremely simple – the XLS-Nutrition shakes are just an easy way of cutting your daily caloric intake down to a range where you’ll naturally start to lose weight.
Users of XLS-Nutrition are told that they’ll need to following the directions set in the “weight loss plans” section of the XLS Medical website. Their top recommended plan is the two week plan; for the first week of using the XLS-Nutrition you’ll need to replace 3 of your daily meals with a shake (this means that for 7 days you’ll be consuming just 741 calories). For the second week you’ll be replacing two meals per day – it’s noted that you must ensure your third meal is “healthy and balanced”.
We think that by sticking to this plan you are likely to see some fat loss, however it’s our opinion that these types of shake-only diets are best sustained for a period of 6-8 weeks, as you can’t really lose that much body fat in 2 weeks.
The Pros & Cons Of XLS Nutrition
Below is a list of everything we personally believe could be viewed as either a positive or negative:
The Pros
- Product makes it easy for you to stick to a low calorie diet without needing to plan things out.
- High in protein.
- Reasonably low in calories per serving.
- Lots of vitamins and minerals per serving (contains between 30-40% of your recommended daily intake).
The Cons
- Doesn’t contain and ingredients that directly and independently “burn fat”.
- Shake-only diets aren’t for everyone.
- Some reviews on Amazon have stated the shakes didn’t taste too nice.
- Will need to be used for 2-6 weeks for weight loss results to be seen – can be expensive.
What Are The XLS Nutrition Ingredients?
We have found the following nutritional information via the official product page:
Ingredients: Soy Protein Isolate, Lactose Reduced Whey Protein Concentrate (Milk), Honey (15%), Maltodextrin, Flavoring, Dipotassium Phosphate, Magnesium Hydroxide, Anti-caking Agent (Silicon Dioxide), Calcium Chloride, Rapeseed Oil, Vitamin C, Tricalcium Phosphate, Zinc Gluconate, Vitamin E, Ferric Phosphate, Nicotinamide, Manganese Gluconate, Antioxidant (Dl-alpha-tocopherol), Soy Oil, Vitamin B5, Colour (Beta-carotene), Vitamin B6, Vitamin B1, Vitamin A, Cupric Gluconate, Vitamin K, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Vitamin B2, Potassium Iodide and Vitamin D.
One 40g Serving Provides: Calories 247, Fat 5.4g, 0.9g Fiber, 30.8g Protein, 1g Salt, Vitamin A 290ug, Vitamin D 1.5ug, Vitamin E 4.3mg, Vitamin K 27.1ug, Vitamin C 29mg, Thiamin 0.4mg, Riboflavin 0.5mg, Niacin 5.8mg, Vitamin B6 0.51mg, Folic Acid 72.5ug, Vitamin B12 1.7ug, Biotin 18.1ug, Vitamin B5 2.2mg, Potassium 735mg, Calcium 309mg, Phosphorus 497mg, Magnesium 136mg, Iron 5.1mg, Zinc 3.6mg, Copper 0.36mg, Manganese 0.72mg, Selenium 19.9ug, Iodine 61.3ug, Linoleic Acid 1.2g, Sodium 412mg.
Is XLS Nutrition Suitable For Everyone?
This shake isn’t suitable for those with allergens to soy, milk, whey and lactose.
What Are The XLS Nutrition Side Effects?
We’ve compiled the following potential side effects based on the ingredients inside this formula:
- Increased bowel movements
- Nausea
- Thirst
- Bloating
- Cramps
- Fatigue
- Headache [1]
Note: these side effects are possible but may not be the typical user experience.
What Claims Are Being Made About XLS Nutrition?
We have found the following claims and/or implications being made about this supplement:
- Nutritionally complete formula
- Helps support energy levels
- Contains a “scientifically proven formulation” that helps you lose weight
When looking at the clinical evidence, we found some studies that supported these statements, however we also found studies that did not.
In regards to claim one, we believe that this product, for the most part, is nutritionally complete (i.e. it contains lots of vitamins and minerals), but you should be aware each serving doesn’t contain 100% of your recommended daily intake for each of those vitamins, it contains around 30-40%.
We have found that the XLS Nutrition weight loss shakes are likely to support user energy levels as it contains B vitamins that promote energy metabolism.
We think that statement 3 is true, but it may be a little misleading for some. As we mentioned above, the XLS Nutrition shakes don’t contain any ingredients that directly and independently “burn fat”, meaning that you aren’t likely to see weight loss results just by using the shakes alone with no changes to your diet or exercise regime. The XLS Nutrition shake can help you lose weight by providing you an easy way of reducing your daily caloric intake.
Are There Any XLS Nutrition Shake Reviews From Customers?
We have found the following XLS-Nutrition review testimonials via customers on Amazon:
One of these shakes is supposed to act as a replacement meal and provides your essential nutrients and proteins,whilst limiting your calorie intake for 1 meal to just 255 calories.The Vanilla shake is drinkable and the flavour initially is palatable.What I didn’t factor in is that this shake left me with quite a bitter aftertaste,which lasted for up to couple of hours,which was not particularly pleasant.
With the vanilla you put 200ml of semi-skimmed milk in the shaker, add 4 scoops of powder, plus 1/2 tsp of oil (it’s not clear why, instructions for the other two flavours do not specify the oil). It’s not a particularly great taste – the vanilla is not very strong, the taste of the soy protein comes through much more strongly – but not offensive I suppose. It does upset my stomach a little bit. It leaves me reasonably satisfied but I often need a bit extra food to see me through
Our Final Verdict On XLS Nutrition
To conclude our XLS-Nutrition review, it’s a bit of a mixed bag – there are things that we like about it and things that we aren’t too blown away by.
Overall it seems like a decent product to use if you’re looking to lose weight, however you should be aware that there aren’t any fully-dedicated “weight loss ingredients” inside it.
Be aware that while doing a VLCD is a good method of losing weight, shake-only diets are definitely not for everyone and you’ll certainly need some willpower while sticking to the directions set by XLS.