Can I Drink Shakeology on Keto? Everything You Need to Know
/A lot of people ask the question “Can I drink Shakeology on a keto diet?” I did some research to give you all the facts so you can make a decision that works best for you.
Yes, you can drink Shakeology on a keto diet if you account for those carbs in your day using the IIFYM (if it fits your macros) approach. One serving of Shakeology averages 9 to 12 grams of net carbs. There are also meal replacement shakes on the market similar to Shakeology that are lower in carbs, some with only 1-4 grams net carbs. I’ve provided all the nutritional info on Shakeology and similar products so you can make the decision that works best for you and your body on your keto journey.
In this blog post we’ll discuss:
What is Shakeology and can you include it in your keto diet?
How many carbs are in Shakeology?
How to include Shakeology in your keto diet using IIFYM.
Low carb alternatives to Shakeology.
How to make a keto health shake using whole food ingredients.
This post contain may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Can I drink Shakeology on a keto diet? Everything you need to know.
Yes, you can drink Shakeology as part of your keto diet. If you like Shakeology for its health benefits and want to include it on your keto diet, you can be smart and plan for those carbs. (And I’ll show you exactly how to do it.)
Bottom line, you can drink Shakeology, or wine, or a Starbucks venti White Chocolate Mocha on your keto diet. You are an adult and you are in charge of what goes in your mouth.
That said, it’s important to know that the foods we eat or drink have consequences in our body, especially when it comes to staying in ketosis. I’ll share the nutritional information for Shakeology so you can make a decision that is best for YOU.
“I want to help you take the drama out of your decision to drink, or not to drink, Shakeology. I’ll give you the facts so you can weigh the pros and cons, and make a decision that works best for YOU.”
What is Shakeology?
Shakeology is a superfood smoothie manufactured by Beachbody and sold by Beachbody coaches. I think of it as a superfood smoothie, rather than a protein shake, though there is protein in it.
There are whey-based and vegan versions of Shakeology and both include real food ingredients like spinach, kale, reishi mushroom, pomegranate, quinoa, matcha green tea, rosehips, blueberry, maca root, chia, cinnamon, camu camu, wheat grass, spirulina, and many others.
What your Beachbody coach may not tell you…
Many people are introduced to Shakeology when they begin doing Beachbody workout programs. Coaches encourage (and some require) a Shakeology purchase in order to join a challenge group. I am not passing judgment on this practice, simply stating facts.
One thing I want you to understand is that Shakeology is a high quality, nutritious meal replacement shake, but it is not magic. Shakeology is NOT required to lose weight and it is NOT required to get good results with Beachbody workouts like the 21 Day Fix or Morning Meltdown 100.
If you want to learn more about Shakeology, you can visit the Beachbody website here: Shakeology
How many carbs are in Shakeology?
I’ve included the carb grams, net carbs, as well as protein, fat and calories for all of the current Shakeology flavors in the table below:
|
SHAKEOLOGY FLAVOR |
Carbs g |
Fiber g |
Net carbs g |
Protein g |
Fat g |
Calories |
|
Chocolate Whey |
17 |
6 |
11 |
17 |
2.5 |
160 |
|
Chocolate Vegan |
17 |
6 |
11 |
16 |
3 |
160 |
|
Vanilla Whey |
13 |
4 |
9 |
17 |
2 |
140 |
|
Vanilla Vegan |
15 |
6 |
9 |
16 |
3 |
160 |
|
Café Latte Whey |
17 |
5 |
12 |
17 |
2 |
150 |
|
Café Latte Vegan |
18 |
6 |
12 |
16 |
2.5 |
160 |
|
Strawberry Whey |
14 |
4 |
10 |
17 |
2 |
140 |
|
Tropical Strawberry Vegan |
15 |
6 |
9 |
16 |
2.5 |
150 |
|
Greenberry Vegan |
13 |
4 |
9 |
17 |
2 |
140 |
|
Pumpkin Spice Vegan |
16 |
4 |
12 |
16 |
3 |
150 |
|
Peppermint Mocha Vegan |
18 |
6 |
12 |
16 |
3 |
160 |
Using the chocolate vegan Shakeology, since it’s one of the most popular flavors, one serving would give you 11 grams of net carbs, 16 grams of protein, and 3 grams of fat. So, for this meal, it would not be considered a “keto” meal, since it is low in fat, and higher in carbs and protein.
But including 11 net carbs in your keto day is not impossible if you really want to drink Shakeology. Let’s look at how to do just that…
So can I drink Shakeology on a keto diet? Yes, if it fits your macros.
Rather than looking at Shakeology as one not-really-keto meal, you can use the IIFYM (if it fits your macros) approach. It’s a strategy to budget Shakeology - or any higher carb food - into your day.
If you are doing a pretty strict version of keto and only eat 20 grams of net carbs per day, your Shakeology will eat up half your carbs in one meal, pun definitely intended.
If you do a looser version of keto like I do (I do best with 50 grams of net carbs per day), you have more of a carb budget to play with. 11-ish net grams out of 50 isn’t that big of a deal IF you really want to drink Shakeology.
The key with IIFYM is to make room for the higher carb foods you love, which may mean eating less carbs and more fat the rest of the day.
If you want to drink Shakeology, here are some tips to budget those carbs into your day…
Drink Shakeology as a meal replacement shake, not as a snack.
Boost the fat content of your Shakeology shake for a better macro profile for that meal.
Use only a half scoop (or half Shakeology packet) when making your shake to cut the carbs in half.
Be super careful with your remaining carbs for the day by eating meals high in fat, moderate in protein, and very low in carbs.
Tip: Boost the fat content of your Shakeology shake for more keto-friendly macros.
You’re still going to deal with the 9-12 grams of net carbs per serving of Shakeology, but you can boost the fat content of that particular meal to make it more keto-friendly. Here are some tips:
make your shake using 1/2 full-fat coconut milk (or 1/2 heavy cream) and 1/2 water, instead of plain water
add hemp hearts, chia seeds, and/or ground flaxseed for a healthy boost of fat
add 1/2 avocado
add a tablespoon of coconut oil
add some MCT oil
add a tablespoon of creamy peanut butter, almond butter, or other nut butters (I love this macadamia nut butter!) - just be sure there is no added sugar
Lower carb alternatives to Shakeology.
If 10-12 net grams of carbs seems like too pricey a carb spend for you and you want a drink similar to Shakeology, read on for some lower carb alternatives.
Look for a meal replacement shake, not a protein shake.
Definitely compare apples to apples, so to speak, when looking at low carb drinks similar to Shakeology.
If you go to Amazon, for example, and search for keto shakes, most of the results will be for protein shakes boosted with extra fats like MCT or coconut oil, and other nutritional goodies like collagen.
The main reason people drink Shakeology is because of the nutrients it provides, and the protein is a bonus. Like I mentioned earlier, I think of it as a superfood smoothie.
Low carb shakes similar to Shakeology.
I did some research and found a few drinks that have a similar nutritional profile to Shakeology. They are not the same, but close. This is not an exhaustive list. There may be many other similar products on the market.
I provided the cost of these Shakeology lookalikes and broke it down to cost-per-serving, so here is the cost information for Shakeology. I did not factor in shipping and handling on any of the products I listed.
A 30 serving bag is $129.95, or $4.33 per serving.
A box of 24 individual packets is also $129.95, or $5.41 per serving.
Vega One Organic All-in-One Chocolate Vegan Shake. This product is very highly rated on Amazon, and appears very similar to the vegan chocolate Shakeology, but with half the carbs (4 net grams), 5 grams fat, and 20 grams of protein. Like Shakeology it has a fruit and veggie blend which contains, pomegranate, spinach, kale, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, cherry juice, and lots more natural ingredients.
The Vega One shake is also about half the cost of Shakeology. The current price on Amazon is $44.99 for a 17 serving container, which is $2.65 per shake.
310 Shake Chocolate Vegan Meal Replacement Shake. This shake is lower in calories than the others I’ve seen (which is neither a good nor bad thing on keto). It has 2 net carbs per serving, 15 grams protein, and 1.5 grams fat. It does have a fruit and veggie blend, but it appears to be less diverse than Shakeology or Vega One. 310 Shake includes (among other ingredients): maca root, spirulina, pea and hemp protein, kale, spinach, broccoli, and beet juice.
The 310 shake currently sells for $69.99 for a 28 serving container on Amazon, which is about $2.50 per serving.
Lyfe Fuel Chocolate Vegan Meal Replacement Shake. This shake is also lower in calories at 100 per serving, 3 net grams carbs,. and 18 grams protein. It uses rice and pea protein, plus a superfood blend with barley grass, alfalfa grass, wheat grass, spinach, broccoli, kale, and grape seed extract. It also contains prebiotics, probiotics, and digestive enzymes.
Lyfe Fuel shake is currently $59.95 on Amazon for a 28 serving bag. This is about $2.14 per serving.
Garden of Life Raw Chocolate Organic Meal Replacement. This shake has 120 calories, 1 net gram carbs, and 20 grams protein. Like the other shakes it has its own fruit and veggie blend, this one with tomato, bell pepper, ginger, garlic, Brussels sprouts, beet, apple, carrot. Reading the ingredients made me hungry for dinner, lol.
The Garden of Life shake comes in a smaller bag (14 servings) and currently sells for $23.79 on Amazon, making it the cheapest of these four at $1.70 per serving.
I’ve compared these four lower carb shakes to Shakeology in the chart below. I used vegan chocolate Shakeology as a reference because all of the similar products were also vegan.
|
SHAKEOLOGY ALTERNATIVES |
Carbs |
Fiber |
Net carbs |
Protein |
Fat |
Calories |
Cost per Serving** |
|
For comparison this is Chocolate Whey Shakeology |
17 |
6 |
11 |
17 |
2.5 |
160 |
$4.33*** |
|
Vega One Chocolate Vegan |
10 |
6 |
4 |
20 |
5 |
150 |
$2.65 |
|
310 Chocolate Vegan Shake |
7 |
5 |
2 |
15 |
1.5 |
90 |
$2.50 |
|
Lyfe Fuel Chocolate Vegan |
4 |
1 |
3 |
18 |
1.5 |
100 |
$2.14 |
|
Garden of Life Chocolate Vegan |
8 |
7 |
1 |
20 |
2 |
120 |
$1.70 |
**The cost per serving is based on the current retail price and excludes shipping and handling.
***The Shakeology cost per serving is based on the 30 serving bag. If you purchase in a box of 24 individual packets, the cost is $5.41.
If you want a lower carb nutrition shake I encourage you to do your research. Check out the products I’ve mentioned (and you may even find others). Read the reviews to see what real people are saying about them. Then, if you find one that interests you, try it out. Then evaluate your decision. Does the shake fill you up? Do you stay in ketosis? Do you enjoy drinking it? Do you feel more energetic or have less cravings, or better digestion? Then, decide if you want to continue.
But what about keto meal replacement shakes??
I spent A LOT of time looking at so-called “keto meal replacement shakes” and, while they may be amazing, most were essentially protein powder with added fats like MCT and coconut oils, sometimes collagen, and probiotics. Those products may have a place in your keto diet, fill you up, taste great, and help you hit your macros, but they are not a good Shakeology substitute.
Create your own keto health shake using whole food ingredients.
If you like drinking shakes and want one that is packed full of healthy ingredients AND is keto-friendly, consider making your own.
There are lots of keto shake recipes on Google or on Pinterest. Just remember, if you are trying to get the nutrition profile of Shakeology, but in a drink lower in carbs, make sure your shake includes greens (like kale or spinach) and possibly berries.
This recipe is one of my favorites and I make it when I want a higher fat, nutritious keto shake. It doesn’t have all the nutrients of Shakeology, but it is simple to throw together and tastes great.
Keto Berry Green Smoothie Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk (in a can)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup packed dark, leafy greens (I like spinach or baby kale)
1/2 cup frozen berries
1 tablespoon hemp hearts, chia seeds, or ground flaxseed (I combine equal amounts of all three seeds in a jar and then use 1 tablespoon total)
1 scoop collagen (I use Physicians Choice Collagen Peptides)
DIRECTIONS:
Add ingredients to a blender or Nutri-Bullet and blend until smooth.
The recipe, as written above, has 339 calories, 24.6g fat, 10 net grams carbs, 9 grams of protein, according to MyFitnessPal. It has about the same net carbs as Shakeology, but is lower in protein. For me, this is totally OK since I’m using real food ingredients and I get plenty of protein throughout my day.
You can definitely add more fats by adding MCT oil or coconut oil, a half avocado, or nut butters.
So, to answer the question “Can I drink Shakeology on a keto diet?” the answer is YES. Shakeology can definitely be a part of your ketogenic diet if you budget in those 9-12 grams of net carbs. There are also meal replacement shakes on the market similar to Shakeology that are lower in carbs, some with only 1-4 grams net carbs. You can also make your own real food nutrition shake. Ultimately YOU get to decide if you want to include Shakeology on your keto plan. There is no right or wrong answer, just the one that makes you happy.
Happy keto eating!
—The Keto Minimalist
Struggling with keto?
If you are not losing weight, or can't shake the keto flu, or are not getting the results you want, it might be time for a reset. To take the time to really LEARN not just what foods are keto (we all know bacon and avocados are keto foods), but how to choose foods that work best for you.
If you want to go back to the basics I highly recommend Happy Keto Body. It's a 12 week online course that you can take at your own pace to learn about keto and customize an eating plan that suits your tastes and your health issues. No crazy ass "must do this" rules. No restricting carbs to 20g a day. No jumping into intermittent fasting if you don't want to. It's all about healing your body and eating for good health.
You can check out the The Happy Keto Body program here: Happy Keto Body
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