The new lifestyle and Medifast diets are somewhat similar to one another (there are some key differences however). Both diets offer shakes which are quite popular. People often ask me how the shakes compare to one another in terms of nutrition, taste, texture and price. So in the following article, I’ll attempt to compare the shakes on both of these diets.
First though, I should disclose that I have more experience with the Medifast products. I have tried and tasted new lifestyle products because I have a coworker on this diet who was kind enough to allow me to sample some of the meals. Now, onto the comparisons.
Nutrition, Ingredients, Calories, Carbs And Proteins: I think that one of the most important comparison between these two is going to have to do with their nutrition. Because this is ultimately going to affect their effectiveness. If they can’t get you into ketosis or a calorie and carb deficit, then you’re probably going to abandon them anyway. And if the ingredients aren’t healthy or diet friendly, what’s the point?
So that I’m comparing similar products, I’m going to be looking at the chocolate shakes for each diet. The new lifestyle diet’s chocolate shake / pudding mix contains 100 calories, 14 grams of proteins, 7 grams of carbs and 1.5 grams of fat. Although I looked everywhere, I could not find the sugar content of these shakes. I find this to be somewhat important because one thing that I’ve noticed about these products is that they’re sweetened with aspartame. For the most part, Medifast uses natural sugar substitutes like maltodextrin.
The Medifast dutch chocolate shakes contains only 90 calories, only one gram of fat, 11 grams of protein, 13 of carbs, and 8 grams of sugar. (Incidentally, this product only make the shakes. There are separate pudding and shake meals. It’s not a two in one product in the way that the new lifestyle shakes are (since they make both pudding and shakes) I prefer this because I believe it makes the texture better.)
Taste And Cost: The new lifestyle shakes are $12.50 per box. The Medifast shakes costs around $3 more if you’re buying them individually. I find that this isn’t an issue for a couple of reasons. First, I have to say that in my observation, very few people buy these products individually. Most people buy them as part of a package. And with coupons, the cost per meal generally goes down to just over $2 each.
And second, you consume only 5 Medifast meals per day as opposed to 7 on the new lifestyle plan. So it will take more products each day which is ultimately going to potentially cost more. People often tell me that they think one diet is cheaper than the other, but I find this misleading since you have to consume 2 more meals per day on one of the diets.
I think that the biggest difference between these two is the taste. I just prefer the Medifast shakes but I suppose it could be that I’ve become so used to them. To me, they have more flavor and do not taste bland and chalky. Also, their texture is not as foamy and is more smooth and creamy which I prefer, but this is my personal preference. Yours may be different.
