Tuesday 17 February 2009

Slimfast Vs Maximuscle Promax Diet

Probably the main reason I've decided to switch from slim-fast to maximuscle promax diet is because of the protein content of maximuscle shakes. Protein is essential for building new muscles and also rebuilding existing muscles which you inevitably 'damage' when training, after all, weight training is essentially all about breaking down and regrouping muscles.

I was quite horrified to discover how much of the carbohydrate content of slim-fast shakes is made up of sugars!! That's an awful lot of quick-release energy, I don't want spikes in my hunger and energy levels. By contrast, Maximuscle Promax Diet shakes, are almost identical on the calorie front, but their protein content is super high and, of the carbohydrates quoted, there is a much smaller ratio of sugars to carbs... here's how both drinks measure up:


Maximuscle Promax Diet (Chocolate Flavour)

Per 100g dry product
Calories 358
kcal
Protein 63g
Carbohydrate 16.7g
Sugars 8.3g
Fat 5.8g
Saturates 3g
Fibre 3.3g
Sodium 0.6g

Per 60g Serving made up with 350mls water
Calories 215
kcal
Protein 37.8g
Carbohydrate 10g
Sugars 5g
Fat 3.5g
Saturates 1.8g
Fibre 2g
Sodium 0.36g



Slim-fast (Strawberry Flavour)

Per 100g dry product
Calories 353
kcal
Protein 13.5g
Carbohydrate 60.1g
Sugars 47.5g
Fat 6.6g
Saturates 0.8g
Fibre 11.1g
Sodium 0.3g

Per 36.5g Serving made up with 250ml skimmed milk
Calories 217
kcal
Protein 13.8g
Carbohydrate 34.3g
Sugars 29.8g
Fat 2.6g
Saturates 0.4g
Fibre 4.1g
Sodium 0.25
So, pros and cons for both:


Slim-Fast Pros
  • Very cheap, at £5.49 in Boots, and 12 servings per tin, it works out at about 46p a shake! Actually, Boots is running a 3 for 2 offer, so if you buy 3 tins of milkshake powder you actually end up paying 31p for each milkshake (minus the cost of the milk of course)
  • Availability - you can buy the powder at even the smaller pharmacies
  • There is a decent selection of products, and various flavours to choose from.
  • The Slim-Fast site has useful tools and online diaries (although these don't seem to be updated very frequently!!
  • is apparently a low GI food
  • has a generous assortment of vitamins and minerals thrown in (which is just as well as the powder would appear to be made of skimmed milk, sugar and food dye!)
  • you can buy it ready made (albeit at a vastly higher price per unit than the powder's equivalent), which is useful if you've got no milk, or a shaker, to hand.

Slim-Fast Cons

  • Tastes 'powdery' which is no surprise of course as it is, but one does not like to be reminded of that fact
  • Requires milk. Awkward if you've run out.
  • Doesn't fill you up for very long
  • Very high in sugar, it's the second largest ingredient after Skimmed Milk (which is amusing as that's what you use to make it up...)
  • Sweet milkshakes can get sickly after a while and make you crave savoury things, like pasties, pork pies, steak, chips, fresh bread etc... ahhh
  • it does appear to be consisted almost entirely of milk powder, sugar and colourant, which makes me nervous as to its nutritional merit.

Maximuscle Promax Diet Pros

  • Maybe I'm a sucker for advertising, but I do take notice when 'serious athletes' and athletic bodies endorse a product
  • You don't need water, which actually doesn't sound like much but, ensuring you have milk around at work or home just for your milkshakes (you need 500mls a day for slimfast) can be a bit of a pain in the arse. Also, the fact that despite the powder not being made milk powder, and not needing any further addition of fresh milk, is testament to the quality of the powder mix.
  • unlike slim-fast, only half of the carb content comes from sugar.
  • mixes really well, and tastes great.
  • contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which is used in various dieting supplements. I'm not sure of just how effective it is, but I'm willing to find out
  • There are Promax Diet Meal Bars which you can use in place of the milkshakes, I had one today as I went for a coffee with a friend and wanted to avoid the temptation to order a cheesy panini!
  • the shakes are actually really filling! and not just because of the large volume of water you're drinking!

Maximuscle Promax Diet Cons

  • The powder is quite expensive, and this can definitely be off-putting for some. But I am less put-off by this than I could be as I know it's a quality product. At £22.99 for a mini tub, and 10 servings of 60g per tub, it's not hard to see just how much more expensive it is than slim-fast! However, I spend nearly double that on lunch most days so I figure I'm saving money in the long run. The diet bars are cheaper, I bought one for £2 from Holland and Barrett today.
  • they don't (appear to) sell any ready made formulas, which is a little annoying, but then as I mentioned earlier you can use their rather tasty diet bars.

I can't actually think of any other cons, I might do later and add them to this, but that'll do for now :-)

1 comment:

  1. I know this is an old post, but wanted to say thanks for the comparison! I just bought a small tub of the Promax diet, Strawberry flavour from Asda yesterday, it was half price (£7). Gonna have one for my snack later today!

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