Transcription
In today's video, I'm going to be diving into the diet nutrition program Metaboost Connection by Meredith Sh, also known as Spelt Training, giving you my complete unsponsored honest review as a qualified health and fitness coach.
If you're new here, my name is Emma. I have been in the health and fitness industry for over 20 years now, and on this channel, I like to provide health and fitness tips, tools, and well-being advice for the 40-plus woman. My goal is to help you decide which products are worth spending your money on and which are not. So, if you like that kind of content, please do hit the subscribe button.
Today, we're going to dive into this program because, after my V Shred review, this one was requested quite a lot. Probably the reason for that is because her adverts are everywhere, and I think she probably went to the same marketing school as the V Shred guy. Having been in the health and fitness industry for such a long time, I recognize these marketing tactics designed to draw you in and make you think there is some magic fix that will solve all your problems.
Whether she's telling you to eat these secret metabolism-boosting special ingredients, claiming that having a certain posture while you poop affects your fat loss, or suggesting that if you eat past a certain time, the food you're consuming is basically turning into ice cream, it is all marketing BS.
It's really hard enough to convince women that crash dieting doesn't work. You've been there, you've done that, and maybe you initially lost a bit of weight, but were you able to sustain that and keep it off? My guess is no, because do you know what? I've also been there too. I've even run these types of detox cleanse programs myself in the past. As a coach, I've evolved; when you know better, you do better.
I bought this program a little while back, and I was really umming and ahhing about it. I thought, "I don't want to do these crash diets anymore. I've been there, I've done it, and it didn't make me any happier." I decided I would review it from the perspective of looking down at the information to help you make the decision on whether it is the right choice for you. But then I thought, "You know what? I'm just going to bite the bullet. I'm going to do it, I'm going to follow it, and see what happens," so I could give you a more informed report on whether it works or not.
First off, I want to touch on the sign-up process. This is bro marketing 101. As someone in the health and fitness industry, I've been told by these gurus to also sell my products in this way, where you go in on a sales funnel. You give a relatively cheap product—look, $29 is pretty affordable; I think it's a fair price to pay for a nutrition program.
So, you think you're getting this really great deal. You go through the sign-up process, and then page after page after page is an upsell to the cookbook, an upsell to private coaching, an upsell to more workouts—upsell, upsell, upsell. It is so frustrating! If you are not very careful, it is very easy to sign up for the monthly program without realizing it.
Stop trying to fool people with this sneaky tactic of getting them onto a rolling contract. It's really deceitful and incredibly frustrating for the consumer who is losing faith in the health and fitness industry, trying to figure out who can be trusted and who can't.
As I navigated through the sales pages, I accidentally clicked on the upgrade to the cookbook. Luckily, my bank marked this as a fraudulent payment and actually blocked the second payment, which I was really happy about because I didn't want that cookbook. Just be careful if you are going to go into it during the sign-up process; make sure you are reading through everything and not ticking any boxes or signing up for anything that you don't actually want.
The Metaboost program is a 14-day nutrition plan. On the first day, there is a metabolic flush. My goodness, we're not eating very much, are we? For my morning smoothie, I definitely didn't have the pomegranate or the mango. I will buy those when I go to the shop today, and I also don't have any salmon, but I do have some fish, so we're going to work with that.
Literally, it's fish and broccoli, and then it's not eating any dinner. We're only having a smoothie for dinner. Oh, and we've got a midday power snack, and then for dinner, we've got the meta green smoothie and this fat-burning elixir before bed. I'm probably going to be hungry, and I hate doing this around my kids—not eating a meal with them. I will probably just tell them that I've already eaten. I certainly don't want to push these practices onto my kids.
After this, it's only the first day that is supposed to be like a detox, a metabolic flush. You're just consuming a lot less food, drinking more water, and packing in some nutrients, which is always a good thing. They're kind of like what they would say are anti-inflammatory foods.
Even after the first day, you could expect to lose a lot of water weight, as there aren't many carbohydrates going on in this. So, we're going to cook some fish. I don't have any salmon, but I do have these frozen fish that we're going to work with. Of course, fresh is always better—hell yes! If you can get fresh fish, perfect. I live in the mountains, far from the sea. Even any fresh fish that we do get around here is not going to be all that fresh. Frozen is going to be the next best thing, and I will get some salmon later.
I even got some broccoli here. So, fish and broccoli is basically what I'm going to be having. How much broccoli are we having? Two cups of baby spinach and a quarter of an apple, half a tomato. Okay, so there is a little bit more. It doesn't have to be salmon; you can have any lean meat, which is cool.
So, we've got broccoli, and I just say baby spinach. I don't have any of that in, so I might just have some more greens on the side—just say two cups. Let's keep in mind that I'm not going to be having an evening meal tonight. We're going to have a little bit of butter, and I'm going to season it with some balsamic. I don't even have balsamic, but I do have vinegar.
I've got my lean meat, so you can use chicken or turkey. A quarter of an apple—it's a tiny amount. Am I going to make it through the rest of the day without having the rest of that? And since I don't have any spinach, I also have tomato as well. I have a big tomato, so we're going to go a little bit on the side. I'm going to put the tiniest bit of olive oil on it.
It's not balsamic, but it is vinegar. I mean, I'm all for packing in all the nutrients. There's nothing that makes me happier than feeling self-righteous, like I've had the most healthy meal ever. This is really a program that has been requested for me to do a review on for such a long time, and I really put off doing it.
With some salt and pepper, the food's definitely not a problem for me. I'm quite basic with my eating just because I'm not very good at cooking. It's got to be basic, but these easy meals are all for it. They don't always have to be boring. I think just adding some mixed herbs onto your lean meat is a great way to add some flavor.
This is an Italian one; I think the Mexican one's my favorite. But we're just going to put this on. I know that says Italian, but the top of it says Cajun, so I don't know what that is, but we're going to stick it on top. I don't like my broccoli too overly done; I would really prefer to steam it. We want to lock in nutrients, and of course, drinking tons of water—always remain hydrated.
You know, a lot of things in health and fitness don't change massively. Things seem to come around in cycles. At the end of it all, really, the basics don't change all that much. I can see how, when I've done cleanses and detoxes—so-called detoxes—in the past, the best thing about them is that they really help you evaluate your behaviors and habits around food.
Most of the time, it is about breaking habits that we kind of just fall into, so it really puts a spotlight on those. It's not just about the program itself; it's highlighting what are the behaviors that maybe aren't serving you. For me, I know that within a recent challenge I did with my own members, we looked at alcohol consumption. We also looked at sugar and processed carbs. Those are the two things that, for me, I know I need to keep in check.
So, it wasn't so much about the diet; it was about looking at the habits and behaviors that aren't really supporting you. And while doing something like this, is it the magic be-all and end-all? No, I don't think it is. But it might help you highlight some of the things that you need to cut back on or make changes in within your diet.
Does it need to be as restrictive as this? No, I don't think it does. This is the big thing about what I work with in my own clients: helping to do it from a space that doesn't have to be all or nothing. We can introduce some things, but you can still enjoy some of the things that you love.
This particular program is quite restrictive, and that's one of the things that I actually find frustrating within her marketing. Like the V Shred guy, she's telling you all these promises. There's one advert in particular where she answers the door in a bikini—because who does that? She talks about how she still eats pizza but looks like this. Yet, within her program, there's definitely no pizza in it. I've not seen any pizza anywhere on the list.
Let's also keep in mind that she talks about being an ex-athlete. Genetics has a lot to play in this. People prey on the fact that if you eat in this way, then you are going to look like me, and that's just not the case. We don't take into account genetics and past experience with health and exercise.
I've always exercised; I've exercised my entire adult life. Have I ever looked like a fitness model? No, because my genetics don't lean that way. I've always been someone who gains weight really easily, and that kind of got more pronounced as I got over the age of 40. I've also been recently diagnosed with PCOS, so I definitely have to be a lot more careful with things.
So, actually, this looks pretty good. I'm not going to lie; I'm looking forward to eating this. I'm going to put a bit of salt on top of this. It's pretty basic, simple, and high in nutrients—definitely nothing bad about this. But as this is going to be my only full meal of the day, I'm going to sit down and savor every single bite.
Done with the shop, we are now at like 10 to 5, and the prospect of only having a smoothie for my dinner is not filling me with much joy. I'm not super starving; I definitely feel a little bit hungry, but it's getting me out of the habit of snacking. I would normally snack on something just mindlessly, so it's definitely helping with that.
I did get my fresh salmon—as fresh as it can be when you live in the mountains. But yeah, they didn't have any frozen mango; they didn't have any frozen cherries. This is mountain life, and you can't always get these things. I refused to buy cherries in France; they're so expensive. You can pay like €13 for a tiny punnet. They didn't even have any in the shop, and I would have refused to pay that much anyway.
So, we're doing what we can with what we've got because, one, I’m not making myself bankrupt, and two, there's more to life. I had my smoothie just earlier, and I'm not going to lie; I'm absolutely starving. I'm starving, and I'm now making the kids dinner—a homemade pizza.
Already, I'm contemplating whether I'm going to do this because it kind of really goes against my whole ethos of health and fitness. I already find myself wanting to eat all of that, and I want to get my pizza and just do it. I've worked really hard to get into a much better place around food and my eating habits and behaviors, and it almost feels like it could be a step back.
So, this is always the danger when you go into any type of severe dieting and restriction: to evaluate your own relationship with food and your behaviors if it's actually supportive to your own mental health. As it stands, I managed to abstain and not have any, but I'm really starving. My stomach is literally growling.
We're going to persist, and we'll see how we get on on day two. Hopefully, because I've had such good energy levels lately from doing my own glow-up challenge with my members, I've been feeling really great. I want that to continue, so as long as my energy levels don't take a dive, I'm going to attempt to keep going for the sake of the experiment. But I'm not happy about it.
I'm just sharing this as the reality of when you've got to feed the rest of your family. I've done a homemade pizza with a bit of salad for the kids, and of course, they don't eat a full pizza. They're having like three slices each, and then there are two slices left. What am I going to do with that?
A Metaboost update: whilst I'm out on my morning walk today, having my morning Metaboost magic elixir, I did some steps on the scales. I've lost 3 lbs so far. Now, of course, keep in mind this is not fat; it's probably all water weight. When you are eating less food and fewer carbohydrates, your body is going to release some of the water that it holds on to.
Just checking in with how I'm feeling, and to be quite honest, I don't feel good today. Like yesterday, I felt pretty good. Yes, I had some feelings of hunger, but I didn't feel too bad. I always said to myself from the beginning that I would continue with this as long as I feel good.
Today is supposed to be another two smoothies and one meal day. I don't know if I'm going to stick to that. I am at a friend's barbecue, so my plan was to have my main meal before I go there. If I do eat anything, I will just have some lean meats, but I think I might also have that as my evening meal as well because my energy levels suck today.
I don't feel good; I've got a really bad headache. I'm so hungry—so hungry! My stomach is growling, and I have a headache. In fact, I'm so hungry I feel a little bit sick. I just recorded more workouts today, so I'm going to see how I feel after my walk.
Anyway, my body—in terms of energy levels—doesn't feel tired, even though I woke up early and went to bed early. I've still had a good solid 7 hours, but my body feels heavy. My legs feel like lead, and generally, the energy within my body is low.
I'm going to keep up with some elements of it. I think I'm probably going to add some more food in because while I know I'm doing these types of things in the past, I promised myself that I would never do this ever again. I know that these feelings do pass; however, today, it's time to spend with my kids. I'm not going to spend it feeling lethargic and probably pretty cranky with them.
I refuse to do it, and that's the promise that I made to myself. When I am on a health journey or working on health habits, the impact on my mental health is a huge piece of it. So, keeping that in mind, I might not make it to the end of this challenge.
Crash dieting 101 is massively reducing your calorie intake. Yes, we're adding in a ton of nutrients, but we're not eating that much food, and my body is feeling the effects of that. So, three days in already, it sucks. I hate it, and I don't want to continue.
However, I must say my stomach is feeling much better. I am someone who suffers from bloating and digestive issues, and that's not there. My stomach feels much better for not eating what we could call trigger foods because all of the trigger foods are out. I definitely feel better from that, so I'm keeping that in mind moving forward.
Another quick Metaboost update while I'm out and about: this is Saturday, so this will be day six. I got about—well, I got to day three, and then I went to the barbecue. But I still did pretty good at the barbecue, and then I ate out on Thursday.
This is the thing with any of these crash-style diets: you can't have a normal life around this. You can't eat like this and go out to most restaurants. Don't get me wrong; I still made some good choices. I totally haven't stuck with it, and I'm at a wedding today.
It is just a reminder why I hate doing this style of dieting. If you are going to live a life that you enjoy living, you've got to have some flexibility in it. Is it going to be any beneficial outside of being in a regular calorie deficit, which you can do while having flexibility in your life?
Yeah, I've definitely lost a few pounds, and generally, I'm feeling good. I did notice after eating out on Thursday night that the next day I felt pretty rubbish—felt pretty crappy. I'm wondering if that was due to what was in some of the food.
So, don't get me wrong; there's nothing wrong with eating that style of food. It's just that it's very restrictive and doesn't allow for flexibility. I still want to eat like that for the majority of the time because I definitely feel so much better. My body responds better to lower carbohydrates in terms of simple carbohydrates.
I'm going to add in more complex carbohydrates, especially on workout days, because the other thing that I struggled with was energy levels. Moving forward, I will still use some of the recipes; I'm just going to allow myself that bit more flexibility in my diet and enjoy things like being out with all my friends today and being at a wedding without having to say no to life.
I've been there, done that. You know what? Life is too freaking short to just be on a diet all the time.
Every day, I was having the same smoothie. It was just more cost-effective. I was having the morning elixir and really enjoyed the ginger shots. Again, that's something I'm going to keep up with. It's got ginger, coconut water, and lemon in it. Are they all good for you? Absolutely! Are they going to be beneficial to support your body? Absolutely!
Is it the super miracle that's burning belly fat? No.
On the workouts side, this is another thing she talks about in her videos: how you don't need to go to the gym anymore; you just need to do this 7 minutes per day. Look at the person that this program is targeted at. If it's someone who is completely sedentary and they just start doing that 7 minutes because it feels really achievable, I am absolutely all for that.
The problem I have is the way she talks about these specific exercises being able to help you burn belly fat and stop your saggy arms. They are Pilates-inspired isometric movements targeting different body parts. Although she actually talks about these seven minutes, when you look at the workout program, you're supposed to do two of these workouts together, so it's actually 14 minutes.
She also talks about how you can add in walking, running, swimming—all of these other things. So again, the things that she's talking about in these adverts are not even what's in the program. This is what is so frustrating to me: you lure people in, get them to pay, and then what you give is not even what you say or is not backed by science.
I even went and had a look through her YouTube channel. Not that there is a problem with any of these workouts; I'm all for getting people to move. However, it's the wording and how it's sold.
I suppose we come to this thing: do you blame the player or do you blame the game? Because there's no denying that when you have a "love handle" or "lose belly fat" workout, people click on it more. But it's so misleading and factually incorrect because you cannot spot reduce with specific exercises.
Sure, you can change shape and tone or definition by working a certain muscle group, but you are not going to lose belly fat by doing that specific workout. The belly fat reduction comes from balancing hormone levels and being in a calorie deficit.
So, rounding it all together: does Metaboost Connection work for weight loss? Well, yeah, because it's a really restrictive diet. You are going to be reducing your calories down, and you're going to be doing a minimal amount of movement. I lost 3 lbs in those 5 days, but guess what? As soon as I started adding more flexibility back into my diet, it came back on.
Because you know what? It's not fat loss. What I lost was water weight from being low in calories and low in carbohydrates. But what also happened was low energy levels. My energy was flat on the floor; I was grumpy, and it was not something that was going to be sustainable for me.
Am I going to take parts of it moving forward? Absolutely! Because I actually enjoyed some of the recipes. It was a reminder to me that when I go to reach for my mid-afternoon snack, I don't really need that snack.
This is where I come with the conflict because there are some changes that can help you really realize and break some habits. However, I always say to my clients: if it doesn't feel sustainable for the long term, it's not going to last you forever.
So, any weight that might be lost initially is probably going to come back on, and this is the biggest problem with crash diets. People go into this, guns blazing. Maybe you might drop 10 lbs over two weeks, and that feels amazing, but you can't live your normal life while eating in that style or manner.
The workouts are okay for getting people moving. Is it going to be the answer to all of your fat loss problems? No. Actually, workouts have very little to do with fat loss. I'm not saying that they are not important; they are important for your health, your heart health, your brain health, and your energy levels.
They also play a key and important role when it comes to fat loss maintenance and helping you support and sustain a good metabolic rate. So, I will be adding more complex carbs back into my diet. I need those energy levels for my training; I'm a very active person.
While it may have been nice to explore some different recipes, it is simply not a sustainable diet program for me. I just want you guys to remember that anybody claiming to have the magic formula for fat burning is all sales and marketing tactics.
If you are interested in burning body fat, there's a very simple process. You don't need to go into these stupid crash diets. Keep it simple! If you are struggling or need a little bit of guidance on that, you can get my free 5-day Kickstart challenge, where I walk you through these steps and more. You can work towards feeling better in your body from the inside out without having to go on stupid crash diets.
I hope this has been helpful for you. Let me know down in the comments—maybe you've tried it, maybe it worked amazingly for you, and you kept off all of the weight that you lost while you were on it. I would love to hear from you and your experience.
If you have any suggestions that you would like me to review next, let me know down in the comments, and I'll see you on the next one!