Herbalife Weight Loss Plan UK: How the Meal Replacement Plan Works
Herbalife Weight Loss Plan UK: How the Meal Replacement Plan Works
The Herbalife weight loss plan is a meal replacement plan. You replace two meals a day with a Formula 1 shake, eat one balanced meal and a couple of healthy snacks, drink plenty of water and stay active. Substituting two daily meals of an energy-restricted diet with meal replacements contributes to weight loss. Here’s how to do it properly.
How the plan works
Weight loss comes down to eating fewer calories than you use, over time. The hard part is doing that without feeling hungry, tired or fed up. A meal replacement shake helps because it’s a fixed, known amount of food that’s high in protein and fibre, so two of your meals each day need no thought or calorie counting.
The plan has two phases:
- Weight loss: two Formula 1 shakes a day in place of two meals, plus one balanced meal.
- Weight maintenance: one shake a day in place of one meal. Substituting one daily meal of an energy-restricted diet with a meal replacement contributes to the maintenance of weight after weight loss.
What you need
| Product | Do you need it? |
|---|---|
| Formula 1 Healthy Meal | Yes. This is the plan. |
| Protein Drink Mix | Useful if you’re active, older, or find you’re hungry between meals. Adds protein to your shake. |
| Instant Herbal Beverage | Optional. A low-calorie hot or iced drink. Contains caffeine. |
| Herbal Aloe Concentrate | Optional. A flavoured, no-added-sugar drink that some people find helps them drink more water. |
| Oat Apple Fibre | Optional. Helpful if you struggle to eat enough fibre from food. |
You can start with Formula 1 alone. The Advanced Breakfast Kit bundles the four main products if you’d rather have everything at once, but you don’t need all of it to get results. I’d rather you started simple and stuck with it.
A sample day
| Breakfast | Formula 1 shake made with 250ml semi-skimmed milk or a fortified soya drink. Add a handful of berries if you like. |
| Mid-morning | A piece of fruit, a pot of Greek yogurt or a protein snack. |
| Lunch | Formula 1 shake. |
| Afternoon | Vegetable sticks with hummus, or a boiled egg. |
| Evening meal | Half a plate of vegetables or salad, a palm-sized portion of protein (chicken, fish, eggs, tofu, lentils), and a fist-sized portion of wholegrain carbohydrate. |
| Through the day | Water and other unsweetened drinks. |
Swap the shake to whichever meals suit your routine. Lots of people keep a cooked evening meal with family and use shakes at breakfast and lunch. Shift workers often do the opposite.
Exercise
You don’t need to train hard, but you do need to move. Aim for the NHS guideline of 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, such as brisk walking, plus strength exercises on two days. Strength work matters more than most people think: when you’re eating less, it helps you hold on to muscle, so more of the weight you lose comes from fat. If you’re new to exercise or have joint problems, I can give you a simple routine to start with.
What it costs
A tub of Formula 1 makes around 21 shakes. On two shakes a day, one tub lasts about ten days. Set that against the two meals it replaces and the difference is often smaller than people expect. Use the shake cost calculator for your own figures, and see current prices on the Herbalife UK price list.
How fast will I lose weight?
I won’t give you a number, and you should be wary of anyone who does. It depends on your starting weight, your height, how active you are, what you eat at your other meals and how consistent you are. The NHS suggests that losing around 0.5kg to 1kg (1lb to 2lb) a week is a safe, realistic rate for most people. Faster early losses are usually water and settle down after the first couple of weeks.
Keeping it off
This is where most diets fail. When you reach a weight you’re happy with, drop to one shake a day and bring back a second proper meal. Keep your protein up, keep doing your strength exercise and weigh yourself regularly so a small gain doesn’t become a large one. Many people find the one-shake habit easy to keep for years because it simply becomes breakfast.
Who should speak to a doctor first
Check with your GP before starting if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, have diabetes (especially if you take insulin or tablets that can cause low blood sugar), have kidney or liver disease, have a history of eating disorders, or take regular medication. Meal replacement plans aren’t suitable for everyone.
Frequently asked questions
Can I replace all three meals with shakes?
No. The plan is built around two shakes and at least one balanced meal of normal food. Living on shakes alone isn’t what Formula 1 is designed for.
Do I have to count calories?
Not usually. The shakes take care of two meals. If progress stalls, a few days of tracking your evening meal and snacks often shows where the extra calories are coming from.
Can I drink alcohol on the plan?
Alcohol adds calories quickly and tends to make the evening meal bigger too. Keeping it to a minimum will make the plan work better.
What if I’m not losing weight?
Read why your Herbalife plan isn’t working, or message me. It’s usually something simple.
Every DietPal order comes with free coaching from me to help you set this up. Message me on WhatsApp before you order if you’d like help choosing.
All references to weight management relate to the Herbalife Weight Management Programme, which includes a balanced diet, regular exercise, adequate daily fluid intake, nutritional supplementation where required and appropriate rest. Individual results will vary. Andrew Hill is an Independent Herbalife Member and earns money when you buy Herbalife products from DietPal. Page last reviewed: 12 November 2026.
