Some
Inside Information on Meal Replacement Formulas (MRPs)
by
Phil Kaplan
 Let
me prepare you in advance here.
I’m going to tell you about meal replacements, but
I’m also going to explain a special offer for my EAT!
formula. Unlike
most of my articles, this one is biased.
It was used in a promotion to sell greater quantities
of EAT! to my customers and clients.  Due
to the success of the promotion, I’ve decided to extend it
beyond our “customer base’ and offer the EAT!
discount to . . . well . . . everyone who maintains
an Exercise Advantage (EAT! stands for Exercise Advantage
Technologies) and wants a quality meal replacement.
Whether or not you decide to try EAT!,
this article will better prepare you to evaluate commercial
meal replacement formulas.
I prefer not to get involved in commercial supplement
sales in any grand fashion. I don’t want to get caught up in the games that have to be
played to move product in the mainstream marketplace.
The products I sell are sold with a 100% commitment
to integrity and the fitness truth.
With that said, here is the article as it was sent
(by snail mail) to four thousand of my customers:
 In
an age where fruit juice can be marketed as a “2-day miracle
diet” and sold for $40 a bottle, don’t think the marketers
of most commercially sold meal replacements are tied too closely
to scruples and ethics.
They can easily move their wares by creating mediocre
products, employing “legal deception” to create some illusions
on Nutrition Labels, and then by advertising these things
using a mix of “compelling” claims
that border on pure fiction, and scientific jargon that leads
consumers to believe the products are advanced.
 About
six years ago I created my own meal replacement formula.
I felt that I had to.
It wasn’t a money making venture for me.
It was my commitment to client satisfaction that drove
me to create EAT! In
this article, I’m going to share with you a few of the deceptive
practices that make meal replacement powders (MRP) fly off
of the shelves. I’m
also going to explain what you can expect from my EAT! formula.
Finally, I’m going to make a special offer.
Hmmm. Why
wait? I might
as well make the offer now.
It’s simple.
Buy
3, get one free!
As we go on, you’ll understand why this offer is not
only a “great deal,” but a rare offer that I can’t promise
I’ll repeat.
The
introduction of Engineered Food
Several
years ago, Bill Phillips invited me to a private conference
in Orlando where Dr. Scott Connelly was presenting a “revolution
in nutrition.”
It was one of the most creative and powerful product
positioning moves I’ve ever seen.
Dr. Connelly stood up before about 200 respected fitness
professionals, and started into some monologue ravaged with
what sounded to me like double talk and scientific jibberish.
Don’t get me wrong.
Connelly is a smart man, and he has my respect, but
he seemed to be speaking so far above the comprehension level
of the attendees, it was almost painful to attempt to follow.
My brain was hurting.
He drew little seesaws and triangles, spoke about nutrient
ratios and amino acid partitioning, and at the end, Bill Phillips
presented these two massive canisters of this new magic formula,
Met-Rx. Here’s
where the genius came in.
In reality, it was a protein and carbohydrate powder.
Many had come before it.
A powdered mix of nutrients. Phillips didn’t
call it a supplement.
He called it . . . are you ready for this . . . an
Engineered Food! The
idea was that you no longer needed conventional food.
Now, food can be your supplement, and three or four
times a day, you just drink your Met-Rx shake.
From
there Phillips and Connelly built this into a huge empire,
and inevitably, as always happens when titan sized egos clash,
Bill and Scott parted ways . . . with lots of attorneys involved.
By this time Met-Rx was no longer in canisters, but
was sold in “single serving packets.”
This offered some great convenience.
Hey hasn’t anybody heard of zip-loc bags?
I’ve been carrying my protein powders in zip-log bags
for years, and never saw the need to buy powder in pre-prepared
packets, but again, from a marketing standpoint, it was genius!
Was
Met-Rx magic? Nah.
Was it the perfect meal replacement?
I don’t know about that.
It had hydrogenated oil in it.
It had its fair share of simple sugars.
It seemed to be at least as good as any of the top
commercial protein and carb formulas, but the only magic was
in Met-Rx marketing.
If we use a little bit of common sense, we’ll immediately
see the flawed thinking behind single serving packets.
We all have different metabolisms, different lifestyles,
and different fitness goals.
Why in the world would anyone assume “everyone” is
going to find a 330 calorie serving optimal?
Why? Because
of genius marketing that takes people way beyond the point
of common sense.
Bill,
not to be outdone by his former partner, pulled together some
resources and re-entered the marketplace supporting EAS!
EAS, in order to compete with the market Phillips had
helped create for Met-Rx, introduced Myoplex as its premier
product. It was
a Met-Rx knock off, although Phillips insisted it was anything
but. In the meanwhile,
Twinlab, another major player, was going to cash in on this
sudden swing among consumers to MRP packets.
Rx Fuel hit the shelves.
Lots of sugar. Great taste. Before
you knew it, every supplement manufacturer was cranking out
a “better” MRP. The
claims bordered on insanity, but they became so widespread
the FTC couldn’t possibly police it all.
These MRP’s were selling without any rules at all.
 A
friend of mine, Lee Labrada, was committed to making a high
quality meal replacement and his Lean
Body Formula became the one I recommended.
Not because of his friendship, but because of his ethics.
While he didn't explode on the MRP scene, he gradually built
up his credibility by committing to excellence in product
development and customer satisfaction and within the parameters
of the commercial MRP market, Lean Body has seen continuous
growth. I'm happy for Lee. He deserves success.
 Which
Meal Replacement’s Best?
The
phones in my office were ringing.
As a Personal Training company, we were serving several
hundred clients, and with all of the marketing combat going
on to move products, it seemed every client was calling to
ask “what’s the best Meal Replacement?”
Is Met-Rx good? Will Myoplex make me lose fat?
Is Rx Fuel the best?
Kira, my assistant, would spend 20 minutes on each
call explaining how to decipher labels, how the “proprietary
protein blends” can be misconstrued, and how sugars were “hidden”
on labels and my trainers were constantly battling the power
of the newest ads. I
decided that if I wanted to wholeheartedly endorse a Meal
Replacement and not have to explain to each individual how
and why serving sizes should be customized, if I wanted to
endorse without reservation a powder that can fill in the
gaps for those times that clients on my programs couldn’t
get to supportive meals, I was going to have to create one.
I did. EAT!
Here’s what I learned.
The
best quality ingredients are expensive!
I mean, at a wholesale manufacturing level . . . the
good proteins are anything but cheap.
I came to understand why the commercially sold formulas
“blended” high quality proteins with lower grades.
I also found out that maltodextrin, the primary carb
source for most MRP’s, is sold in various grades ranging from
pricey to . . . well . . . cheap. Maltodextrin has also been referred to as “glucose polymers.”
Its source is usually rice or corn and the sugars are
linked together in chains. This should offer a slow release supportive carbohydrate.
The cheaper grades, however, do not behave as the better
grades do. The
enzymes in your saliva can break apart the chains, so although
the maltodextrin is not a simple sugar when it’s in the powder,
by the time it makes it into your stomach and digestive tract,
you’re eating sugar!
I shopped with the help of friends and assorted
nutritional experts for the best raw ingredient sources.
I realized I could never sell my EAT!
formula in the commercial marketplace.
Too many people have their fingers in the pot.
The manufacturer has to buy raw materials, and then
has to spend a small fortune on advertising (a full page ad
in one of the major fitness mags can run well over $20,000.
Per ad!). Next
the product is sold to a wholesaler. The wholesaler sells to a distributor. A distributor sells to a retailer. The retailer sells to you.
In order, therefore, to keep a mainstream MRP, priced
within the marketplace, there’s almost no choice but to compromise
on product quality.
 After
I formulated EAT!, with a mix
of whey and egg protein, two superior protein sources, and
the highest grades of maltodextrin, and added complete vitamin
/ mineral profiles, I then had to deal with another issue.
Taste! I
was committed to not using any simple sugar. Fifteen times I received taste samples and sent them back.
Finally, we created a great tasting product in chocolate
and vanilla flavors without any simple sugar.
Prior to now (if this is considered an advertisement) I
have never advertised EAT!
It’s only been sold to customers and clients.
It goes from manufacturing plant to me and from me
to you. There
aren’t any middle people with their fingers in the pot.
This allows me to use the highest quality and keep
it reasonably priced.
You
won’t find single serving packets.
I did something unique.
I had the scoop (included in every container) measured
to hold 100 calories.
I’ve included charts on the labels.
You customize serving size based upon your metabolism
and your personal goals.
I
continued to watch the research, and the marketplace. In 2001 I decided I could make EAT even better!
Since there are times within my programs that people
manipulate carb intake, I raised the protein and lowered carbs
making the formula more “thermic.”
Thermic indicates “heat producing.” Since a calorie
is a measure of heat, the more of a thermic effect a food
has, the greater the metabolic benefit.
 I’ve
also been fascinated by research on L-Glutamine. L-Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in muscle tissue,
but it also plays a critical role in immune function, recovery,
and digestion. Any
time you face stress, upset, or illness, the other systems
of your body may “rob” L-Glutamine from muscle making muscle
gain challenging and muscle loss likely.
Since exercise, although
it is "positive stress," does tax the body's recovery
and muscular systems, it becomes even more important for exercisers
to ensure sufficient L-Glutamine for optimal muscle response.
Since muscle and metabolism cannot be separated, to
further enhance metabolic benefit I added L-Glutamine.
Powdered L-Glutamine is destroyed by stomach acids,
so I included glutamine peptides, chains of glutamine that
allow for absorption and use.
New EAT!, New
Challenge!
With
the new formula complete, at least on paper, a new challenge
sprung up. When
you change ingredients, taste changes!
The first taste samples on the new EAT! formula were
not well received. I
decided, since this formula was better, I wanted it to taste
BETTER than the original.
27 taste tests later, we had it!
It’s sweetened with a mix of stevia and acesulfame
K. No sugar.
Great taste!
I
didn’t include any magic.
I couldn’t find any.
What I did create is a Meal Replacement Formula I use
myself, my trainers use, and my clients use, one that I can
wholeheartedly endorse.
If someone is selling miracles, it’s likely they’re
tapping into the creative talents of some marketing geniuses
at some big ad firms in NY or LA.
I’m not in the advertising business.
I’m in the business of helping people find the fitness
and weight loss results they seek . . . and in line with that
mission, I now make the following special offer . . .
Previously,
a 1-pound container of EAT! sold for $24.95.
The new 2-pound container can be more economically
priced. It’s
only $34.95 . . . for twice as much!
And . . . if you order 3 containers, we can send
you the fourth one FREE!
Get
4
containers of EAT! in delicious vanilla or chocolate for
only $104.85.
That’s a full 8 pounds!
I don’t know how long this offer will be available,
but you can take immediate advantage. Whether you buy 1
container or 3
(and get the 4th one free!), you can begin
integrating a high quality meal replacement formula into your
fitness and nutrition regimen.
I can say with complete certainty that you will not
find a more supportive formula on the market.
To
order, call 1 800 552-1998, stop in to my Headquarters
location at 6809 Main Street in Miami Lakes, or visit
the Current
Specials section of my on-line Superstore. (If
you are set on a commercially sold product, we sell Lean
Body as well).
Wishing
you all the health and fitness you can handle!
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