OurSkinny is a diet that you may or may not have heard of. Recently the company sent me samples of their products along with the diet instructions that they share with all of their participants. This is a diet that may remind you of the conventional Slim Fast program because it consists of shakes and bars, but it is targeted at people who need a regimented plan to transform their eating habits.
They encourage planning out your day with four protein shakes, all between 80-100 calories and 15 grams of protein. The shakes should be spaced every 2-3 hours apart. There is also a protein bar that you can have if you’re needing an extra boost, and the bars range from 150-200 calories and have an average of 14 grams of protein too. Your main meal is broken down into how many ounces of specific foods you should combine to make a perfect meal. Sound extreme? It is.
The message of using high protein substitutes for your usual carbo-loaded choices is a great one. I highly recommend reaching for a shake or a bar that is low in calories and carbs and high in protein instead of snacking on empty calories. The diet is hard to follow, though, because of the lack of food. I found myself more satisfied snacking on the bars (because I need the satisfaction of chewing) and using the shakes as in-between boosts to hold me over. Granted, I didn’t follow the diet strictly by any means, I just tried to follow their timing for a couple days to get a feel for it. As someone who eats small meals every 2 hours in her everyday life, this was actually just fine by me.
The other downside I found was the packaging of the shakes and bars. The bars don’t have the individual nutritional information printed on them, so if you track calories (like I do) you have to tote the whole box around to check which one you’re eating. The shakes are all portioned into individual plastic bottles which is really bulky to carry around since you’re supposed to be drinking four of them throughout the day. It would be way more practical to have them packaged in packets and send along a blender bottle for mixing throughout the day. When I asked a representative about this, they said the bottles encourage ease of use and encourage you to reach for it first instead of an alternate snack (and the bottles are recyclable to help the planet). I still am not totally sold.
So, how does it taste? The shakes are actually really good. The cappuccino is my favorite (it was perfect in the morning!), but I liked the chocolate and the vanilla too. I found that they became thicker if you shook them with water (as instructed) then let your shake sit in the fridge for 5 minutes before drinking. The Chocolate Pro flavor is a more rich chocolate flavor, but I preferred the regular Chocolate flavor.
The bars were a whole other story though. I only found a few of the flavors worth eating, so if you’re ordering them online, I’d be pretty picky. Out of the 14 flavors, I liked: Crispy PB&J, Caramel Crunch, Rockie Road, Double Peanut Butter, and Peanut Caramel Delight. I also was pleased to see that they were all gluten free.
So, overall, if you’ve been looking for a very regimented solution to dieting, then this diet may be right for you. But, if you just need some high protein shakes and bars, this site would be great to order your snacks from to go with your healthy lifestyle and to encourage an increase in your protein intake.
As a side note, if you need any advise on how to recreate this diet with a mix of other products, I have a few suggestions. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.
