This Yoli Better Body System review is an opinion piece.
I’ve been getting a lot of requests lately for MLM reviews, and the Yoli Better Body System is one that popped up.
I was today years old when I learned that Yoli is actually a thing – and when I went to their site, I was shocked.
Yoli’s weight loss products are pushed as being ‘transformative.’ As in, ‘these products will TRANSFORM your life.’
Just that alone is a red flag for me, because after 21 years of being a dietitian, I can tell all of you one thing for sure: losing weight will not transform anything except the size of your clothes.
You’ll still have the same life. You’ll still have the same problems. Sure, some things will be different, but let me put it this way:
If you hate yourself before you lose weight, losing weight isn’t going to change that.
So that whole ‘transformation’ thing?
UGH.
Anyhow, the Yoli Better Body System (or BBS, for short) is a 28 day weight loss program.
Again, I’m cringing. ‘Better body?’ like, ‘thin is better’?
Can’t we respect all bodies instead of implying that being thin is somehow superior, and making it pretty much the sole measure of success?
The BBS guide is available online in its entirety, giving me all the information I needed to review Yoli. Thanks Yoli for making my job easy!
The first thing I noticed is that Yoli says it ‘doesn’t believe in fad diets,’ but then goes on to say that their BBS uses ‘dietary principles, such as carb cycling and keto.’
Uh, no, Yoli. No.
The Yoli diet.
The Yoli Better Body System is essentially carb-cycling and what they THINK is keto. The regimen consists of 4 orange days a week, which are zero to very low carb, and three blue days a week, during which you can eat some carbs.
Orange days are on days 1,2,4,6 and Blue days are days 3 and 5.
Although the Blue days allow carbs, it ends up being one fruit serving and one other carb serving, such as 1 slice of bread or 1/2 cup of grain. You can’t have broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or cauliflower on Blue days, because they’re ‘higher in carbohydrate.’
Ridiculous.
According to Yoli, ‘Many people have a sluggish metabolism. Our bodies have forgotten how to burn fat as a fuel source, and have started to only burn the calories we eat. So, on days 1-2 each week, we are forcing your body into a fat-burning mode…’
Someone needs to tell Yoli that for most people actually getting INTO ketosis – like, proper ketosis – takes days.
Cycling on and off a low to no-carb diet isn’t getting you into ‘fat burning mode’ (nutrition MLMs’ favorite way to say, ‘ketosis’ without actually saying it).
All this diet is doing, is cutting your calories and rejigging your macros.
And hey – most people DON’T have a sluggish metabolism. Yoli made that up, FYI.
Hilariously, the company doesn’t think what they’re selling is a diet:
‘IF YOU FEEL HUNGRY: When you first start forcing your body to burn stored body fat, it may be a little uncomfortable. If you feel hungry, be sure to consume more protein, drink more water, or eat more free veggies. Remember, this isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle. You shouldn’t feel like you’re starving yourself.’
OMFG. This is not a diet? Don’t make me laugh.
The Yoli Better Body System is the very definition of a DIET.
Yoli peppers its BBS guide with Before and Afters, just in case potential customers start losing their nerve about trying the program. You all know, though, that Before and Afters are literally the lowest quality endorsement that any program can give. But, like many MLMs, it’s all they have to ‘prove’ their system works.
Yoli says this (my comments in bold):
‘Here at Yoli, we believe in real foods (except for meal replacement shakes twice a day) and a healthy lifestyle approach (aka a very low calorie diet) for long-term weight management (that will all go away once you start eating normally again, which you will, because you’re starving)…When you’re grocery shopping, pick real foods (like, not fake ones?) that are organic and minimally processed (Oh! This is a diet for rich people!). Locally grown foods are a great option, too (too bad if you live in a cold climate).
My soul just threw up a little bit.
Here’s a screenshot of the Yoli Better Body System meal plans:
Remember the statement from above, ‘you shouldn’t feel like you’re starving yourself’?
You probably will, because with Yoli, YOU ARE.
For the ‘cheat day,’ Yoli suggests to users that ‘some people take a full binge day, while others will have a high protein breakfast, drink some Passion, and finish the day with a Free Meal.’
One thought: if you feel the need for a ‘binge day,’ you’re on the WRONG EFFING DIET.
And speaking of that, Yoli requires handfuls of supplements during the 28 days.
These are:
Yes (that’s the actual name), the meal replacement shakes, are super low-calorie. They’re whey protein, with some botanicals in them, but nothing groundbreaking.
Passion is an energy supplement that ‘stimulates metabolism’ and ‘supports healthy cognitive function.’ It contains a couple plant-derived stimulants such as guarana and yerba mate, along with some fruit powders. It’s not going to make your metabolism higher. Period.
Yoli recommends Passion upon waking, because you probably won’t want to get out of bed when you remember that you need to starve yourself once again on this crazy plan.
Alkalete is the standard nutrition MLM ‘alkalizer’ that does NOTHING.
Remember, you can’t change the pH of your body with food or drinks (read more about that here). It’s pure nonsense.
With BBS, you’re supposed to take 4 Alkaletes a day.
Pure is a probiotic. Yawn.
Resolve apparently helps you ‘strengthen your willpower to transform your life and manage your weight.’
Oh really?
Resolve is a fibre powder that contains apple cider vinegar (another total scam – read my post about it here) and a couple other ingredients.
Ugh. This is painful.
And although Yoli says its products are researched, I couldn’t find any research at all for them.
After the 28 days, Yoli doesn’t want to lose its revenue stream, so the company lures users in by implying that they can continue to lose weight if they buy more products:
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO LOSE WEIGHT…
We recommend continuing the BBS Meal Plan and using the Transformation Kit products until you reach your desired goals. We also highly suggest you consider adding a few more Yoli products, such as:
- Enzymes to support gut health.
- Lean Greens to add more servings of vegetables and support detoxification.
- Dream to support restful sleep and a healthy stress response.
- Awaken as a healthy, alkalizing coffee substitute.
- Calm to support a healthy stress response.
This is a total racket. They HIGHLY recommend. Whatever.
In short.
The only reason why the Yoli Better Body System works for weight loss, is because it’s a very low calorie diet. PERIOD.
Replacing two meals a day with shakes, and eating almost nothing else at the third meal means LOW CALORIES. This isn’t healthy.
The supplements that Yoli sells are standard-issue nutrition MLM stuff. Besides what we went over above, they also have a fat burner (OF COURSE), a greens powder, a collagen, and all sorts of other stuff that’s not really worth mentioning.
The Yoli Better Body System doesn’t teach you how to love food, how to properly nourish yourself physically or emotionally for the long term.
It’s a 28-day program that’s extremely structured, very low-calorie, and not sustainable for the long-term. What are people supposed to do after they’re done?
There’s no science to back up any of Yoli’s supplements or the diet itself…except for, ‘eat less calories than what is normal, and lose weight.’
Not exactly compelling stuff.
Yoli Better Body System is just another toxic MLM program selling people stuff they don’t need. HARD PASS.
Is Herbalife a good way to lose weight? Here’s my review of it.