It never ceases to amaze me just how MANY meal replacement shakes have cropped up in the last few months. Nutrition 53 Lean 1 is one of those meal replacement shakes that just somehow managed to fly under my radar for so long- but I’m finally getting around to my review of this ‘fat burning meal replacement’. I don’t know if this product can actually live up to that expectation, but it’s certainly worth trying to figure out if Nutrition 53 makes one of the better meal replacements on the market. That was my thought process that drove me to write this N53 Lean1 Shake Review- and I think you’ll find that it’s very informative. So. Won’t you join me in this fantastic review? Yeah. You will. Because you want to know a few things, and I’ve got your answers. You want to know what the best flavor is. You want to know how it tastes. You want to know if it’s worth all that money. I’ll tell you ALL THAT and more. I’ll talk about not just flavors and value- I’ll dig into the supplement facts, and even review the packaging for you! How does that sound? Pretty good? Thought so. Let’s get this Nutrition 53 Lean 1 Fat Burning Meal Replacement Review started.
You know what’s pretty awesome? Having a great following and a great audience that loves to interact with you. That’s actually how I identified N53 as a good candidate for a BPW (Best Pre Workout for Women) Protein Powder review. If you ever have any products that you want to know about that you think I should review, always feel free to drop me a message over on our Facebook Page or just tweet at me @FitLifeAllie. I’m always willing to accommodate. AKA I’m always willing to blow money away on my precious supplements. Lol. But yeah- big thank you to, well, I guess I can’t say names without permission, but, you know who you are, and hopefully this review gives you the information you need. Let’s begin with a flavor grade.
Nutrition 53 Lean 1 Protein Flavor Grade: 8.6
There are NINE flavors of Nutrition 53 Lean 1, ranging from your basic vanilla and chocolate all the way to some more exotic flavors like Chai, and even a Cookies and Cream. I decided to grab two of the flavors that sounded best. Well. I was a little more methodical than that. I chose one super basic one (the vanilla of course), and then one that is a little more adventurous. The more adventurous one is a fruity one- strawberry banana. I know. You wanted me to try the cookies & cream. I did want it too but the problem is that I had a really bad eating disorder / binge problem with Oreos a little while ago that really made me not want to eat Oreo’s. Like ever again. It was gross. But anyways. Let me tell you about the two flavors I got.
Vanilla: The vanilla flavor of Nutrition 53 Lean 1 Protein is nicely composed. It’s not that shake that makes you throw your hat in the air, throw up your hands, and make a muted screaming noise because you want to scream but then catch yourself at the last second and make a sort of weird gurgling sound. No. This protein won’t do that. You MIGHT throw your hat up in a sort of half-hearted ‘oh yay’, but you won’t really get fired up. This vanilla flavor lacks the amount of authentic, ‘punchy’ vanilla that you get from a real premium protein. It has decent texture, and the the finish is free of any weird aftertaste, but at the end of the day, this tastes average at best. Maybe a touch above.
Strawberry Banana: This flavor is a little more complex than the vanilla, and not really in a good way. The two fruity flavors come one after the other, and are surrounded by a sort of muted, cream taste. It’s sort of a strawberries ’n cream with a touch of banana thrown into the mix. It starts with that banana, and is quite sweet and tasty. Then things go a little wayward. The strawberry flavor follows up on the heels of the banana in a sort of chemically encore. It’s not pleasant. Where the vanilla was at least a consistently average flavor from start to finish, the strawberry banana Lean1 starts really great, and then finished really poorly- similar to the Legion Whey+ that I reviewed the other day. To close out the flavor section- my best advice based on what I personally experienced would be to go with one of the more traditional flavors (ie chocolate or vanilla), and probably steer clear of Nutrition 53’s fruitier flavors.
Nutrition 53 Lean 1 Protein Formula Grade: 7.4
Ok I know I spent a lot of time up there on the flavors, but let’s be real that’s an important element of any protein shake- especially a meal replacement shake. I mean really- if you’re going to make me skip a meal for a shake, that shake better be really, really tasty. And while the vanilla was OK, I don’t know that it was meal skip-worthy, if you know what I mean.
Another really important consideration with meal replacement shakes, and something that will apply to Nutrition 53 Lean1, is whether or not the formula is solid enough to support a skipped meal. Sometimes a meal replacement shake will be just a regular old protein shake with some low quality, garbage carbs thrown in.
This shake takes it a step FURTHER in complexity and adds the whole ‘fat burning’ element on top of the meal replacement concept. I have my doubts whether it can really do that, but, I do understand that it’s a marketing game. Let’s dig into these ingredients now and see what’s actually in Nutrition 53’s meal replacement shakes:
Ingredients: N53 Protein Matrix (Milk Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Isolate, Pea Protein Isolate, Sodium Caseinate, Micellar Casein), Cane Juice Solids, Resistant Maltodextrin (Fiber), Alkalized Cocoa Powder, Sunflower Oil, Inulin Fiber (from Chicory), Natural & Artificial Flavors, Maltodextrin, Canola Oil, Taurine, Sea Salt, L-Glutamine, Gum Blend (Cellulose Gum, Xanthan Gum, Carrageenan), Potassium Chloride, Soluble Dietary Fiber, N53 Fruit & Vegetable Blend (Drum-Dried Watermelon, Drum-Dried Cranberry, Dehydrated Broccoli, Dehydrated Carrot, Drum- Dried Pomegranate, Drum Dried Blueberry, Beet Powder, Dehydrated Spinach, Dehydrated Tomato, Dehydrated Parsley, Mangosteen Powder, Freeze-Dried Acai Powder, Goji Powder, Dehydrated Cabbage, Freeze-Dried Apricot Powder, Freeze-Dried Mango Powder, Freeze-Dried Pineapple Powder), Green Coffee Bean Extract, Sucralose, Digestive Performance Blend (Protease, Amylase, Lipase, Lactobacillus Acidophilus).
Wowza. That’s alot. Giving this mess a once-over, a few things stand out. Cane Juice solids. AKA sugar. There’s 9 grams of sugar per serving in the Nutrition 53 Lean 1 Protein. Then on top of that they use artificial sweetener. So you’re sort of getting the worst of both worlds. Sugar AND artificial. No bueno.
Other things to NOT like about Nutrition 53 Lean 1 Protein shakes are that they have 5 grams of saturated fat. I’m not a fat-o-phobe like some people- but I know 5 grams is a good amount for a single sitting. More stuff that isn’t great about N53 Shakes are that they have some amino acids listed in the ingredients section, which make it theoretically possible that there’s a little bit of good old fashioned amino spiking at play. Oh. And there are also artificial flavorings in here.
A final consideration is that you have to take two whole scoops to get your 20 grams of protein. When you take the two full scoops- it’s a LOT of powder too. Plus you only get 15 shakes out of each jar. That’s only two weeks supply, which is not great value for what you pay for these shakes.
Nutrition 53 Lean 1 Protein Packaging Grade: 7.3
Well, I guess if nothing else, N53 is pretty consistent across the board here. I’ll be honest, I’m just not a fan of the way this protein looks from a packaging standpoint either. There is nothing about it that makes me happy or makes me smile. There are some callouts along the bottom that are ok…and I suppose the color palette is fine. But when I grade these protein shakes from a packaging standpoint, I’m not looking here, and then there, and then being methodical and clinical in the approach. That’s not what true design is. True design is emotional. It’s a language. It’s something you feel. Go look at something that you find really beautiful, and then come back and look at this. Did you feel that? It’s real. And I’m not saying go look at a Ferrari or something. Go look at your NEST thermostat, even. Something that is well designed. Lean 1 just isn’t on that level where it pleases the eye. It’s frankly pretty ugly. Both inside AND out. Like I said. The worst of both worlds.
Nutrition 53 Lean 1 Protein Review Summary
Nutrition 53 Lean 1 Protein Flavor Grade: 7.4
Nutrition 53 Lean 1 Protein Formula Grade: 7.4
Nutrition 53 Lean 1 Protein Packaging Grade: 7.3
Nutrition 53 Lean 1 Protein Value Grade: 7.3
I hate to be so harsh, but outside of the mildly pleasant vanilla flavor, I don’t care a whole lot for any other aspect of the Lean1 Fat Burning Meal Replacement. It has a lousy formula, an ugly label, and is priced fat too high. As I said before…no bueno.*
Nutrition 53 Lean 1 Protein Value Score: 7.2
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