I keep seeing tons of influencers post about a healthy, plant-based meal subscription called Sakara Life. And when I say tons of influencers I’m talking about every influencer that is flawlessly beautiful, skinny, and seems to have it all perfectly together. There’s nothing wrong with this, but I think it’s easy to look at these picture-perfect women and think, wow, they are beautiful and skinny and eating this, this must be the answer to my struggles with weight loss and wellness. I’m here to tell you that just isn’t the case.

Let me start off by applauding the branding and overall aesthetic of Sakara. The food looks absolutely beautiful and delicious. I’m not denying that. The meals probably taste divine and are packed with a lot of great nutrients. I’m always tempted to place an order just for the butterfly pea flower rice. I mean rice that is a periwinkle blue, how can you resist!?

I appreciate that they only use the finest, organic ingredients. That is extremely important in a meal program. You don’t want to be consuming low-quality products sprayed with glyphosate for every single meal.

However, my issue comes with HOW MUCH food they include. They follow a whole “calories don’t matter so we don’t include them” philosophy. I’m not a huge believer in calorie counting myself. BUT I think the reason they don’t include calories in their meals is because the calories are so LITTLE. Probably the opposite problem than you would expect.

I see influencers post these super small meals that they are eating and that is all they are encouraged to eat by the Sakara Life program. I’m sorry but there is not enough calories in one of those small meals to sustain an adult woman. I am also baffled by how little protein seems to be included in these meals. Studies have shown that an active 120 pound woman would need 1,920-2,160 calories each day, depending on just how much activity she is getting, to sustain her energy levels (“Daily Recommended Caloric Intake for Women”). As for protein, it is recommended women get at least 0.36 grams per pound of body weight (“How Much Protein Should You Have in Your Diet”). There is no way these small three meals equate to that many calories or grams of protein.

Of course, this lack of protein often comes with the territory of a plant-based diet. Many plant-based protein sources contain more carbs than protein and lack all of the essential amino acids.

Let’s look closely at some of the meals.

Here you can see the ingredients of one of their breakfast options. First, this breakfast cookie is probably pretty high in sugar and carbs. In fact, it’s basically all sugar and carbs. Flaxmeal and hemp seeds are the only ingredients that really have any protein. My guess is there’s about a tablespoon of hemp seeds, if that, which is around 5 grams of protein and a tablespoon of flaxmeal which is around 3 grams of protein. And this is me being generous. I honestly hope there’s not that much because then that means there is over a tablespoon of added coconut sugar AND honey in this cookie (ingredients are listed from most to least plentiful on the label).

Here’s an example of one of their dinners. There are a lot of ingredients that are really good for you, I won’t deny that. However, I still don’t think it is enough calories or protein to properly sustain an active adult woman. This dinner also has added sugar from coconut sugar and maple syrup- no wonder it tastes good!

A good way to tell if something is a good choice in protein is by looking at the ratio to other macros like fats and carbs. There are no ingredients in this meal that have more protein than any other macro, meaning none of these ingredients are a good source of protein.

I would have expected chickpeas to be the first ingredient with this falafel meal but it looks like the leafy greens in the salad are actually most prominent. As for the falafel, you would expect them to have more protein than they actually do for how much vegans say they are a good protein source. Chickpeas actually have almost 3 times as many carbs than protein. You have to eat A LOT of chickpeas to get a good amount of protein from them. Trust me, I know. As a recovered vegan I used to eat a whole can of them in one meal. This did my digestion REAL dirty…

If you lose weight on this meal plan it’s because you’re not eating enough calories. But, you’re losing weight in a way that is going to wreck your metabolism. In my experience, eating a lot of carbs and little protein can also lead to intense cravings and binge eating habits down the line. The reason I recommend people eat more protein than anything is because of how satiating it is. Protein will keep you full for hours for the same calories as a carb-loaded meal that may cause an energy crash an hour later (“A high-protein total diet replacement increases energy expenditure and leads to negative fat balance in healthy, normal-weight adults”).

And, while this may help you lose weight in the short term, a diet like this is not going to be sustainable. You will see dramatic fluctuations in your weight just from eating a normal amount of calories like when you go out to eat at a restaurant or on vacation. You want to eat in a way that is sustainable and will help build your metabolism back up. And the solution is not their metabolism powder… But this is a whole other post.

Of course, listen to your own body and what feels good to you. If you feel full and satisfied eating these meals, good for you! But, if you’ve been sucked into an aesthetically-pleasing marketing gimmick, I want you to be educated on the choice you are making. You’re not the problem, it’s the amount of food and the types of food that you are eating.

Also, feel free to just add your own protein sources such as 100% grass-fed beef or wild-caught salmon to some of these meals. If you enjoy the taste, figure out a way to make them a bit heartier.

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