Flat Tummy Shakes Review – Do They Actually Work?

Flat Tummy Shakes has quickly taken the world by storm due to a very strong Instagram campaign that received boosts from household celebrities like the Kardashian’s and Amber Rose. If you haven’t heard about the trend, you’re about to.

The shakes, which boast to help keep your tummy flat by controlling your appetite, kicking your cravings and cutting weight, have been under a lot of controversies since rising to fame on Instagram — even sparking the social media platform to recently changing their policies.

In this review, we will take a dive into what all the noise is about and whether that noise is warranted by a great product or a product to avoid. Let’s start with where these shakes originated from.

About Flat Tummy Co.

Flat Tummy Shakes is the third product made by Flat Tummy Co. targeted towards women looking for alternative and fun solutions to losing weight. The company originally hit the ground running in 2013 as Flat Tummy Tea with a tea product promising to detoxify and rid women of bloating. 

Six years later, they have rebranded as Flat Tummy Co. and have added a line of lollipops aimed at curbing your hunger along with the most recently launched Flat Tummy Shakes. Due to a very strong and unique marketing campaign on Instagram, they were able to capture the hearts of just about every woman looking to take control of their bodies.

The shakes have since received some heavy criticism for directing the woman to enter a 4-week program where you use the shakes to replace 1-2 meals per day. Due to the low amount of calories in the drink, many fear that the drink won’t supply women with enough calories — despite the drink offering a solid amount of protein, minerals, vitamins, probiotics, fiber, etc.

Now that we have a better idea of where this product came from, let’s figure out what’s in it!

What is In Flat Tummy Shakes?

Let’s first go over the basic nutritional facts before we dive into where those nutrients come from:

• Calories 125
• Total Fat 1g
• Sodium 135mg
• Potassium 470mg
• Carbohydrates 8g
• Dietary Fiber 5g
• Protein 21g

Note: The nutrition facts used in this article correspond to the Chocolate flavor.

To begin, let’s point out that these shakes don’t contain dairy or gluten with no added sugar and are 100% vegan.

Here’s a quick breakdown of other things you’ll find in these shakes:

• 50 fruits and vegetables
• Flaxseed
• Plant-based protein
• Digestive enzyme blend
• Dietary Fiber
• Probiotics
• 22 different vitamins and minerals
• Super CitriMax

Fruits and Vegetables

According to Flat Tummy Shakes’ nutrition facts, there are quite a bit of fruits and vegetables included in the shakes. These mostly included:

Plum, beet, raspberry, yumberry, black currant, blackberry, grape, luo han guo (monk fruit)(Go-Luo®), pomegranate, red grape, banana, blue honeysuckle berry, blueberry, dark sweet cherry, eggplant, guava, purple sweet potato, red bell pepper, red pepper, strawberry, sweet cherry, tomato, watermelon, orange, carrot, cranberry, purple cabbage, cucumber, mango, peach, spinach, acerola cherry, apple, kale, kiwi, acai, broccoli, brussel sprouts, asparagus, butternut squash, green bean, green pea, lemon, lime, mung bean, pineapple, pumpkin, star fruit, sweet potato, yellow bell pepper

Plant-Based Protein

With over 20 grams of protein packed into each shake, these make for a great snack in-between meals. According to the nutrition facts, the protein comes from both pea protein isolate and brown rice protein. 

Pea protein is a great source of protein, aiding in muscle growth, weight loss and heart health — all while being vegan and hypoallergenic. Paired with brown rice protein, which provides more protein, carbs and fiber than white rice, makes for a healthy balance of protein for a small shake.

Super Citri-Max

You are probably going down that list thinking “What the heck is Super CitriMax?!”

Flat Tummy Co. claims Super CitriMax to be the key ingredient in the shake. Truthfully, it’s just a catchy name for a fruit called garcinia cambogia. The fruit contains hydroxycitric acid (HCA) and it is said to boost fat-burning and reduce appetite — though there haven’t been enough trials done to confirm that.

Vitamins and Minerals

To make matters even better for the shakes, they boast 22 different vitamins and minerals, which are seen as essential nutrients for the body. Not only are they crucial for strengthening bones and healing wounds, but they also help improve your immune system and convert food into energy.

According to the nutrition facts for Flat Tummy Shakes, the following vitamins and minerals are included in the drink:

Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Biotin, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus, Iodine, Magnesium, Zinc, Selenium, Copper, Manganese, Chromium

Flat Tummy Shakes Ingredients Reviewed 

Overall, the drink does support a lot of vitamins and minerals, with a healthy amount of protein and potassium. These shakes aren’t regulated by the FDA, so if the company is faithful to what’s in the drink, then it can definitely be a beneficial part of your diet.

Unfortunately, in order to make these shakes a majority of your diet, it would leave you with a calorie deficiency due to the drinks only containing about 130 calories — your average meal is around 400-800 calories.

Flat Tummy Shakes Branding

One of the main reasons women have taken such a strong liking to this brand — and something that was all part of Flat Tummy Co.’s plan — is their ability to embody what women look for in their product. Despite the product obviously being available for men, there’s no doubt the brand is tailored for women and they aren’t shy about it.

The packaging is pink and grey, with a sleek, modern, yet warm look to it. The shakes come in either a packet or tub — filled with powder. The company offers a 4-week ($89) and 2-week ($69) program for women, but the instructions slightly vary depending on how you purchase the product.

If a tub is purchased, all you need to do is add 2 scoops (provided) to about 8 oz. of water (or substitute of your choice). On the other hand, the packets offer a more interactive run of events. 

Each packet represents one shake, with some of the packets marked “Extra Kick Monday” — which is obviously reserved to kick-start your week. All the other packets are marked the same and are to be taken Tuesday – Friday. 

Flat Tummy Shakes Alternatives

For women looking for a meal replacement shake that is marketed towards women — and only women — then look no further than Flat Tummy Shakes. Unfortunately, Flat Tummy Shakes are a bit pricey.

With so many options available, it would take a lot of convincing to select the Flat Tummy Shakes’ brand over anything else — unless you eat, breathe and sleep on Instagram. The only thing that really excites me about other products is the calorie intake — again, it depends on if you want a meal replacement or more of a meal addition. 

Brands like Tsogo Shakes, BOOST Plus, and Ensure Plus all contain between 350-400 calories per serving, giving you the necessary amount to replace a meal properly.

Are The Flat Tummy Claims Legit?

Flat Tummy Co. doesn’t hesitate to make a bold statement, whether it’s with their product, marketing, advertising, etc. They stand by their product and market it for what it is — or what they want it to be. 

Right on the front of the packaging, they claim to be 3x more effective in moving extra pounds than diet exercise alone with their Super CitriMax ingredient. With their 4-week or 2-week program, you are told to replace 1-2 meals per day with a shake in order to start shaving weight.

The reality is, you will lose weight. The catch, it’ll only last for as long as you are replacing meals with the drinks. It’s not rocket science, if you replace a meal that’s normally 400-800 calories with a shake that’s under 150 calories, you will begin to shed weight.

With that being said, I wouldn’t agree with what they claim entirely. I wouldn’t view the shakes as something that’s more effective than diet and exercise. Instead, I would view it as something that’s a compliment to your diet and exercise. The product will only work as well as you use it.

Final Verdict

I am a strong supporter of adding different kinds of smoothies and shakes to your daily diet, but I am very careful about what you choose when doing so. There are a lot of different options out there, many providing different benefits. 

In testing this product and looking over the facts surrounding the product, I love the vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, probiotics, etc. A lot of what this shake gives you is vital to your body on a daily basis. I’m not as high on the calorie count, however, and feel that marketing this product as a meal-replacement is wrong. 

A product like this would make a great snack for someone looking to add all of the good stuff to their diet without the calories. Unfortunately, I don’t see how replacing two meals per day with this shake would be beneficial to you. You will definitely lose weight, but it will likely be due to not eating — which means you will see that weight back once you resume normal eating.

In summary, I feel this is a great product, but I hope it is used properly by the customers.

Pros and Cons

As you can see, there are a lot of pros to these shakes, but there are also a lot of concerns that might cause some people to avoid the product. 

Let’s put together a list of what I like about the product, and what I don’t like about the product, and let you be the judge.

Pros

• Great for someone looking to increase their vitamin and mineral intake
• Good amount of protein for a small drink
• Will limit temptation to eat
• Tastes good (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry)
• Easy and quick to make

Cons

• Not a lot of support over their key ingredient (Super CitriMax)
• Very low amount of calories
• Doesn’t make for the best meal-replacement
• Will likely lose weight due to eating less but will gain the weight back once regular eating routine continues
• Despite strong support, there is growing bad rep with product
• Not regulated by the FDA, not clinically tested and proven