What Is the Isagenix Diet?

The Isagenix diet is a meal replacement program that promotes weight loss. The plan includes supplements, shakes, bars, and pills that claim to naturally "detoxify" the body and help burn fat. The creators of the company state that Isagenix offers effective, science-backed supplements, but not all of the health claims are substantiated.

Founded in 2002, Isagenix is a multi-level marketing company. This means the company offers money to consumers to sell their products, and once you become a distributor you can recruit additional salespeople to make a profit. You also make money through direct sales to customers.

Not everyone may find these products accessible since they come at a high monthly cost. While Isagenix uses caloric restriction and intermittent fasting—which have been shown to promote weight loss—its methods and products remain questionable.

What Can You Eat?

The Isagenix 30-Day System is one of the company's primary products. It’s marketed as a program that can be used long-term, and includes meal-replacement shakes and supplements. These supplements include a fat burner capsule and a laxative capsule. The "cleanse days" on the plan are meant to flush your body of toxins as a form of intermittent fasting.

The system consists of five shake days and two cleanse days per week. On shake days, those who follow this plan replace two meals with an Isagenix shake (240–280 calories). The third meal should consist of 400 to 600 calories.

On cleanse days, instead of using shakes or eating a meal, you will consume four small servings of the Isagenix Cleanse for Life drink, along with a very small amount of suggested fruits and Isagenix-approved snacks.

What You Need to Know

The following products are included in the Isagenix 30-Day System bundle, which contains shakes, cleanses, snacks, fat burners, and other items that claim to help achieve and maintain weight loss.

• Isalean Shake: A meal replacement drink containing a blend of whey and casein (milk) protein, plus vitamins, minerals, sugar, and other additives. Each shake is approximately 240 calories per serving, 23 grams protein, 27 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fat, and 11 grams sugar.
• Cleanse For Life Drink: A blend of aloe vera, herbs, some B vitamins, and sugar promoted as a fundamental component during cleanse days. The drink claims to support detoxification, metabolism, and immune systems. 
• Ionix Supreme: A liquid blend of herbs, vitamins, and sugars marketed as a tonic with adaptogens for improved energy, stamina, and mental performance.
• Isagenix Snacks: Small chewable wafers that contain sugar, a protein blend, electrolytes, and other ingredients. 
• IsaFlush: Capsules containing magnesium as a laxative and primary active ingredient along with an herbal and mineral blend. The product claims to balance your digestive system and improve nutrient absorption.
• Natural Accelerator: Fat burning capsules containing green tea as the primary active ingredient. The blend of vitamins and herbs claims to boost metabolism for improved fat burning.
• AMPED Hydrate Sticks: Vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, and sugar in powder form ready to mix in water. It’s advertised as a sports drink.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Some aspects of the Isagenix plan are appealing, especially for people who need convenience in their eating plan.

Portion Control

Isagenix offers a structured program that limits calories and provides portion control. This could be considered a plus for those who tend to overeat and need to learn the right portion sizes.

Convenience

The convenience of pre-packaged food products delivered to your doorstep can be a draw for some people.

Variety

Isagenix offers a variety of supplement programs based on specific goals. Some of their plans include supplements for performance, healthy aging, and personal care.

Cons

While the convenience factor of Isagenix seems appealing and you may lose weight, nutrition experts caution against this restrictive eating plan since you're likely to regain the weight once normal eating habits are resumed. The Isagenix diet also has other drawbacks.

Processed Foods

The Isagenix diet is not real food. The products are highly processed, containing lots of sugar and additives.

Missing Nutrients

The Isagenix diet may load its products with herbal blends, vitamins, and minerals, but it lacks real food nutrients. Isagenix also uses a multi-level marketing strategy where distributors not only sell the products but provide nutritional counseling. Most of these distributors lack proper nutrition and/or medical education.

Not Sustainable

The 30-Day System does not teach you how to eat real food as a healthy lifestyle. Once you have completed the diet, you are left without nutrition education for sustainable weight loss in the future.

Expensive

The 30-Day Diet System is very expensive, clocking in at over $400 for all the monthly supplies.

Unsubstantiated Health Claims

Isagenix states that its program is a science-backed, healthy and effective way to lose weight. The program claims to flush out toxins, support whole body cleansing, and eliminate fat. But the website also includes a disclaimer stating these claims are not evaluated or supported by the FDA. Additionally, the company does not disclose that it has funded some of the research or that some of its affiliates are part of the research panel.

Restrictive

The Isagenix 30-Day System falls below the average daily recommended calories for healthy weight loss. Shake days can range between 1,160 to 1,500 calories and cleanse days provide only a few hundred calories.

Restrictive diets like the Isagenix program are not realistic because you’re not eating real food. Instead, you are consuming diet shakes and supplements as your main nutrition, which is not sustainable for the long term.

Is the Isagenix Diet a Healthy Choice for You?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends consuming a variety of nutrient-dense foods including fruits, vegetables, protein, low-fat dairy products, and grains for a healthy, balanced diet. Those on the Isagenix system only eat one meal a day (and none on cleanse days), so it is nearly impossible to consume enough nutrients sourced from real food.

Your body requires a certain amount of calories each day for a healthy rate of weight loss. The USDA recommends a reduction of 500 calories a day for weight loss. On a 2,000 calorie a day diet, that's roughly 1,500 calories per day. But this number can vary depending on an individual's sex, age, weight, height, and level of physical activity. Those who follow the Isagenix diet will have difficulty reaching the 1,500-calorie mark on shake days and will consume far fewer than that on cleanse days. To learn your individual calorie needs, use this calculator.

Health Benefits

Replacing meals with Isagenix products will likely lead to weight loss due to the low-calorie intake. However, any weight lost on the plan will likely be regained once normal eating patterns are resumed.

Health Risks

Though the Isagenix diet appears to have science-backed health claims, sufficient evidence is lacking. While research has explored the positive outcomes of both calorie restriction and intermittent fasting, Isagenix makes reference only to select studies that support its products and weight loss philosophy.

Cleanses, in general, do not effectively promote weight management. Health experts caution against most diets that make "detox" claims. Research shows there is insufficient evidence to prove that detoxification programs actually remove toxins from the body.

According to nutrition experts, there is no replacement for the nutrients that come from consuming whole foods. Restricting too many calories can work against you, since your body needs enough calories to run efficiently.

Without sufficient calories, the body shifts into survival mode. This can slow metabolism, which preserves fat stores to be used as energy in the future, leading a frustrating inability to lose weight. The Isagenix diet will likely cause weight cycling, also known as yo-yo dieting, which happens when weight loss is followed by weight regain.

A Word From Verywell

Diet products such as meal replacement shakes and bars are a tempting option for quick weight-loss results. But studies show that restrictive diets like Isagenix are neither an effective nor healthy weight loss plan.

Isagenix products can’t replace the nutrients found in real, whole foods. While quick weight loss is possible on the diet, it is not a strategy for long-term weight management. If you want to lose weight, talk to your healthcare team before starting a restrictive or low-calorie diet like Isagenix.

Remember, following a long-term or short-term diet may not be necessary for you and many diets out there simply don’t work, especially long-term. While we do not endorse fad diet trends or unsustainable weight loss methods, we present the facts so you can make an informed decision that works best for your nutritional needs, genetic blueprint, budget, and goals.

If your goal is weight loss, remember that losing weight isn’t necessarily the same as being your healthiest self, and there are many other ways to pursue health. Exercise, sleep, and other lifestyle factors also play a major role in your overall health. The best diet is always the one that is balanced and fits your lifestyle.