Weight loss programs can provide a helpful structure for your health journey when you feel out of control with unhealthy habits. They can also be a great way to join individuals going on the same journey, which can be incredibly motivating.
Everyone is different, and there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to choosing a weight loss program. It ultimately depends on what suits your individual needs and what fits into your lifestyle.
Many people find online weight loss programs more convenient and easier to fit into daily life. To save you some tiresome research and help to answer some important questions, this guide compares two popular weight loss programs: The Man Shake and Second Nature.
The Man Shake and Second Nature are both marketed towards weight loss. However, their approach differs considerably. Second Nature is a 12-week online program that educates members on nutrition, mindset, exercise, sleep, and stress. In contrast, The Man Shake only addresses nutrition, and requires individuals to purchase their meal replacement products. These products include protein shakes, protein bars, and pre-made milk drinks.
Another notable difference is that Second Nature provides personalised nutrition and lifestyle advice, daily support and guidance from a qualified dietitian, as well as peer support from other members on the program. The Man Shake, however, provides a generic guide (‘The Man Shake Guide’) that contains a two-week sample nutrition plan created by a dietitian.
The other major difference is that Second Nature encourages a whole food approach and recommends obtaining nutrients from foods rather than supplements, unless medically required. In contrast, The Man Shake encourages the consumption of two meal replacement shakes per day, in addition to two snacks and one food-based meal.
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Trustpilot score
Trustpilot is a platform where consumers can leave reviews and scores reflect overall customer satisfaction.
| The Man Shake | Second Nature | |
| Star rating |  |
 |
| Score | currently no reviews | 4.8 / 5 read reviews |
Signing up
| The Man Shake | Second Nature | |
| Free trial | ✗ | ✓ |
| Clear breakdown of costs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Clear cancellation policy | ✓ | ✓ |
| Length of program | Indefinite. You can stay on The Man Shake for as long as you like.. | 12 week minimum, then ongoing |
| Easy to cancel | ✗ | ✓ |
| Refund policy | The Man Shake does not refund or exchange their products. | Full refund if cancelled within 14 days. After this point, any charges non-refundable. |
| Refer-a-friend scheme | ✗ | ✓ ($10 credit for referring family or friends.) |
| Easy to include family | ✗ | ✓ |
Nutrition
| The Man Shake | Second Nature | |
| Dietary approach | Calorie controlled, lower-carb. | Lower-carb |
| Caters to vegetarian | ✓ A ‘vegan shake’ is available. |
✓ |
| Caters to vegan | ✓ A ‘vegan shake’ is available. |
✓ |
| Vegetarian/vegan recipe section | ✓ | ✓ |
| Supplements encouraged | ✓ The Man Shake encourages the consumption of protein powder and protein bars. |
✗ (Other than Vitamin D.) |
Support
| The Man Shake | Second Nature | |
| Tailors the plan around diabetes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tailors the plan around other health issues | ✗ | ✓ |
| Access to registered dietitian or nutritionist | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dietitians based locally in Australia and New Zealand | ✗ | ✓ |
| Assigned to local support group (timezone friendly) | ✓ ‘The Man Shakers’ is the official support group on Facebook |
✓ |
| Weekend support available | ✗ | ✓ |
| Daily support from coach | ✗ | ✓ |
Program features
| The Man Shake | Second Nature | |
| Encourages daily weigh-ins | ✗ Encourages weighing in at the end of each week. |
✗ |
| Makes you take numerous body measurements | ✓ Encourages taking numerous body measurements at the end of each week. |
✗ |
| App | ✗ | ✓ |
| Recipe videos | ✗ | ✓ |
| Exercise videos | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tracks steps | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tracks exercise | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tracks water intake | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tracks custom habits | ✗ | ✓ |
| Education of nutrition science | ✗ | ✓ |
| Requires calorie counting | ✗ No, but the example meal plans are based on calories. |
✗ |
| Food diary feature | ✗ | ✓ |
| Meal planning tool | ✓ | ✓ |
| In-app journalling tool | ✗ | ✓ |
Pricing
When programs provide price plans in different formats, it can be hard to accurately compare prices. To make this easier, we have calculated the price of monthly basic price plans on each program to show you how costs compare (as of July 2021). All admin fees are included in these prices.
It’s worth noting that all Second Nature health coaches are Accredited Practising Dietitians, whereas the customer support team at The Man Shake do not disclose their qualifications. Additionally, Second Nature members receive personalised support on a daily basis, while the customer support team at The Man Shake only answer ad-hoc questions.
Registration to a professional body requires a nationally recognised nutrition or dietetics degree. Weekly face-to-face sessions with an APD can be very expensive ($100+/hour). We have added a column representing this to compare the Weekly Dietitian costs.
Monthly (basic) digital subscriptions:
| The Man Shake | Second Nature | Weekly Nutritionist | |
| Registered dietitian or nutritionist coach | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| The same, personal coach throughout the programme | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Price | $134.95 / month* | $75 / month | $440 / month |
*Monthly cost is based on consuming two protein shakes per day. However, this cost does fluctuate. For example, the Man Shake does occasionally offer pack promotions (e.g. ‘Buy 3, get 1 free’) on their products, which will reduce the monthly cost. However, the monthly cost will increase if other products (e.g. The Man Bar, Chocolate Super Greens, The Man Fuel) are purchased.
Example nutrition query response
Nutrition is a major part of any weight loss journey. Therefore, it is important to receive accurate and reliable nutrition advice. We asked each program a common nutrition-related query to see how the information provided as an answer compares.
Q: Are eggs bad for your cholesterol? Should I avoid them?
The Man Shake’s answer:
If you are concerned about your cholesterol, it’s probably best to check this with your GP.
Second Nature’s answer:
“Eggs are a rich source of dietary cholesterol. It was previously thought that cholesterol-containing foods increase blood cholesterol and the risk of heart disease and strokes. However, this has not been shown to be the case as dietary cholesterol is poorly absorbed from the digestive system, and if cholesterol is absorbed, the body will produce less of it to balance out (and prevent blood cholesterol levels rising). Therefore, you do not need to be restricted unless recommended to do so from your GP/Healthcare professional. Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet providing good quality protein as well as being loaded with vitamins and minerals.”
Take home message
- When choosing a weight loss program, it is important to consider what would fit into your lifestyle and help you achieve your goals.
- For those who find face-to-face weight loss meetings uncomfortable or inconvenient, online and digitally led program are a better option.
- Second Nature is a 12-week online program that educates members on nutrition, mindset, exercise, sleep, and stress. In contrast, The Man Shake only addresses nutrition, and requires individuals to purchase their meal replacement products.
- Second Nature provides members with daily personalised advice around nutrition and lifestyle from their personal Accredited Practising Dietitian, whereas The Man Shake is a self-led program with ad-hoc support from a customer support team.
- Second Nature provides you with an education of nutrition science, allowing you to make informed decisions yourself and develop a healthy relationship with food in the long-term.
- Customer support for The Man Shake is based in Australia, and does not provide support on the weekend. Second Nature has a local team in Australia and New Zealand, and also provides weekend and phone support options.
