As you may know, I'm in a weight-loss challenge that's tied to the Herbalife system. I bought both my original meal replacement shake mix and my extra protein powder from them.

Not surprisingly, it's much cheaper to buy other versions of both from your local supermarket or health-food store. What I'm wondering is -- are they exactly the same, or am I screwing up the delicate balance of Herbalife's plan by buying some cheaper imposter.

I'm still using their meal replacement stuff, but I bought the Joe Weider 90% Protein stuff, which was about half the price of the Herbalife product.

Any thoughts?

Yep, I say try it.  Especially if the nutritional information is similar.  You never know til you try.  Saving money is GOOD!

And running... well, I'm not good at it.  But I try.  My knees are pretty bad.  If the running bothers them, I stop for a while.  My right knee is bad from gymnastics.  My left knee is bad from a wreck in April of last year.  But I love that runner's high!  Okay, it's more like a jogger's high for me, but whatever.  LOL!

I don't know a lot about Herbalife, but I'm guessing that trying a different brand probably won't hurt.  I think as long as they have similar nutrition in them (calories, protein, carbs, etc.), they will probably work about the same.  And it's always great to save money.  Good luck!