If you’ve looked at the Feel Great routine and wondered why there are two different products involved, you’re not alone.
Unimate and Balance do very different jobs.
One is a concentrated yerba mate drink that fits naturally into a morning routine. The other is a fiber-based drink designed to be used around meals.
That difference is actually what makes the routine easy to understand.
In this guide, I’ll break down Unimate vs Balance, what each product contains, when they’re typically used, and how they can fit together with time-based eating.
Unimate is a concentrated yerba mate drink typically used in the morning or between meals. Balance is a soluble-fiber drink typically taken before or with meals. In the Feel Great routine, they’re used at different times of the day as part of a simple daily structure.
Unimate vs Balance: the simple difference
The easiest way to understand these two products is to compare what they are and where they fit into the day.
| Unimate | Balance |
|---|---|
| Concentrated yerba mate drink | Soluble-fiber drink used around meals |
| Contains naturally occurring caffeine | Built around several sources of soluble fiber |
| Typically used in the morning or between meals | Typically taken before or with meals |
| Contains yerba mate compounds including chlorogenic acids and theobromine | Contains fiber, plant compounds, phytosterols, vitamins and minerals |
So this isn’t really an either/or comparison.
The two products were designed for different parts of the routine.
Interested in the complete Feel Great routine?
See how Unimate, Balance and time-based eating fit together — and why the two products are used at different times of the day.
What is Unimate?
Unimate is a powdered drink made with a concentrated extract of green yerba mate leaves.
Yerba mate comes from Ilex paraguariensis, a South American plant traditionally consumed as a caffeinated beverage. Research on yerba mate has identified compounds including caffeine, chlorogenic acids, theobromine, flavonoids and saponins.
If you want to dig into the science rather than the marketing, this scientific review provides a useful overview of the compounds found in yerba mate and the current state of the evidence:
Read the yerba mate review on PubMed →
It’s worth keeping the evidence in perspective. Yerba mate is an interesting source of bioactive compounds, but that doesn’t mean every health claim made about it has been proven in large human clinical trials.
According to Unicity’s product information, Unimate contains naturally occurring compounds including:
- chlorogenic acids
- theobromine
- mate saponins
- other naturally occurring polyphenols
It also contains no added sugar, with varieties sweetened using stevia.
Does Unimate contain caffeine?
Yes.
This is something worth knowing before you start using it.
According to Unicity’s product information, one serving contains approximately as much caffeine as a cup of premium coffee. Because that caffeine comes from a natural ingredient, the exact amount can vary.
If you’re sensitive to caffeine, take that into account — particularly if you’re thinking about using it later in the day.
When do you take Unimate?
Unicity’s product directions suggest mixing one stick pack with approximately 500–700 ml (17–24 oz) of water.
The product materials recommend drinking it twice daily.
In practice, many people following the Feel Great routine make the first drink part of their morning.
That’s also how I like to think about it:
Morning → Unimate → get on with the day.
For me, the appeal is less about making the routine complicated and more about having a simple structure I can repeat.
What is Balance?
Balance is very different from Unimate.
It is a fiber-based drink designed primarily for use around meals.
The formula contains several components, including:
- a proprietary blend of five soluble fibers
- plant-derived polysaccharides
- gum arabic
- phytosterols
- vitamins and minerals
The five fiber sources listed by Unicity include guar gum, locust bean gum, citrus pectin, oat fiber and beta-glucans.
Why does Balance contain soluble fiber?
Soluble fiber is an important part of everyday nutrition, which is one reason I don’t look at Balance as an excuse to ignore the quality of the rest of my diet.
Soluble fiber absorbs water and can form a gel-like material in the digestive tract. Foods naturally rich in fiber can also make meals more satisfying and are an important part of a balanced diet.
The goal should still be to get plenty of fiber from normal foods such as vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
If you’re working on that part of your diet, I’ve put together a separate practical guide:
How to Get Enough Fiber: 10 Simple Ways to Eat More Fiber Every Day →
When should you take Balance?
Balance is designed to be taken before or with a meal.
According to the product directions, one stick should be mixed vigorously with approximately 240–300 ml (8–10 oz) of water and consumed immediately.
Unicity recommends using it one to two times per day.
Because it contains a significant amount of fiber, following the directions and using the recommended amount of water is important.
Why are Unimate and Balance used together?
This is the part that makes the Feel Great system easier to understand.
You’re not taking two versions of the same supplement.
Instead, they occupy different places in the day:
Morning
Unimate
Before a meal
Balance
Eating window
Normal meals built around sensible food choices
That’s basically the structure.
And personally, that simplicity is one of the things I like about the routine.
How does Feel Great fit with intermittent fasting?
This is also why Feel Great is often paired with time-based eating.
The official Balance material discusses using the product alongside approaches such as 16:8 intermittent fasting.
If you’re new to fasting, 16:8 simply means that your food is eaten within an eight-hour window, while the remaining 16 hours make up the fasting period.
But intermittent fasting isn’t magic. Your overall food intake, food quality and the consistency of your routine still matter.
If you’re just getting started, read this first:
How to Start Intermittent Fasting: A Simple Beginner’s Guide →
My simple way of looking at the Feel Great routine
I don’t think of Feel Great as a complicated diet program.
I think of it as structure.
Instead of making dozens of food decisions throughout the day, you have a few simple anchors:
- a morning routine
- a defined eating window
- Balance around meals
- normal, sensible food choices
That doesn’t mean calories stop mattering.
It doesn’t mean you can eat unlimited amounts of food.
And it certainly doesn’t mean a supplement replaces protein, vegetables, whole foods, movement or sleep.
If weight loss is the goal, the fundamentals still matter.
Feel Great simply gives some people a structure they may find easier to organize around everyday life.
Do you need both products?
If you’re looking at the products individually, there’s no rule saying someone has to use both.
They are separate products with different formulations.
But if you’re specifically interested in the Feel Great routine, they’re intended to complement different parts of that routine.
That’s why asking which one is “better” slightly misses the point.
A more useful question is:
What role does each one play in the routine?
Unimate fits primarily into the beverage and morning side of the routine, while Balance fits primarily around meals.
Which one would I start with?
If you’re simply curious about the products, learn what each one does before deciding anything.
If you’re interested in the complete system, it makes more sense to look at Feel Great as a routine rather than treating the products as two unrelated supplements.
That’s exactly why I created a separate page explaining the whole approach in one place.
Want to see how the full routine works?
See how Unimate, Balance and time-based eating fit together in the Feel Great routine.
Frequently asked questions
Can you take both products on the same day?
Yes. Within the Feel Great routine, they are intended for different parts of the day. Unimate is typically used as a beverage in the morning or between meals, while Balance is designed to be taken before or with meals.
Does Unimate contain caffeine?
Yes. It contains naturally occurring caffeine from yerba mate. According to Unicity’s product information, one serving contains approximately as much caffeine as a cup of premium coffee, although the exact amount can vary because it comes from a natural source.
Is Balance just a fiber supplement?
Fiber is a major part of Balance, but the formula contains several sources of soluble fiber as well as plant-derived polysaccharides, phytosterols, vitamins and minerals.
Can I use Balance on its own?
Balance and Unimate are separate products. Within the complete Feel Great routine, however, they are used for different purposes at different times of the day.
Can I use Unimate on its own?
Unimate is its own yerba mate-based product. The combination with Balance and time-based eating is what forms the broader Feel Great routine discussed on this site.
How much water should I use with Balance?
Unicity’s directions recommend mixing one Balance stick pack with approximately 240–300 ml (8–10 oz) of water and consuming it immediately.
How much water should I use with Unimate?
Unicity’s directions recommend mixing one Unimate stick pack with approximately 500–700 ml (17–24 oz) of water.
Unimate vs Balance: the bottom line
The difference between the two products is pretty straightforward once you stop looking at them as competitors.
Unimate is a concentrated yerba mate drink that fits naturally into the morning or between meals.
Balance is a soluble-fiber drink designed to be used before or with meals.
When they’re combined with a defined eating window and sensible food choices, they form the basic structure behind the Feel Great routine.
That structure doesn’t replace the fundamentals of weight management.
But if your biggest problem has always been sticking to a routine, having fewer decisions to make can be useful.
Disclosure: Routine Made Simple is an educational project by an independent Unicity distributor and is not an official Unicity website. Some links may be referral links, which means I may earn compensation if you make a purchase through them.
Important: This article is for general educational purposes and is not medical advice. Supplements should complement, not replace, a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. Individual experiences vary. If you have a medical condition, take medication, are pregnant or nursing, or have questions about whether a supplement is appropriate for you, speak with a qualified healthcare professional.