Arbonne Protein Shake Mix: A Review

Some time ago I had a chance to try both the Arbonne Protein Shake Mix and the Shakeology Protein Shake Mix through some friends. I had tried the Shakeology most recently and really enjoyed it, but when I looked at the price, I was aghast ($130, not including taxes and shipping!). For a long while, I set aside the idea of buying any sort of protein mix, but then, on a whim, I purchased the Arbonne mix and was quite impressed.

First of all, after taxes and shipping, the Arbonne mix is a couple dollars over $80 for thirty servings (the bag of Shakeology has the same number of servings). Obviously still not cheap by any means, but if you're thinking of dropping over $130 for Shakeology anyway, why not choose a less expensive, but comparable (in some regards) option?

So, this is really not a review of Shakeology, or even much of a comparison, because 1) I have extremely limited experience with Shakeology, and 2) I'm absolutely not a nutritionist - I can just read labels and compare numbers, but not get into the nitty gritty. With that said, the Arbonne mix tastes just as good as Shakeology, in my opinion, and keeps me full (and this is without adding anything, just water and the protein mix) from breakfast at around 7:00 until lunch time, around 11:00. That said, when one compares the nutrition facts (a link to Shakeology's here and Arbonne's is shown below), Shakeology is PACKED with vitamins and minerals. That said, if your overall goal is to eat something that is nutritionally sound and low-calorie to replace a meal, which is what I'm doing, or as a snack (both shakes are 160 calories), while also eating a balanced diet with lots of other nutrient dense foods, exactly how much either shake has for vitamins, minerals, and "power foods", really isn't that important. (In my non-nutritionist, purely based on my own opinion and research, opinion. I'm by no means a health professional.)



Okay, seriously, ALL THAT ASIDE, I really, really like the Arbonne mix, and not for price alone. I truly enjoy how it tastes, and as I mentioned above, I don't add anything to it, I just mix my scoops with some ice water and enjoy. There is a slight grittiness to the mix, which I think is pretty common amongst most protein shake powders. The texture is a total nonissue for me and I love the chocolatey flavor. I mean, the smell alone is wonderful. It seriously tastes a bit like chocolate milk to me and is a great little "treat" in the morning. It's also vegan, so if that's your game, then this is a safe option for you. It's not something that drew me to the product, but veganism is ever something I gravitate for this will be one product I won't have to give up.

The other thing I like is that this isn't linked with a fitness program. I'm not buying into some sort of fitness challenge by purchasing this product, but instead looking more at a cleaner, more health conscious lifestyle, which can include any kind of fitness I like, not something that's sponsored by Beach Body (which, I really don't have a problem with - I've purchased and used 21 Day Fix stuff and I think it's just fine, but maybe not my jam). You do (or can, I suppose), purchase it through a similar outfit to Beach Body, where there are essentially sales reps who earn money or credit or whatever (I'm not actually sure what they get) off your purchase. That said, you can just go to the website and make a purchase without involving anyone else, but I do have someone who I consult with and go through who is amazingly passionate and knowledgable about Arbonne products and I'm glad we're in touch.

So, to sum it up, if you are looking for a protein shake that is tasty, keeps you full, and comes from a company that encourages a lifestyle of health and beauty, I whole heartedly recommend Arbonne Chocolate Protein Shake Mix. It is good stuff.

An Update

Since school started up again (about a week and a half ago) I've been trying something a little different. I made the decision to try to eat more mindfully and to work out as much as I could find time to, and I also decided to take things day by day, week by week, to not make any goals beyond that, nor any plans. Well, I have to say, so far so good. This past week was a little shakier than the first week, but all in all, I've done much better than I had been doing and am going at a pace of something I can maintain rather than doing my usual full sprint ahead then falling down exhausted with an entire chocolate cake.

So, what exactly does this all look like? Well, first off, I am attempting to plan out my week in terms of when I can go run. I love running. It is my favorite. I love it more and more each time I go and take a stab at it, and when I just look at my week and see when I can do it rather than make a month's worth of planning things go much better. When I can't run I either don't work out or I do a kettle bell routine. Nothing I do, whether running or kettle bell, takes more than 30-40 minutes and, while my heart rate is definitely raised I can be sore the following day, it's not terribly intense.

As far as my nutrition and eating goes, this is a day by day, almost hour by hour piece of work. Prior to making the decision to be more mindful, I was ending my day stuffed to capacity every day, sometimes to the point of wishing I could make myself sick and empty everything out. That has stopped, and I've tried to eat mindfully, eat at our table versus the couch, and choose more nutritious foods. However, I am not counting calories or points. I'm not limiting myself to specific kinds of foods (though I am trying to back off sugar/desserts). And, when things haven't gone precisely as planned, I have made a point to not beat myself up, with mixed results (though, I will say, I feel considerably less guilt than I do when I'm on some sort of official plan).

As things stand now, I feel as though things are going pretty well. I still need to work on eating more mindfully and not using food to help cope with stressful days, but that will be something I will have to work on for the rest of my life, I think. However, this is a good route for me, being gentle with myself. I feel mentally well in this department when I do that, and there have been results, I think. I'm not weighing myself (I haven't yet thrown out our scale, but I think I will soon, if my husband doesn't object too much), but I know a few things are fitting me better than they had a couple of weeks ago. It's not a drastic change, and that's not really what I'm looking for at this point, but I won't say it's not nice.

I'm hoping that as work starts up again in full swing after next week, and my courses start next Tuesday that I'll be able to keep doing what I've been doing and don't let the added stress get me down too much.

The Tao of Food

On principal, I think whole and "real" foods are fabulous. Having eaten my fair share of meals that fit that label I have to say that they taste better than a lot of the "other" stuff and it makes me feel good to eat like that, too. And let's not forget the benefits that are reaped by our local farmers and the environment when one eats a natural, whole foods diet.

But when does something that seems so good turn into a bad thing?

Well, when you have the kind of personality that doesn't allow for circumstance, accessibility and affordability, and isn't forgiving of moments when things just don't go as intended. When you're inclined to think like this what's left is a person who can't seem to allow herself any good choices, because, she thinks, what does it matter?

This has been one of my constant internal food battles. Right along with fighting that urge to eat up all my emotions, I've gone down to the mat with this need to eat the "right" and most "perfect" foods.

There's a whole mess of things at play here and a lot of it ends up leaving me mired in guilt. It usually begins with reading something. An article, a blog post - something that catches my attention and brings me straight to the food. Some lovely, slim woman touts the wonders of her mostly plant based, liquid diet that is so wonderful and she can't imagine eating any other way. Pictures on a favorite blog are filled with glowing, happy little children followed by beautiful foodscapes populated with homegrown veggies and local meat. An article explains in full detail how every aspect of my current diet is going to slowly and silently send me, my husband, and my two beautiful children to an early grave. I become riddled with guilt and not a small share of shame over what I have in my fridge and cupboards and vow to change it all.

It's almost like the binge eating cycle I know so well - the guilt, the vow to change, then the attempt to change... But that's just it, I never quite get the change. I'm so often stopped dead in my tracks as I try to plan my next steps to wean my family off of all processed foods, refined sugar, and the other food boogie men that are out there. I'm overwhelmed by the cost and the time needed to prepare and plan, by the fact that not everyone in my household will quietly accept such a big change. It's not that I don't want to change, I just don't know how. And when I can't affect that change, I once again find myself drowning in those waves of guilt and shame. I should be able to feed my family better - why can't I get my stuff straightened out? And then, so overwhelmed by my inability to do what I think I must, I simply give up, retreated back into the foods I know everyone will eat, even if they're not ideal, and wait for the guilt to build up enough to catapult me towards trying to (unsuccessfully) make that change again.

So, as I peruse Pinterest or visit my favorite bloggers, enjoying the visual feast before my eyes, I am indulging in a different sort of self-destructive behavior (or, at least it's self-destructive so long as I let it elicit certain emotions from me), but this is one I think I can handle more deftly than I have my urge to binge or overeat.

I am realizing that my food does not have to be "right" or "perfect", it just needs to be balanced and as good as I can manage. I am trying to tell myself that I must take each grocery shopping trip, each meal planned and eaten, each bite taken, as they come. I cannot eat perfectly every time I sit down to do so, whether your reference for perfect comes from how the meal is eaten to where the ingredients came from. I simply must do my best each time and the changes I want and need will come.

One of my favorite sayings right now is by Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism, and it goes like this: "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." This is something that I hold very close to my heart and have started to apply to all those situations where I feel like I must having everything just right right now. In this particular department, I have had to say to myself, "It is better to take one small step forward than none at all, even if it means sometimes taking a step back." I think it falls in line nicely with my new motto, because if I take those small steps towards my goal, at my own, natural pace, I will eventually accomplish everything I need to.

On Feeling Hot

I was always one of those people who said, "Well, when I weigh x pounds I'll feel this way," or "when I'm x pant size, I'll feel this way."

Well, way back in the beginning of the summer I made the extremely arbitrary weight goal of 190 for August. Between my wham-bang weight-loss via the Whole30 (which was really a Whole12ish) and then doing a LOT of running, I lost 25 lbs. between June 1st and sometime in the last two weeks. I now have reached my weight-loss goal for the summer. (Yes, go ahead and do that math - I DID weigh that much, and no, I don't think I looked it either. Aren't I lucky?)

And guess what? I do feel this way! I mean, I didn't think I would. I honestly did not think I would feel significantly better about myself once I hit my goal, because everything I read says, "It's only a number on the scale," or "It's only a number on your clothes." Well, yeah, that's absolutely true, but it doesn't mean seeing a goal met or a being able to buy a size smaller isn't kind of amazing. I can't help but think about the last time I weighed 190. I was a freshman in college. Guys still hit on me (sorry, husband, but we both know it's true). There were clothes in J. Crew and Areopostle (how bad does that date me?) that fit me properly. It's like physically becoming a time capsule!

Of course, with this amount of weight-loss there have been other benefits - I can run and enjoy it (by far my favorite thing that's come of this). I feel great that I made and met a goal without making myself crazy. And I've learned so much about myself as a person this summer while working on my weight and overall health. The logical side of my brain, the part that wants to acknowledge the things that I'm supposed to acknowledge loves this stuff, but my more primal side (you know, the one left over from when I was about 19) is totally dying over the 190 lbs. and this picture:

Smokin', amairite? P.S. The dress is a size 14, a number I haven't seen on my clothes in 8 years.

This is all fantastic. My self-confidence has been given a well deserved boost, as well as my health. I think the way things are going are maintainable and will only improve (I'm in the thick of dealing with emotional/food stuff with Dona right now). Part of me is slightly concerned that I'm going to become complacent and stop running or being active or trying to be less aware of my eating. I try to calm that part of me down by reminding myself that while I lost 12 lbs. through very strict food restriction and some exercise, the other 13 lbs. came off via running and not binging like I used to. In fact, I didn't even really notice losing the other 13. I had stopped weighing myself and then one day, decided to, just for the heck of it, and was really surprised.


I'm having a really good time just loving myself right now. Loving the way I look and the way I am. I have my flaws, and boy do I have a long road to travel, both in weight-loss and in other areas, but I am starting to feel like maybe I can say I'm pretty great and I'm definitely, definitely feeling hot (guess my hubs was on to something when he told me that the other day...).

Going the Distance

I never liked running. I didn't "get it" when I was younger. Unless you were chasing after a ball of some sort, what was the point? But, as I wasn't in the position to be part of a group of people who ran while chasing things and wanted to get in shape, I attempted to take up running.

I did this for the first time several years ago, while still in the midst of college. It didn't stick. I did it again a year or two later, after graduating and getting friendly with the running fiend that was my school's psychologist. I had a lot more success this time around, but then I got pregnant and couldn't maintain a regular running schedule. (And let's clarify, running for me, at that point, was going for maybe five minutes and then walking for two or three.) I didn't run again until this past spring when I decided that, despite my initial and sincere dislike for running as a youth, that this was going to become my thing.

So, while loosely following the Couch to 5k model (running for a few minutes, walking a few more), I built up my endurance and distance. During the last few weeks when I've run, I've started to drop the walking part. My running time has been getting longer and longer and tonight I did not walk at all.

This is HUGE for me. I didn't feel winded, my legs didn't hurt, and I could have kept going, even after TWO MILES. I don't remember the last time I ran a whole mile, never mind two. What's more, I really, really enjoyed it.

I am so incredibly proud of myself.

And while I know this isn't food related (as this blog has been and will likely remain), as I'm trying to make healthier choices in my life, being able to run and like it is a huge check in the win column. Here's to hoping I only go farther!