As mentioned in my previous post, I decided to participate in Arbonne’s 30 Days To Healthy Living Challenge for the month of November. Initially I had planned to do a week-by-week update but unfortunately life got in the way. However, if you’re interested in reading about my first week, as well as some information about the program itself, click here.
My Weight Over The Years
I’m going to rewind this story back to August for a bit. When I first stepped on the scale on August 1st and seen 137.8lbs, I nearly passed out. When I graduated high school, I weighed 97lbs. Throughout my university life, I weighed anywhere from 106-112lbs. After a bad breakup in 2013, I dropped back to 95lbs again. In hindsight, that was definitely too small for me (despite my 5’2″ stature). However, my normal in the following years was anywhere from 110-118lbs.
Around the time of our cruise in 2016, I was hovering around 128lbs. It was at this point that I became really unhappy with my body. I’ve always been curvy but up until this point, I was satisfied with my weight and appearance. I started dieting and exercising off and on, but never really stuck with a plan.
The Breaking Point
Fast forward to this year and suddenly I was at 137.8lbs. I couldn’t understand how I let my weight spiral out of control but let’s be honest, it happens. I’m getting closer and closer to 30, my metabolism has slowed down, and aside from walking 10,000+ steps a day at work, I don’t do any form of exercise. Not to mention that we had gotten into the bad habit of eating out frequently and snacking on chips and candy on a regular basis.
At this point, I knew I had to do something. I had been thinking about the Arbonne 30 Days To Healthy Living Program for a while but to be honest, I wasn’t ready to bite the bullet just then as we were getting ready to go on a cruise. Instead, I made little changes, like swapping out my sugar to monk fruit, cutting back on bread and other carbs, and increasing my water intake. By making these little changes, I managed to get my weight down to ~132lbs.
However, after my cruise, my weight was back up to 134lbs and I was ready to hop on the Arbonne bandwagon. I personally know people who had great success with it and I also knew that if I spent the money, I wouldn’t quit on myself. Side note: I also read “Girl, Wash Your Face” by Rachel Hollis while I was on vacation which is all about not quitting on yourself (highly recommend!).
Arbonne 30 Days To Healthy Living
Week one was tough as my body was adjusting to a) eating less, and b) eating less frequently. At first, the shakes only kept me satifisied for a couple of hours, but over time they satiated me from meal to meal. Cutting out gluten wasn’t difficult as much as it was simply inconvenient. I replaced my regular bread with gluten-free bread and honestly, that was fine. I bought gluten-free pasta or substituted zucchini noodles and replaced chips with gluten free snacks like these and these. No, the difficult part for me was cutting out cheese. I only drank cashew milk anyway and I gave up yogurt easily, but cheese and butter.. that was rough. I tried dairy-free cheese and it was okay, but not worth it.
The good thing is that you don’t have to cut out these foods forever. However, gluten and dairy cause issues for a lot of people, often unknowingly. I know that I can’t tolerated milk, ice cream or copious amounts of dairy, but I am fine with moderate amounts of cheese. Personally, I didn’t notice much difference by cutting out gluten, though I definitely experienced less bloating. For those with acne and skin problems, I’d highly recommend a trial of removing those products from your diet.
Week two and three were easier once my body started to adjust. As I mentioned in the last post, I decided to add my own probiotic back into my regimen as I was having an IBS flare up during the first week. It took about two weeks to completely settle but I didn’t have any issues after that. I was supposed to complete the 7-day body cleanse during week three but I think I only did 3-4 days. It is a gentle cleanse (as advertised), but in my field of work, you cannot go to the washroom whenever you like. Therefore, I didn’t want to do it on days when I was working. I definitely feel as though it cleared some of the sludge and waste from my body though.
Week four was a struggle as we were so close to the finish line. While I enjoyed my shakes, fizz sticks, and detox tea, I was ready to eat the Christmas cookies in my fridge. However, we made it through and we were so pleased with ourselves for sticking with it.
Results
Arbonne 30 Days To Health Living Results
Arbonne 30 Days To Health Living Results
From November 1st – December 1st, I lost exactly 6lbs (134 -> 128) and Jordan lost 12.6lbs. Jordan didn’t do measurements or photos but I did and I lost 7 inches. I lost everywhere that I had measured, ranging from 0.5″ on my arms to 2″ on my hips. My clothes fit more comfortably, I feel better about myself, and I no longer cringe at how I will look in a photo.
Between cookie parties and 30th birthday parties, we definitely didn’t follow the plan 100%. For the first half, I’d say we were 80/20 but by the second half, closer to 70/30. We also didn’t exercise once during the month. We are relaxing and enjoying the holidays this month with all intentions of jumping back on the bandwagon in January. After all, we have a wedding and a honeymoon that we need to look good for!
After a week of not eating properly since the program ended, I was afraid to step on the scale. Suprisingly, I had only gained back 0.6lbs! I also have less desire to eat fast food or junky food now because it honestly doesn’t taste as good. I’d much rather have a fizz stick than a glass of soda and I’d prefer a detox tea over a sickly sweet holiday drink.
It really is a lifestyle change and not a fad diet and you can see for yourselves that it works. While I did sign up as an Independent Consultant with Arbonne, this is an honest review of the program. If you are interested in completing the program, please get in touch via e-mail, Instagram or Facebook. I will be happy to work with your budget to help you acheive your goals. You can also view all of Arbonne’s products here!