Arbonne for Weight Loss - Does It Work?

Arbonne is a multi-level marketing (MLM) company that offers a variety of health, wellness, and weight loss supplements. Arbonne's diet program promotes cleansing, detoxification, and the use of its overpriced supplements to help with weight loss.

Arbonne claims their 30 Days to Healthy Living is based on a holistic combination of healthy eating habits, exercise, and daily nutritional supplements. In these Arbonne weight loss reviews, we'll cover what's behind the hype surrounding their products, (hint: it ain't science), why you should steer clear of MLMs in general, and what you should consider if you're looking for a weight loss program that works.

Arbonne's 30 Days to Healthy Living Program

Arbonne asserts that when you have digestive issues, low energy levels, or other general health problems, your body isn't operating as well as it should and needs to be “reset.”

Arbonne offers dozens of products on their website ranging from skincare to nutrition supplements. Their most popular program is the 30 Days to Healthy Living. In particular, Arbonne advertises it as a “reset” after a person engages in poor lifestyle habits.

This Arbonne program is based on the idea of detoxifying your body through healthy eating and taking supplements to help you feel better. The diet involves removing foods to which you may be sensitive to “revitalize your body from the inside out.” Arbonne uses scare tactics in its advertising, warning customers that their bodies are being “poisoned” by everyday toxins.

The Problem with Arbonne's 30 Days to Healthy Living

While Arbonne specifically says that 30 Days to Healthy Living is not a weight loss program, the diet touts several benefits. These include weight loss and increased energy levels.

The problem with Arbonne’s 30 Days to Healthy Living is that the scientific evidence doesn't support its claims. In fact, the entire 30 Days to Healthy Living program seems to be entirely based on myths and fear-mongering marketing.

Gross.

According to the 30 Days to Healthy Living guide on Arbonne’s website, there are 7 steps.

Arbonne's 30 Days to Healthy Living Guidelines

"1.  Remove trigger foods."

Arbonne encourages you to avoid foods that they say are “generally not beneficial for overall wellbeing.” These foods include artificial sweeteners, alcohol, coffee, dairy, wheat and/or gluten-containing foods, and soy.

Of course, Arbonne cannot give any evidence as to why these foods are deemed “generally not beneficial for overall wellbeing.” This is because that claim is false.

Studies have shown artificial sweeteners, alcohol, and coffee are safe in moderation. Dairy is incredibly healthy and can provide nutrients like protein, calcium, and vitamin D. Wheat or gluten are not inherently bad for you. Omitting them needlessly omits whole-grain and fiber-filled foods from your diet. Lastly, soy is a healthy source of protein, especially for plant-based eaters.

There's no reason to avoid these foods simply because Arbonne says to.

"2. Add healthy foods."

After that, participants of Arbonne’s 30 Days to Healthy Living are encouraged to eat nutritious foods. Arbonne does not give a specific meal plan. Instead, Arbonne offers broad recommendations, such as:

"-   Eat every 4 hours.

-   Include healthy snacks as needed to help maintain energy.

-   Try to drink at least half your body weight in oz. each day.

-   Add additional vegetables, healthy fats, and/or carbohydrates to your shakes or meals if you are feeling hungry.

-   Use the “Core 30 Days to Healthy Living” products daily.”

The Arbonne diet also suggests you eat 1 meal a day and replace your other 2 meals with a shake “meal” following their recipe guidelines. The guidelines outline that a shake should include:

"-   2 scoops of FeelFit Pea Protein Shake

-   1/3 cup of veggies such as spinach, kale, or pumpkin

-   1/4 cup of fruit such as berries or apples

-   1 tablespoon healthy fat such as nut butter or half an avocado

-   8–16 fl. oz. of liquid such as water or non-dairy milk (based on preference)"

There is nothing inherently wrong with encouraging people to eat healthy snacks, drink water, and increase their fruit and vegetable intake. However, the Arbonne 30 Days to Healthy Living guidelines are interlaced with problematic recommendations. The daily use of their “Core” detox products and encouraging low-calorie shakes as meal replacements will cause more harm than good.

Substituting a meal with this shake will reduce your calories for that meal. In theory, this could put you into the caloric deficit you need to initially lose weight. However, this is not an effective long-term weight loss solution. Replacing meals with meal replacement shakes can actually lead to weight gain in the long run.

You're more likely to be hungry later on after substituting a meal with a shake and could end up overeating. It's tough to maintain a healthy diet when you're constantly ravenous.

Substituting meals with shakes may also throw off your body's natural hunger and fullness signals. This might lead to issues such as disordered eating habits and an unhealthy relationship with food.

Arbonne's steps for the 30 Days to Healthy Living continue as follows:

"3. Get moving.

4. Be mindful.

5. Get enough sleep.

6. Track your goals and progress."

None of these recommendations seem inherently problematic. It is important to be physically active, manage stress levels, and get adequate sleep to maintain your health.

Additionally, if you have specific goals, tracking your progress is a great way to assess and adjust the strategies you're using. However, the last step of Arbonne's 30 Days to Healthy Living raises some questions.

"7. Prepare for life after the 30 days."

After completing the 30 Days to Healthy Living, Arbonne recommends that you continue using all the Arbonne products used in the past 30 days.

They encourage you to work closely with your Arbonne consultant, the person you buy your products and program from, to help identify foods to reintroduce or leave out from your diet.

Despite selling nutritional supplements and providing diet recommendations, Arbonne consultants are not required to have any formal education in any nutrition or health-related fields.

This is an inherent danger in MLMs such as Arbonne. When positioning themselves as experts, consultants may provide damaging advice that could cause health issues because their qualifications are unverified and unqualified.

A Review of Arbonne's 30 Days to Healthy Living Supplements

The 30 Days to Healthy Living program is based on the daily use of Arbonne's nutrition supplements. There is irony in this. Arbonne insists whole, unprocessed foods are required to “reset” and cleanse the body of toxins. Meanwhile, the 30 Days to Healthy Living is wholly based on the use of their processed supplements.

There are 4 “core” products Arbonne recommends to use daily during the 30 Days to Healthy Living.

• GutHealth Digestion & Microbiome Support

• CleanTox Herbal Detox Tea

• EnergyFizz Ginseng Fizz Sticks

• FeelFit Pea Protein Shake

Additionally, there are 3 more “optional” products Arbonne recommends using throughout the 30 Days to Healthy Living as needed.

• CleanTox Gentle Cleanse

• BeWell Superfood Greens

• GutHealth Prebiotic Fiber

From my professional nutrition perspective, none of these supplements have been proven to be health-promoting or effective at producing the outcomes in the product claims.

As for Arbonne’s GutHealth and CleanTox products, these could be considered damaging to your health. Over supplementation of fiber and cleansing products has been shown to produce significant adverse health effects like bloating, diarrhea, and long-term gastrointestinal issues.

Arbonne’s EnergyFizz Sticks are nothing more than a stimulant. Essentially, a powdered energy drink. There is nothing inherently unsafe about the moderate use of caffeine and stimulant supplements. However, I do find it problematic that Arbonne considers this a “core” product for the 30 Days to Healthy Living.

The need for a stimulant during this program implies to me that there is an energy deficit that needs to be accommodated for. 30 Days to Healthy Living participants may feel lower energy from their calorie reduction and nutrition deficiencies. To offset this, Arbonne is recommending the daily use of caffeine. Using stimulants in place of caloric energy is a disordered and unhealthy behavior.

Lastly, Arbonne’s BeWell Greens and FeelFit Protein, while not inherently harmful, also are not good nutrition supplementation choices. Greens supplements in general don't give any more nutritional benefits than increasing fruit and vegetable intake does. The greens powder is unlikely to harm you in the way the cleansing products can, but it also can't guarantee any benefits. What is the point of supplementing your diet if the product doesn't add anything to your diet?

I am usually very encouraging of the use of protein supplements. Most people are not eating enough protein to reach their goals. Protein supplements can be very effective at mitigating the adverse effects of a protein deficiency. The Arbonne protein powder, however, is made from pea protein powder.

Pea protein powder is not the best option because it is low in essential amino acids. It also lacks some of the beneficial nutrients that other types of protein powders offer.

When selecting a protein powder, you don’t need anything fancy, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

• Aim for a powder that has 20-30g of protein per serving.

• Ideally, there should be less than 10g of carbs and fats combined.

• It should have a full amino acid profile, including Leucine. This is especially important for plant-based protein powders.

• It should be a flavor and texture that you enjoy using!

Arbonne's FeelFit protein powder doesn't hit the mark here. There are far more efficacious (and cheaper!) protein supplements on the market to choose from.

Beware the MLM scheme

Arbonne's 30 Days to Healthy Living program is not a program for healthy living. When you pull back the layers of misleading marketing and baseless supplements, it becomes more obvious that it is a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme.

An MLM is a business model that recruits sales representatives to sell its products. These representatives earn commissions for the products they sell, as well as for the products sold by the representatives they recruit. Arbonne is one of these predatory schemes that prey on people's personal health goals and vulnerabilities.

Arbonne's 30 Days to Healthy Living is a part of a multi-level marketing funnel. They draw people in under the premise of healthy living, then promise lucrative financial rewards for selling their products.

Multi-level marketing schemes are problematic for a few reasons. First, they prey on people's desire to make money and create a successful business. They lure people in with the promise of financial independence, but the reality is that very few people make any real money through MLMs.

Second, MLMs often sell products that are not only overpriced but also ineffective. Arbonne's supplements are a prime example of this. They claim to promote healthy living, but when you look at the ingredients and clinical evidence, there is nothing to support these claims. The reality is that you're much better off avoiding this company altogether.

Conclusion

Arbonne is a company that sells overpriced, baseless supplements and is part of a predatory MLM scheme. 30 Days to Healthy Living is the part of a funnel that lures people in with the promise of healthy living and lucrative financial rewards. But the reality is that very few people make any real money through MLMs, and the products are ineffective.

There is no need to cleanse, detox, or have advanced supplement regimens to lose weight or improve your overall health. To get the most from your personal wellness journey, it is really important to work with a credentialed coach (not an Arbonne consultant masquerading as a coach!)

A credentialed coach can help you on your path toward health and wellness by helping you decide what barriers and limitations need to be addressed in your life. They can provide you with a goal-oriented and evidence-based approach that gives tangible results and lasting success. To learn more about if working with a professional coach would benefit you, head over to the CBM 1:1 Coaching page. Apply for one of our coaching spots to get started on your free consultation today!

• References

  Dahl, W. J., & Stewart, M. L. (2015, November). Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Health implications of dietary fiber. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 115(11), 1861–1870 http://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(15)01386-6/fulltext

  Gardner C, Wylie-Rosett J, Gidding SS, Steffen LM, Johnson RK, Reader D, Lichtenstein AH. Nonnutritive sweeteners: current use and health perspectives: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association. Circulation. 2012 Jul 24;126(4):509-19.

  U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Additional Information about High-Intensity Sweeteners Permitted for Use in Food in the United States https://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/foodadditivesingredients/ucm397725.htm.

  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA Removes Saccharin from Hazardous Substances Listing. https://archive.epa.gov/epapages/newsroom_archive/newsreleases/ea895a11ea50a56d852577f9005e2690.html.

Gallery Block

This is an example. To display your Instagram posts, double-click here to add an account or select an existing connected account. Learn more