Archives for January 2013

Wouldn’t that be nice? No more missing days of work, school, or life in general. There is no cure for the common cold so far but as most of us know there are treatments for it. Getting rest, drinking fluids, and washing your hands help limit it spreading to others. Most of the info I found about antibiotics and antivirals say that neither have an effect against the common cold. Definitely fooled me for all these years. The link also says that healthy people tend to not get the cold as much as non-healthy people. Kind of makes sense even without getting all scientific.

I’ve been working out on average 4 days a week for the past 6 years. During the first 3 years I would still get the occasional cold or sinus infection. In the past 3 years I can’t remember getting a cold once. I did get some crazy 24 hour bug thing twice but that was not the common cold. I’m going more along the lines of coughing, sneezing, runny nose type of symptoms. I truly believe the reason why I’m not getting the same amount of colds as I used to is because of Shakeology.

Shakeology is not the cure to the common cold as I know people who still get them while using it. Many do say that they don’t get them as much though. My best guess is because of all the nutrition that’s involved with Shakeology. The link at the top says that studies show Vitamin C to not really have an effect on curing the common cold. This got me thinking into what does stop the common cold. The best I could find is from being healthy and having a strong immune system. And then if there is anything in Shakeology that helps build up your immune system. Turns out there is.

Antioxidants

These are nutrients in foods that slow down the oxidation of our bodies. They also protect us from free radical damage and help the body’s natural response to inflammation.

Phytonutrients

These promote a strong immune system, slow down aging, help detoxify the body, and are the nutrients believed to be necessary to sustaining human life. Sounds like they are kind of a big deal.

Adaptogens

These bad boys increase energy, protect the body from stress (don’t we always get a cold when we’re stressed), help balance endocrine hormones, and promote a strong immune system. Sounds like they do a lot of work. Beachbody says there are 9 Adaptogens in Shakeology which are more than any other shake out there.

Shakeology does not cure the common cold but it will give it one hell of a fight. These are just some of the 70+ ingredients that are in Shakeology. Don’t some of them sound kind of angry? Like, your glad they are on your side. The trick is that you have to use it everyday. Like everyday. Not somedays. Not once in a while. Everyday. Beyond helping fight the common cold, Shakeology will do so much more only if you let it.

If your sick and tired – no pun intended – of being sick and tired from the common cold then head over to the Beachbody Store and pick up a bag of Shakeology. Chocolate is my favorite and Beachbody hooks you up with free shipping when you select auto ship. Do it. Your body will thank you later.

Every once in a while I’ll get an email from somebody saying that Shakeology made them sick. As in puke their brains out. It doesn’t happen that often so when I hear about it happening I have to do a little investigating. These are the top 3 reasons why people get sick after taking Shakeology.

• Allergic – This is probably the most common reason. There are over 70 ingredients in Shakeology and many of them are not native to the U.S. Somebody usually finds out after the fact that one of those ingredients did not do so well in their system which caused them to get sick.
• Poor Health – If you’ve been eating poorly for a long time then your body might not be ready for such a large dose of nutrition all at once. It seems that the people who experienced this all had it happen after their first or second dose of Shakeology. Their body rejected all of it as it was not accustomed to those type of healthy ingredients. Instead of giving up on Shakeology I suggested taking half scoops until they could stomach it. This seemed to help.
• Alcohol – I’ve experienced this twice. Don’t let Shakeology be the first thing you put in your system after a night of drinking. Eat something first and have it in the afternoon. Your stomach will have time to settle and the food will absorb some of the alcohol by then. Otherwise its kind of like the poor health reason above. Too much good vs evil going on all at once.

The only one of these that you really can’t do that much about is being allergic to one of the ingredients in Shakeology. If that is the case then you might need to look at getting a tamer meal replacement drink or making your own with whey protein. I’d say that 99% of the people who have bought Shakeology from me and told me about their experience with it have never had any of these problems. It’s safe to say that if you start using Shakeology on a day to day basis that your overall health will improve and the other types of sickness (colds, etc.) will not happen as much.

One of the most asked questions about Shakeology is why is it so expensive. At $120 a bag, Shakeology is by far the most expensive meal replacement shake out there. Talk about sticker shock. Unfortunately, too many people stop right there and won’t even think about buying Shakeology due to the price. The reality is that you get so much from Shakeology when you use it daily that the price ends up not being an issue.

It’s Shakeology’s ingredients that make it expensive. We’re not talking about a tub of Whey Protein and some vitamins. We’re talking about 70+ ingredients that make up Shakeology. Most of which are not grown in the United States. In the development phase of Shakeology, Beachbody sent Darin Olien around the world to find ingredients.

After they found which ones worked they went back to those countries and purchased tractors for the farmers to grow more of them. Not in all cases but in some. Many of those areas are under developed and don’t have the capacity to produce at the levels which Beachbody needs. Those costs start adding up. Most of which are logistic costs. If you flip over a bag of Shakeology and look at the ingredient list you’ll see quite a bit of stuff. Have you heard of or seen any of those ingredients in your local grocery store?

What you really need to think about when it comes to the cost is the breakdown of each one of the ingredients in Shakeology. Here is what they look like individually and if you were to buy them on your own.

Would you rather spend $461 to buy the ingredients separately or $120 from Beachbody? Would you rather have 25 different bags and bottles of ingredients taking up counter top space or one bag of Shakeology?

When you take into account the cost of acquiring the ingredients, shipping them back to the U.S, combining them, packaging, and so forth that you get the $120 price. Yes, Shakeology is expensive but it’s for good reason. Beachbody is not trying to rip us off. It’s amazing how they can sell a 30 day supply for only $120.

I really hope this helps in breaking down why Shakeology might seem so expensive. If you use it once a day for a meal it breaks down to about $4 per serving. Less than fast food or a cup of coffee at Starbucks and has like a billion % more nutrition than those. If you want to check out the flavors and learn anything else about Shakeology then head to the Beachbody Store.