Why I Don’t Agree That You Can’t Afford Shakeology
If you think you can’t afford Shakeology, READ THIS POST! It’s a long one—but, it will get you educated so you can make the very best decision for your health.
I’ve been coaching for over a decade now, so I’ve heard “I can’t afford Shakeology” countless times. I can also tell you that about 95% of the time, this simply isn’t correct—it’s a mindset and often an excuse.
If you simply look at this total, it sounds like a lot. BUT, once you break it down and make some very real comparisons, it becomes clear what a valuable investment it is.
Let’s look first at one of the root causes of this mindset.
The Price of Buying Cheap Food
Here in the U.S., consumers have had their expectations about the cost of food totally messed up.
Government subsidies have caused unhealthy foods to be cheaper than many healthy foods. High-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated soybean oil are two of the most subsidized, so you’ll find them in almost all processed and fast foods in this country (less so in other countries.)
And, don’t get me started on organic foods.
One time while I was picking our my organic produce for the week, I heard this conversation between a young couple…
“Strawberries?,” asked the guy holding out a beautiful red carton to his wife or girlfriend.
“Yeah, but not those. Those are the organic ones and they’re like $3.00 more. Just get the regular ones.”
It killed me to watch the guy put the organic strawberries back and grab the cheaper ones that are LOADED with carcinogens that are incredibly harmful to our long-term health.
I imagined the young couple walking down the other aisles filling their cart with all of the cheaper (and “more convenient”) processed foods. What they—and many people—don’t realize is that they’re filling their bodies with low quality foods that are made in factories, loaded with chemicals, lacking in nutrients, and jam-packed with sugar, fat, and/or salt.
I tell the people I coach—pay now or pay later. You might pay a bit more now by buying organic whole foods, but you’ll save in so many other ways. In fact, studies by the American Dietetic Association have confirmed that eating well can actually be cheaper over the long term.
Here are just some of what you gain by investing in healthy food:
- More energy (if you have kids, you can keep up with them!)
- Better mood
- Reduce obesity
- Lower the risk of cancer
- Avoid future medical costs (for doctor and/or hospital visits, diagnostic testing, medications, etc., as a result of all of the minor and major chronic diseases caused by a poor diet)
- Raise healthier kids
- Increase the odds of living longer
Did you know that almost three-quarters of Americans are overweight and over one-third are clinically obese? And, get this—one-third of children born today will be diabetic in their lifetime AND, for the first time in the recorded history of humans, the life expectancy of our population is declining!
I am ALL for bargain shopping, but NOT when it comes to what I put in my body. When you’re truly focused on good health, there is no room for compromising—you’ve got to invest in yourself and stay committed to doing what’s best for your body.
Check out Monica’s post about eating healthy on a budget for lots of money saving tips—Coach Monica’s 11 Tips for Eating Healthy on a Budget
Why Drink Shakeology?
These days, the typical person’s diet is significantly lacking in nutrients even if you’re eating healthy whole foods. Thanks to corporate shortcuts, increased use of chemicals, and over-processing, we simply don’t get the same nutrients that our grandparent’s did despite eating many of the same foods.
This is where supplements come in—they fill in the nutritional gaps to ensure our body gets everything it needs. (We cover this topic in a little more depth in this post—Why Do We Need to Take Nutritional Supplements?)
Unfortunately, now I have to tell you a discouraging truth—the nutritional supplement industry is messed up. There is little follow through on regulations and you ultimately have to just trust the company to do the work.
Here’s why we solidly trust Beachbody…
They put every single one of the 60+ ingredients in Shakeology through stringent R&D and quality checks. They get their ingredients directly from the source, each one subjected to the same thorough quality checks. This is NOT typical—most supplement companies get their ingredients from suppliers and don’t know much about where they come from.
Shakeology is an all natural nutritional supplement that is packed with enzymes, macronutrients and antioxidants. Beachbody put all of the necessary nutrients and a variety of superfoods into one shake AND made it a nutritionally complete meal that tastes good.
I want to make sure you’re very clear on this—Shakeology is NOT just a protein shake, it’s a meal replacement. In fact, it will be your most nutritionally complete meal of the day.
Shakeology is one of our “go to” meals. We drink it daily and especially appreciate it when we are on the go or just too tired to cook. It fits into every Beachbody program, including our favorites—the 21 Day Fix, the P90X Workouts, PiYo, and LIIFT4.
Is Shakeology worth it? Who better to answer this than Isabelle Daikeler herself and her comrade in life and business, Carl Daikeler. Click on the image below to watch their video:
And, my friend and mentor Tony Horton, has something to say about Shakeology herew—Tony Horton on Shakeology
There are MANY benefits to drinking Shakeology—here are just a few:
- When you feel better, you perform better in ALL areas of your life.
- You’ll have fewer sick days.
- You’ll have more energy.
- It’ll be easier to reach your weight loss goal (it’s our secret weapon!).
- You won’t crave junk food nearly as much.
- You won’t suffer—drinking Shakeology feels like you’re cheating!
- It’s SUPER convenient and easy to grab on the go.
- You’re investing in your health.
Breaking Down the Cost of Shakeology
For $130, you get 30 servings of Shakeology. That’s $4 per serving.
Let me be more accurate—you get 30 nutritionally complete meals. I don’t know about you, but $4 for an almost ready-made nutrient dense meal is a deal in my book.
This is about the price that those sugary coffee drinks cost. You can’t even get a regular smoothie for this amount any more. If you want something that will actually curb your hunger and provide any nutritional benefit at all, you’ll spend more like $6-$8.
More good news—when you drink Shakeology daily, you do not need to take all those vitamins, antioxidants, and pre- or probiotics any more. A highly rated probiotic prices out at about $1 per serving. That does NOT include all the protein, enzymes, and other nutrients that your body needs to be its healthiest and are included in Shakeology.
Why is Shakeology Better?
In the past decade, I’ve gotten independently educated and tried A LOT of different products. I can both say with unequivocal confidence that Shakeology is one of the very best and a powerful tool for the re-construction and maintenance of your body.
Although this post has a ton of well researched information, I do NOT want you to just take my word for it! A crucial component of being healthy is getting educated about everything you put in your body. My primary goal with this post is to get you educated so you can start doing right by your body.
If you were buying a new car, you’d research…probably a lot, if you’re doing it right. You’d look at safety, reliability, quality and the reputation of the manufacturer first—then, you back into the price and make your purchase. Why would you not use these same standards with something that you are putting inside your body? Why would you not be educated about something that directly impacts the length of time you will be on this planet?
We must look at all food and all supplements from an educated point of view—price should NEVER be the only consideration for anything that has a serious impact on your life and neither should convenience or impulse.
Shakeology could be made cheaper, but Beachbody refuses to do this because it means they would have to add products that they could not stand behind. This is why we—along with thousands of other Beachbody employees and coaches—feel so good about the products we represent.
Here are several ways that Shakeology is better than other protein shakes:
1. Shakeology has better protein.
It’s important to look closely at the protein in a supplement. What kind is it—isolate or concentrate? Is it from a single source or many? Does it come from soy? (In case you weren’t aware, most soy in the typical market is genetically modified, which is a BIG no-no for our bodies.)
Regular Shakeology has whey isolate protein, which is the highest quality protein available today. Whey isolate is more concentrated, has less lactose, is highly filtered, and is more diversified than lesser proteins. In addition to isolate, Shakeology also contains several plant-based proteins—from quinoa, chia, flax, rice, and oat—to provide more amino acids. The protein in the vegan flavors is equally high in quality.There is NO soy in Shakeology. (Click on the links to learn more!)
2. Shakeology is low in sugar and doesn’t contain artificial sweeteners.
Natural sugar is not that bad IF it’s in the proper proportion. There are very few sugars in Shakeology and some stevia, which has been well studied and found to be a safe natural sweetener. It does NOT contain any of the gnarly chemical-based sweeteners that are found in many other supplements.
3. Shakeology has NO artificial ingredients.
The majority of the protein shakes use lower quality types of protein PLUS a bunch of artificial stuff—colors, flavors, and sweeteners—to cover up the bad taste of the protein. There is nothing artificial in ANY of the Shakeology flavors. Nothing.
4. Shakeology contains micronutrients.
All by itself, protein isn’t all that important—it needs is micronutrients that enable it to be truly beneficial to our health.
Most cheaper protein shakes don’t contain all the beneficial micronutrients that are in Shakeology. Your body uses these micronutrients as building blocks to support your immune system, boost your general health, and help you recover from your workouts. In short, a protein shake is one dimensional and Shakeology is multi-dimensional.
You can learn more about Shakeology’s ingredients in these posts:
5. Shakeology has undergone significant R&D and quality control.
Beachbody invests a massive amount of resources—including time, money, and people—in Shakeology. They hire the best scientists in the field, including the formulator and ingredient hunter Darin Olien, form and nurture strategic partnerships with every ingredient supplier, conduct tests at every single level of production, and audit the manufacturing facilities on a regular basis. In fact, more people and facilities have failed their audits than have passed. They standards are unmatched, which is super important in this Wild West industry.
Many other manufacturers don’t strive to be the very best or and invest and reinvest in their product(s). There’s a lot that can go wrong in a process that involves other countries where testing and regulation is not so consistent.
You CAN Afford Shakeology!
What do I tell people when they tell me they can’t afford Shakeology? I tell them that they probably CAN—even if they’re on a budget. It just takes some tweaks in your thinking, priorities, and spending habits.
Here are several ideas to help you afford Shakeology:
🔲 Save $13 on shipping with Home Direct delivery. Home Direct is Beachbody’s automatic shipment program for all their nutritional supplements. There are two perks to this program—your Shakeology order shows up before you run out so you consistently feed your body serious nutrients AND shipping is reduced from about $15.00 to $2.00.
🔲 Order the bag NOT the packets. You have the option of ordering a single flavor bag of Shakeology, which contains 30 servings, or 24 individual packets. When you buy the single bag, you’re getting almost an extra week’s worth of Shakeology!
🔲 Get a 25% discount by joining the Fit Club Network. We have many customers who join the Fit Club Network solely to get a 25% discount on their Shakeology (AND Beachbody’s other fitness and nutrition products). This reduces the full retail price (including shipping and handling) from about $155 to $107. Even considering the one-time fee of $40 (waived if you get a Challenge Pack!) and $15 monthly business fee, you still save significantly on your Shakeology.
🔲 Get up to a 100% discount when others buy through you. As a member of the Fit Club Network, you have the potential to get your Shakeology for FREE. We have many “discount coaches” whose monthly goal is solely to make enough money to have their Shakeology paid for by the commissions they make from selling it to others.
🔲 Use the money you used to spend on multivitamins and other supplements. Think about how much you are spending on vitamins and other supplements (like digestive aids, weight loss supplements, energy drinks or supplements, etc.). Shakeology contains over 70 superfood ingredients, including natural appetite suppressants and energy boosters, so you no longer need all the other stuff!
🔲 Use the money you used to spend on the snacks and meals you’re replacing with Shakeology. Shakology is so much more than just a protein supplement—it’s a meal replacement—so don’t forget to factor in the food you’re not eating into your budgeting. I can tell you that I was spending much more than $5 per day on the breakfast, lunch and/or snacks that I ate in place of Shakeology.
🔲 Learn how to grocery shop better. There are many ways to save on your groceries, including using coupons, taking advantage of weekly sales, and buying single ingredient foods that are in season. Foods that are in season are less expensive—buy extra and freeze for use in the off season!).
🔲 Stop buying coffee drinks and/or juice smoothies. Coffee houses and juice bars are NOT cheap. When I started drinking Shakeology, I stopped craving the coffee drinks because it gave me all the energy I needed AND satisfied my sweet tooth. And, I no longer needed to stop off at the juice bar when I was out and about. (Besides saving money, I also saved time and calories.)
🔲 Make adjustments in other areas of your household budget. There are so many other places you can save money in your life—like spending less on cocktails, dining out, bottled water, gum and candy, cable TV, clothes, and those little frills that add up (like makeup, hair and nails). Or maybe that $1,200 mobile phone! If you’re serious about your health, you WILL make the effort to make sacrifices in other areas.
🔲 Cancel your gym memberships. With the On Demand membership, there is absolutely zero need for a gym membership (or the gas it takes to get you there and back), so there’s some more savings for you. We think working out at home is WAY better than the gym!
(The above discounts are in US dollars; Canadian figures are slightly higher.)
Try Shakeology
HOPEFULLY, I’ve managed to start shifting your “I can’t afford Shakeology” mindset.
If so, next step in your nutritional education is to try it for yourself. I sincerely hope this will help you make the same MAJOR life change we did back in 2007, when we started faithfully drinking Shakeology.
You do NOT need to buy a whole bag to try it! Here are two “try before you buy options:
1) Get Clean Week (click to learn more about this 7 day intro to On Demand and Shakeology)
2) Get a Shakeology Sampler Pack with an assortment of Shakeology and a Welcome Guide. Here are the two different options:
- Whey Sampler Pack—Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Café Latté
- Vegan Sampler Pack—Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Café Latté
NOTE: The Sampler Pack is only for first-time Shakeology users, so there is a limit of one per person.
If you have any questions about Shakeology or would like to find out how to get it at a discount, let’s chat:
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Results vary. Consult your physician and follow all program instructions before beginning any supplement or meal replacement product, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, providing to a child, or if you have any unique or special medical conditions, such as concerns with blood sugar regulation, dietary restrictions, food allergies or other health concerns.
*Results may vary. Please consult your physician before beginning any supplement or meal replacement product, particularly if you have any unique or special needs or conditions, such as food allergies, dietary restrictions, or if you are pregnant or breast feeding. The content on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide any medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
©Beachbody, LLC is the owner of the Shakeology, Healthiest Meal of the Day, Beachbody and Team Beachbody trademarks, and all related designs, trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property.
