MLM Nightmare: My Experience with Advocare, Isagenix, Truvision, and More

Advocare, Isagenix, and Truvision, oh my! Here's a roundup of how I felt about some of the most popular MLM products on the market today. And, as a disclaimer, these are just MY experiences. I know people who all of these programs have worked amazingly for and that's great. Different things work for different people. These are what did and didn't work for me:

Advocare

Oh, the 24-day challenge. I can do anything for 24 days, right? Wrong. I cannot drink chalky drinks, fluffy shakes and take horse pills. I’m honestly not sure how I came across the Advocare program. It was a couple years after having my daughter and I was looking to be a little healthier.

Let’s just start with the meal replacement shakes. I’m a big fan of shakes – I like Slim Fast shakes for crying out loud. I’d drink Jamba Juice everyday if you let me. These shakes were not good. They fluffed up like crazy and were not appetizing. I wound up asking for my money back on them immediately. I’m not gonna pay good money to drink something that sucks.

And then there were the fiber drinks. The chalky, thick mixture that I had to plug my nose and chug in order to avoid throwing up. When my distributor gave me the package, she straight up told me that she avoids the fiber drinks and never drinks them. That was a great sign – I probably should have just grabbed my money and ran!

Then, there were the horse pills – I mean the vitamins. The multiple packages of pills you had to choke down every day. I kid you not, they were so big that they hardly fit down my throat. I still think I have packs laying around that I never finished.

Lastly, there was spark. The Advocare version of an energy drink that actually wasn’t half bad. It reminded me of Zipfizz but I don’t remember feeling super energized drinking it. The one positive that came from my Advocare experience was that it introduced me to the idea of clean eating and that’s something I’ve worked on ever since.

Isagenix

I’ve given the Isagenix program a shot a few times. Maybe not a fair shot, but a shot. The first time, I was given the product as a trade. I found the schedule, rules and was ready to go. The main focus of the program is the shakes – and they were not good. They fluffed up and were difficult to drink. I was able to add a banana and cinnamon to make them bearable but they advise against that. Plus, I was still hungry after drinking the shakes. What’s the point of a meal REPLACEMENT shake if I need to eat a meal after the shake because I’m still hungry?

Let’s talk about cleanse days. The terrible, awful cleanse days. I still get worked up thinking about these. The idea is that our body will shed fat fast if you go 2 days without eating the first and second week. No sh*t you’re going to lose weight if you don’t eat. On my second time with the program, I made it until about 4 PM on the first cleanse day before I threw in the towel. “Hangry” does not even begin to cover it. I wanted to murder someone, throw my cleanse drink at the wall and eat everything in my pantry. I had apple pie that night…and ice cream. I think a big part of the cleanse for me was mental. I’ve never not eaten in my life and I don’t think it’s healthy to do so. Just my opinion and Isa wasn’t for me!

I will say that I’ve seen people achieve amazing transformations with ISA. Both my mom and sister look amazing. My mom looks the best I’ve ever seen her in my life! But I think that if you bought any protein shake, had it for two meals and a 600 calorie dinner, and then fasted for 2 days at a time, you would achieve similar results and without spending $400.

Truvison

This product is one of the most recent ones I tried. Someone I went to school with dropped crazy weight taking the product and looked amazing. She told me it was a magic pill. That she didn’t change her eating habits or workout and the weight just melted off. Well, of course I’m gonna try it with results like that. Unfortunately, all it did was make me sick. And I’m talking so nauseous that I thought I was pregnant and barely made it to the store to buy a test.

I gave the product a valliant effort and bought three weeks of sample packs. The problem I had was that you were required to take the pills twice a day. The first dose wasn’t a problem but I could never remember the second dose. I was told that consistency was key, but unfortunately, I suck at being consistent.

The product did suppress my appetite so that was good. But at $100 for a month, I would rather eat $1 bills to keep myself full.

Saviina

I freaking love Saviina. Seriously, if you want to drop weight, then go buy Saviina right now. My normal weight is around 125 pounds and I got down to 112 pounds (within two weeks) when I took Saviina for the first time. My back bones were sticking out and my shorts were falling off – but I was stoked. I would buy the company if they would let me. I would seriously invest in a heartbeat. I’ve tried to become a distributor but they only allow so many in one area – boooooo.

 I took it before my wedding, my honeymoon, basically for every special occasion. Unfortunately, it seems to lose its effectiveness after the first time. It still might help you drop a few pounds but it’s definitely not the same.

SO many of my mom friends dropped the baby weight using Saviina. It really is like a magic pill, but magic isn’t always the best route. Saviina makes girls crazy bitchy – ask any guy who’s had a girlfriend use the product. I think it comes down to that you’re hardly eating so you become very agitated. It also gave me anxiety and dry mouth, but hey, you only need to get through two weeks of being a little crazy to see results.  Beauty is pain, right?

Thrive

Finally, thrive entered the picture. My friend Michelle offered to send me a 3-day sample and I felt the difference the first day. I had so much energy that I wanted to go running – and I HATE running. If you’ve ever taken a preworkout, the feeling is similar to that. You can literally feel the energy coursing through your veins.

Here’s what I love about the product. It’s SO, SO simple. Wake up and take two capsules on an empty stomach. Remember me saying I have a weak stomach? I’ve been just fine taking these. After 15-20 mins, drink the shake and slap on the patch, and you’re done.

The feedback I’ve heard from others has been amazing. My husband said there was no way this could be good for him because he felt like he was on drugs. But here’s the thing – you feel great because you’re putting good stuff into your body! Vitamins, probiotics, and more. The old saying rings true, “Put good in, get good out.”

What scared me away at first was the cost. $160? There’s no way I can afford that! “Oh, but it’s $5 a day, you spend that on coffee!” I hate when people say that to me. I would rather spend $5 a day than $160 at once. People don’t think in the long term – think about right now and what it will cost right this instant.

A couple months went by of me feeling drained and I finally decided I’d had enough. I ordered Thrive and it was well worth the investment. Can’t afford it? Go sell some things you don’t need. Go through and purge your closet. Sell your old cellphone. Avoid eating out for one week. You can find the money and it’s well worth the investment in your health – I promise!

brimanes.le-vel.com

Thrive Ingredients: