lessons learned from beaming’s 4-day superfood cleanse

I don’t like the idea of straight-up juice cleanses. Though juice cleanses swear they’re not meant to deprive, that’s what they sound like to me. And anytime I’ve attempted one, I almost always end up stuffing my face with cookies by the end of the day.

But then I got to know Beaming, a new juice bar in Del Mar (that ships nationally, too), and they had a novel idea: What if a juice cleanse combined cold-pressed juices with actual food and the freedom to snack? You’d get the same detoxifying properties without feelings of deprivation or guilt. The company’s founder, Lisa Odenweller, has a laid-back, relatable approach. “If you’re hungry, eat half an avocado or some almonds.” There’s no reason to starve yourself, she had told me.

Inspired to take better care of the mind-body-soul connection after I came back from India, I decided to try Beaming’s 4-day Total Rejuvenation Cleanse. I had always, always, always wanted to try a cleanse but had never found a company that structured their cleanses in a way that made sense to me. Beaming’s would be the jump start I needed. Was it hard? Some days. Was it worth it? Yes.

Straight from the mouth of a real girl who likes her food, here’s my honest account of the four days:

DAY 1

Each day began with a cup of warm water and lemon and followed with 2 cold-pressed juices, 1 superfood smoothie, 1 superfood exilir, 1 raw soup, and 1 raw entree. Thanks to jet lag, only at 9 a.m. did I finally get going with the water and lemon. Then it was onto the first green juice. Now, I’m not necessarily that person who makes pure kale smoothies and thinks, “Yum!” but I loved this juice, which had a great mix of greens and sweet ingredients to balance it out.

First among the foods incorporated into the cleanse was a curry-flavored soup, which was a bit heavy on the curry flavor for my taste. Between that and the fact that I wasn’t even hungry, I drank just 1/3 of the bottle. According to Beaming, I didn’t have to finish everything; if I made cuts, I should at least drink the green juices.

The 4-day cleanse also includes two “booster” shots, and today’s was an aloe vera/chlorophyll drink. I expected it to be unpleasant, but it was refreshing and tasted like saffron-flavored water. Later I had the Fennel Love and alkalizer juices, both of which were heavy on ginger. Ginger is a fabulous detoxifying spice, but I have a strange, inexplicable distaste for it, so I had trouble drinking both juices.

For dinner I had a salad. So excited to chew! I went to bed feeling light but not hungry, and that was a surprise. As it turned out, Day 1 wasn’t hard.

DAY 2

Day 2 sucked. I think this was the day when the toxins began to flush out, and I felt the withdrawal: headaches, fatigue, mild stomach ache and overall fogginess.

I had another late start to the day (stupid jet lag!). Hungry for breakfast, I went with Lisa’s Daily Lean and Green smoothie. Even though I liked it – a creamy smoothie with an earthy taste (those greens!) – it was huge. After ¾ of the bottle, I was more than done. It made me realize how I can endlessly eat bagels and eggs in the morning and still feel hungry. But here I was totally full from not even a whole smoothie.

Post-shower the grogginess and withdrawal symptoms kicked in. I tried to ease my stomach ache with the milk thistle supplement and herbal tea that Beaming provided. Both helped a bit.

I forged ahead. The carrot soup was tasty and by the afternoon I felt so content that I didn’t even need to drink the elixir. For dinner, I had another salad topped with pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries and persimmons. I had half an avocado as a bedtime snack and hit the hay.

DAY 3

Day 3 was amazing. I had energy, clarity and more alertness than ever before. I thought people exaggerated this juice cleanse-induced boost of energy, but juice don’t lie!

I started my day with the almond nut milk — my favorite drink out of the four days and a creamy, filling, luxurious change of pace from the green juices. Thanks to my ginger aversion, I couldn’t drink more than ¼ of the Fennel Love juice a few hours later. I substituted with a handful of baby carrots and soaked almonds.

I drank half of the Arugula Curry raw soup (yum) for lunch and followed with a Beaming protein bite (130 calories, 5 grams of protein). Even though I had been chewing and eating solid foods, I was ecstatic to eat something dessert-ish. Coconut butter, almond butter, goji berries — it was divine.

Later in the day I had the Salad Spinner juice, reminiscent of my favorite juice from the Honolulu smoothie spot I worked at a couple years ago. I was decently full by the time the elixir juice was on tap, so I drank just a bit and supplemented with a few almonds. When dinner rolled around, I was excited to get my chew on. The salad was a bit heavy on the kale for me, but the goji berries and walnuts more than made up for it.

I didn’t even have time for the last juice. That’s how much food you get with this cleanse!

DAY 4

Most people say the last day of a cleanse is when you feel marvelous, but while Day 2 sucked and Day 3 was fantastic, Day 4 was somewhere in between.

After my lemon water, I started the day with the awesome Balanced Green Juice. By mid-day I felt a bit “over” greens and couldn’t finish much of the Lean and Green Smoothie. But the gazpacho soup for lunch was great — a new flavor palette and slightly spicy.

About an hour later, I downed the Smartie Pants shot, whose blend of coconut water and e3live, an algae superfood, helps concentration and mood. Believe it or not, it was better than the aloe shot. I drank the next juice and elixir later in the day but to be honest, I needed more chewing in my life, so I added avocado and soaked almonds to the mix.

Come dinner time, I was pumped for my raw lasagna, which used raw zucchini instead of pasta. I once had raw lasagna at a raw restaurant in New York City and it led to a middle-of-the-night stomach ache. This time? No problems! It was amazing to see how well my body responded to raw food.

I had crossed the finish line! I was excited to get back to regular foods but also knew I wouldn’t feel nearly as light or clear-headed as I did at that moment.

3 Lessons Learned:

1. Quality not quantity: Pre-cleanse, I could eat endless amounts of empty carbs (bagels, bread, cereal), but during these four days, I was shocked by how quickly I could get full from just half of a smoothie. I need to cut down on empty calories, fill my plate with more nutrient-rich foods (i.e. vegetables) and remind myself that I don’t have to finish my plate in order to feel full. I’ll feel much lighter and less bloated because of it.

2. Cut the refined sugar — for real: Going off refined sugar felt good. Really good. I can’t give up desserts cold turkey — they make me too happy — but I’ve since cut down on sugar, which has resulted in fewer headaches and more energy.

3. Keep an open mind: Cleanses are hard. Some people love them, some people begrudgingly follow along, but most of us see the value in them. Keep an open mind and you’ll not only feel better, you’ll also learn about will power.

Thoughts on the Cleanse

There were times when I got a whiff of Eaman’s pizza and wanted to cry. There were times when my mind felt so foggy that all I wanted to do was sleep. But once I got over the hump — thanks in part to daily motivational emails from Beaming — I felt lighter and more clear-headed in a way I never have before. I’d love to say every day has been a picture of health since the cleanse, but let’s be real: The holidays came right after. But the timing created an interesting juxtaposition, much like those “This is your brain on drugs” commercials. My mind-body-soul on clean foods? Excellent. My mind-body-soul on empty calories? Train wreck. It’s not rocket science: You feel better when you eat better. I’ll never swear off anything — it just leads to cravings — but the cleanse did teach me to seek more balance.

The 4-day cleanse is an investment at $350, but they also have 1-day and 3-day cleanses ($75 and $235, respectively).

Would I do it again? Yes, but only a Beaming cleanse. I like their real-girl approach, their balance of food with juices, and their flexibility. With them a cleanse doesn’t seem like a chore or daunting task. It feels like pushing the reset button in a way that makes sense to your lifestyle in a happy and healthy way.

Disclaimer: Beaming provided me with a free four-day cleanse in exchange for a review. As always, all opinions are my own.