Review: Detoxing with the Beaming Lifestyle Cleanse

Update: Current Beaming cleanses used to center around cleansing with food, but now they are closer to a pure juice cleanse. I think that you can still use their salads, juices, and smoothies in a similar manner to what I’ve described below. Since we have a Beaming cafe here in La Jolla, that’s what I do.

A summer full of travel meant that my body was craving a detox regimen. While I’ve tried many of the popular juice cleanses on the market, I now lean more toward experiences that are a mix of actual food and juice.

Why? I’m less crabby and I feel better during the cleanse. It’s that simple. The Beaming Lifestyle Cleanse was designed so that people could reset without suffering.

I stop into Beaming every time I’m in Del Mar (at the time of this writing, this was their only cafe) and I’ve already tried a number of their artisan juices, smoothies and salads over time so.

When they offered to send me a 4-day lifestyle cleanse to review, I gladly accepted though I made the mistake of mentally gearing myself up for deprivation.

I thought one day longer than the average 3-day juice cleanse would be excruciating. It wasn’t, and I could have easily kept on going for another day or two, perhaps more.

What Is the Beaming Lifestyle Cleanse?

The Beaming Lifestyle Cleanse is the type of program that you could easily do once a month or once a quarter without turning your life upside-down.

You’ll receive 1200-1400 calories spread throughout a morning green juice, mid-morning smoothies, cold soup for lunch, afternoon juice, late afternoon elixir, and salad for dinner.

It’s so nutrient-dense that you don’t need to take a multivitamin during the process unless you want to.

Sample Day on the Beaming Lifestyle Cleanse

Due to the seasonal nature of ingredients and taste preferences, your days on the Beaming Lifestyle Cleanse will be different than mine. But, to give you an example of what to expect, here is a sample day:

(Start the morning with a cup of warm lemon water and continue to drink water throughout the day. I drank lime water and cucumber water.)

1. Balanced green juice

For: digestion, anti-inflammatory, immunity
Ingredients: cucumber, celery, spinach, parsley, fennel Fuji apple, lemon mint

2. Superfood strawberry smoothie

For: antioxidant, energy, protein
Ingredients: Freshly sprouted Beaming almond milk, avocado, Beaming Superfood Plant Protein, coconut water, beet juice, coconut butter, vanilla, lucuma, agave, salt

3. Raw arugula curry soup

For: energy, detox, alkalize
Ingredients: arugula, cucumber, coconut water, avocado, cilantro, kale, lemon, ginger, Braggs, yellow curry paste, pepper, sugar snap pea sprouts

4. Beaming pure green juice

For: detox, low glycemic, anti-inflammatory
Ingredients: cucumber, celery, spinach, lemon, parsley, mint

5. Electrolyte elixir

For: metabolism, hydration, immunity, digestion
Ingredients: coconut water, alkaline water, lemon, MSM, ginger, camu camu, cayenne, natural stevia

6. Chopped salad

Ingredients:  romaine lettuce, cauliflower, red cabbage, cilantro, parsley, fennel, apricots, apples, pomegranate seeds. Served with Beaming hazelnut dressing and maple sunflower seeds.

I Was Full and Satisfied

You do get a Beaming Protein Bite on some days. I received two that I split in half and ate on each day. I know people who go crazy for these but I think they’re just okay taste-wise.

I regret not photographing the soups but my pictures probably wouldn’t have done the flavors justice.

They come in juice bottles but it’s much easier to up-end them into a large soup bowl to eat like you would a normal soup. The cold gazpachos were my favorites and surprisingly more filling than you might think. I’d buy these to eat on a normal day.

All of the smoothies were awesome and a nice, filling break from the juice.

The Salads Were Amazing

While looking forward to the end of the day is natural in a number of situations, it’s particularly normal on this cleanse because the salads were delicious.

I regret I wolfed down my first salad and forgot to photograph it but here’s a look at the Thai salad.

The Beaming zucchini lasagna is the perfect way to end a cleanse. I would totally order it in a restaurant because it’s so incredibly delicious.

Ingredients include zucchini, carrots, spinach, cabbage, basil, Beaming sundried tomato sauce, Beaming cashew sauce, hemp seeds. Served with arugula and special mint dressing.

Somehow they managed to make all of that goodness taste amazing.

Pre-Cleanse Preparation

Yes, you are absolutely supposed to take a week or so to slowly eliminate things like dairy, meat, caffeine, refined sugar and other toxins from your diet. Some people do get headaches and feel poorly if they don’t make this transition.

My diet is pretty good when I’m not traveling so I admit that I don’t prepare as well as I probably should. I tend to cut out meat and dairy on the day prior to the cleanse, and that’s been good enough for me (it might not be for you).

Things to Know

Most of the juices aren’t sweet because there isn’t much fruit in them. This is deliberate to keep the cleanse low glycemic. I think that juices from other cleanses are slightly better tasting but that’s a trade-off I’m totally okay with.

Yoga or walking is the highest impact exercise you should plan on. You won’t have the energy for anything else. Also, plan on going to bed earlier than normal. Your body is detoxing so let it work thing.

At this time Beaming can’t accommodate people with severe nut allergies due to cross-contamination.

Great Results

My clothes fit way better. I typically lose an inch or two around the waistline and hips after a good cleanse.

I really would encourage you to order the 4-day option if your schedule and budget permit.

I felt great after day 3 of the Beaming Lifestyle Cleanse but the difference in how my clothes fit was particularly noticeable after day 4. Sure, that’s a day longer than the average juice cleanses, but it’s worth not depriving yourself.

Stay Busy

I prefer to plan cleanses during weeks when I am incredibly busy in a way that doesn’t involve eating out.

Don’t torture yourself by going out to lunch with friends and watching them eat. There’s no detox diet or cleanse on the planet that makes that situation tolerable. Staying busy keeps your mind off of detoxing and it’s nice to have everything prepared for you.

Which brings me to another point. The cleanses where you buy juice at Costco and make your own snacks and meals don’t work for me at all. I tend to over-eat or not want to buy every single spice or ingredient required, making them not taste good and sometimes just as expensive as 4 days on a Beaming Lifestyle Cleanse, especially when you factor in prep time (my time is money).

How to Order a Beaming Lifestyle Cleanse

Order online or pop into one of the cafes. You can pick up the cleanse or have it delivered.

Beaming cleanses include Lifestyle Cleanse, Active Cleanse, and Lean Cleanse.

Would I Do it Again?

Definitely. I probably will before my next trip. Have you cleansed with Beaming?

*Thanks to Beaming for sending me this cleanse to review. Opinions are my own.