Review: Beaming's 'One-Day Reset' Cleanse

Where's the rest of my Kona series? I know, I know, sorry! I love Kona and the World Champs with all my heart, but I was getting a little burnt out talking about it 24/7. Even after I got back from Hawaii, I've been doing podcasts on Kona and sharing the stories with folks. Needed a break on the blog front. That said, I have put up some cool podcasts since Kona, in particular this one, which has sound bites of the winners at the finish line, and also of the post-race pro press conference (good laughs!). It took me foreva to compile that one, so take a listen for me, k?

Anyway, on to today's post... Beaming. What is it? A San Diego-based superfood shop that offers 1- to 4-day cleanses. Their ingredients are organic, whole-food, plant-based, and raw; and, they've clearly done the research to offer the best quality available. I've heard of them before, but most recently was lucky enough to try their Pure Boost One-Day Cleanse aka their "Monday Reset;" although, mine was on Wednesday.

All set with my cooler bag of the day's drinks and food, with a sampler drink too!

It's funny how things happen. As part of my offseason quest of achieving better health and wellness, I've been reading more about detoxing, cleansing, cleaning up the gut and what not. I've never been into juice cleanses at all -- just didn't appeal to me. It always just sounded like calorie deprivation, a yo-yo diet tactic and not a lot of fun. But I now see, if done in the right way, how beneficial a cleanse can be. It's not about weight loss; it's about wellness and, for those who need it, a good kick in the butt for a better lifestyle.

What I immediately liked about Beaming is that they provide a menu of juices that aren't overly high in sugar and fruits, a nut milk, and raw food meals and snacks, including items that have FAT and PROTEIN! That's huge in not feeling deprived, whether for 1 or 4 days. (The only other person I know who's doing cleanses this way this is my friend who runs Marcai's Organic Kitchen -- a smaller operation for those local to OC; check her out.) Through my research I've done, it's pretty clear that you don't need to go 100% just juice to get the benefits of a detox and/or cleanse. (Side note: just bought and am reading a book called "Clean Gut" that is a superb science- and art-based approach to better health that, to me, looks like an excellent way to cleanse the body/gut while still eating real food daily.) Tangent... moving on...

So, I am fresh of doing the Beaming one-day'er and want to share my experience for inquiring minds.

First off, the 1-Day Cleanse menu:


I did this yesterday, which meant it was a busy work day from sunrise till after dark for me. It started with a long podcast with Lucho, lots of work in between and even a little easy 5k run break, and wrapped up with an evening speaking event at the OC Tri Club -- something for which I needed to be sharp and alert and not in a state of hypoglycemia nor bonking from no fuel to the brain.

The hardest part for me overall was the morning, and not having my coffee. I'm normally ok with skipping coffee every now and then (especially on trips when only crap coffee is available), but I guess I'm a little more dependent right now than I realized because I was really craving it. Instead, I started the morning with two full mugs of hot water with lemon. This concoction is known to aid in digestion, boost immune system, balance pH levels, energize, and so on... It actually did a good job at "filling that void" for my standard hot morning drink. Soon after that I had Beaming Drink No. 1, a blend of a bunch of green veggies, E3Live energy blends, a little ginger and apple, Himalayan sea salt, etc. A good tartness that I loved. (Again, not too sugary nor too much fruit; only a quarter apple I believe. Keeps GI index down and prevent blood sugar spikes.) Sipped it slowly and didn't rush, which was a goal of mine for the day while doing this.

After waiting a half hour (to allow full absorption of nutrients), I had Beaming's Superfood Protein Bite which was delicious and included ample satiating fats (including coconut butter!).

That delicious little ball of coconut, nuts, protein, etc,
sitting on top of the salad.

Work work work followed. Possibly TMI, but worth noting: I still was "regular" in the morning despite no coffee and not having one of my normal breakfasts. Mid-morning I was feeling a bit low on calories and probably should have started Drink No. 2 earlier. That said, I'm fairly well fat-adapted and wasn't crashing too badly. I actually had some unsweetened coconut shreds and raw cashews to tide me over :$ (On their "instructions" they do say it's ok to eat a few approved foods if you're feeling the need i.e. avocado and nuts; coconut wasn't on the list, but close enough, right?) That helped, and I headed out for an easy 5k run (practically walking pace haha). Exercise is not really recommended, but it had been days since I did anything exercise-wise, plus I needed a break in my work day and also those endorphins ;) Felt fine running.

Portion of the kale salad. There was even more!

After that I enjoyed some of Drink No.2, a beet, carrot, etc, blend, that was labeled as a liver cleanse, digestion aid and cellular regenerator. (Needed!) After waiting a bit, had the kale salad around noon, which was so stinkin delicious. I started with just half the salad (they said often folks will split it for half lunch/half dinner), but ended up having it all. (I was looking at what I still had left for the day, and I knew I'd have enough calories to last me. A little bit later, I had the rest of Drink No. 2.

I hit a bit of a wall mid-afternoon, but nothing too crazy and it wasn't due to hunger. Around 2:30-3ish I cracked Drink No. 3. At that point, I did not feel hungry but realized I needed to keep the drinks going or I'd run out of time! That drink was perfect because it wasn't very sweet and hit the spot. It was primarily an immunity boost with tons of greens, including personal faves: parsley and mint.

At this point, my energy was doing well and holding steady -- I wasn't bouncing off the walls, nor was I crashing. It got time to prep for my speaking engagement at the OC Tri Club. I was just hoping that the cleanse thing would leave me perky and not depleted by the evening (my talk started at 7:15 p.m.).

While getting ready, I noticed specifically that my complexion looked significantly better -- from my skin tone to the brightness in my eyes. I looked fresh, vibrant and not worn out from a long day, which can happen when I'm busy busy.

Party in my mouth with this drink.

I opened up Drink No. 4, second to last, around 5:45, while driving to the meeting. It was my favorite of the day! All the previous drinks were excellent too, but the flavors were semi-familiar to me. However, No. 4 was a unique flavor with a good kick from jalapeno that I loved. In fact, I thought it was perfect timing because the taste of it was like something you'd want for a happy hour cocktail, and since I wasn't having any alcohol, might as well still enjoy the essence of a cocktail at that hour, right?!

At the Tri Club, I spoke for close to 45 minutes that night (chatter box!), and it went great. I was mentally sharp, and never crashing or thinking about food (even when they served dinner to the audience). In fact, I was originally thinking I'd have to have a half an avocado before or after the meeting as a "dinner" but never felt the need.

The meeting ran late with post-chat conversations, so I didn't have Drink No. 5 until after 8:30. I kept it in my car on ice knowing I'd want it on the drive home. It was HEAVEN in my mouth -- a soaked almond milk concoction with alkaline water, cinnamon, vanilla, dates, and sea salt, that was creamy and kind of like egg nog. Cinnamon is a great call in that drink not only for the flavor but also because it stabilizes blood sugar and prevents a spike from the sugar content.

Doing my thang, and speaking to the OC Tri Club!

When I got home around 9, I wasn't hungry and could have been done, but I was quite honestly wound up from the meeting and just in the mood for something else; I knew sleep wasn't happening anytime soon. Mentally I was feeling the need for more protein -- I love my protein! Thankfully, I had one more Beaming treat left: their custom protein blend with greens. The pack I had was probably just over 100 calories, and I mixed it with a little RO water. It was just enough to satisfy what I wanted. Normally I would never be eating that late and truthfully I'm normally getting in bed around 9:30 or earlier, but with the meeting it threw things off a bit... no biggie.

I slept great last night and woke up feeling very refreshed and awake; woke up even a bit earlier and was fired up to start my work day by 6am! I drank coffee, but honestly I could have probably gone without it, haha. So far today (3pm ish now) my energy has been off the charts great!

So what do I think? 
Overall, I think the 1-Day Cleanse was a great spot to start for someone new to this game; a doable challenge, let's say. Whether one day is enough to cleanse everything and change significantly? Probably not, but it's not a waste, doesn't hurt, and is surely a step in the right direction. I felt and saw changes in myself just with one day of this, and that's coming from a person who eats healthy regularly. That said, I would easily do the 4-Day Cleanse to see how that works.

The negatives? Caffeine withdrawal was the biggest issue for me, but that I can handle and it didn't kill my mojo too much. I was told it only takes ~3 days to truly get rid of that lack-of-caffeine feeling. Also, I got a quite tired around 1 p.m., and was losing my focus to work. It wasn't a hunger thing. Just maybe a little fatigued from the different approach to the day? To remedy, I just took a quick break and was able to get back to it just fine. Looking back, I probably should have had more earlier in the day when I felt the need vs. feeling like I needed to "save" it -- just a logistical timing thing, no biggie.

The positives? Overall, the Cleanse menu definitely provided the calories I'd need in a day (even with a little bit of exercise included!), and overall I definitely felt recharged from all the nutrient-dense drinks and foods. It was a good practice in changing the routine and getting even more fresh with my diet. I never missed or craved "real meals" (even when my BF was cooking up a yummy-smelling breakfast), and I don't have a high-sugar or high-carb diet at all so that wasn't a problem in terms of withdrawals. To top it off, I honestly didn't even crave that evening glass of wine, hehe. Also, physically, I noticed a significant positive change in my complexion, skin, eyes, etc, as mentioned.

Final word: This is my first-ever cleanse, and I really don't know much about this world of cleanses or much of what else is offered out there. The only other legit company I know of is Marcai's Organic Kitchen; for anyone who's in the local OC area, you can get your hands on her stuff. If you've had a good experience with another company or something, I'd love to hear from you in the comments!