I have to admit, I’m not one for fasting. I’ve tried it all: lemonade, green juices, Organic Avenue. They all just left me craving more of the foods I was trying to rid my diet of in the first place.
But when I came across Dr. Frank Lipman’s Cleanse Program, I knew the kit created by a medical professional, seemed a step above the rest. My primary goal was to cut my sugar cravings, rather than multiply them. And many health fanatics from Kevin Bacon to Donna Karen have given this detox the gold star of approval for helping to reset their own systems.
The cleanse consists of three protein shakes a day, plus a lunch and dinner consisting of greens and protein. No booze, no sugar, no gluten for two weeks straight. A big bottle of glutamine capsules is included, known to help curb sugar cravings, as well as daily vitamins. And in just two weeks, it promises to boost your body’s own ability to detox.
The program is designed to be taken on the go, with a blender bottle that easily mixes up shakes wherever you are. The shakes ended up being great on the plane and kept me from indulging in processed snacks. The taste, a thick vanilla with a hint of lemon, wasn’t bad, and I never dreaded making it a part of my daily routine.
I did make the mistake of putting a shake in a water bottle for later, and having a colleague ask me if I was drinking cake batter. I since put it in opaque bottles when I was chugging in the open.
Did I cheat? A couple of times. But overall, I stuck to it, and even with the few cheats managed to lose five pounds and flatten my stomach after the two weeks were over.
And the best part? My sugar cravings were gone. I was able to walk by the chocolate aisle without even glancing at it. The cleanse is a great thing to do annually to reset your system. And Dr. Frank Lipman’s Cleanse Program is the perfect kit to take while traveling if you fear you’re going to kill your diet and pack on a few pounds.