Juice fasts have been a big trend for years now, thanks in large part to celebrities who tout juice fasts as the ultimate way to drop tons of weight really quickly. I have a lot of friends who have done juice fasts and while I was always curious to try, I could never quite summon the motivation.
I had been in the initial phases of re-vamping my diet and eliminating processed foods to shift to a more plant-based diet when I got a press release asking if I’d want to try Kaeng Raeng, a vegan, gluten-free, all-natural detox cleanse.
Created by certified personal trainer Lindsay Reinsmith, Kaeng Raeng means “be healthy, be strong” in Thai. Each Kaeng Raeng pouch is a full meal replacement and contains more than a full serving of fruit and fiber, 15g of lean non-GMO protein, probiotics, essential amino acids and vitamins, so you can detox without depriving yourself of important nutrients —or of flavor. Celebrity fans include Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Silverstone, and Lauren Conrad are all fans.
I think the convenience factor is what really drew me in. There was no mess, no shopping fruits and vegetables, just a pouch you mix with water, or put into a blender with ice for a yummy smoothie.
Since I’m a newbie, I decided to do the three-day cleanse at the beginner level. Here’s how it went:
I’m not gonna lie, the first day was ROUGH! I had a huge headache, I was dizzy, and I couldn’t stop thinking about food. Fortunately, the cleanse allows you to eat few fruit and vegetables so it definitely could have been worse. The smoothies were definitely filling, I think my discomfort came form the fact that drinking my meals was not something I was used to. If things were that bad on the first day, I figured the second day would be a nightmare….
Well, it wasn’t! Actually, I felt much, much better the second day. My intense cravings subsided and I didn’t have a headache or feel dizzy. I was still a little weak, but I felt a definite improvement. And my stomach had significantly flattened out and the bloat I had been battling was mostly gone.
I was flying on day three, I had so much energy, I didn’t even know what to do with myself! So I did something stupid, I decided to run 3 miles on the treadmill. I just felt so good, I wanted to keep it going! Well, this wasn’t the smartest idea and after my run I felt really dizzy and weak. I took it easy on myself the rest of the day and started to feel better by nightfall.
The next morning, I was actually bummed the cleanse was over and I would be going back to having real food. I felt great, I looked great (my skin was glowing!), and I had tons of energy. But it was time for it to end and go back to the world of real food.
I felt so clean after the cleanse and really wanted to continue eating super healthy. In fact, the thought of eating junk food just grossed me out and unhealthy foods were totally unappealing to me. I also no longer craved processed foods and wanted to eat as clean as I could.
It’s been weeks since I completed the Kaeng Raeng detox cleanse and my healthy eating habits are still fully in effect. Doing this program was the perfect way to re-orient my body so that it only craved the good stuff, not the junk.
There are several options for what program to choose. You can either do a three or six day cleanse and the levels are beginner, veteran, and master. Visit their site- kaengraeng.com for more information.
Written by Sabrina Alexis
