I’ve always been wary of cleanses — as good as I know they can be for our bodies, I’ve never been able to commit to weeks of juice fasting or drinking ridiculous mixtures of lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper or whatever the latest fad may be. Partially because I couldn’t get on board with whatever the ‘program’ might be or because I couldn’t imagine weeks of not eating real food.

Until our contributor, Christina Attiken, told me about The Clean Program. Developed by Dr. Alejandro Junger, New York Times best selling author and Director of Integrative Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, The Clean Program is a 21-day detox program designed for busy lifestyles.

So, after a couple of weeks of having the kit sit in my office, I finally decided to go for it in early December…which meant I would be on the program during the holidays. Talk about a challenge!

The program consists of two shakes and one real meal — I tend to refer to it as a highly-evolved Slim-Fast plan. The powders used for the shakes and supplements eliminate almost all allergens and irritants — dairy, wheat, gluten, refined sugar, soy, etc. — and the one meal a day follows Dr. Junger’s “Elimination Diet,” so you eat a real, well-balanced meal while making sure to keep any irritants out of your system.

The first few days were tough. I battled caffeine withdrawal headaches and was tired, but I was NOT hungry. By day four or five, I was feeling great. I was able to workout, still wasn’t hungry and was dropping weight pretty rapidly. The weight loss leveled out after a week, but my energy maintained and everyone commented on how amazing my skin looked.

The biggest shocker? I was able to go to countless holiday parties and wasn’t at all tempted by the amazing food being passed or the tasty cocktails everyone else was enjoying. I’ve never been big in the willpower department when it comes to food, so this was certainly the biggest surprise. Combined with how great I felt and how amazing my skin looked, I was determined to finish off the journey.

At the end, I dropped about 15 pounds in all and felt a significant improvement in my digestion and cravings. I learned a LOT about how food effects my body and why so many rave about the benefits of cleansing.

And, Dr. Junger’s program which allows for one meal a day isn’t at all impossible to follow.  I’ll be doing this cleanse at least twice a year — the results were more than worth it!

The Clean Program – $350 at cleanprogram.com

*PS – before you balk at the price tag like I did at first, take into consideration that the program includes two of your meals per day for three weeks.