THE VERDICT “I wasn’t hungry
at all because I had so much
to drink. I didn’t come close
to finishing the juices on
any of the days,” reports one
tester who lost seven pounds.
Says another: “I usually need
coffee to start my day, but
I had so much energ y that I
didn’t need it, and I felt strong
enough to do hot yoga.”MARTHA’S
VINEYARD
DIET DETOX
THE PROGRAM For 21 days,
you drink a fresh greens-
based juice ever y two hours
during the day and vegetable
broth for “dinner.” (Yep, no
chewing the entire time.)
The plan includes drink mix,
protein powder, and supple-
ments, but you use your own
produce for recipes.
THE COST $199; mvdiet
detox.com.
THE VERDICT Our tester made
it the full 21 days, “cheating”
only a few times by eating an
apple or a spoonful of salsa.
Not so surprisingly, she
dropped a whopping 15 and a
half pounds. “I was ner vous
beforehand, but it was easy
to follow once I got into a
routine,” she says. “I slept so
much better and was no
longer tired during the day.BLUEPRINT
CLEANSE
THE PROGRAM With the Exca-
vation plan, you get six juices
a day: four green, one cayenne-
infused lemonade, one
cashew milk—and no food.
THE COST $195 for three days;
blueprint.com.
THE VERDICT “The first day, I
felt ver y tired and was having
fantasies about Buffalo
wings! But I started to have
more energ y by day two,”
says one tester who ended
the cleanse four pounds
lighter, with glowing skin.
“But three of those came
back when I started eating
salty foods again a few days
later.” One complaint: the
high sugar content of many
of the juices. The spicy
lemonade has 29 grams!BE WELL
CLEANSE
THE PROGRAM For 14 days,
you drink three vitamin
shakes daily (made by adding
water or nut milk to a pro-
vided powder) and take
supplements. You also have
lunch and dinner (sans dair y,
gluten, sugar, or processed
food) you cook yourself.
THE COST $229; bewellby
drfranklipman.com.
THE VERDICT “The shakes
take some getting used to—
I gagged the first day—but I
liked eating lots of real food.
I never got hungr y,” says
one tester who dropped five
pounds and still kept up
with her five-mile runs. “The
cleanse really allows you
to realign your thinking about
what you eat,” says another.
“You realize you don’t need
cheese on your salad or sugar
in your almond-milk latte.”URBAN REMEDY
THE PROGRAM For each day
of the Bridal Kit cleanse, you
get three organic juices,
two raw vegan meals (thinkkale salad or a veggie wrap),
one light snack (such as
spicy lemon almonds), two
teas, and supplements—all
shipped to you, ready to go.
THE COST $150 for three days;
urbanremedy.com.
THE VERDICT Our testers
raved about the raw foods
and found that the juice-and-
meal combo kept them full.
Says one Brides editor who
tried this a few weeks before
her own wedding and lost
four pounds: “It helped me
avoid stress eating or over-
indulging because I knew
exactly what I had to eat
each day while I was running
around. And, I have to
say, I felt confident and beau-
tiful at my wedding.” Post-
cleanse, she’s better about
drinking water and has shed
her sugar cravings, she says.
“I went to Paris for my honey-
moon, and I had no desire
to eat macarons!”IZO CLEANSE
THE PROGRAM On iZO’s
Hardcore Cleanse (a
Gw yneth fave), you’ll down
13 teas and juices in unique
flavors like fennel-lemon
and cilantro-avocado each
day for three to 14 days. (Our
testers completed five days.)
THE COST $129 per day;
izocleanse.com.Plus, my skin is so clear
and bright now, I’ve stopped
wearing foundation!”MASTER
CLEANSE
THE PROGRAM Six to 12
glasses a day of a homemade
blend of lemon juice, water,
maple syrup, and cayenne
pepper. The number of days
is up to you; we did it for 10.
THE COST Varies since you
buy your own supplies.
THE VERDICT Our testers
found it surprisingly doable.
“I missed the tactile experi-
ence of eating food, but the
lemonade was delicious. I
didn’t get tired of it,” says one
tester who lost 10 pounds. The
downside: “I was spacey and
low-energ y at times, so this
would not be something to do
right before the wedding.”BEFORE YOU
CLEANSE
1
GET CLEARED TO DO IT.
Especially with some
of the more extreme
cleanses or if you have
existing health issues, always
get your doctor’s OK before
starting. Seriously. Do this.2
SCHEDULE IT A FEW WEEKS
TO A FEW MONTHS PRIOR
TO THE WEDDING. What-
ever you do, steer clear
of the final week. Not only
will you be swimming in your
dress if you drop too much
weight at the last minute,
but reintroducing alcohol
or “regular” food after a
period of careful eating can
cause stomach issues at
first—definitely not what you
want on your big day.3
EXPECT TO BE A BIT OF A
BRIDEZILLA. “Side effects
could include lighthead-
edness, constipation,
and irritability,” says Glass-
man. In other words, maybe
not the optimal time to
go dress shopping with your
mother-in-law.THE TALLY
NUMBER OF TESTERS 11
TOTAL POUNDS LOST 66
TOTAL POUNDS REGAINED 39
LONGEST CLEANSE 21 days
HARDEST PART Having
a social life! “It was tough
to avoid dinners out
or say no to cocktails,”
says one tester.BEAUTY
264 F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 6 BRIDES.COMJACK ANDERSEN/GETTY