My 10 Day Cleanse

Long post...

So a couple weeks ago I decided to try the Master Cleanse for 10 days. I wanted a fresh start off all the foods/beverages I eat that are not good for my body. And, of course, to clear anything out that might have been sitting inside for too long..

I technically began on June 22nd, but the day before I decided to go off caffeine. That was horrible. I've done it many times before but I always forget how bad the headache is. So I was in bed by 7 that night and just had a dull ache the next 2 days.

Friday was the 1st day of my cleanse and was probably the best day of it (well, except I did have to go to a wedding shower that night and watched everyone else eat shish kabobs and little smokies). I had the euphoria of starting something new and all that jazz going on. Day 2 was OK. I'd planned on staying home all weekend to give myself time to adjust to drinking the lemonade only. I still had to make food for my son so that part of it was difficult, but I just made myself drink more water/lemonade. Oh, and the salt water flush that starts the AM, YICK!!

3 & 4 were tough. Starting day 2 I began to get pains through my legs, my joints kept popping, and my lower back was at times killing me! That combined with the hunger pangs were almost too much. But I made it through both those.

5-7 were getting better. Even the salt water flush wasn't so bad by now. I didn't miss food much at all. My sense of smell by that time was quite heightened. So many people smell like stinky meat it's not even funny. Then again, I probably didn't smell any better. My tongue was coated with white and I had to brush my teeth 3-4 times a day since I'm overly-conscious of my breath. Cravings were down, but I had one incident. My son came home from a day trip with a basket full of deep-fried tater tots. They lasted around me for about 5 minutes then I told him he needed to go to the neighbors to eat because I didn't want a damn tater tot to ruin me.

8 & 9 were a breeze. I was thinking about breaking the cleanse with some veggie soup in a few days and planning my menu for the next week. My tongue was pretty much pink again. Lemonade was like a routine.

Today is day 10. I feel so good about what I accomplished. I will probably try another cleanse in about a month or so and keep it up a few times a year. I went to Fred Meyer and purchased a good amount of organic foods and veggies for my soup that I will make for Tuesday. Tomorrow I get to drink orange juice all day. That will be different.

Through it all I didn't feel overtired nor did I feel overly energetic. I was/am mellow and very clear headed, I guess the best words to describe it. My anxiety level is v. low when normally it can get quite high.

Menu for the 10days:
*Lemonade - 1.5-2 TBS of Grade B Maple Syrup, 2 TBS fresh squeezed lemon juice, 2 dashes of cayenne pepper and cold distilled water (I tried it warm but it tasted kinda yuk). 6+ times a day
*Smooth Move Chocolate tea - 1 cup every night before bed.
*Water - as needed
*Salt Water flush - 2 tsp of sea salt, 1 liter of lukewarm water. Every morning.

Thanks everyone.

It didn't really feel like starving myself at all. Well, day 2 & 3 were kind of rough, but since I'd decided to just stay home it turned out fine. Whenever I got hungry I just made another lemonade. It does fill you up, especially after day 3. I just made sure I didn't have anything overly-strenuous to do the entire time I was on the cleanse.

I'm hoping to not crave/need the "bad" foods and am going to do my best to stick to a raw food/1500 cal diet after this. I know there will be times that it won't be an option but hopefully those times will be few. I used this website frequently during the cleanse for help and motiviation to stay on it. Reading others experiences while cleansing really helped.

Lorna - I didn't eat anything for 10 days. If I don't eat anything for 1 day I usually get queasy/shaky as well but for some reason the lemonade helped with that and I only got a little shaky when I went more than 3 hours w/o drinking one.

^^ Thanks I'm probably going to do another one w/in the next month or 2.

Yes it does the saltwater flushes everything out of your system. The entire bathroom experience through the cleanse is pretty gross, but also a bit of relief.

Saturday it was 12 lbs, but I'll likely gain 1/2 of that back once I start eating. I haven't weighed myself since. But I'm going to practice light eating and lots of walking to hopefully make it a minimal amount.

Today I sipped watered down OJ all day and drank water. Still feel pretty good, but a little confused. My body must be close to freaking out now that I've had more than the lemonade. Will drink veggie broth tomorrow for lunch and have some fruits through the day.

Oops, bumped a bit too late. I did notice a big difference in my skin. Very soft. And my face seemed brighter/softer as well. My entire disposition seems to have changed. Could be the motivation thing as well. And I remember the first time I had fruit. What an experience.

Coming up on my 10th day eating mostly organic foods and keeping track of my food intake on SparkPeople and have managed to lose almost 3 more lbs. I'm still expecting the gain to happen, but if it doesn't then that works too. No to v. little cravings for anything too heavy (red meats, sugar, large amounts of breads/pasta, etc.). I even don't find myself wanting a drink after a rough week at work. (That's a surprise... )

I didn't get sick at all since I took everything really slow. My stomach grumbled a few times but not much pain.

It's been a month since I've done the fast and my eating habits have much improved. I'm not eating just to eat or to get full, just my meals and a couple snacks when I start to feel hungry. That is what I set out to do, eat better and get rid of the cravings. It has worked thus far.

As for those who are concerned, to me the benefits outweighed the risks. I was 5'3" and 167lbs (probably still gaining and far from anorexic), and as much as I tried to stop eating the foods that I loved most (fast foods, more than a full serving of breads & pastas, pizza, high cal/fat salad dressings, cheeses, etc.) I would do good for a couple weeks but then something would happen and I'd stop caring about what I ate. Sure I'm only 32 but I felt if I didn't do something drastic I probably would just continue as I had been, which would have led to other health problems. So 10 days out of my life when I have been eating shit for about 3yrs now seemed like small fries to me.

The 1500 cal isn't permanent. I guess I should have stated that earlier. I'm on a weight loss program for a short period of time. I eat proportionate meals every day. I get more fruits, veggies and good carbs and way less fat and bad carbs. I do cardio pretty much daily now, strengthening 3 times a week. I have energy to do more things with my child after work when I used to eat and vege. I sleep and just all around feel better.

I'm sill 5'3" but now weigh 147/148 (depending on the day). Sill considered overweight. I didn't gain back any of my fasting weight (lost more actually), which to me is a miracle since I was fully prepared to gain back at least 1/2 of it. I've gone from almost a 30 BMI to 26.2 now - a huge improvement. I obviously have quite a bit to go to not be in the "health risk" category, but I think if I keep this up through Dec I will for sure be down in the healthy range again.

That's the 2nd longest post I've ever made here. The 1st was also in this thread. I normally shy away from stuff this personal and in depth but the last 3 posts warranted some sort of response.