Day 9 Review and FINAL STATS! Crossing the finish line!

So Day 10 is here! My final few hours of the Master Cleanse, and I couldn't be happier! Not because I dreaded it (ok, maybe near the end), but more because I am looking forward to tasting real food, and of course, my coffee! Yesterday was a typical day: lots of energy, no hunger, just the occasional cravings. I DID ease myself into some orange juice yesterday, and into some organic vegetable broth last night (not technically a part of the Cleanse, but I don't want my body to take all week to adjust to food, St. Patrick's Day IS this weekend, you know!). Still downed a few "lemonades" and a number of cups of water.

I DID go out for a nice 20 minute run yesterday, and got rained on during the middle of it, which was awesome! I have always enjoyed running in the rain, and that 20 minutes quickly turned into 30, felt so good! One other thing I have noticed: a friend of mine who works in sports medicine and physiology told me that near the end of this fast not only would I feel better (which I have), but to not be surprised if my peripheral vision improved as well. Well, I'm not sure how that happens (will need to ask her), but I swear that it HAS improved, and noticed this while I was running. Crazy, I know, but it really is!

Today I will have a few more "lemonades", some broth for lunch, and perhaps a salad for dinner. I am SO looking forward to tasting solid food again, and am looking forward to see if it tastes different. I only hope my stomach can handle it. I am adding a pro-biotic tomorrow as it's important to put the good bacteria in your stomach as most of it has been removed by the Cleanse.

I am confident that this Cleanse helped me. I hope that I removed stuff that needed to be removed from my body. I am hoping that the amount of energy I now have continues. And I am hopeful that although I still will have the occasional "bad" meal, that I will be more conscious of eating healthier food and living a healthier lifestyle! I'm not getting any younger, you know!

Here are my final stats as of this morning, along with the stats at the start:

Weight-     Start: 220 lbs  End:208  TOTAL: 12 pounds!
Waist-       Start:38 inches  End: 37 inches
Resting Heart Rate (upon waking)- Start: 68  End: 50
Blood Pressure-  Start: 136/70  End: 120/79  (near normal!)

I would definitely do the Master Cleanse again in the future, after I enjoy some really good food for a while! I hope everyone enjoyed sharing this experience with me, and hope to see you next time I am ready to detox!

If YOU are interested in perhaps doing this Cleanse one day, there are multiple books available on it, just look at the bottom of this page! I must say in a disclaimer that I don't recommend starting a cleanse like this without consulting with a doctor! 

Yay for Good Health!

Day 8 Review and Stats! Easing OUT!

Day 8 is in the books, and Day 9 is here! Now those of you that first think that this picture is of a urine sample, don't worry, it's just my "lemonade" drink that I have survived on for the last 8 days! As disgusting as it may look, I will actually miss this delicious drink a bit, and MAY even incorporate it into a once-in-a-while routine as a meal replacement (or at least until the syrup runs out, NOT going to pay $16.95 for another quart of it!). But seriously, this magic elixir TASTES good, really helps suppress my appetite, and does a little "Spring" cleaning of my pipes, who could ask for more?

Yesterday went well, with only a few minor changes in my physical well being. First, the laxative tea I take a night REALLY upset my stomach last night, I credit this to there just not having anything in there to work on. I woke up a few times during the night with cramps, which wasn't really painful, just enough discomfort from letting me sleep. Second, the amount of bile is reducing, so I may be close to having "scraped" the barrel in terms of my colon. Lastly, I noticed that my hands are constantly cold (maybe body temp is lowering), which was a symptom of the last fast I went on a few years ago...

My overall energy level continues to be great, I can certainly tell a difference in the way I feel, making it obvious that the gluten in breads and stuff really affects me as I get older. No running yesterday, just a brisk 20 minute walk and some ab work.

Ideally one would stay on this Cleanse for 10 full days, but I am going to ease out a day early (still fasting, just introducing other stuff OTHER than "lemonade". Yesterday I had a little fresh squeezed orange juice diluted with water, even then the orange tasted delicious! No Salt Water flush this morning either. Today I will drink a little fresh squeezed orange juice for lunch, looking forward to that! Also will be having some organic vegetable broth tonight. Still having my "lemonades" and water throughout the day, but ready to be off of that!

Day 9 Stats

Weight: 209.9 lbs (down 11 pounds from start)
Resting Heart Rate (upon waking): 50 
Blood Pressure: 126/80

Feeling great, I'm almost there! Thanks again for everyone's support, it has certainly made this easier!

Yay for Good Health!

Day 7 Review, the Finish Line is in sight!

One week has passed, starting Day 8, and I can "taste" (the first word that comes to mind) the finish! Yesterday, was another good day, no hunger whatsoever, with a few hunger pangs (drinking a "lemonade" when this occurs usually quenches this). I did notice that only bile from my colon is being removed at this point, which is a sign that most solid matter has been flushed out. Again, the Master Cleanse book says that ideally you would KEEP fasting until every single thing is out of the body. As I mentioned earlier, I truly think it would take maybe 20 days or longer for that happened, and I am not quite in that state of mind yet, haha!

Went for an hour hike yesterday on Kennesaw Mountain, which was great! Felt really good, lots of energy, just a little dizzy near the end due to dehydration (I drank water before I started, but guess not enough). Did some busy work around the house, worked on my taxes, and watched some movies on TV, so pretty much relaxed and drank "lemonade"!

Today is an exciting day, as I am going to introduce a little diluted orange juice later today. Still taking my laxative tea (this is getting harder and harder on my stomach as I sleep), and doing the salt water flush (which I have this timed down to the minute now). If my stomach takes the juice ok, I will move from lemon to orange juice on Day 9, and see how that goes! After that, I will slowly add some organic vegetable broth to my diet on the final day to celebrate! A brief walk later today, and my final hot Epsom salt bath will feel great...

I can honestly say the first 6 days of this cleanse/fast FLEW by, but the last couple of days have CRAWLED by. But I know I am almost there, and rejoice in that fact!

I will have updated stats tomorrow, I am anxious to see if I have surpassed the 10 pound mark on the weight loss! Stay tuned!

If YOU are interested in perhaps doing this Cleanse one day, there are multiple books available on it, just look at the bottom of this page! I must say in a disclaimer that I don't recommend starting a cleanse like this without consulting with a doctor!

Yay for Good Health!

DAY 6 Review and NEW Stats...

Happy Daylights Savings! There are a few pristine things in my life that I look forward to, and Daylight Savings is one of them! The other is the end of this cleansing fast, haha! Day 6 is history, and things are progressing along slowly, but progressing nevertheless...

A few interesting observations from yesterday:

1. I still feel fine. No headaches, no fatigue, ran an easy 25 minutes yesterday, no lightheadedness, cramps, or anything.
2. The amount of toxins being removed from my body are slowing, which I guess is a good thing. I don't know what the test would be for removing ALL toxins, but I have a feeling it would be longer than I am willing to take...
3. A hot bath of Epsom salt DOES feel wonderful, and heals the skin. A broken blister I had on my ankle (from running) is almost gone, and healed especially fast after exposure to the salt bath. I would encourage these for anyone who wants to give their body a treat!
4. BIGGEST challenge was attending a drop-in at a friends house, and standing right next to people enjoying a table full of wonderful Asian food, desserts, and drink. As much as I would have LOVED to partake in all of that, my trusty bottle of purified water and I got along fine. Even the SMELL of the food (which again, was divine) didn't make me want to eat. I am hoping that I will continue to have this kind of control when I actually go off of this fast...

Today starts Day 7, which according to other past users, is the toughest day. I don't know what to expect, but am convinced now that the results of how one feels on the Master Cleanse are largely contributed to what one THINKS will happen (MIND over BODY!). If after this "tough" day I still feel the same, I will start to "ease out" of the fast, and start to introduce orange juice to my diet (which I am looking forward to tasting ANYTHING but lemons!)

Here are today's Stats:

Weight: 211 lbs (down 9 pounds from start)
Resting Heart Rate (upon waking): 60
Blood Pressure: 118/79

Looks like I will drop around 10 pounds while on this cleanse, which is great! I am confident that with the sun setting later, and the warmer temps, my increased running and better eating will help me continue getting back under 200, and closer to the weight I was while in China! Enjoy the later sunsets!

 If YOU are interested in perhaps doing this Cleanse one day, there are multiple books available on it, just look at the bottom of this page! I must say in a disclaimer that I don't recommend starting a cleanse like this without consulting with a doctor!

Yay for Good Health!

DAY 5 Review...or as I call it, BORING...

So Day 5 has come and gone, and still feeling great! I can't explain why I am not tired or hungry, or why I'm not having cold sweats or terrible headaches. All I know is that I am STILL drinking my "lemonade" drinks, and haven't seen or felt anything out of the ordinary. In fact, my tongue, which was previously white from some detoxification (I'm guessing) has now started to turn pink again (although just on the sides, kinda weird looking actually).

So has my detox come and gone? Have I endured the process of which takes most people 10 days in only 6? Again, I'm not sure, but I do know this: I AM BORED!

Now don't worry, I'm not going to stop cold turkey and head to a China buffet and make up for a week of not eating. But I AM going to get through the weekend, and see if any changes take place. If NOT, I may entertain easing some juice and fruits back into my system early next week. One main reason I started this fasting cleanse was to remove all toxins from my body, and experience the terrible ups and downs that everyone says would happen on this cleanse (I actually looked forward to it!). But as none of these has happened, I can only conclude 2 things:

1. I have already detoxed and removed the toxins
2. I am not even CLOSE to beginning the detox, and may not start for another week, maybe two!

If the latter, IS the case, I want no part of it. I DO love food very much, and have missed the various tastes, smells, and textures (borrowed from Anthony Bourdain) that food brings with it! And I miss my coffee the most of all...

So, I will push on, drink my "lemonades", laxative teas, and quarts of salt water. If I still feel like a million bucks Monday, then will re-evaluate from there...

New Stats tomorrow, will be interested to see if THOSE are any better as well!

Yay for Good Health!

Day 4 Review and Stats....The Devil tried to sit on my shoulder!

Day 4 of my Master Cleanse is in the books, today I am HALFWAY there! Yesterday definitely was an interesting day, and for more than one reason.

First, I had more energy yesterday that I have had on the fast, and possibly than I have had in a while. I had SOO much energy in fact, that I went for a light 2 mile run, as it was sunny and in the mid-70-'s! The run was quite effortless, and I could have easily gone another 2 miles (but as I have very little calories going in, didn't want to push it...)

Also, had to run a number of errands yesterday in the car. In driving all over town, I noticed something really interesting: when you are driving around LOOKING for restaurants, you never really see that many, except for the one's you are specifically looking for. But when you AREN'T looking for a place to eat, EVERY one of them stands out at you, almost like they slapped on a new coat of paint with huge brand new lit-up billboards that say "EAT HERE!!!" I saw hundreds of restaurants, many of which I have NEVER seen. Now you can imagine that seeing place after place to eat, eventually the Devil himself popped in and perched on my shoulder. "YUMM, Mexican food sounds delightful right now" he hissed, lightly prodding me in the shoulder. "Go ahead, one little plate won't hurt you, and we CERTAINLY won't tell anyone" he whispered with a low, crackling laugh. Seeing all these places sure WAS nice, and I admit, I did visualize sitting down to a nice Combination #21 (what FOOD is in that doesn't matter, insert your own wonderful foods here!), but as I have said a few times, I had NO desire to eat food whatsoever! So as I drove by the restaurant, I heard the devil scream "NOOOOO" before he popped out of sight. I was really happy that I didn't dive in to that craving, and was sticking to the plan. I DID write down the address of that Mexican restaurant though... ;)

I drank 7 of the "Lemonade" drinks yesterday, and increased my drinking of purified water as well. I also took a a nice 20 minute hot bath with Epsom salt yesterday, which is supposed to help draw toxins out from the body, and make the skin feel better (which I think it does).

Physically, I DID find myself getting a few minor headaches prior to bed, but went away over night. One more thing I found strange was that my lower back has gotten somewhat sore. Not sure if this is from the run (which usually DOESN'T cause soreness), or from perhaps sitting in the "throne room" for longer periods of time. I AM hoping that goes away soon as I HATE lower back pain, it's the worst!

Here are my STATS as of this morning:

Weight: 214 lbs (down 6 from start)
Resting Heart Rate (upon waking): 58
Blood Pressure: 120/70

Really happy I made it to Friday! The weekend will be a boring one for me, no cookouts, movies, or anything outside of my home as I don't want to encourage the Devil to return!

Thanks to everyone for the emails, and the great support!

 If YOU are interested in perhaps doing this Cleanse one day, there are multiple books available on it, just look at the bottom of this page! I must say in a disclaimer that I don't recommend starting a cleanse like this without consulting with a doctor! 

Yay for Good Health!

Day 3 Review (ALMOST halfway!)

Hello everyone! This is DAY 4! I am ALMOST at the halfway point, and amazingly, all is well.  I wish I had an interesting story to describe Day 3, but alas, it was pretty uneventful. I still feel great, with a good bit of energy! No headaches, no cramps, nothing. As I mentioned yesterday, still have some light drainage of sinuses, but that's it.

Again, without being too graphic (but we're talking about a CLEANSE people, kind of goes with the territory!), but there is STILL waste being removed with the salt-water flush each morning. I'm really surprised that having not eaten ANY solid food in almost 4 days, there is still "shtuff" in my intestines/colon. You obviously KNOW when all waste has been removed, but I'm not there yet, another good thing about being on this Cleanse, just want to get rid of EVERYTHING! :)

I'm taking a trip to the grocery store this morning to get more lemons, will be interested to see if my cravings increase while there. Maybe they won't even happen at all! Will let you know tomorrow!

Will have new stats for you tomorrow morning, so stay tuned!


If you are interested in the Master Cleanse, there are books on the subject that you can check out at the bottom of this page!

Yay for Health!

Day 2 Review and Updated Stats! Sailing along!!

Well, Day 2 is over, and I am starting to wonder WHEN my body will realize we are doing a cleansing fast! Or maybe the laugh is on ME, as my body is still functioning JUST fine on all the junk I have fed it over the last few years? As amazing as it may sound, I am doing just fine after 2 days, and am almost afraid of what will happen when my body runs out of it's supply of toxins and other poisons and starts to lash out...be merciful, body!

I ended up drinking 7 of the "lemonades" yesterday, down 1 from 8 before. I try to drink one every 2 hours, which really is easy to do, and I find helps keep my appetite in check. The headache I had after Day 1 is gone, and other than a few cravings yesterday afternoon, it's been rather easy!

It's an interesting thing about cravings: it's not so much that you are HUNGRY, as it is a psychological event. The test, they say, is that if you desire something such as a hamburger and fries, and then you ask yourself if you would have the SAME desire of a salad and an apple, and DON'T, then it is a craving, and not hunger.

NOT to sound gross, but I HAVE noticed slight more discharge from my sinuses, which I guess is good, maybe something is starting to happen here. My tongue has also started to change color a little to a whitish hue, which is another sign that detoxification has begun. So maybe this thing is slowly coming along!

I won't be working out with weights during this Cleanse (as I was religiously before) as I have no protein source to feed muscle growth. I DID take a brisk 20 minute walk yesterday as it was SO nice out, and I want to keep some kind of cardio routine. I also did 20 pushups and 30 abs just to help keep up muscle tone (they say you may lose a little during the 10 days).

Lastly, here are my new stats as of this morning, nothing drastic, and they are moving in the right direction!

Weight: 215 lbs (down 5)
Resting Heart Rate (upon waking): 64
Blood Pressure: 126/66

Again, my energy levels are pretty good, so we'll sailing right along!

If YOU are interested in perhaps doing this Cleanse one day, there are multiple books available on it, just look at the bottom of this page!

Yay for Good Health!

DAY 1 Review

Well, Day 1 of my Master Cleanse is in the books! And I'm happy to say: I'm alive and well! All in all, it was a relatively easy day (except to my swimmers, who just can't fathom the fact that I came to practice without having eaten for the whole day! "I have to eat something every 10 minutes!" exclaimed one of my skinny 10 year old girls, who looks at though SHE has been on a fast since age 7...)

I ended up drinking 8 of the lemon-water based drinks throughout the day, which are remarkably tasty and taste almost like a glass of lemonade. Eight ounces is not a lot to drink, but it does seem to get me by a couple of hours until the next drink. The most challenging part so far has been quickly drinking a quart of the water mixed with sea-salt when I woke up, which is used to help flush out everything in your body about 30 minutes after ingested. It WORKS, trust me!

Perhaps the only change I noticed that was NOT fun was a gradual headache developing as the night went on. I HAVE felt this before, on the fast I did a few years ago, and it's NOT fun at all (as I NEVER get headaches, so it's an extra burden to deal with them). But people say these will go away after Day 3, so I am looking forward to that moment. People ALSO say that Day 2 and Day 3 are perhaps the hardest part of the entire cleanse, as your body now realizes this is for REAL, and it starts to detoxify some of the impurities. I am looking forward to Day 4, hopefully it will be downhill from there!

I will be posting my stats tomorrow, looking forward to seeing what my blood pressure is, and how much weight I have loss! I would write more now, but as I drank my salt water solution before I sat down here, and as expected, nature calls!!

Thanks for everyone's support, it helps more than you may realize! And to my friend Nettles, your 6:45am text to me listing off all the wonderful foods that I am missing won't deter me! :P

Here's to living healthy!

Day 1 starting stats

Started the Master Cleanse this morning! Just before I chugged down 32 ounces of yummy salt water (maybe my growing up at the beach for so long acclimated me to this?), I recorded some stats to track as the fast goes along. If at any time these change too dramatically, I will abandon this, as my health is more important SHORT-TERM, lol! Here are those numbers:

Weight: 220 lbs
Waist: 38 inches
Resting Heart Rate (upon waking): 68
Blood Pressure: 136/70

I'll post these every other day to show you the changes (if any)...

Yay for good health!

WHY a Master Cleanse?

Good question! The idea actually was given to me by a friend on Facebook. I noticed her profile was changing each day to "Day __, almost there...", or "Day __, feeling great!" So I emailed her and asked what was up. "It's a detox diet called Master Cleanse", she told me. Now I have heard of a few different cleanse programs, even tried one in 2008, but hadn't heard of this one. Seems I was in the minority, as MANY people seem to know about it.

The idea was first originated by a man named Stanley Burrows, who wrote about it in the 1940's, then re-released the books in the 1970's. A NEW book was written by Peter Glickman called "Lose Weight, Have More Energy, and Be Happier in 10 Days". This book details more of the process, and offers a support forum for people to use while doing this fast.

The concept is fairly simple: a 10 day "fast" designed to clean all the toxins and impurities from the body, allowing it to function better and make it easier to adapt a healthier lifestyle or raw foods and vegetables. The goal is NOT to make one a vegetarian (That'll NEVER happen to me!), but instead to train it to eat smaller portions, and things with more nutrients.

Like any fast, this Cleanse is not easy. NO solid food is allowed whatsoever. As well, NO chemicals are allowed to contact the body in any way (a perfect scenario would be no soap, deodorant, or toothpaste, but as I work in close proximity with people, will be substituting all organic supplies with no chemicals). The duration of the Cleanse is 10 days, with a 3 day "ease out" period to acclimate the body to solid food again (which I have read can be quite traumatic if you starve your body for so long, then chow down on a burger). Some people have gone longer than the 10 days, and have gone to 14, 21, even 40 days on this (believe me, 10 days for me will be PLENTY!).

The Cleanse goes like this:

1. Upon waking, you drink 32 ounces of purified water with 2 teaspoons of sea salt. The solution goes right down to your stomach, and "flushes out" your colon and intestines. And it works FAST, let me tell you...
2. A drink consisting of purified water, squeezed lemon (to balance alkalinity in the body), maple syrup (to provide some of the nutrients and calories your body needs during this fast), and cayenne pepper (to dilate the blood vessels so that toxins can be removed). You drink anywhere from 6-12 of these 8 ounce drinks a day (the more the better)
3. Before bed, you drink a laxative tea, which works while you sleep. When you awake in the morning, and the salt water mixes with the tea, you make sure you aren't doing anything for at least 30 minutes!
4. Optional (as needed, and I MAY use as needed!) is a mint, decaffeinated tea. 

Now I HAVE done a Cleanse before, although not this one. It was much more stringent: only ONE drink a day, and that was made of a nasty tasting mix or beets and kale. That was mixed with a fiber powder that made the consistency like oatmeal, which didn't go down very well. I DID get to 3 days on that Cleanse, but had intense headaches (a normal side-affect) as well as lowered body temperature (I was freezing all the time). I am hoping this Cleanse will be less traumatic, and am looking forward to see the physical and psychological changes that everyone I have talked to that has experienced in doing this.

In this blog, I will be documenting the process, with the intention of giving people an insight of this Cleanse, and maybe even encourage some of you to kick start a new and healthier life! Enjoy!