Master Cleanse Forum - Master Cleanser Lemonade Diet

new beginnings-
in the beginning of my cleanses (day 1-4) I was having a LOT of weird dreams. I've had people from my childhood appear, just random people, etc. I'm not so sure what it is, but I was dreaming a lot. I hardly dream when I sleep...or remember them. I'm guessing it had to do with something mental, or that I started getting a lot of sleep in the beginning stages of my cleanse (a lot of naps). Strange huh? Good luck on continuing your cleanse.

Softboats, hi! I'm so glad you're hanging in there. And don't be embarrassed -- I know it has happened to me many times over, and I'd bet most everyone on this board can relate to starting the cleanse then caving to temptations -- it's only human!

I think sometimes those little setbacks can make us stronger -- definitely use it! I can't believe you work at a restaurant! That has got to be the toughest ever while cleansing, but you can do it! I was going to post today about how I couldn't watch any TV all day because even just ads for food, no matter if it was something I would normally want to eat or not, were making me ravenous. Yesterday it was really making me crazy. So today I curled up in bed with a novel I couldn't put down until I finished (hence, I wasn't online earlier today either). So I can't imagine working around food. You are one tough chick, and I totally support you in doing the cleanse -- you can do it!

Anyway, I think it's a great idea that you're starting the cleanse on a day you're not working so you can solidify the routine for a day. Each day that you make it through the cleanse will make you stronger. I know it's way easier said than done, but someone on the board this summer talked about how doing the MC is really all about mental discipline. We aren't going to die if we don't give into temptation while on the cleanse, and not eating while we cleanse isn't going to kill us, so when you're faced with a challenge, just focus on your goals, why you are doing this and what it means to you. I don't know if that's good advice -- and I know you're not asking -- but I just thought I'd throw that out there. And if you can, when you're at work, send a post to the board for support!

Memoriez, thanks for the feedback on dreams! It really is good to know I'm not alone with that. Last night, luckily, I didn't have any unsettling dreams. I am someone who typically remembers a dream or two most nights, but normally they're not disturbing or anything. Anyway, I do feel better knowing that it's not that uncommon while on the MC. And if I do have another unsettling dream, it's probably something I need to deal with, right?

As for my update -- Day 2 is just about done, and I'm feeling good about that. Like I mentioned earlier, yesterday I was very distracted (aka tormented!) by any image of food I saw on TV, and went to bed feeling super hungry. Today I decided no TV (well, limited -- I'm watching the news now) so I kept myself distracted by reading a great novel. That made the day go by pretty quickly, which was nice. Now that I'm back online, I have to say too that I'm super inspired by reading everyone's posts on this forum, it really keeps me motivated. And I have to give a huge shout-out to Athene, who not only completed a 40-day cleanse, which is amazing, but she posted before and after photos, which are so motivating! I know I'll be returning there to help me keep my eye on the prize.

I guess I'm a pretty visual person, so just like how the food ads have so much power over me, so do Athene's photos. This is going to sound super cheesy (because it is!), but I can't wait for the next episode of The Biggest Loser so I can watch them and live vicariously through their successes, and I sometimes look through clothing catalogs (in print and online) to make up fantasy shopping lists of the clothes I could buy once I'm slimmer -- visualizing myself in them -- even if I don't have anywhere near the budget to buy most of them. I know *when* I get down to my goal weight, I will need to buy all new clothes, so a girl has to try to plan ahead, right?

That said, it might be more practical for me to think ahead about what sort of nutrition plan I'll follow once the MC ends rather than what clothes I'd love to buy, but for now I can't handle thinking about food. I know what I want to do (vegan, raw) and I have some cookbooks on hand already, so maybe toward the very end, or when I'm sipping orange juice and veggie soup at the end of my cleanse, I'll make those shopping lists.

Okay, I think that's it for now -- wishing everyone well -- we can do this!

newbeginnings-
I think it's great that you are doing things to distract yourself and keep yourself busy. In the first two days, all I did was watch movies & sleep (mainly sleep and nap). When I had more energy to stay up, I would read books about the master cleanse, about detoxing, look up detoxes and how they can help your system, forums, so that I can try to logically understand what is happening to my body and why it is important for me to continue and finish. Towards the middle to the end of the cleanse- when I wasn't craving foods, etc, I started reading up on raw books, looking up recipes I wanted to try when I finished the cleanse, making shopping lists, to help plan out my new lifestyle.

You're already thru with day 2, and one more day and the hunger should subside soon. You've made it thru the hard part, now all you have to do is persevere

You're doing so well. For me days 3-4 were the hardest. After those days past it has been a piece of cake. It will be for you too.

hi memories and teamrose, thank you guys for your support and advice -- it means so much and definitely keeps me going!

Day 3 is done, and i'm super excited: mini-goal #1 is accomplished!!! YAY!!!

Here's to hoping I can keep it going!

My next goal will be to double what I've done so far and get to 6 days.

So the cravings are still here, but for sure it's connected to the ads on TV. Like even food ads that would normally repulse me start to look like the most delectable item ever and I start thinking about how I will devour them when the cleanse is over. I'm trying to be nice with myself about it and go with it for now, but in reality, I hope that I won't really want to go anywhere near any of those particular food items when I'm done because they are no where near healthy. I'm just trusting that the cravings will go away, and when I'm way healthier and skinnier I'm not going to want to go near that stuff.

When I finished my first and only 40-day cleanse, I had this running list of all the stuff I was going to eat, and after the ease-out days (veggie soup never tasted so good, by the way), I had a meal or two of indulgence, but stuff like that didn't really taste as good as I remembered, and I went back to eating healthy. So this time around, I hope that I just don't even go there.

So anyway, I'm thinking that when I'm watching TV for the next little bit, I'll just have to get my butt off the sofa when the ads come on -- maybe even do some stretches or something! it would be funny if my kooky avoidance of food ads made me the slightest bit healthier or something.

In other news -- TMI warning! -- my TOM started today, and the cramps are definitely bugging me. I typically baby myself with chocolate treats during the first day or two, so to go without is a bit of a drag, and it's another habit I may have to rework post-cleanse -- I'll negotiate with myself on that later! Also, this means I probably won't get on the scale for a week or something -- don't want to see any numbers that are discouraging, even if I know it's related to my cycle -- I'm at too early a stage in the cleanse to risk getting discouraged. So no updates on that front for a several days I'm afraid. On the other hand, I do like to check my progress, so we'll see how long I can hold out!

Other than those two little challenges, I'm feeling good with the cleanse. I like feeling lighter, there's that weird sense of accomplishment feeling when I go to bed a little hungry, and my energy is pretty good, as long as I make sure to drink MC servings in pretty regular intervals and before I get hungry/weak. My spring semester for grad school starts next week, so I want to be in a good flow with the MC before all that craziness starts up again.

Anyway, I think that's it for tonight, the end of Day 3 -- yipee!

Happy cleansing to all!

You are so very close to be through the hard part. My system is sluggish and my hard part lasted 4 days. I hear it can last as long as 5 days. That's the bad news. The good news, after you get past those initial difficult days, you will be able to look at, smell and talk about food non-stop without the slightest bit of hunger.

Then you can just join your fellow cleansers with your daily gloat. I've heard there will be setbacks along the way, but when you think about it, what really can stop us from becoming better people? I think nothing but our own wills and determination. You've got it girl and will go the distance.

newbeginnings-
Love that you are making mini-goals for yourself. It reminds me of what the trainer said on "the biggest loser" to a contestant who was over 500 pounds. The contestant kept saying that he had to lose a person (300 pounds), lose 300 pound. The trainer told him that when we often think about goals that are so daunting that we'll never achieve them but we need to take it day by day and accomplish what we need to do for THAT day. I think that it's great that you are making small realistic goals for yourself. You should be proud that you've accomplished #1.

I also got my TOM when I was on the cleanse- and one thing i can recommend is drink MORE water than you are drinking. Sometimes just hot water would help too with cramps. I usually retain a LOT of water during my period and drinking even more water helped me flush it out. I was going to the bathroom non-stop, but it didn't make me feel bloated as much. I had minor cramps, but they weren't as bad on the cleanse.

Good luck!

Hi Everyone, Day 4 is almost done, and I am very happy for that!

Rose, thanks as always for your thoughts and support! I'm very much looking forward to the day when food does not tempt me! Today I went to a special lecture that one of my professors was giving at another university and lunch was served in the reception area -- aah! I wasn't expecting that, so I bascially sprinted through the registration area and took a seat in hall. I just don't trust myself yet, and I didn't want to feel the pain of not eating catered and free food -- food served like that always tastes better, regardless of what it is, right?

Memoriez, thanks for the complement about the mini-goals -- but i can't take credit for it! someone much smarter than me who was on the boards this summer introduced the idea, and it makes a lot of sense to me so i'm incorporating it -- and so far so good! i think the little goals just feel better, and you don't have to wait as long to feel a sense of accomplishment. and especially since i had a false start this time around, i kind of need the reinforcement to keep me going. and i did see that episode on the biggest loser, so i know exactly what you're talking about! small, realistic goals are making much more sense to me now -- usually i'm the girl who tries to bite off more than she can chew and then i stumble and stall out...so this seems like a *much* better strategy! i don't know why i haven't done it sooner! i like your idea about hot water with the cleanse and TOM -- maybe some hot water with lemon? i think i will put on some hot water now! and i probably need to take the advice i've been giving rose, i should drink more water today too! thanks for the tips!

Okay, so here's my Day 4 update:

I'm *starting* to get that bright eyes, clear-skin look, which is so nice! i sometimes get breakouts, but my skin is improving, and i didn't get any TOM breakouts, which is a nice bonus!

so i went to that lecture today and bolted through the reception's lunch -- hey, whatever a girl's got to do to stay on the cleanse, right? i brought some MC mix with me in a kleen kanteen water bottle, but I didn't add any cayenne to it since it would just get too spicy as it steeped. for me, i need to "eat" something to keep my energy level steady, so i figured lemonade without cayenne is better than nothing for 2 hours. when i got home i had an extra-spicy MC serving to make up for it!

i didn't manage to workout today (yikes, gotta get that in tomorrow!) but i did do something else: i almost ritualistically and with some pleasure, cleaned my stovetop and oven. it's so spic and span that i could eat off of it, if i were eating! and as i was cleaning it, i made a promise to myself that when i ease out of the cleanse, i'm [only] going to cook healthy food with my stove. and i know that every once in a while, i might indulge with food, but i see indulgent meals as more of an eating-out kind of thing, and i'd really like to make my home a place where nearly all the meals are healthy and nutritious things going into my body and anyone else's that i'm cooking for -- and i can't desecrate the beautiful stove with junky, fatty foods, can i?

other than that, everything has been going pretty smoothly. Just trying to take it one day at a time, and I'm really happy with myself that i've made it through day 4 -- i wasn't entirely sure i could make it this far when i restarted my cleanse, and i'm not as confident as i'd like to be about how far i will make it, so each day that i do make it just feels great.

i think it's time to get my SM tea brewing -- hope things are going well for all of you -- happy cleansing!

Oh I hear ya on the free/catered food!! Great job getting through that today.

I also totally understand the eat at home vs. eating out. That is exactly how it works in my house. Nothing unhealthy comes in (minus the monthly pizza night and desserts for my 5 year old daughter) and any meals that fall outside of my regular diet are at a restaurant. It works out great!!!

Love reading your posts, keep it up!

hi notimetolose,
thank you so much!
i don't know why it hadn't occurred to me not to bring unhealthy food into my kitchen -- well, i guess what's happening for me now is that i am redefining what's healthy and unhealthy. like i know i don't have any restraint when it comes to trader joe's frozen foods -- they probably aren't the worst things in the world, but i'll cook an entire box or bag of XYZ and end up eating more than i should in one sitting -- it tastes good, and i mindlessly eat too much. for the time being though, trader joe's is off limits until i get a handle on portion control. Plus, what i'd really like to do is eat mostly raw/vegan, so i'd rather be prepping healthy fruits and veg than opening a frozen package of food and popping it in the oven -- i was thinking about breaking that habit quite a bit as i was cleaning the oven!
with any luck, i won't use the stove that much once i break the cleanse, and maybe by then, some spring veggies and fruit will be making their way to the farmer's markets and they will look so much more appealing to me that i won't even think about frozen foods.
thanks again for the support, i appreciate it!

Good idea about the stove, keeping it nice and clean. And it'll be easier to clean as well with fruits and veggies. They don't make nearly as much of a mess as greasy foods do. And a lot of people assume that popping something frozen in the oven or microwave is so much easier than eating healthy. But in reality, how hard is it to grab a cucumber and cut it into slices? Add some dip or a bit of flavour and voila! Food Mostly all the work to do with eating healthy is a little cutting, maybe some research to find some recipes, but once you've made them a couple times it's very easy. It's all just like you said, bringing healthy food into your house. If that's all you have to eat, you'll eat it!

Hey, I read somewhere around the beginning of the journal that ice cream is one of your weaknesses! Well I have an ice cream cookbook called "Vice Cream" that is all vegan, and half of the recipes are raw. There are some really crazy flavors too! I just thought I'd share so that maybe you can learn to make your own much healthier ice cream once you're done cleansing.

You might want to wait until you're past the ease out stage to buy it, to avoid torturing yourself with it though, ...I learned the hard way that the more I look at recipes while cleansing, the less control I have after cleansing.

we switched about 3 years ago to no high fructose corn syrup and no hydrogenated oils......i took all the foods out of my cabinets, and DONATED IT, then i made the rule.....I will not shelf anything that contains HFCS or HO!....i have stuck to it i would say 99% of the time....it doesn't mean i don't ever eat that stuff (once in a while we will break and buy something awful), it just means that if we do eat something that has those in them, it is NEVER something we can readily get.

keeping the stuff out of the kitchen helps soooo much!!!

newbeginnings-
Great to hear that you made it thru Day 4. Congrats!
Good that you strayed away from the free & catered food. It's great that you avoided temptations. For me- it was at first, smelling the food from the street carts/restaurants outside, to watching the bf eat a meal in front of you, going to the bar seeing everyone drinking, then going to a restaurant seeing people eat. It's a progression but the more you overcome these challenges, the stronger your will power gets. But make sure you take baby steps to make sure you're mentally prepared.

Mini goals are great. Some people finish day 6 and quit, and think that they've failed. It's a great accomplishment which they don't give themselves credit for. A lot of people -including the people around me have this "all or nothing" mentality. They don't want to diet, because they're afraid to fail. I'm still trying to learn the balance of "moderation" in my life as well.

It's great that you're cleaning the kitchen. I love the feeling afterwards. During the detox- it's also great to do some detoxing of the house as well. I cleaned my fridge, cabinets, bathroom, and even my closet. It was time to start fresh & to get rid of/donate the things that were just extra baggage in my life. Hope Day 5 finds you well and bright eyed

newbeginnings; you rock. I truly understand the temptations of the "free" food. I've had people that never cook decide to cook and bring over a dish for me. The better you look the stronger the temptation will become. However, you've crossed over the difficult part. It's all downhill from now on.