Master Cleanse Forum - Master Cleanser Lemonade Diet

Congrats on staying strong last night! I'm so proud of you girl!! Looks like you're continuing on. Nice work. I'll be joining you again tomorrow for another 3 days on the MC. Going to start tomorrow with a SWF since I haven't done one in a while. And to clear out my system of anything hanging there that I ate today. I only at raw foods - no junk - so I'm not too worried.

Will check in again tomorrow!

Take care,
Marsha

Day 17:
SW: 155.5
CW: 142.5 (+1 pd) :S

Morning team!

Yesterday mornin I had the SWF, seems to have helped a tiny bit to get me to go suddenly after a few hours, but that's it. I figure the gain is from teh SWF this morning as I have tested it a few times now and I literally FELT like if I was retaining water.

Then later in the evening after I prep'd the next few days of lunch/dinner (a nice stirfry, and no, not white rice ) for the man, I went and worked out on the mill. Surprisingly there was HARDLY any sweat, usually I'm sweating bullets! I don't know if the SWF would make me retain water during a work out that normally has me sweating beyond belief... but something didn't feel right.

SO! I am opting out of the SWF for at least another week and going to have the tea more often! I had a bit this morning and have elimited a few times for sure! Usually I have some tea in the afternoon @work since I drink a tonne of water and some LA while at work. Then late in the evening, before bed - a stronger dose of tea. TOO MUCH? Perhaps, but it's working for me!

Scale concern - Numerous times I have noticed the scale one minute indicating one weight - then the next a higher weight - so I check about 4-5 times just to see which is the average weight reported (1 or the other). I am tempted to get a nicer scale - and since I'm not buying food for - myself -, I figure I can afford it ... My fear is that my 'actual weight' might be higher than what this indicated on this one...

Should I get a nicer, newer, more accurate one? Or keep using this scale as my guide from start to finish of this cleanse.. or both?

Elbow-skin-face-update: all gone! Took a week and a half but it's gone, now it's just dry skin since it's below 0 here and winter is setting in!

TOM update: finally, after 16 days I don't need to wield around tampons just in case, finally done - I'll tell you my man is happy about that

Marsha - On for another 3 days hey? good for you for summoning the power to do it =), good job on the raw foods too!


I actually found organic lemons at the grocery store by me! They haven't been there the entire time I've been on the cleanse, so needless to say I picked a bag up! They don't have the same rubbery feel as the 'normal' ones do, but carry more seeds and more juice!

Time to get back into work - where did the weekend go!

UPDATE: Picked up a new scale - accurate to the .2!

I tried several times on both:

Old scale: 142.0
New: 143.4

I haven't decided if i'll keep measuring with the old one to keep track of actual loss or start with this one... but very interesting!

Thoughts anyone?

Day 18:

SW: 155.5
CW: 141.5 (-1 pd, back to where I was saturday)

Morning gang!

I've decided to continue with using the old scale since I have been using that as my base of measurements. Still records the proper amount of pds lost so thats all good ^^

I have been near-uncontrollable urges to have sashimi... I did soo much research on health benefits and cons of sashimi/sushi so I know that sashimi being my 'treat' once in a while rather than the 'steak' like usual will be a wiser choice that before =) Baby steps n'est pas?

Body is thinking more and more about food, it is fine once I have more water and or LA - just the pangs have been coming on stronger the past few days - I hope that passes!

I went to the store yesterday and picked up more tea and the lady behind the counter was shocked to hear I was still on the cleanse, WOW GOOD FOR YOU ETC ETC - then told the owner behind her 'hey! This young lady has been on it for 17 days!' and they proceeded to compliment my skin and etc, that was awfully nice of them


Still eliminating concentrated evil so thats good!

But alas - I must get dressed for work - ttyl team

Hey Raff, we're weight buddies today! I'm at 141.5, since I slipped up a bit on Sunday. Hopefully we can both see a big loss tomorrow. Starting at 155, you must be seeing a big difference in your clothes and everything. Are they falling off of you? I'm sure your friends and co-workers must have mentioned it, too? Let's hear the compliments!

Although I'm not a nutritionist, I am of the opinion that sashimi isn't bad for you! I think you can even have it more than just a "treat!" I just get the cuts of fish without rice (or if I do have rice have brown), stick to only a few bites of fatty-er fish and mostly lean white fish/shellfish, and if I'm still hungry, eat seaweed, edemame, miso soup, etc. Japanese is probably the easiest cuisine to be healthy with, so enjoy!

Katie - we're weight buddies today? WOOHOO! Hopefully we can both see some loss tomorrow!

Hmm as for clothes - the only thing I've noticed is things fit better 'along the gut' line since i've been a muffin top for a few years haha, still am a bit but 14 pds makes a difference there =)... Hmm my jeans keep sagging a bit as their hip huggers, but the rest of the 'muffin top' that still remains keeps it in place hah!

People have said that my skin looks clearer, and thinner, thats the first place they notice it. My girlfriend at work asked 'why is your face soo poofy!?' confused I asked, 'where specifically on the face?'.. 'the cheeks' 'Ohhh that's because I've always had cheeks that stick out since I was a kid, they're happy cheeks!' 'Ohh plus your jaw/chin area is smaller so thats why I noticed it more!'...

Otherwise my man has noticed it mainly in 2 areas; waist line, curves are becoming back to their dominant status - woohoo! and arms.. The arms are starting to look not soo much like 'trucker arms'..thighs only slightly lost anything.. My butt refuses to shrink, and as do the thighs, but hey now, some things can take time =), and that's ok.

The other day on the treadmill I caught a glimpse of self in the mirror (the whole wall is a damn mirror, hard not to) and I noticed the face shrinkage - woohoo!

I have also noticed in my pants, dress pants, sweats, etc, that the part that covered my gut before the cleanse sticks out now, so now I have to wash and dry the pants to make them shrink. If you've ever had a pair of pants fit not-soo-snuggly, the pant-line along the gut area looks like an 'extra shelf' since ther eis soo much extra fabric. Especially since my stuff is all stretchy, it is now failing to shrink since they've been shaped by a long time of fat gut :p


Anyway - After spending the evening reading on sushi/sashimi benefits/concerns, deconstructing the cals, fat intake, sodium, etc - I have decided to move away from the rolls (rice stuff) and stick to sashimi with a bunch of greenage on the side. I don't know if the place where we usually go has side salad/green stuff to eat (although I imagine they should) but I do love their sashimi, soo fresh! I may have the occaaasional roll but to be honest - not as much as before. and NO tempura! Also, going to slowly try veggie sushi's that dont have the mayonaiise and cream cheese stuff. Talking about the mushrooms, avocado, etc. Also going to take it easy on the soy! I'll enjoy the occasional miso soup (very high in salt!), which I do adore.

Do a quick search on google for 'is sushi healthy?', read the first 5 or 6 pages and you'll find some great info about it, especially the history of sushi! Interesting facts such as: They surve wasabi with it because if you eat anything raw - no matter beef, chicken, or fish - there is always a very small chance you might get a worm or other types of bacteria. Doesn't matter what it is, it's always possible. The wasabi acts as an extremely good killer of worms and bad bacteria! Of course - if you can stand the taste - I just happen to love it!


My friends and I have agreed that sashimi is going to be first meal for me once I can take in solids again post clease =) haha It's going to be a big deal going out to enjoy it lol, and for the first time I will be looking at the menu for more green items.... and i've been going to that place for a few years and never cared to look!

Anyway, 'nuff about that - listen to me ramble about my findings about my fav food... haha silly me.




I have decided to keep up with my regimen of tea. Lightly stepped tea in the morning, 1 later in the afternoon, again, not stepped that much and then right before bed; stepped extra long tea! Tea 3x a day and my body is reacting just fine to it. SOO LONG as I do keep up with water and LA I'm fine! We'll see how it goes come tomorrow's weigh in!

Speculating here..

I know I have reduced my LA intake to about 3 daily, the rest all water... I have noticed a significantly slower loss (down 14 over 18 days at the moment) as of recent..It could be from the SWF I had that took a few days to release water, or I wonder if taking in more water rather than LA has slowed the process of loss? Still purging in the bathroom, thats for sure!

Hmm... interesting.

WOW what a day...

I have completely forgotten to bring cayenne to work today so I will have to wait until after work to have my mix, and I will have LOTS!

My mind is obsessing on when to end this cleanse. I have to keep reminding myself that i'm supposed to take this as a day by day thing... and not set any amount of days as Marsha said 'so as to avoid feeling resentful towards the cleanse'....


As I said, I have noticed - my mind is obsessing over food today... Ultra obsessing..It's soo intense I can not describe!

Maybe the cayenne helps in another way: puts a taste of something in your mouth so you don't think about it soo much... This must be an infamous daylike other people blog about where there's supposed to be one REALLY BAD day for cravings

that, or the thought of being over half way through this has aroused excited thoughts of food

OR the fact i read about sushi/sashimi nutrition last night since it is my terrible weakness
yes yes..this could be it...maybe? But then again I've spent a good majority of the cleanse studying nutrition and watching health shows and food network and haven't had a siiiingle erk or twitch or desire to munch out on anything.. and i've been prepping dinner/lunch's for my boyfriend.... WHY today?

*long exhale*

Why is it soo hard today? There are no scents in the air like that time I was surrounded by hotdogs, no scents of people's lunch... the only thing different is that I have been drinking just water and some lax. tea today...just no mix yet.

I have even taken a time-out to collect my thoughts and ground myself, and just let the mind become quiet. Still, the thoughts are extremely strong...hmm..

Update: WOW, what on earth happened earlier.. I know the cravings were EXTREMELY intense, but now that I am home and fiiinally having my mix - the cravings have darn well dissapeared haha.... Literally a few minutes after having some of the LA mix, is when they subsided. How odd?

Why was it soo intense? Mix related?

Well who knows - but cheers folks! Keep that mix handy!!! Because you never know the the food monster will waddle into your mind

Hey there Raff - I didn't get a chance to check in yesterday. Looks like you're going strong on Day 18! And I assume you are moving onto Day 19 tomorrow. Glad to hear you made it through your intense cravings. I was feeling that way on Day 14. I ended up eating raw foods on Sunday - went back to lemonade on Monday - but got really hungry on Monday night and binged on some old favorites. I was soooo disappointed in myself. But then I picked myself up and dusted myself off and restarted. I remembered that life isn't 100% perfect. It's about what you do in each situation. In my case, I decided to make this time different from all of the others. In the past I would have said "oh, I failed again - I'll eat whatever I want." But this time I said "I had a slip up - and if I get back to it, I really didn't do that much damage and I can still continue toward my goal." I think this was a big break through for me and I'm feeling really good about it.

And I'm doing great today! I avoided cookies and other junk that was put out for a work meeting and kept my eye on the ball

Regarding the scale - I've had the same experience with different scales. I hated the ones I've had that change each time you step on them! So I found one that calculates to the closest .5 pound mark - and it is consistent even if I step on multiple times. I like that I can be confident in the number for that day. I do think my current scale probably measures 1 to 2 pounds lighter than a scale at my doctor office or a place like that with a heavy duty scale. But I don't mind. I just want the consistency and get to my goal. 1 to 2 pounds isn't going to make or break anything.

Gonna run. Take care and I'll check in again soon!

Marsha

Day 19:

SW: 155.5
CW: 140.0 (-1.5 from yesterday)

Marsha -

Good morning chikita, glad to see you online! And as per usual, thank you for the support. Glad to hear I am not the only one that has had a crazy day for cravings... I still can not describe how intense that was! If you were going to have anything it might as well have been raw foods, that was the BEST choice for you! Psychologically that was an extremely huge faaantastico of a breakthrough! This cleanse is wonderful for getting 'in-touch' with one's self physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually if they soo choose. it looks like you've made some self-progress. Great building blocks for a little self love *hi five!* Good job on avoiding the cookies too... Thank goodness it was jsut raw foods, probably gave your body a little kick in energy I'd hope. I'm going to check your blog before I ask a few questions

Re: scale, glad to hear I'm not the ONLY one haha. At least it's consistently one weight and not compleeetely all over the place. So it still reflects the weight loss, it is just a pound off for 'actual' weight. *shrug* I'll take it =)


Katie - can't wait to see the update on your blog to see what you weighed in at. I haven't seen 140 in years!

... Turns out I came into work with my tshirt inside out.. I knew something felt itchy! Gooood morning!

Since it has been getting cold (below freezing here now) I have decided to use hot water that they use for coffee here and mix it with some cool - cooler water. Warm water is easier to take down than anything else

MOKSHA YOGA! (Hot Yoga)

Afternoon team!

It appears I maaaay be heading to my first Hot Yoga class! Yeppers, a friend and her sister/neice will be going and it'll be all of our first times! I have been fascinated for a while since a gf of ours said it was absolutely amazing!

For those who don't know - it's a series of poses, positions, etc performed in a room that is 37 degrees C. Sooo let me draw a picture for you.

It is currently 0 degrees C, being 32 degres for you U.S. folks =)
going into a 37 degree (C) room, would be 98 degrees F.

THAT will be a pleasant treat I hope.. it's been soo cold in this office (partially due to cleanse, but mainly because we have poor heating in this office) that I am currently wearing a ski jacket and a toque! hah... its a funny sight. So from 37->98 degrees... or 0 -> 37 C =)...

The plans haven't been confirmed yet but it is supposed to a hell of a cardio work out and you're going to sweat BULLLETS, also serves as a detox session amongst many many other benefits!

This being said they recommend not to eat a large meal 2-3 hours before hand, and to come well hydrated. I do not perceive there being an issue there This just means that I will not have an afternoon 'tea' to ensure there are no emergency stops in the bathroom before hand. One of the added bonus's is that the session also gets blood moving to the intestines and bowels...releiving constipation since there will be increased blood flow to that area...I hope i don't have to run to the can in the middle of it!

Ta ta for now !

I would love to be in a heated room like that! My fiance has been lenient with me overheating out apartment but he still complains about how hot it is and I still feel cold!

Enjoy the class, I hope it goes well:)

Update: Unfooooortunately I did not get to go, I even planned out the transit route! would take an hour each way to get there! That's fine by me - I'd like to say I'm stubborn as an ox hehe.

No, but really, my gf's sister's family (whom we were going to get a ride from) had some health issues and they couldn't go. Them being our wheels... called off.. STILL I contemplated leaving to go myself. Well it came down to leaving home within 15 mins of arriving and coming back just before 10pm and NOT going to the store to get lemons... or getting lemons.... Decided for lemons since I didn't have LA all day until a few hours ago lol.

I cooked a maaaagnificent meal for the man, I played with a recipe I found and it was a success.. really! My cooking has gotten way better while on this cleanse.. Before, I would always taste it - add spice or ADD something..until III liked it - I have to remember cooking isn't necessarily what I WANT and think should be in it... Now I just cook via taste and texture,and at the VERY END - taste a tiny bit to see if I did any good - but rather cooking something that would be acceptable to all pallets that willl be eating, nothing crazy and whacky if i dont know if they can hanlde it or not hah..

ANYWAY - now that the kitchen is a complete and total disaster I'm going to clean up while watching 'chef school' on food network and brew up some tea.. I could reaaally use a hot shower to comfort the muscles.

Woof - what a day!

Here's to hoping to hit the 130's tomorrow! Raffi
XOXO

Hey Raff,
Just wanted to tell you that I've done "hot" yoga several times before. It's called Bikram, and, at least where I go, the room is actually heated to 105 degrees (I think about 40.6 degrees Celcius) and the room can get mutch hotter, up to 110, when it is crowded. To clarify on a few things (although I'm sure it'll stir up an arguement), the movements are very minimal due to the extreme heat, and I do not count it as a cardio workout. I liken it to sitting in a sauna—yes, your blood is pumping faster and you are sweating, but you aren't doing anything to make that happen. Of course, certain people have different opinions, but I think if you google the medical side of it, you'll see.
Also, honestly, I would really NOT reccommend doing Bikram while on the cleanse. It is so important to be really REALLY hydrated before a class, and anyone who is taken one or two laxative teas a day (and didn't you even say three sometimes??) could not possibly be hydrated enough, no matter how much water you are drinking, because the laxatives are just flushing it right out. When I do Bikram I go at four in the afternoon, and the day of I make sure to have no caffiene, and drink at least 100 oz. of water (that's 3 liters) before class, and another 2 liters afterward.

I'd say go do some regular yoga (I really enjoy Ashtanga, and think it is good for beginners because you can learn the poses in order) for a few weeks before even thinking about Bikram, and make sure you're off the cleanse. Bikram is great for getting toxins out, but you don't need to combine too many "toxin purging" treatments at once!

Of course, that's just my two cents, you don't have to take them if you don't want!