CLEANSE SUMMARY
Note: The most important things I learned from this 10-day Master Cleanse that I want you to know are:
1) It is VERY important to use a straw to drink the lemon juice in order to protect your teeth!
2) It is very helpful to ease into the fast with a couple of days of pre-cleanse diet (see below). You don't really want to do through food withdrawal, do you?
3) It is very important to do the salt water flush everyday to avoid ill feelings from toxic buildup. Since it takes almost 2 hours, it can be done in the evening when you know you won't be leaving the house again.
Though the focus of my 10-day Master Cleanse was detox (getting over a cold and a nasty impacted, farty phase of my life!), as a bonus I lost 8.2 lbs. I lost 1.5" off my high waist, 1.25" off my low waist, 1.25" off my hips, and .25 off my bust. These measures are not just a loss of gassiness and poop! I took the base measurement after 4 days of pre-cleanse diet that took care of the gas and the majority of the elimination! In fact, I attribute the ease of the cleanse to phasing into the fast by drinking green smoothies, herbal teas, broths and eating just small meals of simple foods like steamed veggies, oatmeal, hummous & avocado and abstaining from coffee, milk, & meat in the few days before the fast. See Day 11 for recipes. My body fat % fluctuated quite a bit. It went up most during the two periods I had most weight loss, possibly indicating that much of that loss was water weight. I will continue this log through the next few days to see how much of the weight and measurement loss I regain simply by reintroducing food to my system. I had the most weight loss between days 0-2 and days 6-8. I attribute the loss in the first 2 days to eliminating food matter and water, and expect to regain about 3 pounds of it. I attribute the loss between days 6-8 to exercise and possibly water loss. The most efficient exercise for weight loss was low intensity hiking, low intensity biking, medium intensity elliptical, and medium intensity swimming. The low intensity yoga I do doesn’t seem to burn fat, but over the last 4 months of doing it I do see it increasing my strength, toning muscle, stabilizing joints, and reducing back/joint pain. For the daily log, read on....
PRE-CLEANSE - Day 0: Monday, Nov 9, 2009
SWF : No
Smooth Move Tea : Will have 1 before bed tonight
LJ w/Maple B : No
Weight : 135.8
Body Fat: 25.4%
High Waist: 27" (true waist, 2 inches above bellybutton)
Low Waist: 32.75" (where jeans sit, 3 inches below bellybutton)
Exercise Orientation at Ashtanga Mysore yoga class, about 30 minutes.
Comments : I'm going to start a cleanse immediately, though I realize that Thanksgiving is only 17 days away. Why? For the last 4 days I've been sick with a cold and extremely gassy, despite treating the cold with lemon-ginger-honey-cayenne "tea," homemade veggie broth, and eating a little vegan food (cereal, soymilk, steamed veggies, hummus, pita). With a restricted diet, I thought the gas would subside quickly, but it actually got worse and worse. I looked pregnant! The gassiness was so embarrassing because I was at a 3-day retreat and with a bunch of people and I was totally toxic! So I've realized that my toxicity needs way more than just a couple days of restricted diet. The most convincing point is that I have already been eliminating some really nasty stuff, so I really feel the desire to keep that going.
I did a 5-day juice fast years ago, but this will be my first Master Cleanse. Since I've already had cereal, soymilk, and soy yogurt for breakfast, I'll count today as Day-0:Prep Day. I'm going to do my shopping today, have a green smoothie and veggie broth with a few of the cooked veggies in it for tonight's dinner, and have a laxative herbal tea nightcap. My goal is a 13-day cleanse from Tuesday, Nov 10 to Sunday Nov 22, leaving 4 days to get back to my normal vegan diet on Thanksgiving Day. I'm not so gassy today and my cold's almost gone, yet I feel quite "compacted" inside.
CLEANSE - Day 1: Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009
SWF : No
Yogi Get Regular Tea : 1 before bed
Peppermint Tea: 1
LJ w/Maple B : 9 cups
Weight : did not weigh
Body Fat: did not measure
High Waist: did not measure (true waist, 2 inches above bellybutton)
Low Waist: did not measure (where jeans sit, 3 inches below bellybutton)
Exercise 50 minutes of yoga at home
Comments : Did not feel hungry really. Just kept the juice with me at all times. I drank 4 cups by noon, drinking steadily to ward off hunger, so I thought I would drink all 12 cups, but I wound up drinking only 9. I had a cup of peppermint tea around dinnertime because I went "out to eat" with some friends and the restaurant was cold. So tea and a 2 cups of juice were my dinner and I really didn't desire their food, except the plain brown rice smelled really good. I chose the Yogi Get Regular tea to have before bed instead of the popular SmoothMove because I read an account of a woman who had cramps and uncomfortable, explosive elimination and I figured I could use a slightly gentler formula, especially since the Yogi brand usually has better tasting medicinal blends.
Day 2: Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009
SWF : 2 tsp. seasalt, 4 cups lukewarm water
Yogi Get Regular Tea : 1 before bed
Peppermint Tea: 2
LJ w/Maple B : 9 cups
Weight : 132.2#
Body Fat: 27.2%
High Waist: did not measure (true waist, 2 inches above bellybutton)
Low Waist: did not measure (where jeans sit, 3 inches below bellybutton)
Exercise 50 minutes of yoga at home
Comments : I didn't think the saltwater was so bad to drink. Since it's warm it seems just like a warm tasteless broth. But maybe I didn't put enough salt. Seems like put 4 cups in and got just 1 out, with some bloopies and orangey-yellow lemon pulp. Tomorrow I'll try more salt because my boyfriend has done this cleanse before and he said it was supposed to be quite salty. Noticed everyone eating and carrying take-out and drinking yummy drinks on the street. Not that I was hungry, just felt some "left out" feelings and had to remind myself that whatever I want to eat now will be available when I'm off my fast. In fact I think I'll start a list to reward myself when I'm done. Vic's Chaat House tops the list. Took a hot peppermint tea and two cups of drink on a early dinner/late matinnee date. Had another peppermint tea around 7pm, then the Get Regular and was in bed reading by 9pm, asleep by 10.
Day 3: Thursday, Nov 12, 2009
SWF : 1 T. sea salt, 4 cups water
Yogi Get Regular Tea : 1 before bed
Peppermint Tea: 2
LJ w/Maple B : 11 cups
Weight : 131.8#
Body Fat: 27.8%
High Waist: did not measure (true waist, 2 inches above bellybutton)
Low Waist: did not measure (where jeans sit, 3 inches below bellybutton)
Exercise 50 min of yoga at home and 15 laps at the the pool (50 yds/lap)
Comments : Slept really well last night. Up around 6:30, well rested. More salt in the SWF made a difference, got say 2 or 3 cups of 4 out this time. At first with some pulp and a bit of goo, but then all clean, clean. Like pee out my butt. But I didn't feel so well at first with so much salt in my body, so I'm going to listen to my body and go back to the original 2 tsp. salt for tomorrow. It really takes about an hour for the first urge to go, and then I go intermittently and without warning (!) for the next hour to hour and a half. I'm not working right now, but if I were I would do the SWF at night, a suggestion I read online. I've also increased the cayenne from 1/10 tsp. to 1/8 tsp. because the smallest measure I have is 1/8 tsp. so it's simpler and I like cayenne. Have a lot of enery and feel great.
Day 4: Friday, Nov 13, 2009
SWF : 2 tsp. sea salt, 4 cups water
Yogi Get Regular Tea : 1 before bed
Peppermint Tea: 2 (one with a T. maple syrup)
LJ w/Maple B : 10.5 cups
Weight : did not measure
Body Fat: did not measure
High Waist: did not measure (true waist, 2 inches above bellybutton)
Low Waist: did not measure (where jeans sit, 3 inches below bellybutton)
Exercise 50 minutes of yoga at home
Comments : Slept OK, but began waking up around 4 as I often do. Went back to 2 tsp. of salt in the flush, and that feels better to my body. Trying to drink it faster now, within a couple minutes, hoping that will speed up the elimination because the whole thing is a real commitment. It takes about an hour from drinking to start eliminating and then another hour to be safe to leave the house. Felt kinda depressed all day, though it probably has more to do with having a fight with my boyfriend than the cleanse. Also feeling more hungry. Yesterday there were 2 times when I ran out of drink for a couple hours and I also went swimming, and for a whole day after I felt low in my sugar levels. So I highly recommend not leaving the house without 3 cups of juice and a peppermint teabag. I'm always out longer than I think I'll be. So around 1 or 2pm today I had a tea with an extra tablespoon of maple syrup to get caught up and that helped a lot. Went to a meditation group in the evening. I took my tea and 3 cups juice, and returned to the house quite content at about 11pm.
Day 5: Saturday, Nov 14, 2009
SWF : 2 tsp. sea salt, 4 cups water
Yogi Get Regular Tea : 0
Peppermint Tea: 2
LJ w/Maple B : 11.5 cups
Weight : 130.8#
Body Fat: 26.2%
High Waist: 26.5" (true waist, 2 inches above bellybutton)
Low Waist: 32.5" (where jeans sit, 3 inches below bellybutton)
Exercise none
Comments : Today is dreaded day 5. I say this because the only other fast I have done, a juice fast, I ended out of desperation on day 5 when someone brought a salad to my house and I could not contain myself, I had to have some. So today I'll have my guard up. Had a BM immediately after drinking the salt water today, I'm sure as a result of the Get Regular tea I had last night. Passed some orangey-brown fluff that probably is the remains of the lemon pulp. After that all the salt water was just yellow with a little juice pulp in it. I definitely don't believe the hype that people have 5 or 10 pounds of "mucoid plaque" impacted in the gut from a decade ago. I've seen pictures on the internet, but this was a result of them passing clay and psyllium husk. Anyway, I'd say in general you'll have 3 days before being clean if your vegan and maybe 5 if you eat meat. Thereafter, the cleanse seems more about giving your digestive system a break, taking a break from food and, for me, possible food sensitivities, redirecting your energies from food to other things, becoming mindful of your body and what you put in it or how you use it, and whatever else come up for you. For me, there seems to be a spiritual/emotional aspect of it, where I become philosophical about the passing feelings I have, like when I feel like I'm "missing out" on eating something, when really that food will be available when I am off the fast anyway. I also consider what I do to fill my life, because not preparing food, eating, and cleaning up from eating frees up a lot of time and I also have to think of other things to do with friends besides go out to eat. This may be off topic, but I have had recurrent candida/yeast problems in the past, and I feel healthier now in that respect that ever. My libido has also really picked up since Day 2. I just say this for the benefit of anyone out there with similar symptoms. I am already considering what possible food sensitivities I will test as I slowly add foods back into my diet next week (wheat gluten, mushrooms, soy are suspects for me). Did not sleep at my house, and I fell asleep watching a movie, so no Get Regular Tea at night. Had joint pains in the night that woke me up, so I took 440mg Aleve. (It´s not the first time that´s happened to me, but the first time on this cleanse. Might be from the harder bed.)
Day 6: Sunday, Nov 15, 2009
SWF : no
Yogi Get Regular Tea: 2 (1 in morning, 1 before bed)
Peppermint Tea: 1
LJ w/Maple B : 10 cups
Weight : 130.2#
Body Fat: 24.7%
High Waist: 26.75 (true waist, 2 inches above bellybutton)
Low Waist: 32.75 (where jeans sit, 3 inches below bellybutton)
Exercise: 2 hour hike
Comments: Good energy today, though not as much as the previous days. Didn't do the flush today (replaced with laxative tea) , and still have not had a BM as of 3pm. Since all that's left is pulp, maybe that's not such a big deal. I had somewhere to be in the morning and didn't stay at my house so it wasn't convenient today. I tried to have a Get Regular tea instead, but I forgot to take the bag out and it oversteeped and was horrible so I only drank half. The hike was great, brought a couple cups of juice with me. I tend to need more juice when I exercise more, but since I'm doing this for detox more than weight loss I don't care if I drink 12 or even more cups per day. In fact, general medical consensus is that the *lowest* calorie diet anyone should undertake without a doctor's supervision is 1200 cal/day. That would be 11 cups. So when I hear that some people are doing this cleanse drinking only 6 cups per day for weight loss (672 calories) I worry, not only for those people, but also that this is why the master cleanse gets bad press. I also hear of people doing this for 3 months, when even the inventor of the diet only recommended up to 40 days. Had severe joint pains in the middle of the night of Day 6. Woke up and took 440mg of Aleve, and that still didn´t do it. Woke up again a couple hours later and took 440mg more.
Day 7: Monday, Nov 16, 2009
SWF : no
Laxative Tea: 1 SmoothMove in morning, none before bed
Peppermint Tea: 1
LJ w/Maple B: 10 cups
Weight : did not measure
Body Fat: did not measure
High Waist: did not measure (true waist, 2 inches above bellybutton)
Low Waist: did not measure (where jeans sit, 3 inches below bellybutton)
Exercise: 24 flat miles biking
Comments: Felt good energy this morning, but this afternoon I feel kinda poopy. That might be a literal adjective, because I have missed 2 SWFs in a row now. SmoothMove is stronger than Get Regular, and my morning laxative tea hit me around 3 to 4pm, about 7 or 8 hours after drinking it and fortunately well after my bike ride. I can tell the low energy feeling is not from the biking because it feels different. (Later...) I have lower energy than the other days, but I feel less icky after eliminating in the afternoon. Noticed my tongue is white-coated, which I noticed yesterday too and maybe once before that but I don't remember when. I wasn't purposefully noting it before. (Reflecting on the night's sleep...) No joint pains at all. Wonder if the joint pains of the last two nights had anything to do with eliminatiing thoroughly. I did miss 2 flushes and yet was remarkable how much better I felt after the afternoon poo.
Day 8: Tuesday, Nov 17, 2009
SWF : 1 (2 tsp. sea salt, 4 cups water)
Laxative Tea: 1 Get Regular before bed
Peppermint Tea: 2
LJ w/Maple B : 10.5 cups
Weight : 127.6#
Body Fat: 28.4%
High Waist: 26" (true waist, 2 inches above bellybutton)
Low Waist: 32" (where jeans sit, 3 inches below bellybutton)
Exercise: 50 min yoga at home. 30 min ellipical and 15 laps at the gym.
Comments: Forgot my laxative tea on the counter last night, but I did the SWF this morning. It took less time to go through me today. I feel like I have a bit more energy today than yesterday, but it's still very early. I will make every effort not to miss any more SWFs because I suspect that missing them contributed to not feeling as good on days 6 and 7. Boyfriend noticed my tongue is coated and said when that stops is when I should stop the cleanse. I bought a different kind of maple syrup, Whole Foods 365 brand Grade B in a plastic jug, but I don't like it nearly as much as what I was using, Springtree Grade B in glass jars. (Later...) Woke up in the middle of the night of Day 8 (2:30am) to eliminate. I think the nighttime tea is acting faster, taking about 5 hours to act instead of the 8 it took at first.
Day 9: Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009
SWF : 1 (2 tsp. sea salt, 4 cups water)
Laxative Tea: 1 Get Regular before bed
Peppermint Tea: 1
LJ w/Maple B : 9.5 cups
Weight : did not measure
Body Fat: did not measure
High Waist: did not measure (true waist, 2 inches above bellybutton)
Low Waist: did not measure (where jeans sit, 3 inches below bellybutton)
Exercise: home yoga & ashtanga yoga. 17.5 flat miles on the bike.
Comments: Feeling quite good today. I feel calm and clear thinking, despite having lunch with an ex-boyfriend. In fact, that went much smoother than I anticipated because I felt very centered. Hoping to see my tongue get less white because I'm thinking of ending this fast after 10 days instead of the original 13 I had planned so I can do a 3 day "green smoothie" fast. But my vegetarian boyfriend says that when he did this fast for 17 days, his tongue never got clear. He ended it because his momma was worried about him not eating. The point is that I am not sure if the coated tongue is really a good determiner of when to end the cleanse. My teeth are feeling chalky, and being worried about losing dental enamel I mentioned this to my boyfriend. He said he forgot to tell me about that, and that IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO DRINK THE LEMONADE THROUGH A STRAW AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO AVOID LOSING ENAMEL! Well, that info is a bit late, coming on Day 9, but I'll get a straw tomorrow and cut my losses by at least 10% that way. My teeth are feelling sensitive, too. Oh, by the way, be careful if you have a marble countertop and clean it very thoroughly everyday. I cleaned mine, but somehow the smoothness got eaten away this week in the area where I prepared my lemonade. So if it can do that to marble, the loss of dental enamel is no joke!
Day 10: Thursday, Nov 19, 2009
SWF: 1 (2 tsp. sea salt, 4 cups water)
Smooth Move Tea : 1 before bed
Peppermint Tea: 0
LJ w/Maple B : 9
Weight : did not measure
Body Fat: did not measure
High Waist: did not measure (true waist, 2 inches above bellybutton)
Low Waist: did not measure (where jeans sit, 3 inches below bellybutton)
Exercise: Ashtanga yoga class, about 30 minutes.
Comments: The salt water flush is going through me super fast these days. Eliminations start in 20 minutes, compared to 1 hour when I first started. It was all done in 1 1/2 hours compared to 2 or more when I started. Feeling good, though a little tired. Not going to go to the gym today. Don't usually take naps, but took a nap around 1 pm for about a 1/2 hr. Didn't fall asleep. Kinda worried about my teeth, which are even more sensitive today (I think I've been clenching my jaw for the last 2 nights, so that could be part of it). My tongue looks less coated today, though I have brushed my teeth 4 times to clean the lemon juice away. Really dreading the drinks today, not for the flavor or boredom, but for the teeth thing. So I'm really excited to break the fast. I've been picking out new healthy recipes, focusing on different blends of green smoothies, vegetable stocks, roasted vegetables, vegetable/bean sides and salads, and even a homemade hummous recipe. Went shopping for tons of fruits and veggies and I bought PROBIOTICS to start replenishing good gut bacteria tomorrow
POST-CLEANSE - Day 11: Friday, Nov 20, 2009
SWF : No
Smooth Move Tea : Will maybe have 1 before bed tonight?
LJ w/Maple B : No more!
Weight : 127.6 (down from 135.
Body Fat: 27.8 (25.4% 27.2%, 27.8%
High Waist: 25.5 27" (true waist, 2 inches above bellybutton)
Low Waist: 31.5 32.75" (where jeans sit, 3 inches below bellybutton)
Exercise:
Comments: BROKE THE FAST! Yay! Drank 4 cups vegetable broth in place of the SWF this morning. I had made this the night before starting the fast as my last meal, and froze the rest. It was great to have this already made . It was a very simple, tasty broth made by sauteeing onion, turmeric, celery, carrot, potato, and spinach (add last) in grapeseed oil for a while, then adding water and simmering 45 minutes. (I ate it with some veggies before the fast, but strained it for freezing.) I added about 1 tsp. sea salt before drinking. Then around noon I made 4 cups of green smoothie I downed a little more than half of that with a probiotic capsule and refrigerated the rest.
Break the Fast GREEN SMOOTHIE
1 cup fresh unpasturized OJ
5 leaves red chard
4 leaves purple kale
BLEND LONG TIME
5 stems curly parsley
16 chunks fresh pineapple
BLEND
16 fresh strawberries
1 small Meyere lemon, juiced
BLEND
1 banana
BLEND
I will continue this log until Thanksgiving to track the stability of the weight loss from the cleanse and also to document the results I get from drinking 1 qt. of green smoothie daily and eating more homemade meals.