Master Cleanse Forum - Master Cleanser Lemonade Diet

Welcome to my Cleanse. Pull up a seat ( I suggest a cushion because those SWF's can make your poor little behind tender ) and join me in the horror, awe and inspiration that is the Master Cleanse.

Note: I am starting day three as of the writing of this journal, but will chronicle Days one and two as they are VERY clear in my mind. I just woke up this morning with the need to share what is happening to me, as the journals I have been reading have been so helpful and yet all so different. I would have thought everything has been said about the MC, but perhaps there is something in my cleanse journal that will help someone. If nothing else, it will help me.

About me: I am a 40 year old Candian long-term expat living in Seoul, South Korea. I started this cleanse because I am a compulsive over-eater, and I want to get control. Around this time last year, I went to a detox spa in Thailand, and did a 7 day fast which used bentonite-clay drinks and broth and coffee enemas. The experience was amazing. However, a year later, and I find myself entrenched again in my bad habits. I am about 50 pounds over my ideal weight, although I have been walking consistently for the past 6 months and have lost about 18 of those pounds just through walking. I have made efforts to change my diet, but find that I have little willpower. I have tried an all vegetable and fruit cleanse, and failed. To be honest, not eating is easier for me than eating "healthy foods" during a cleanse. Eating anything seems to trigger a desire for junk. I am looking at this cleanse as a way to reset my cravings so that I can ease back into a more balanced way of eating.

I regularly blog at www.shelleyscribbles.wordpress.com

Please come and visit anytime.

Day one:

I binged on so much junk the day before the cleanse started! I know you are supposed to eat lightly, but I couldn't help thinking of the day before as d-day and I ate everything I could get my hands on.

Also a confession: I am not quitting coffee for this cleanse. I know I should, but I did so before in preparation for my Thailand cleanse and I was in hell. I am just not willing to go through caffeine withdrawal on top of dealing with my food issues and detox, though I know that caffeine consumption does have a huge effect on my eating. However, I will cut way back and only drink organic.

I woke up and weighed in at 184 pounds. I took pictures of my face and tongue, so that I could document the changes. I am also using an iphone app to help track my drinks and such, which has been very helpful.

I am trying to follow this cleanse to the letter, so I did the salt water flush in the morning. I love salty foods - potato chips are my downfall, so I did not experience the "disgust" factor most people talk about. I got it down very quickly. About an hour later, it kicked in.

The lemonade tastes fine to me. It occurred to me that we are getting all the tastes still in one day - salty with the SWF and sweet, sour and spicy with the lemonade. This is somehow comforting to me.

I did fine all day - no cravings and no discomfort and even managed to go for my walk. I walk at a park near the Han River - it's quite beautiful there even though it is right in the middle of the city. After my walk, I sat and meditated for a few minutes. This felt really good and I think I will keep this practice of meditating outdoors after my walk.

In the late evening, though I started to get a headache. I didn't really understand why I had a headache as I was not quitting caffeine and headaches were not one of the symptoms I experienced in Thailand. It got progressively worse. Then my husband called and said he wouldn't be home until midnight. Usually when my husband will be late, my way of dealing with being alone at night, is by eating something fatty and salty, and then taking a sleeping pill. In fact, I take far too many OTC sleeping pills and this is another reason for wanting to do the cleanse.

So, I faced my first crisis in the cleanse far too soon. I had a splitting headache, and a major overeating trigger plus I would have to try to go to sleep without any pharmaceutical help.

After just sitting with the feelings for five minutes, I realized how quickly I suppress any negative feelings with food and medicine. At the first sign of a headache, I am reaching for the Tylenol. If I feel lonely, upset or bored - I eat - a lot, and badly. By sitting and acknowledging what I was feeling, and recognizing it as temporary, I actually felt ok. I made it through without breaking the cleanse, even though I struggles with the thought of " Well, I could just restart tomorrow..."

By midnight, when my husband came home, I was sleeping. I woke up briefly and he asked me "Did you take a pill?" as he knew I was doing the cleanse, and that I would have struggled with not taking one. I was so happy to be able to say "no" and roll over and go back to sleep.

Day Two:

I woke up early, still with a really bad headache. So bad, I wondered if I hadn't bought decaffeinated coffee by mistake. ( The bag is all written in Korean, so I didn't read so carefully.) But no, that was not the cause. I really wonder if my headaches this round are caused by having been taking sleeping pills regularly. It would make sense.

I woke up and weighed in - 5 and a half pounds gone. I know this is water weight but sweet lord - how much water must I have been retaining? Anyway, it was very motivating to continue. My tongue has started to get the white coating. The SWF was not as easy to drink this morning and took longer to get it down. I haven't experience ANY cravings and I wonder if it is because of the salt I am drinking in the morning? Maybe I'm saturating my body's desire for salty things in the morning.

In spite of the headache, I felt very happy and energetic. I went for my walk and did my meditation again, and although I felt quite tired by the end of it, I felt content. I came home and realized that I was out of Maple syrup, and though I really wanted to nap, I put on my sneakers and walked to the nearest shop which is 15 minutes away. The store was super-crowded, as usual on Sundays, and I found myself irritated by everyone. That store sells some western foods that I like to eat, but I managed to get out of there without either hitting anyone or eating four large soft garlic pretzels.

Surprisingly, by the time I got home, my headache started to lift. I felt bone-tired but good. I took a little rest, but didn't nap. By the end of the day, I realized I had only drunk 3 lemonades, so I mixed myself a double. I am having trouble drinking the required amount, but from now on will make sure I drink the minimum six.

I drank my senna tea, and had a reaction right away. The senna tea I am using is quite gentle, but is producing results in the morning - just nice easy movements with no cramping. It's in powder form, and sold at a traditional market here. I must have made it a little stronger to move so quickly.

Then, I settled in for bed, but my headache started to come back and was quite severe. I could have cried I was so disspointed. I had thought the headache was gone. I really couldn't sleep. So, I got online and researched accupressure, and tried. Wow. The headache didn't dissappear, but abated enough for me to sleep. I woke several times in the night to pee. I had a really dry mouth, and kept drinking water, which was to blame. Not the greatest night rest.

Thank you Benni. I appreciate the support. It is easy to feel very isolated while doing this. I'm so glad I found this community.

Day Three

Today, so far has been a mixed bag of goodies. I woke up feeling great - tired from not sleeping well, but my headache was totally gone. I was so optimistic and chipper. After doing my SWF, which worked great, I got online and started this journal. After that, I wrote a long email to my dad about a personal issue, and found myself crying like a baby all the way through it. Then, I felt nauseous. I basically went through every human emotion in the span of two hours. So, I had some peppermint tea.

THe tea helped with the nausea, so I decided to attempt my walk. As I was walking to the river route, my body was "suggesting" that I turn around and go home and rest. Ignoring it, I pressed on, deciding that I would walk only (I usually add short jogging spurts ). I got on the path. It was freezing. My body felt totally blah. My underwear were bugging me. ( Don't ask. ) I had to pee. After 7 minutes of walking, I turned around and headed for home.

So, I've decided to listen to my body today. I am going to very quickly do the bare minimum of housework and getting ready for work tomorrow, and then, I might take myself out to the hairdresser for a cut and blowdry. Although I am not sure because I fear two things: I might have to pee 5 times while I'm there, and I might cry if she cuts my hair too short.

I am an all-or-nothing girl when it comes to diets - a bit of a perfectionist. I plan on doing something perfectly, and if I slip up, I throw in the towel and plan another start day. Although this is not a diet, I planned to walk every day of the cleanse. Not completing the walk can be dangerous for me in terms of my old habits. Yet, I know my body is using energy to heal and I should respect this process.

I will take comfort in a nice massage over the shampoo sink, and lots of rest while watching old sitcoms. I'm done thinking today. May update the rest of this day later....

10:00 pm: Did go get my hair done. I sat through a marathon of "Basketball Wives" - horrible but exactly what I was craving. I don't understand that I was so tired all day, but now that it's bedtime, I can't seem to settle. In Thailand, insomnia was one of the symptoms I dealt with, and it is apparently normal. Tomorrow, though, is a long day for me at work, and I'll be away from home until 7 pm. I thought I had enough lemons but I'm not getting enough juice out of them. ( searched in vain for a juicer here in Seoul - couldn't find one. ) As a result, I don't think I'll have quite enough lemon juice for my all-day drink tomorrow. There's just no chance to get more until I'm on the way home tomorrow evening. I hope that having less lemon juice in the drink doesn't throw me off. I've been doing really well - no cravings, no emotional need to eat, and dealing with my sensations instead of eating them away or taking a pill to cover them up. I'm worried about tomorrow. It will be my first day away from home while on the cleanse, and my drink won't be quite up to snuff.

I'm also starting to get paranoid that I have bad breath. I know it is a normal detox symtom, and is a good thing in terms of progress - but not sure how I am going to handle a whole day teaching when I'll be feeling like I have to keep my distance from people. My mouth tastes really funky, and I won't be able to eat mints or gum. Guess I"ll be brushing my teeth in between classes. Maybe peppermint tea will help? Peppermint tea is a godsend on this cleanse - it tastes great, soothes the stomach, freshens the breath and refreshes the body.

If I make it without giving up tomorrow, I will make it all the way. Keep your fingers crossed for me. It might just be that cup of peppermint tea that saves me.

Sounds like you're doing great, Imanixx. The peppermint tea definitely helps the bad breath. Are you going for 10 days, or longer?

I would try to wean yourself off caffiene while you're on the cleanse. Since your system is getting totally flushed out, you may not experience the same withdrawal symptoms as you did before.

It is very normal to get headaches as your body detoxes. This happens just from having a history of eating a poor diet, so the fact that you have used lots of pharmeceuticals makes it not surprising that it was very intense for you. Often you will have one or two bad days followed by a few easier days, and then hit another heavy detox. You should definitely be proud of yourself for avoiding that habit while on the cleanse, and if it were me, I would make that my top priority for a habit to maintain off the cleanse.

Also, I have experienced extreme unfounded emotions while cleansing. It is my opinion that as you detox, things from your past come up, and you feel them emotionally as they are released.

Thank you Sienna. Absolutely one of my main motivations for doing this is to get off the cycle of sleeping pills at night and coffee in the morning. I will think about letting the coffee go for the remainder of the cleanse. What you say about getting rid of the symptoms more quickly while doing this makes a lot of sense.

Day 4

Woke up this morning at 6:00 to do my SWF. I have to say, both the senna tea and SWF are working beautifully. No cramping - no difficulty and good results.

I felt great all day - I was so naturally happy and energetic - which was great for my classes. I started to fade around 4:00 but still had my weekly three-hour volunteer shift at a cat shelter to do. So, I just moved slowly and took lots of lemonade and cuddle breaks. Stopped on the way home to get lemons, and took the bus from the store - but the bus was standing room only, and I started to feel like I wouldn't be able to stand for 45 minutes more, so I got off at the next subway station and took the subway home.

Now, I'm home - bone-weary but so not interested in eating. If you put a bag of sour cream and onion chips in front of me right now, I couldn't touch it. Normally, that would be exactly what I want after a long day like this one. And they are my very favorite thing in the world. Right now, I can imagine they would only taste like chemicals. Blech.

So, I made it through day 4 intact and hopeful. I am looking forward to one last lemonade and then getting ( I can feel it will be...) a great night's sleep.

Thank you Benni - what a sweet thing to write.

Day Five:

Wow - today has been hard but in very different ways from the first four.

First - this will be TMI, but I did put "no-holds-barred" in the title, so there you go.
I woke at 6:00 this morning to do my SWF. It worked as usual, but about 15 minutes later, I felt another tingle in my stomach. At that moment, I was reading, and thought "I"ll just wait until I end this page...". Big Mistake. I had a ( luckily) tiny accident on the bed. Yuck. Take away advice: Obey the SWF - do not think you can control it once it gets going.

I went to work - light day with only one class. Physically, I felt fine. Lots of energy and no detox symptoms, except for my crappy-looking tongue and some bags under the eyes. However, as I am moving into this phase of feeling more normal, my hunger and desire to eat have reawakened. I am not craving anything in particular, and especially not my usual junk food crutches, but I just really missed eating today. On the way to my class, I passes a bakery on campus, and they had garlic baguettes baking- I could have cried, I was aching so much with desire to have some. I also am experiencing hunger today, for the first time on the cleanse. Soon, I will let myself start looking for soup recipes.

The last time I tried the Master Cleanse, this is the day that I quit. I am thrlled to say that I'm still here.

In the afternoon, I felt good enough to do my jog/walk. I felt I was doing ok. Tonight, however, I got really crabby with my husband over a conversation about voltage differences between Korea and Canada. Yes - 110/220 voltage somehow pissed me off. After hearing myself say " You're not listening to me." I stopped, put down my lemon, and said, " I haven't eaten in 5 days." I think if he could, he would have run out and got me a pizza at that point.

Anyway, I'll soon be going to sleep. I slept great last night, and even had a "sexy" dream. Must be all the cayenne spicing up my sleep.

Oh, and I'm down 9 pounds.

Good for you for holding out! On hungry days, drink more lemonade. Drink lemonade all day long if you have to. It really helps. Peppermint tea to mix it up.

Day Six

Officially at a ten pound loss. I hope to maintain 10 pounds when the fast is over. In my previous experience fasting in Thailand, 5 pounds come back right away once you start to eat solid food.

Today, I wore hot pink suede pants to work. I needed a boost, and they fit me agian. Was told I was looking good by a male coworker. Still, I had major bags under my eyes.

I goofed today - I only had one class, and knew I wouldn't be away from home for very long, so I didn't bring any lemonade with me. I drank a cup before leaving the house, and thought I would have one as soon as I got home. However, I ended up chatting in the office for a while, and by the time I got home, I felt totally depleted of energy. That feeling has not really gone away despite drinking more lemonade once I got home. I did go for my walk this evening, but felt fuzzy-headed the whole time. My situational awareness was so low - I was just lost in my head.

I'm back from my walk now...and plan to go to bed especially early. I also want to drink more water this evening. My tongue has been so dry and icky feeling that it kept me from really falling asleep easily last night. It is also swollen - not painful, just uncomfortable. So, I'm guessing more water, in addition to the lemonade, should help.
I've been avoiding drinking more water simply because I am already in the bathroom half the day just from the lemonade. I know I am supposed to be drinking a ton of water too.

I am really getting tired of the lemonade - not the taste so much as the texture it leaves in the mouth. My tongue, though is getting back to pink.

I can't believe I am still on the cleanse. I am the ultimate quitter when it comes to food. I credit this site, and having the forum to process and share my experience and to feel somewhat accountable - with getting me through so far.

A big thank you to Sienna and Benni for checking in on me, and giving advice and encouragement. I am truly grateful.

Day Seven

It is interesting that the Senna tea and the SWF act differently at different stages of the cleanse. Up until today, they were giving me nice regular movements. The senna tea at around 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning would produce one easy, gentle bathroom trip, and the SWF would produce two within an hour of finishing it.

Today was different. I woke up at two am with the urge to go, and it was slightly "crampy" though nothing too bad. Though when it was over, I was hit with a wave of nausea that I really had to fight to not throw up. I mixed the exact same amount of Senna tea as usual, though I'm not sure if I let it steep longer before drinking, and that might have made it stronger. I went back to sleep, wondering if I would be strong enough to do the SWF in the morning, and debated resetting my alarm clock for 90 minutes later than planned and just sleeping and skipping the flush. Then I thought, whatever is in me that is making me nauseous, needs to get out quickly and the flush will help with that.

So, I got up at 6:00 and did my SWF and felt ok. But the SWF acted differently today too. Instead of two toilet trips, I made about 5.

I'm glad I was warned on this site that day 7 is another detox day. I didn't feel so bad today, but emotionally kind of low. I just really started to think about quitting. I did a week, right? That's good enough. Though I know it isn't. But, honestly, two things kept me from quitting:
- knowing it was a heavier detox day for most people, and that the desire to quit was probably a result of that, and that tomorrow should bring more strength and clarity.
- knowing that even if I quit, at this point I couldn't just eat what I wanted without getting sick. Even if I quit, the only thing I can 'treat" myself with at this point will be the OJ. So, since I can't eat anyway, may as well stick it out.

I kind of feel like I'm barely hanging on to my resolve. I wore a skirt to work today that didn't fit me JUST LAST WEEK. That's great. However, I am not getting that feeling of total peace and well-being nor the glow that I experienced on day 7 ( the last day ) of my Thailand detox. That was a different type of cleanse, and was a little more intense with twice-daily enemas, so perhaps the super-good feeling came quicker with that one. I'm really hoping that I will feel that way day 9 and 10 of this cleanse. A hint of it on Day 8 would be just what I needed.

Still, my last three days of the cleanse are non-work days for me, and I made it through working while on the cleanse - which is an accomplishment in itself. I am starting to look for a simple soup recipe. Soup day will be my 41st birthday. I am going to really take my time and celebrate by making my soup.

I really want to put corn in my soup - and I remember really craving corn coming off my last cleanse as well. I don't know if that's a good thing - as most of the junk I eat is corn-based. I don't know if the corn craving is that - or if it is just a desire to eat corn. I wonder if corn is an ok vegetable for the soup? I really want to be careful to not get sick.I would hate to do all this work, just to feel bad in the days after. Would also love to have a small glass of wine on my birthday, but will wait until the Sunday of that week, just to be safe.

So, Day 7 - kind of blah. You're not at the beginning,when everything is exciting and hopeful and new, and you're not yet at the point where the end is just a day or two away. I think day 7 is for just getting through.

I read that you are refusing to give up caffiene because you don't want to suffer the detox from it. I can understand the temptation to do that, I had a terrible headache yesterday and felt so naceous as I have a caffiene addiction also. But I find that if I drink even the slightest bit of caffiene, like in a green tea beverage, my guts get so twisted up inside I feel like dying. I can't even take an aspirin on the fast, as it gives me a tummy ache a miserable pain for a full 24 hours. I find that one can only usually get away with substances on the fast the first few days and after that the detox becomes so intense that you really get clobbered if you go off the program. People who smoke weed on the fast also get seering headaches from it within a few hours of smoking. It's just not worth it. How long are you fasting for dear one? I fear that your choice to not give up coffee will only hinder your results, as your liver will have to clear the caffiene from your blood each day, when it could have been clearing out other toxins from your fasting efforts. It's kind of like running a race, but stabbing your self in the foot first.... you hobble along... but is this really going to help you win?

Shiva

by the way, the coffee headache only lasts a day or two.... this morning I am clear and free from it. My brain feels defogged.

Shiva, Thank you for the advice. I do appreciate it and I know you are right. I am only fasting for 10 days though, and am almost at day 9. It's too late to cut out the coffee I think. For sure, next time I cleanse, I will heed your and Sienna's words about the coffee.

Day Eight

I slept so well last night - a nice, deep through-the-night sleep. Still, today is really really hard. The problem is not physical, though I did feel tired, and skipped my walk because of just feeling like I couldn't do it.

I think I know the problem. I haven't been drinking enough lemonade for the past couple of days. I weighed in this morning and haven't lost any pounds in two days. I've already lost 10 which is fantastic. But, I wanted to walk away from this with a sustainable loss of 10 pounds, which means I should lose a few pounds more before the cleanse is over that can be my "buffer" when I start eating. I have a healthy eating plan to transition to after the ease-out. So, if I could lose about 3 or 4 more pounds before then, I could probably walk away from the cleanse with a maintained 10 pound loss. I am sure this slow in weight loss is because I have been consuming less than the minimum six glasses. I also think the lingering tiredness is because of this too.

I am not under-consuming on purpose. It just seems to be that 4 glasses is all I could make myself drink. Although I initially liked the taste of the lemonade, I am just so sick of it, that I am having to force myself to drink it. I hate so much sweetness on my teeth. It feels like even after brushing my teeth, I still feel it in my mouth.

Today I made a time schedule for consuming the lemonade, to make sure I would drink 6-7 glasses. Until now, I have just been drinking when I've been hungry, and that is not enough, I guess. I am so close to the end, but I don't know how I can go through two more days of the lemonade. Ack!

I have made a deal with myself, that I can go get a long massage on day 10 if I make it through without stopping early. If I quit tonight or tomorrow - no massage. I hope that will make me stick, because I am hanging on just barely.

I really hope that after amping up my lemonade intake, and having a restful day today, that tomorrow I will experience the blissed-out zen calm and glow that I've been looking forward to. I understand that day 9 is when that happens for many.

I know I sound like I"m very focused on weight loss and the truth is I am. I am going home to Canada for Chirstmas, and I'd be lying if I said a huge part of why I started this cleanse is my weight. But, it goes deeper than just crashing off 10 pounds. For the last three months I have started and re-started several healthy eating plans and I always cheat and give up. The rationale behind the cleanse was to get back control, and get all that msg and chemical junk out of my body so that I wouldn't keep craving it - so that my next attempt at healthier, balanced eating will be easier to stick to. Two more days of lemonade for a feeling of accomplishment and control that might help me make real, lasting change? worth it.