The Master Cleanse
The Process and The Lemonade
Day 1. Ive had 5 glasses of Lemonade so far and at 5pm today i suddenly felt really hungry for the first time today so im guessing i went too long without a drink. I was on the phone talking (for an hour and forty five minutes) and hunger suddenly hit me so ive just had my 5th glass. Im taking the cayenne separately as i hate the taste of the Lemonade with it in even when its fresh but figuring that it will mix in my stomach anyway – hoping thats ok and must research it on this site to check. I didnt do the SWF this morning and not really looking forward to it tomorrow but will bite the bullet and do it anyway because i realise that its an integral part of the process. Looking forward to my senna pod laxative tea tonight as i really like the taste of it – its a very gentle natural laxative but works perfectly.
Day 2. Ive been really struggling with the cayenne and have had to resort to putting it in a shot glass and taking it straight down. Then kind of rinsing my mouth around with the Lemonade and then drinking it straight down until the burn stops. The Lemonade with Cayenne in it tastes like burned rubber to me (not that ive ever eaten burned rubber but im sure you know what i mean.) I ordered an electric Lemon juicer from Amazon and was a bit nervous about it as it was only £12 including postage but its the best thing about my Master Cleanse this time. I could juice those lemons all day – in fact i wouldnt mind doing it for a job, its really satisfying. It has a big jug over which the ‘juicer’ is seated. All you do is press a lemon half gently down and it turns on the motor. The next time you press it turns the opposite way. So fast and easy!!
Day 3. Last night I ordered supplies from Tescos and had it delivered at lunch time this morning. It was great to be able to get everything I needed without having to go out to the shops and be confronted with food. Im still really struggling with the Cayenne and im not too keen on the really sweet taste I have in my mouth all the time even though Im drinking loads of water to try to get rid of the taste. Its not that I don’t like the actual lemonade (as long as the Cayenne isn’t added to it) its just the sweet after taste.
Day 4 – Today ive been trying to have a Lemonade once an hour because i forget to do it and then get really hungry. I managed for 2 hours then forgot but i have found that im not as hungry today so it hasnt been as bad as yesterday when i got really hungry. I juiced all my lemons with the first batch i made which i found easier than doing it each time i needed a drink. Im pretty sure i remember Stanley Burroughs writing that we could drink herbal tea so im going to check on that tonight and see if its true.
Day 5 – i suprised myself today by deciding to try putting the Cayenne back in my lemonade instead of taking it as a shot in a little water before drinking lemonade. I was thinking i couldnt carry on with the cleanse because the drink was too sweet and the cayenne shot tasted horrible. Mixed up my first drink and it was actually nice so ive been doing it the original way all day. Ive just been really careful not to let it sit at all – mix and drink and that way it doesnt taste like burned rubber but tastes really nice. Last time i did the cleanse i was mixing the whole lot up together in the morning and after about 5 days i couldnt take the taste so separated it. Now ive read on this great site that it shouldnt be allowed to sit im really happy with the process 🙂
Day 6 – last night i re read the original Master Cleanse so today i added 2 elements of Stanley Burroughs Master Cleanse. He suggests that you can blend up some of the lemon rind to put in the lemonade to further aid elimination and detox so i put a small ammount – approx 1/4 of the skin of a large lemon. I used no pith because i didnt want the bitter taste that sometimes gives. It made the lemonade really really tasty and im going to continue with this tomorrow. I also had a few cups of peppermint tea as he also allows that to aid with detox. I really enjoyed my tea and it seemed to stave off the hunger pangs for a while.
Day 7 – Im back to really enjoying the lemonade now and have also started putting a bit less Cayenne in my drink. I was probably doing ¼ or 1/5 of teaspoon rather than the 10th in the recipe. Its just so hard working out what a 10th is without a measuring spoon. I will be looking for one for the next time I do the Master Cleanse I think. I juice all my lemons in the morning and count out 16 measures then when I get to the last 2 spoonfuls I know ive had 8 glasses. I can sort of tell by looking at it that ive got more than half left (for instance) and then I know by the time whether im on track or not drinking enough or too little each time. When I need a drink I put the 2 spoons of lemon in the 2 of syrup and pour the water quite high so it mixes them as it pours and then take a sip to get the full lemony flavour which I love even more now im whizzing up a small amount of peel into the juice. Then I add the Cayenne and drink straight down as I don’t really like the taste once the Cayenne has been in it for more than a minute.
Day 8 – woo hoo!! I cant really believe im here. Ive got into a nice routine of making the drinks now – it definitely all gets easier as the days go by. Ive realised that I was putting too much Cayenne into my lemonade but I don’t think that hurts you – just makes the drink taste not so nice. So for the last 3 days its going to be much more pleasant to do. Ive been buying bottled water as advised and cant believe how much ive got through – I’ll try and count up the empties tomorrow but I must be doing 3 or 4 litres a day?
Day 9 –with only one day to go im really getting the hang of this – seems like ive been doing it for ever but not in a bad way and thinking about carrying on. Ive got a great routine going – get the SWF down then while that’s gurgling away I juice 4 lemons then wash up the juicer. Get my first drink ready but don’t add the Cayenne til the last minute. Make a pot of peppermint tea in my thermos jug so that I don’t have to think about it while im working. Run to loo for the first time. Drink my first lemonade. Run to the loo for the second time then start work. Try to remember to drink one every hour to an hour and a half so that I don’t get hungry and sip peppermint tea or water in between. Easy peasy!
Day 10 – Theres not much to say about the process any more by day 10 you feel as if you have been doing it all your life and its completely natural. I went out today and brought 6 pipless oranges thinking that it would be plenty then realised that I have to drink orange juice all day tomorrow and that 6, even though they are quite big, oranges isn’t going to go far. Im not sure if we can top up with Lemonade if we get hungry but I guess the orange juice will have more ‘bits’ in it than the lemons?
Ease Out Day 1 – I really like the fresh orange juice but I seem to have accidentally thrown away the larger attachment on my electric juicer so oranges are a bit trickier to squeeze using the smaller lemon sized one. I have felt hungry today so ive also had 4 glasses of Lemonade – not sure if that is ok to do but its done now anyway and im really really looking forward to starting my soup tomorrow. Its all made up and ive whizzed mine up and left my husbands with lumps in. Its smells lovely and im soooooo looking forward to having something savoury in my mouth after all the sweetness of the Lemonade drink.
Ease Out Day 2 – Lemonade for breakfast this morning and whizzed up soup all day. Delicious. I cant use onions because of IBS and the dreadful wind they cause so I was a bit worried about the taste because until I was told to cut out onions (along with a lot of other normal to me foods) all my soups were started with a dry fried onion. But I did it just the same as normal then added lots of rosemary and sage. It turned out even nicer than normal!! Stanely Burroughs says in his Master Cleanse book that if you want to you can eat a few crackers with the soup so I did and it was so lovely to crunch into something after so long. Cant wait for my first bowl of cornflakes for one of my just before bed snacks.
Ease Out Day 3 – A few days late with my last post because i had 2 accidents with my hands and so had two days off the computer. The first one was Master Cleanse related – because i was only going to have one glass of lemonade i tried to squeeze a lemon by hand, it was a bit under ripe and my hand slipped – the lemon went one way, my hand the other and straight onto the glass i was squeezing it into – it shattered – ouch! The second one could have been embarrassing and i will relay the story in my weight loss and physical results diary entry as its result is quite pertinent to the Master Cleanse. Anyway, ive had a lovely day eating salads and veg. One of my favourite veggies to eat raw is grated courgette. Its amazing in a salad and sometimes i use it as spaghetti and have a tomato based sauce with it – scrummy!!! I dont eat tomato cold in salads very often unless ive managed to find some that smell amazing but i replace them with black seedless grapes so you get that lovely sweet taste that tomato gives you. I actually prefer the taste and grapes are great with savoury foods.
Detox and the Salt Water Flush (SWF)
I didnt do the SWF this morning as its my first day and i hadnt done the Ease In. Ive only just looked at my tongue so i dont really know if it was white before i started but it has a thick white coat on it now which isnt very nice to look at. Im pretty sure its not normally like that. Im going to be using natural senna pods to make my laxative tea tonight. I used them last time i did the cleanse on my own about 5 months ago – the tea tastes really nice and it works brilliantly and seems to be a very gentle laxative. Im not looking forward to the SWF. Last time i did the Master Cleanse my husband to be (who is now my husband as we got married on 13th October 2011) would make the drink and bring it up to me in bed, id drink it do a bit of work on my laptop for 30 minutes and then dash to the loo when i couldnt take the cramping any longer – it really works! I have to get up and make it myself this time as im on my own for the next 10 days.
Day 2. Ive really messed up this process today. I don’t know what ive done wrong but it hasn’t worked. I remember last time that I used to send me running about 20 minutes after I drank it and that my stomach would be loudly gurgling long before the dash. This is very graphic so I apologise but I know ive done something wrong because previously it would come out of me with a ferocious force this time its been a sad dribble (sorry!!). Maybe I need to use more salt but I measured it using measuring spoons which I didn’t have last time and so it should have been the perfect measure. Maybe I try using more salt tomorrow as I feel that this is the cause of my non action today.
I also have 4 spots/pimples/blemishes on my face and i NEVER have spots. I feel very slightly blocked up nose wise as if i have a cold starting although i feel its more a detox symptom than a cold starting. I normally use a nasal spray to stop Post Nasal Drip /Rhinitis and havent been taking it since i started the Master Cleanse. There is still a small amount of flem but better than normal.
Had a really bad headache all day today (which is why day 2 has arrived along with Day 3) but i have a feeling this is due to me trying to smoke whilst doing this as i dont ever drink caffeine so its not withdrawal of that.
Day 3. Hmm well I realised what id done wrong – id mistaken a half teaspoon measure for the one teaspoon measure. I wrongly thought that the 4 spoons were ½ teaspoon, full teaspoon, ½ desert spoon, full desert spoon. So Yesterday I only used half the amount of salt that I should have so today I did it perfectly – apart from forgetting to drink the last glass of it because I got distracted and then thought it was water. I did wonder why I didn’t feel as uncomfortable as I remembered and just thought id got used to the feeling – oh dear. I also messed up the laxative tea last night because nothing happened the first night I took it I decided to double the pods I was using – with the result that an hour later I was on and off the loo for about 2 hours and exhausted this morning. I am going to make an extra special effort to get my laxative and SWF completely right tonight and tomorrow morning!! Have spent all day resting today, well working from bed to be exact as ive been feeling really cold and messed up my sleep last night (see day 2). When I say resting ive probably done more exercise running for the loo all day (urine and stools – although I should think stools doesn’t really describe what is coming out of any of us by now) than I normally do all week .
Day 4 – One thing I realised last night is that I have nothing like the trouble getting my bowel empty as I did the first time I did the Master Cleanse. It took about 4 days for me to feel as if I was being ‘washed through’ whereas even though I messed up the SWF for the first 3 days I still felt as if I was empty. I woke up late this morning and felt very disoriented as my son rang me from Singapore and i forgot the SWF or to drink the Lemonade until about 12ish. Had a think about whether i should do it tonight instead but decided i wouldnt risk it and did it at lunchtime. It doesnt seem to be going through me like it did last time i did this so im going to try even more salt tomorrow in the hope that it will speed things up. Maybe i should try lying on my right side as well but didnt have time to lie down as i was really behind with work by then. Was wondering if sitting down at the computer hampered the flow through and that i should get up earlier and walk around tomorrow or try lying down.
Day 5 – emergency with work this morning (I was woken by my phone and not being one to wear my glasses when I sleep peered at the phone and it looked like it said ‘Jon in Wales’ to me which is what I have my husband under while he’s at his mums …. It was actually a mobile number and my boss – oops!) and so got hung up on that and before I knew it the time was 12.45 and I decided that it was too late to do the SWF today. However, I had been up on and off all night because for some reason my laxative tea works immediately now and doesn’t wait the 6 to 8 hours I was expecting and it’s been working all day so as the original MC says not to do it if you have diarrhoea which I pretty much think I have. Trying it a bit weaker tonight.
Day 6 – I added twice as much salt as I have been doing and the flush worked much better for me today. It took about an hour to go through me but after that I didn’t stop. I suddenly got a headache half way through my shower but immediately knew it was dehydration so drank a large glass of water and it went fairly fast after that. I am not taking the laxative tonight as I haven’t stopped needing the loo all day apart from about 2 hours this afternoon and I don’t want to be up all night again. Last nights laxative was half as strong as normal and it still worked far too well.
Day 7 – no laxative last night and made a snap decision not to do the SWF today either and it has been very refreshing not to be running to the loo all day and being able to be more than 10 seconds away from the bathroom with fear of an accident. I will resume the SWF tomorrow but as it keeps me on the run for most of the day after I do it I felt it was best as I was going to be going out with my daughter today. I will be staying close to home and a loo for the next 2 days.
Day 8 – I decided not to take the laxative tea before bed again but that I would do the SWF in the morning. This morning I had a (sorry) normal soft bowel movement which rather surprised me as I wouldn’t have thought there was enough fibre or solids to build up to that. I did the SWF and it was my most successful to date. Im using more salt than I was – 3 teaspoons now – and that seems to be doing the trick. 3 strong eliminations after about an hour 30 mins apart. Havent been able to venture far from the bathroom again today though so I think im going to pass on the laxative tea again tonight.
Day 9. SWF seems to going ok now. I’ve got the hang of it and about time too!! I was wondering if its ok to do the SWF when I come off the Master Cleanse? Has anyone else done this or been thinking about it. It makes me feel kind of clean and fresh and light. I cant do the laxative tea in the evenings any more as however weak I make it it goes straight through me. I do have a tendency to be highly sensitive to different foods so that might be why im having an instant reaction to it. Shame because I do feel like I might be missing out on something but it doesn’t really seem to be making any difference with the SWF so I guess its ok.
Day 10 – Sooooo I think asked a daft question yesterday in my SWF diary – about whether we can do the SWF when we start eating again. Im pretty sure it wouldn’t go straight through you quite as easily because all the tubes are going to be fuller than they have been for the last 10 days. Last SWF then and to be honest I don’t know what I was thinking yesterday. It is masses easier than it was in the beginning but it has really restricted my movements and any plans to be out of the house have to be very strategic.
Ease Out Day 1 – I did the SWF this morning by habit but thinking back now im writing this im not sure if we are still supposed to be doing it so I must re read Stanley Borroughs book and see if it mentions it there. Still not doing laxative tea in the evenings but I really haven’t needed to. Im now racking my brain for more words to fill up this diary entry and think im going to have even more trouble tomorrow. There is a limit to how many times you can say – ran to the loo, felt really light after SWF, been on the loo all day etc etc.
Ease Out Day 2 – last day of SWF for me I don’t think I can do it any more. Ive been on the loo for hours today because of it and I cant have a life outside the house if I cant leave the bathroom. It may be the orange juice as much as anything – I rarely eat oranges normally and maybe its because they upset me and ive just forgotten. I know my daughter cant eat them – they give her ferocious diarrhoea instantly so im thinking maybe I am the same because that is a pretty good description of whats going on with me and it did start last night after a day on Oranges.
Ease Out Day 3 – Things are actually solid again and I cant tell you what a relief it is to be able to get out of the house without the worry of needing the loo …‘NOW!’ Everything seems to be flowing through me nicely which is great because I was a bit concerned it would need a bit of help. I was also surprised that it didn’t have to build up for days to be pushed through and that the urge was there in the morning as normal which apparently is a good sign because it means that im eliminating waste immediately and its not stagnating and re toxifying my body.
Psychological and Emotional
Day 1 – Psychologically and Emotionally I feel pretty stable today – actually stable is an understatement – I feel rock solid. However we are only on Day 1 so it may not be so in a few days time. I’m hoping I wont wobble as last time I did it I was around a lot of food and it didn’t bother me at all which surprised me greatly. I even cooked a few meals for my husband and his mum and even that I found fine. Im a bit worried that because im in a house on my own for the whole 10 days instead of making it easier it will make it more difficult. I do have a bad habit of making a problem out of nothing so im going to stop this thought process right now and just wait and see.
Day 2. I had a really bad headache all day which is why Day 2 is so late (more to do with my trying to smoke whilst doing the Master Cleanse than the detoxing I feel ) and ive had a really stressful day working. I work from home and normally if theres a problem it wouldn’t really be a problem it would be a challenge that made me feel great when solved. Today I just didn’t want to do it and had to force myself to start, stay and to finish. The result wasn’t particularly uplifting either and all I felt was really glad to stop. I also had a moan at my husband about nothing at all and only stopped when he asked what the real problem was – I couldn’t think of one … it was just my mood. Ive found the hunger really annoying and realised that last time I had my husband doing the first 2 ½ days with me and that we got through them together – this time im on my own.
Day 3. Having spent all day in bed – I took all my drinks up with me (pre made and added water when needed) I feel a lot happier. I just needed to pamper myself a bit I think. Its not as if im being forced into doing this so it’s a bit odd that I felt the need to reward myself but I also realise that if id felt like this and I wasn’t on the Master Cleanse I would have eaten something to make myself feel better. I somehow need to get over using food as a reward – im not a dog for goodness sake – I don’t need a doggy chocolate every time I roll over and die! I must remember that food is there to fuel my body and not cover up or compensate. I have ME so I have spent a lot of time in bed over the past couple of years and it wasnt really something I thought i’d want to do again soon. Ive taken myself to my safe place …. I wonder why i felt the need to do that?
Day 4 – A much better day today. 2nd day with no cigarettes and I didn’t miss them at all! Worked most of the day (until 8.40pm) so didn’t really have much time to think about food or hunger and that made the day a lot easier. I seem to have my energy back again today –yesterday was really bad but I do have ME so I guess I shouldn’t expect too much. Last time I did the Master Cleanse my energy levels came right up which gave me the idea that a lot of my symptoms were food related and I was sent to a Dietitian by my doctor. Neither of them seemed horrified by the Master Cleanse which was a surprise to me – I was really expecting them to be up in arms about it.
Day 5 – crisis (exaggeration ) at work today caused excessive tears (no exaggeration). Usually the only thing that makes me cry is a row with my husband and that doesn’t happen very often lately – other things I deal with by pondering what I can do to put it right or make it better. Tonight I cried for 10 minutes at a soap. Normally I’m more likely to spend 10 minutes laughing at it or not even watching it (although I do love Emmerdale and for those of you not in the UK it’s a soap about farmers and based around a pub in a small village and I should be ashamed of myself) but tonight I couldn’t stop wailing. Between tears ive been fine so I have no idea whats going on with my emotions. Has anyone else come across this?
Day 6 – thank goodness Im over the tearfulness of yesterday. In hindsight it seems like I needed the release of the tears. Maybe there was some tension built up because I feel good today. Stable, calm, happy, content and like nothing is going to make me wobble. Im still feeling really hungry on and off throughout the day but I haven’t wanted to smoke all day so that’s 4 days smoke free. I really hate smoking and I cant really understand why it was so easy to go back to it after so long but hopefully the habit is kicked again …. Although I do think that once a smoker always a smoker – its in my system and if I have one again its just going to start so im going to try really hard when this is over never to bother again.
Day 7 – As I walked down the stairs this morning I was thinking ‘This is day 7 ive done more than half I could give up today and ive done really well. But by the time I got into the kitchen I wanted to carry on then I read the email and was glad I decided not to quit. Its great that all the milestones are gone through by everyone and that im not the only one who thinks like that. I feel calm and happy today and even though a couple of things happened that could have really upset me it didn’t really touch me except that I thought about it rationally and decided that there was nothing I could do and worrying wouldn’t make it any better so I didn’t. That’s not like me … im not happy unless im worrying! This cleanse is making not only my gut stronger and healthier but my brain too!!
Day 8 – still feeling really strong and also like I have a clean and clear mind which I don’t often have because ME causes much fogginess of the brain. I also feel much less stressed and anxious than I did before I started. One of the symptoms of my ME is really bad anxiety which is one of the reasons I started smoking again. A mental crutch as it seemed to help. I m now wondering if it actually made my anxiety worse because I haven’t had a cigarette since day 1. I do still have a slight anxious feeling in my stomach but its nothing compared to what it was –quite debilitating sometimes!
Day 9. Ive been getting a lot of things in my life, and around the house, sorted so I reckon the Master Cleanse does a good job of cleaning up your act in many ways and not just your physical health. I’ve been doing jobs that i’ve been putting off for months and it’s a really good feeling. I have a walk in attic that I hoard things in and every 3 or 4 years I give it a good clear out … it’s the next on my list of ‘things to do’ and im really looking forward to it. The Master Cleanse seems to have made sense of a lot of stuff and given me much more energy and clearer insight into things that have been confusing me for a long time now. I did almost have a wobble last night at midnight – I couldn’t sleep and suddenly got really really hungry so I decided to go downstairs and have something to eat – my reasoning was that ive done 8 days and so much has changed that another 2 days cant make that much difference. Luckily by the time I got to the kitchen I was hesitating and when I saw the bottles of Maple Syrup on the counter top I opened a bottle had 2 spoonfuls and went back to bed amazed with myself!
Day 10 – im feeling really normal over the last 2 days and that’s abnormal for me. ME makes me feel like im not myself and not in control of my life but both times ive done the Master Cleanse ive boosted my energy levels and my brain is defogged. I am still getting massive overwhelming tiredness but its at a normal time – running up to bedtime. I cant believe how well ive been sleeping. Why would food have such an adverse affect on my ability to sleep soundly. This really does need some research and I will ask my Occupational Therapist in the coming week because she often knows the answer to the most bizarre questions I put to her about ME.
Ease Out Day 1 – Arrgggg – I posted the detox and SWF post again on here by mistake so hope it lets me put up the real one up – its not the first time and doesn’t usually allow 2 in one day. As im also late putting yesterdays up that means that I have to put 2 up today anyway (unless I just run my Ease Out Diary entries a day late). Ive been feeling really happy today and really glad to be tasting something different. Not that I dislike the Lemonade drink now ive worked out how to not taste the Cayenne so much but I was getting bored of the sweetness and really it was my longing for something savoury more than hunger that almost made me slip.
Ease Out Day 2 – Been a bit bored and frustrated today because of problems with a computer programme I need for work but whereas normally I would think ‘oh well I’ll have a cake to cheer me up and reward myself for getting through it’ im only thinking ‘oooh great tomorrow I can have some raw veggies and actually have something other than the crackers to chew’. Cant really wait to be honest and I know I shouldn’t but im really looking forward to something meaty even though every time I read Stanley Burroughs book on the Master Cleanse I think I will never eat meat again.
Ease out day 3 – how great do i feel about myself? I actually think im amazing and i cant believe how easy it all seems in hindsight! Thank goodness the hand things happened on the last day because i might have caved if it had been earlier. I did feel a bit sorry for myself but luckily hubby was home so he spoilt me and has looked after me for the last few days. Im still feeling a lot more alert mentally than i was and there is a sense of calmness about me that wasnt there before – calm mentally and emotionally – i guess you would call it an inner calm. I suffer from anxiety quite badly which is a side effect of my ME but thats gone so it makes me wonder if that also is caused by something i eat? I have an appointment with my dietician later this week so i intend to pick her brains about the affect that food can have on our minds as well as out bodies.
Weight Loss and Physical Results
Day 1 – SW170. I didnt do the Ease In as i only found this site on Saturday but as i did the whole 10 days on my own about 5 months ago without it i figured that it shouldnt make too much difference to the outcome. I weighed myself this morning and was shocked to find my weight at 170lbs – i did think it might be around there so i guess i shoudnt have been TOO surprised. I have been diagnosed with ME and lost so many of my symptoms whilst doing it last time it will be great to have a diary that i can refer back to. Im hesitant to write a full list for fear of boring the reader but if anyone is interested they can be found on my blog. Today i feel a bit sick but i guess thats normal. I havent been hungry until an hour ago (17.00 in the UK). Soooo, on the first day i dont really have anything worth reporting physically or weight wise.
Day 2. Grrrr ……. Still weigh 170 but its only day 2!! My stomach doesn’t feel so bloated and im sure its flatter but I guess that’s because I have empty bowels? No sick feeling today but ive had a really bad headache which is why this is being written on Day 3. I had to concentrate on work feeling really ill but im pretty sure the headache was because I smoked 4 cigarettes. I only started smoking again 6 weeks ago, after 7 years of not smoking apart from the odd one or two a year when I had a drink. One of the reasons for doing the Master Cleanse was to knock the smoking on the head before it got out of hand again. It could also have been down to not putting enough salt into my SWF and it not washing through as it should do? I’ve been rushing to the loo because of all the liquid ive been drinking. I have a lactose and gluten intolerance (among other food intolerances – ME kind of makes you hyper sensitive to many many things), which is another reason for doing this cleanse and one of the symptoms of the lactose intolerance is my body holding water so I feel like all that’s gone today which is great!! My hands don’t feel tight and my wedding ring is quite lose.
Day 3. Yay!! 169lbs. A loss of 1lb which Im really happy about. Im thinking it may be because im so empty (empty bowels, stomach etc) so may not be a physical loss as yet. I didn’t smoke all day and didn’t want to. No head ache today and ive been in bed all day resting . I don’t feel like I have as much energy as I did yesterday and yesterday I had a lot more energy than normal for me. Ive just had a big shot of cayenne and water before my last lemonade for the day and feel really sick! Im wondering if I went too long between drinks and my stomach was too empty.
Day 4 – had a bit of a late start today and forgot to weigh myself until id done the SWF and by then it was too late so I’m hoping for a nice surprise tomorrow. I do feel lighter and im sure my face looks slimmer. As if by some miracle my blemishs/spots/pimples or whatever they were have now all gone. I find that amazing because one was a proper white head. It came up as fast as it disappeared. My tongue is still a nasty white colour and I have the sweet taste in my mouth all the time. I remembered today that I wasn’t interested in chocolate or puddings for about 2 months after the last Master Cleanse I did and I think the sweetness of the drink is what puts me off. I didn’t fancy anything sweet before I did the cleanse and ate a lot of meaty things (this should probably be in Psychological and Emotional). I actually had some lemon cheesecake in the fridge which I couldn’t eat – normally that would be no problem.
Day 5 – Early start and a fuss about work stopped me from weighing myself again today so im hoping for an even nicer surprise tomorrow when I weigh myself ………… if not I’m still going to be surprised but not in a good way. My tongue is really, really furry and white down the middle and towards the back but the front and sides seem to have cleared up – that must be a good sign. I am kind of missing food as well today and realise that most of the day im fine and don’t think about food but its at night that I start to feel really hungry and that’s when my danger time is normally so this is just psychological or boredom maybe?
Day 6 – I have lost another 2 lbs so that’s 3 in total so far. I read Trinitys comment about how much she has lost and to be fair I did think id have lost a bit more than this by now as last time it really did seem to melt away. At the end of the day im pretty happy that I have lost any and its going to really kick start me into keeping it off and losing some more after this is finished. Last night I slept really soundly in between needing the loo and felt really rested when I woke up this morning – I normally sleep really badly due to a 10 year old neck injury which means I need to turn really often because it starts to ache which means that most mornings I wake up still feeling tired. I have had to stay very close to the loo today but i’m not really worried about that as it just means a bit more rubbish has been eliminated.
Day 7 – I have masses of energy today and I slept really well again last night. This cleanse is like a mini miracle and im so glad I did it again and that I think im going to get to the end. I didn’t weigh myself today but I will tomorrow. I don’t really feel much slimmer if im honest but I can see in my face that ive lost some weight. Ive had another odd side affect that im not sure if im imagining but when I washed my hair yesterday I didn’t seem to shed as much as I normally do and my hair seems a lot thicker. Probably my imagination but I know that we do shed a lot of hair on a weekly basis so it could be true.
Day 8 – weighed myself this morning and im down to 165lbs so that’s a loss so far of 5lbs. Im really happy with that and there is sure to be another 1 or 2 lbs before the end hopefully. The white furry strip down the middle of my tongue is getting smaller – in fact its more a line than a strip now that fattens out a bit towards the back. Skin is looking brighter and all over my body the skin feels softer and smoother which is a lovely side product of this cleanse that I wasn’t expecting. My hair is still looking really shiny and bright and it had been getting very dull the day after washing it so my health is shining out of my skin and hair which I love!
Day 9 – Hmm well still on 11.11. which is 165llbs but yesterday it was on 11st 11.8lbs and today the scales say 11 st 11.4lbs so its still going in the right direction. My skin on my face feels a bit bumpy today but Im wondering if I just need to do a facial scrub and that its toxins coming out of my skin as my face is usually quite smooth. Its odd because yesterday I noticed that my skin looked much brighter and had a sort of a glow to it so not sure how it can have changed so drastically over night. Have been having to use my toothpaste for sensitive teeth 3 times a day for about 3 days now because my teeth started to hurt when I drank the lemonade. Probably something to do with the acid in the lemons? Not sure and a bit worried about that but I read that someone else had that problem and it went back to normal once they finished the cleanse so not going to stop now.
Day 10 – Awesome is not a word im prone to use but I cant think of a better one to describe how I feel about losing ANOTHER 2lbs!!!!! Its awesome and very unexpected. So now after 10 days im have lost a total of 7lbs that’s half a stone! I can really see it. I worked out why my face felt bumpy when it was looking so radiant the day before. I did something daft when I was very tired. When I started the Master Cleanse I decided that I wouldn’t be using any chemicals on my skin either. I only use a crystal stone as deodorant (and if you have never tried one I highly recommend you get one) but I do like scented skin moisturisers that match my perfume and I use cleansers and moisturisers on my face too. I have used nothing for 8 days then stupidly put moisturiser on my face and I think I had a bit of an allergic reaction to it. Its fine again today so im also amazed at how fast spots and blemishes etc clear up whilst on the Master Cleanse.
Ease Out Day 1 – still exactly the same weight today. The skin on my face is now back to its smooth soft texture instead of the bumps from putting on moisturiser. I felt more tired today than I have been but I didn’t sleep very well last night so that might account for that. In myself I feel well and up for anything mentally. Physically im a bit limited in what I can do because of my ME (although last time is was on the Lemonade Diet my husband I cycled 13 miles round a lake. Totally flat road and he did have to push me along for the last 3 miles and we stopped a few times for a rest but I hadn’t done anything like that for about 2 years. The major thing was that it didn’t make me ill afterwards because at the stage I am in at the moment I can do more things than I could but usually it will make me ill for 2 days afterwards. I haven’t been ill once since doing this and that is a miracle in itself.
Ease Out Day 2 – Am not quite sure what the word is for how im feeling about my body and what im putting into it. Smug isn’t quite there but its kind of smug. Im certainly very pleased with myself and the 7lbs I have lost is making a lot of difference to me because I can get into my clothes again with out feeling suffocated by how tight they are and its great to have a choice of things to wear and not have to try to cover up lumpy bits so much. Obviously there are still a couple of small bumps that I need to get rid of and I aim to lose a stone (14lbs) more hopefully in time for my birthday in August (maybe before that if I do another Master Cleanse in 3 months time.)
Ease Out Day 3 – Final weight loss is 8lbs!!! I look and feel like a different person and im actually thinking now my husband has gone back to look after his mum that I might go back on the cleanse. Something amazing regarding healing has happened to my body and the cause is partly the reason for this last post being late ….. I have a beautiful stone elephant in the garden but it broke its leg and one of the things that the Master Cleanse has given me is a desire to do all the little bits and pieces that i have neglected over the last few months due to lack of energy or motivation. I managed to stumble inside with the elephant and put it on a cupboard top. Realising that it would have to be wedged upside down for me to glue the leg i wiggled the broken leg into place and left the elephant standing while i went to make it a nest in a cardboard box. I lifted the elephant but as i did so the broken leg fell away and almost in slow motion the elephant toppled onto my right hand with the ear cutting into me quite painfully. So, with my right hand trapped under it i could not seem to be able to lift the whole elephant with my other cut up hand. The thought of being found starved to death with my hand trapped under an elephant somehow gave me the strength to just slightly lift and drag my hand out. There was also the thought that my husband was going to find me and I didn’t want 3 years of banter about being held hostage by an elephant. So I ended up badly cut, badly bruised and a broken bone where the ear landed ….. however, I cannot believe how fast the injuries from the glass and the elephant have healed. Its been almost miracle speed. The elephant had left a big black bruise across the back of my hand which was yellow by the morning of day 3 and gone today! Still a lump where the break is/was but it actually seems to have healed/mended already and doesn’t hurt at all unless I press it.
Support from Family and Friends
Day 1 – This is the second Master Cleanse i have done – the first one without this site as i only found it on Saturday by accident and had planned to start today (Monday) on my own so was blown away that i could find support here because im completely on my own at home for the next 10 days as my husband is looking after his elderly mother and staying there for a while. He is very supportive on the phone and helped me no end last time i did the cleanse – making my SWF and bringing it to me in bed. I can see already that there are going to advantages and disadvantages to being on my own this time. Disadvantage – no one to juice the lemons for me but i purchased a brilliant electric citrus juicer that you just press the lemon gently down on and it gets every drop out with no effort, no one to bring me my SWF before i get out of bed. Advantage – no cooking smells, cooking, shopping for food, not being able to join in on a drink etc. Last time i did the MC i found the hardest part of it was losing the joy of sharing a meal or a drink with my partner.
Day 2. Not really getting any support from anyone. Ive added the first days Master Cleanse comments to my blog and I usually put a note on facebook when I do that but didn’t as its not really ME related. My husband thinks hes being supportive but hes away at the moment looking after his poorly mum and although hes rung about 3 times today and asked how its going every time hes been eating. Not talking about it – just eating. When I asked if he was eating (the third time) with his mouth full he replied that he wouldn’t be as thoughtless as to ring up someone who was fasting with food in his mouth! His heart is in the right place and I do miss him!
Day 3. Only hubby and one friend knows im doing this but tonight im going to put up on my profile that im on day 3 of a Master Cleanse with 7 days to go and I will get loads of support from friends and family on there. If I wobble at all I know I could put up a message saying I want to eat and id have full support from a lot of people. I am liking writing the diary each day – shame I felt too ill to do yesterdays on the day and had to do it this morning. I’d been writing it in my head all day so it was all there. I kind of make notes all day then put them all down at the end of the day. That part has been much easier than I thought it would be. Im enjoying reading everyones comments and it does help to make me feel more part of something and that I will be letting down more than just myself if I don’t make it to the end.
Day 4 – I haven’t actually told anyone that im doing the MC so tonight I put up ‘Day 4 of Master Cleanse’ as my status on facebook before I started writing my diary and have had one like so far. Its late so I cant expect much more at this time of night. I feel like I need to get out and around people as I haven’t seen anyone since Monday and then I panicked and decided not to invite anyone round because my friends like to bring food and alcohol and whilst I often see them without drinking I don’t think I could do without food as well so im going to meet them at a café on the beach near where I live and have a bottle of water. I remember that by Day 5 last time I was fine around other people eating so should be ok by the weekend. My husband still seems to be eating or talking about food every time he rings me – tonight an old friend of his took him to dinner to get him out of the house and he’d just eaten a mixed grill big enough for a family of four. I didn’t feel envious at all I just thought how lucky I was not to be feeling stuffed and uncomfortable from over eating.
Day 5 –my husband is being really supportive emotionally – the poor man has had me on the phone in floods of tears 3 times today. He says its fine and that as long as its not him making me cry he can deal with it and he was amazing. He suggested that its part of the detox thing and I guess that maybe it is but I haven’t got a clue what is causing it so if anyone has experienced this or knows why id love to hear from you. Im fine in between bouts of tears but anything sets me off – the closest I can come to explaining it is that its feels just like when I was pregnant and my hormones were all over the place.
Day 6 – My husband is still away but my 20 year old daughter is home for the weekend from College. I thought she would find the Master Cleanse laughable but she was really interested. She tasted the lemonade without the Cayenne and really liked it but says she wouldn’t be able to just drink for 10 days. We had a long talk about IBS, as we both suffer from it, and healthy eating. She actually read the leaflet listing Poorly Absorbed Carbohydrates that my dietician gave me and is taking it seriously and is hoping that it might help her condition. I don’t think we would have had that chat if she hadn’t become interested in what her weird mum was up to now. So, even if she never does the Master Cleanse, in a round about way it may have a life changing affect on her.
Day 7 – my daughter is still home from college and I cooked her a meal today to surprise her as she was having a lie in. It smelt amazing and I wasn’t tempted at all. I just thought I must make myself some of this when my cleanse is over. It even crossed my mind that I might keep doing it longer if my husband is delayed from coming home when he was planning to on Wednesday. She was lovely and asked if it was ok for her to eat it in front of me and was amazed that I said I was fine as yesterday when she was eating some sweets I had to ask her to eat them away from me. I wouldn’t have had the sweet but didn’t want to be put in a position that I had to have a fight with myself not to. Hubby is still talking about food accidentally every time we speak – bless him!
Day 8 – haven’t had much support from family as I am back on my own again as my daughter went back to college this morning but I have had 2 friends on facebook ask me for details of what I was doing so I have emailed them a copy of the Original Master Cleanse document along with the URL of this website and I have a strong feeling that both of them will be doing it pretty soon. All i’ve been putting up is something like Day 7 of the Master Cleanse and im pretty chuffed with myself or Day 8 – woo hoo! Loads of interest and support – funnily enough most of it in private messages so I guess they don’t want their friends to think they are as weird as me?
Day 9. Well Day 9 and I didn’t think id be here on Day 2 or 3. Day 7 was a bit tough too but im glad I didn’t give in. It may have been easier being in the house on my own and not having to smell other peoples food all the time or see them eating (apart from when my daughter was here but that seemed ok and as I said I even cooked her a meal). My husband is coming home tomorrow so I have decided that I wont go on because part of what we like to do is cook together and share a meal and as I haven’t seen him for 3 weeks its part of our rebonding process. Hes really up for eating loads of raw foods and he even likes brown rice and steamed veg so that’s really handy.
Day 10 – Husband is home tomorrow and for the last 2 days he hasn’t eaten anything while hes been on the phone to me because hes not speaking to me (its really trivial but hes under a lot of pressure coz his mum is elderly and poorly and hes away from his social network and its just him and her all day). The reason I wanted to mention this is that although normally id feel devastated ive been very calm and rational and have just thought ‘ oh well he loves me and he’ll be fine when he gets home’. Most unlike me I have to say. The longer the Master Cleanse goes on the less ive needed support from family and friends because it feels normal now but ive still missed having other people on this site to share my experiences with and read what they are going through and I feel as if im in the Bermuda Triangle now and everyone has deserted the ship. (Apart from Rose)
Ease Out Day 1 – husband is home today and im one happy girl 😀 I know smiley faces are a bit naff but it expresses how I feel very well. He wanted some of my Orange Juice – he stood there almost drooling while I drank a glass so I squeezed 2 oranges for him. He has started having the juice of a lemon in water each morning instead of a cup of tea and says it really wakes him up. I think im going to have a Lemonade for breakfast each morning and do what Stanely Burroughs suggests which is not eating til noon then just fruit and then having a meal at dinner time. Basically this is how I ate before but a cup of herbal tea (Havent drunk tea or coffee since I was 15) for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack then the first food I would have would be a proper meal at around 6 or 7pm then a snack of cereal or toast at around 10 coz I cant sleep if im hungry (although that’s now not actually true because I slept better than I have for years for at least 5 out of the 10 days I was doing the MC).
Ease Out Day 2 – Really enjoyed our food today. I had a lemonade for breakfast and hubby had his lemon juice and water lovingly squeezed by me and my electric juicer which he was really impressed with. Then we have had soup for early lunch, tea and supper with a couple of crackers which Stanley Burroughs says is ok in his book. We both feel really really good about what we are putting into our bodies and he has come home after 3 weeks away having lost his little love handles from just eating sensibly because he wanted to look good for his new fit and healthy wife. Ahhh! Don’t know how he managed because most of what I remember for the last 10 days at least is that every time he rang me he had food in his mouth.
Ease Out Day 3 – Have had some great support from my husband now hes home. He made all the food on day 3 because of my accidents with both hands and hasn’t tried to move me off the diet and is joining in himself. He says he could do with losing his love handles (which I cant even see by the way) and will eat whatever I eat or want to eat. We were almost tempted by a cheese cake in the supermarket when shopping for fruit and veg and realised that the way to avoid buying anything like that is to avoid temptation by knowing the store well enough to not go down the isles where the temptation lies. We also didn’t go shopping until we had eaten because both of us are dreadful if shopping when hungry. Im kinda sad that this is my last post for this cleanse as ive really really enjoyed writing them. Good luck to everyone who is just starting or part of the way through. Its worth every second to get to the end – the great feeling you have about yourself for succeeding is immeasurable. Its 2 weeks out of your life but the benefit it adds to it far outweighs the time scale.