BigDivaHq.com » cleanser

Results and Questions for After the Cleanse

Ms. Pillowz — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:37:10 +0000

Results:

This past Saturday was the last day of the cleanse. I extended it to 14 days so that I could be supportive of my mom, who started later than I did. By the end, I lost 15 pounds. I’ve gained back 2 pounds already, which is to be expected since I am back to eating regular food, although I am not eating meat until next week. I wish I took my measurements before I started though. I can say that I’ve lost inches off of my waistline, hips, and thighs. Now if I lost some inches from my head, I’d be in business. I have a big head!! lol

The best part about the cleanse had to be my energy level and productivity. I’ve been snapping necks and cashing checks as Will Ferrell said in Step Brothers. Another positive is that I’ve craved nothing but fruits and vegetables. Before I started, I knew that in order to maintain any weight loss and lose even more, I would have to reevaluate my eating choices. I needed to add more fruits and veggies and do less processed foods. Last week, I ordered 2 cookbooks, by Devin Alexander and ,so that I’d have more healthy meal options. I get bored eating the same thing everyday and once I get bored, I head back to old favorites. Meals also have to be quick and easy to prepare. I don’t want to spend the last few hours I have before bedtime cleaning, chopping, marinating, seasoning, cooking, and then eating.

Early Saturday morning, I went out and bought a ton of fruits and vegetables. There were no pretzels, Cheez-Its, Wheat Thins, frozen dinners, or any other processed food in my cart. I was pretty proud of myself, I have to say. After I put everything away, I officially ended the cleanse by indulging in a big glass of organic orange juice from Trader Joes. I added water to it to cut the sugar, because it was so sweet. I swear that the cleanse changed my taste buds. I made sure to sip slowly, but it was so refreshing that I really wanted to take it to the head. That is a no-no!! It is REALLY important to end the cleanse properly as described by Stanley Burroughs in . If you start eating regularly right at the end, YOU WILL BE SICK! You can go back to eating what you want, but there is a process that you have to go through in order to reintroduce your body to food.

Once you’ve finished the cleanse and the process, here are 10 questions to answer to evaluate how it went for you:

1. How long did you do the cleanse?

2. Did you have any difficulty coming off of the cleanse at all?

3. What were your physical results? Did you achieve your goals?

4. Did you achieve the non-physical goals, that you listed before starting?

5. What were your harderst days? What were some problems that you experienced?

6. How did you work through them?

7. Now that it has ended, how are your cravings?

8. What type of changes have you made to your diet so far? What changes do you plan to incorporate later? What will you do to maintain your progress?

9. Would you ever do the cleanse again? If so, how might you incorporate it into your life?

10. Would you recommend the cleanse to others?

I’ve talked a lot about the Master Cleanse these past couple weeks. I will definitely revisit the MC since I have chosen to do it once every quarter. If at any time you have questions or want to provide feedback of your own, please feel free to contact me or share it with the readers in any of the MC posts.

10 Questions to Answer Before Doing the Master Cleanse

Ms. Pillowz — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:26:20 +0000

First, I would just like to thank my readers for all of the feedback that I’ve gotten from my posts about the MC. A few of you mentioned that you are even thinking about giving it a try. I’m really happy that you are considering it and if you do go through with it, I hope that it works out well for you.

One thing that helped me during my first cleanse was to prepare for the worst, so to speak. I wrote out and answered 10 questions, which made me think about different possibilities, so that I was better prepared if they actually happened.

I’ve posted the questions here for you to review and think about before you start.

Feel free to post your answers here or if you have some good questions that can help us prepare, please share them as well.

1. Why are you participating in the cleanse? What do you hope to achieve as a result?

2. What are some goals that you hope to achieve, other than physical ones, while on the cleanse or shortly thereafter?

3. What, if anything, would you like to change about your current diet?

4. After the cleanse, it’s highly recommended that you change to a raw diet. That may not work for some of you, so what kind of changes could you make to maintain your progress?

5. What might be the reason that you would quit before 10 days?

6. What could you do to keep from quitting?

7. What if you don’t achieve the results that you want or had expected?

8. I’ve read that it is best to rest and keep yourself busy so that you don’t think about food or hunger. What can you do to occupy your time, which doesn’t require a lot of energy?

9. I’ve also read that at some point your energy level increases. It’s been said that it is good to get involved in some physical activities as an outlet. What are some things that you could do?

10. Would you consider doing the program for longer than 10 days?

5 Benefits to the Master Cleanse

Ms. Pillowz — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:50:06 +0000

I did my first Master Cleanse in March earlier this year. At first, it was for 10 days, but it went so well that I decided to extend it for 5 days longer. Before I even started, I did my research. I read The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs first. I read blogs, watched Youtube videos, and went through forums. Through my research I found some great resources, (see 4 Great Master Cleanse Resources).

By the end, I had lost 20 pounds, which I’ve been able to keep off through some lifestyle changes. The weight loss was pretty nice, but what was better were the positive changes that occurred. The cleanse was the catalyst for so many great things in my life. I’ve put together a list of the benefits that I’ve experienced.

1. Improved skin – It is clearer, smoother, and I don’t get nearly as many bumps as I did before. Toxins in your system can show up anywhere in and on the body through rashes, infections, acne, illnesses, etc. Detoxification helps clean you out, so that these outbreaks occur less frequently or not at all. To keep my skin clear, I’ve increased my water intake, which helps to keep me hydrated and regularly flushes impurities from the body.

2. Wonderful feeling - I felt lighter, like my body was in perfect working order. Certain foods still have no negative effect on me. The cleanse helped regulate things for me. No more excess gas and digestive issues for me. My stomach is even noticeably smaller, which is never a bad thing.

3. Craving for healthier foods - Before the cleanse, I wanted pretzels, gummi bears, and cookies. I had heard that the cleanse eliminates those types of cravings, but I didn’t believe it. By the middle, I could have drop kicked someone for an apple. lol I wanted more fruits, and vegetables. I was cool eating salad for lunch everyday. It sounds boring, but it left me satisifed.

4. Joint pain gone – I’ve had pain in my right knee for years. It was the most accurate predictor of rain. It could get pretty painful. I tried acupuncture to ease the pain, but that didn’t really work. After the cleanse, my knee felt much stronger. It no longer hurts when it rains. I actually have to rely on the weather forecast.

5. Craving for water - Everyday, I would drink 32 ounces of Propel Fitness Water. I hated water, but I knew that it was vital for my body, so I drank flavored waters instead. I felt that it was a good substitute. Granted, it is better than syrupy sodas, but nothing is a substitute for real H2O. Since the cleanse, I haven’t been able to bring myself to drink Propel. It doesn’t taste right to me anymore. I drink plain old water and I can feel the difference.

Check back tomorrow for even more benefits to the Master Cleanse. Feel free to comment in the meantime!

4 Great Master Cleanse Resources

Ms. Pillowz — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:09:43 +0000

Before you embark upon any program, diet, or system, it is important that you do your research. It’s how you determine the right way to do things and whether or not it will work for you. I’ve heard general feedback from people who have done the Master Cleanse before, but I wanted to know details. Do you need to live in or near the bathroom? How does the cleanse interfere with medicine? How does it affect the body? Do you get headaches? Are you constantly hungry? Is there anything else that I need to know that might be a game changer? These are just some of the questions I had and before I made the decision to start or not, I needed answers.

Through my travels far and beyond in cyberspace, I found a ton of information. A lot of it was a bunch of fluff, but I did find a few treasures. I present to you, my fave 4 great MC resources:

1. The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs – You can’t start any program without going to the source first. This book is a must for anyone thinking about doing the program.

2. Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days by Peter Glickman – This has been considered a companion book. It’s more modern and it gives a bit more details about the program and advice about challenges that you may face.

3. The Master Cleanse / Raw Food Site – this is Peter Glickman’s site for all things MC. It’s a great resource. He even has a bullentin board with thousands of posts and responses, which you can find here:

4. For those that don’t want to drive to three or four stores looking for all the things you need to do the cleanse, Peter Glickman sells a MC ingredients kit. He also sells a 36 ounce bottle, which is great because most portable bottles only go up to 32 ounces. You can actually make three servings of the lemonade / limeade to take with you. You can purchase the items by clicking the pictures.

TM 36 oz. Drink Bottle" width="89" height="184" />

Master Cleanse Blog – The blog hasn’t been updated in a while, but there is great information, tips, and advice throughout the site. It’s worth a visit.

If there is anything else that you would like to add, please feel free. Youtube videos would be a great addition to the list.

The Master Cleanser

Ms. Pillowz — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:28:58 +0000

The Master Cleanse aka the Lemonade Diet aka the Maple Syrup diet hit the scene in 1941 and is still being used to this day. The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs was published in 1976 as a detoxification process.

I realize that so many people do the cleanse solely to lose weight. When Beyonce needed to lose weight for her role in Dreamgirls, she did the Master Cleanse and lost about 20 pounds. What people need to know is that the weight loss is temporary once you begin eating and drinking regularly unless healthy changes are made. When I did my first cleanse, I lost 20 pounds, but I’ve been able to keep most of it off through lifestyle changes.

There were two main reasons that I chose to do the cleanse:

To allow my body time to detox – With the Standard American Diet (SAD), most of us tend to eat a lot of processed food, fast food, overcooked nutrient deficient food, and meat. It is a lot of work for our bodies to break down the food properly and as a result, many of us experience gastrointestinal issues such as excess gas, indigestion, heartburn, constipation, and other problems surrounding digestion. Giving your body a break from excessive digestion allows for it to flush out toxins and detox.

To jumpstart a healthy eating program – It had been said that when you do this fast, your tastes change. Sugars and starches that you once craved turn into cravings for vegetables and fruit. For me and many others, this was true. It is definitely a great way to get started eating healthier. After my first fast, I realized just how sweet things are. Even now, almost 8 months afterwards, I still have to dilute fruit juices with water.

It is recommended that you do the cleanse for at least 10 days, but according to Burroughs, you can actually do it for up to 40 days. I started out doing the cleanse for 10 days, but the results were so astounding that I extended it to 15 days. When I tell people, they think I was starving and going out of my mind. I felt hungry in the beginning, but by the 3rd or 4th day, I felt fine. I went to a lunch meeting on the 14th day of the cleanse. We went to a Mediterranian restaurant. I drank water and felt just fine. I didn’t feel hungry at all.

When you do the cleanse, one of the benefits is that you learn how strong you really are and how amazing the body is. When you set yourself up to do the cleanse you think, “Damn! Ten days is a long time. There is just NO way that I can last 10 days without eating.” Then you make it through the 1st day, the 3rd day, the 8th day, and finally the 10th. By that time, you realize that the body can do a lot more than you thought it could. It’s definitely a shot of confidence.

Currently, I am on the 6th day of my third cleanse. Since the first one, I decided to do it once every quarter. I’ve already lost ten pounds. Most importantly, I feel great. I am looking forward to what is yet to come. Coming up: the benefits of doing the cleanse. Be on the lookout!