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.

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!

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Results and Questions for After the Cleanse

The Master Cleanser