Here again, the Master Cleanse (aka MC)

cquick

Here we go, the third time on the MC...I've made a committment to myself to do the MC for at least ten days at the beginning of every quarter I'm in school since the beginning of this year...am I ready?

I fast normally, usually only drinking fresh squeezed juices or whole fruits and a cup of brown rice in a day, and I do this once a week on a day when i don't excercise. Why do I fast, so many people ask?

There are so many reasons, and none of it has anything to do with weight loss.

Have you ever gone a day without food and appreciated those that go without food for days on end? In a society where you hear people griping "I'm starving" while they stand in front of a vending machine full of HFCS and preservatives in air tight baggies lacking any sort of nutritional content--and then, when they pop in a couple of quarters and eat that garbage--it puts everything into perspective.

Some people say: I can't go a day without soda. I'm usless without my coffee. If I don't have at least one piece of chocolate, I'll go berserk. I have to eat three meals a day, otherwise I can't function.

We've all said something to this extent. We've all drank empty carbonated calories from an aluminum can while some people in Africa and Middle Eastern countries bake cakes of dirt in the sun for what little nutrients they can retrieve.

And water...we go along, thinking it will be available to us all of the time, clean and pure, while others have never had a glass of clean, ice-cold water in their life, and they never will. They drink from rancid streams polluted with excrement and chemicals from tribes/cities upstream, and then pass on the favor to the next lucky few down the way.

How long do I fast? The first fast was 21 days. The second was only 10. This time, I hope for 21. I'm currently on day 4.

How do I feel when I fast? Cleaner, more pure. The first few days I have flu like symptoms which do cease after about the fifth day. So far, no symptoms. Sometimes my joints get achy, and I might have a small rash or breakout--this is the toxins trying to escape at full speed. I might get a slight headache, but it disperses with more water. I smell like chemicals/metals around day six, then have an intense and remarkable sense of smell, which isn't too great because smelling my boyfriend sweating out an Arby Q he had two days ago is pretty gross. At the end, I feel only slightly weak, have usually lost as many pounds as the days I've fasted (I gain half back as I start filling up my intestines with food), but mentally I'm stronger, happier, more connected with the dynamics around me.

When I fast, there is an unexplainable feeling that comes over me, and I see it not only as spiritual, but also as a deep appreciation and recognition of life. The trees provide us with our air. The sun gives light to the vegetables and fruit I eat. The rain waters and nourishes our bodies and our planet. Those people I surround myself with love me and will do anything for me. It is almost as if you can see something others cannot, especially people absorbed in their day to day lives, indulging in everything just because it's available, doing everything in their power to lose that last six pounds, scheming in the office for the next big promotion, gossiping about stupid crap that won't make a difference to anyone a year from now....it's seeing the bigger picture.

What do I expect this time around? Absolutely nothing. Whatever feelings come, I shall accept them, physical or mental. If I don't lose a pound, I don't give a hoot. If I don't have that overwhelming spiritual sensation like I've had before, no big deal. I already know what WILL happen:

I will love my life, and myself, even more. No one and nothing can ever take that away.

Here's to another 21!

,
cici

cquick

Here we go, the third time on the MC...I've made a committment to myself to do the MC for at least ten days at the beginning of every quarter I'm in school since the beginning of this year...am I ready?

I fast normally, usually only drinking fresh squeezed juices or whole fruits and a cup of brown rice in a day, and I do this once a week on a day when i don't excercise. Why do I fast, so many people ask?

There are so many reasons, and none of it has anything to do with weight loss.

Have you ever gone a day without food and appreciated those that go without food for days on end? In a society where you hear people griping "I'm starving" while they stand in front of a vending machine full of HFCS and preservatives in air tight baggies lacking any sort of nutritional content--and then, when they pop in a couple of quarters and eat that garbage--it puts everything into perspective.

Some people say: I can't go a day without soda. I'm usless without my coffee. If I don't have at least one piece of chocolate, I'll go berserk. I have to eat three meals a day, otherwise I can't function.

We've all said something to this extent. We've all drank empty carbonated calories from an aluminum can while some people in Africa and Middle Eastern countries bake cakes of dirt in the sun for what little nutrients they can retrieve.

And water...we go along, thinking it will be available to us all of the time, clean and pure, while others have never had a glass of clean, ice-cold water in their life, and they never will. They drink from rancid streams polluted with excrement and chemicals from tribes/cities upstream, and then pass on the favor to the next lucky few down the way.

How long do I fast? The first fast was 21 days. The second was only 10. This time, I hope for 21. I'm currently on day 4.

How do I feel when I fast? Cleaner, more pure. The first few days I have flu like symptoms which do cease after about the fifth day. So far, no symptoms. Sometimes my joints get achy, and I might have a small rash or breakout--this is the toxins trying to escape at full speed. I might get a slight headache, but it disperses with more water. I smell like chemicals/metals around day six, then have an intense and remarkable sense of smell, which isn't too great because smelling my boyfriend sweating out an Arby Q he had two days ago is pretty gross. At the end, I feel only slightly weak, have usually lost as many pounds as the days I've fasted (I gain half back as I start filling up my intestines with food), but mentally I'm stronger, happier, more connected with the dynamics around me.

When I fast, there is an unexplainable feeling that comes over me, and I see it not only as spiritual, but also as a deep appreciation and recognition of life. The trees provide us with our air. The sun gives light to the vegetables and fruit I eat. The rain waters and nourishes our bodies and our planet. Those people I surround myself with love me and will do anything for me. It is almost as if you can see something others cannot, especially people absorbed in their day to day lives, indulging in everything just because it's available, doing everything in their power to lose that last six pounds, scheming in the office for the next big promotion, gossiping about stupid crap that won't make a difference to anyone a year from now....it's seeing the bigger picture.

What do I expect this time around? Absolutely nothing. Whatever feelings come, I shall accept them, physical or mental. If I don't lose a pound, I don't give a hoot. If I don't have that overwhelming spiritual sensation like I've had before, no big deal. I already know what WILL happen:

I will love my life, and myself, even more. No one and nothing can ever take that away.

Here's to another 21!

,
cici

Losing_It

I wish you the best, Cici! I have often thought of doing the MC but I don't have enough faith in myself! Keep us posted!

iftcheiaf

I fast normally, usually only drinking fresh squeezed juices or whole fruits and a cup of brown rice in a day, and I do this once a week on a day when i don't excercise.

Do you fast for 10 to 21 days straight? Do you exercise on those days? Or do you just fast one day out of a week? I'm curious because I've heard of people fasting and cleansing and feeling so much better, but have never met anyone yet to actually do it, although my husband met a guy who swears by it. Just wondering a little more on how it works.

Vans

I hope that the "master cleanse" you speak of if the "lemon cleanse" because to go more then 4 days without food will do NOT SO nice things to your intestines.
I have done research regarding the lemon cleanse ans asked my DR. about it and she advised not to go without food for more then 3-4 days.
Anyhow good luck to you

cquick

I wish you the best, Cici! I have often thought of doing the MC but I don't have enough faith in myself! Keep us posted!

it might not make a difference, but I have faith in you! we are our own worse enemies sometimes, i know all too well...if you ever want to do it, just get informed, listen to your body, and fast the way your body wants to, but i suggest starting out one day a week on a light day, just to get accustomed...

there's lots of information out there, you and your doctor will decide what is best!

:flowerforyou:

cquick

I fast normally, usually only drinking fresh squeezed juices or whole fruits and a cup of brown rice in a day, and I do this once a week on a day when i don't excercise.

Do you fast for 10 to 21 days straight? Do you exercise on those days? Or do you just fast one day out of a week? I'm curious because I've heard of people fasting and cleansing and feeling so much better, but have never met anyone yet to actually do it, although my husband met a guy who swears by it. Just wondering a little more on how it works.

when i fast, i fast one of two ways: fruit fast or MC. I fruit fast one day a week on a light day. I plan to keep up doing the MC every four months for at least ten days. I usually walk three miles in the evening when I do the MC, and I do not eat anything, I just drink the MC.

i swear by it myself, but just because it works for me doesn't mean it will work for all.

good luck in your endeavors! it never hurts to just try yourself!

cquick

I hope that the "master cleanse" you speak of if the "lemon cleanse" because to go more then 4 days without food will do NOT SO nice things to your intestines.
I have done research regarding the lemon cleanse ans asked my DR. about it and she advised not to go without food for more then 3-4 days.
Anyhow good luck to you

yes, it is the lemonade cleanse that has gotten a lot of rap from all sorts of authorities: good, bad, okay, so-so...the news on this subject is as varied as any other weight-loss program, diet, or healthy lifestyle.

after only three years of researching this approach to cleansing, i do not mask myself as a doctor or medical authority, but here are results i have seen happen to those around me, which are people that didn't become educated and just jumped in a tried it:

1) a thirty year old female friend of mine suffered from type 1 diabetes and severe intestinal displacement after her hysterectomy. she did the MC for 35 days and does it for ten days every three months. she no longer needs to take insulin and her bowel movements are remarkably better.

2) my best friend suffered from irritable syndrome/chron's disease type symptoms since he was a baby. he also had horrible acne and contracted impetigo at least once a year...he did the MC for 25 days, does it only once a year, and no longer has these symptoms, and his acne has DEFINITELY decreased.

3) i go to college, and a girl told me how her mother was just on the MC for 40 days straight! i was in disbelief and asked if i could call her mother, but she just asked me to come overand talk to her myself. i walked in, and there were a couple of tanks of oxygen by the door, and when i asked what they were for, the girl's mother came into the room and told me they used to be hers, but now she doesn't need them anymore since the cleanse. she's been off oxygen for a year now.

is this stuff a miracle cure? i have no idea...but i do understand where a doctor would recommend not fasting unless you do it correctly.

several people attempt to fast, then try coming back to solid foods. this is not appropriate for your body and can actually cause blockages, stick in the intestines, and cause several abdominal trauma since the rugae are not used to peristalsis and the intestines lack the microbes to break down the food.

when you fast, it stresses the kidneys, liver, lungs, and colon to purge. I have found myself that getting my digestion back on track is difficult because i didn't eat proper foods, take a probiotic, or take a digestive enzyme when coming back to food the first time around. it took more hours of research to realize this! the second time, i got back on track slowly but surely...

when doing the MC, i am actually taking in 1200 calories a day! so i'm not going without vital minerals or nutrients that i need!

believe me, i would never suggest to anyone to do this, for it is definitely extreme...

a little education never hurt anyone!