The proud. The bold. The Lemony.

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It's that time again !

Master cleanse instructions

There are a few versions / measurements of the master cleanse online. This is the way I have always done it, according to the book and in easy to measure formats.

The saltwater flush :
2 tsp uniodized salt (can be sea salt, Himalayan salt...)
1 quart lukewarm water

Senna leaf tea
Pepper mint tea
Any other herbal and non caffeinated, sugar free tea

The lemonade -
64 oz of water
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
1 cup maple syrup grade B
As much cayenne pepper as you can handle. Alternately, you can use cayenne pepper capsules and take one per 8 oz of lemonade

Instructions :

Drink the senna leaf tea every night before bed, including the night before day 1. Plain and simple it makes you poop.

In the mornings, drink the saltwater flush and give it a couple of hours to flush through you. This is violent and unpleasant and most people don't do it every day or at all. But if you really want to detox, be strong and flush. Be prepared for projectile diarrhea.

The rest of the day- drink that lemonade !!! Also drink pure water as much as you'd like. The pepper mint tea helps with stomach discomfort and with bad breath (which is part of the detox process). Other herbal teas just make you happy. Chewing on ice is nice just so you feel like your crunching something.

And hey - you can freeze the lemonade into Popsicles ... :)

day 10- c'est fini.

I wish I could say the exit was triumphant... Day 10 I simply went to the Olive garden and ate salad to my heart's content. No easing out with juice or anything... A simple salad gave me a crazy food high and satisfaction like you would not believe.

Sorry for not sticking to the 14 day plan I started out with... I wasn't in the head space for it. It  was physically doable, I just didn't want it, got bored, like I thought would happen.

9 pounds and 10 days later, I am so very ready to start on a new way of eating.

Check out my other blog, Fat 2 Fit Flora . i'll continue my journey there, and in the event of another cleanse, to this page I shall return.

For now, I leave you with this:

Day 7- a bit better

In a nutshell... See above. Feeling great, doing great.... Just peachy :)

Day 5. The halfway point of bare minimum

Check out the gross coating on my tongue!! No matter how much I brush it stays returns within minutes.

My friends and I have reached day 5. It feels like a small victory, however I am reacting poorly.
Don't get me wrong, it feels great. This has been the easiest cleanse ever, with no hunger, barely any cravings, gentle SWF's, etc. Moderate cardio has been possible mostly every day, and using a centrifugal juicer instead of squeezing lemons makes the ingredients go a long way.

But I remember looking differently at myself the other times. Maybe because recently my weight was lower, and I am trying to get back to where it was... The mirror does not reflect much change; contradictory to the scale, which boasts 4.5 lbs dropped. Sure the clothes fit better already, but my anxiety is not allowing me to enjoy the process. I have to remember that this is not for weight loss, this is a detox so that my eating habits can be reeducated once it is finished. But that's hard. The want of immediate results may be the hardest addiction to break free of.

Usually this is the halfway point of the cleanse for me, and any days past it are "bonus days". This time it will be done differently. I will stay on the cleanse as long as it takes for me to break free of my worst habit: Unhappiness with myself.

Day 2- like nothing

Day 2 has been a breeze. I skipped teh SWF because of morning meetings at work, and went straight into the lemonade after a couple glasses of fresh water.

The day went by pretty easily, I was not hungry, not cranky, energy levels were good, and bathroom breaks non-traumatizing. There really is not much to say about today, I felt completely normal and craving free.

However, in the evening I noticed that my stomach is quite bloated. Figures, since there was no SWF. After some time googling I have come to the conclusion that I have blockage (makes sense, since there are a lot of solids still) So no more skipping SWF. It is imperative.

Day 1- may the odds be ever in my favor

this was last night...

And now... Day 1 is finally here ! After copious amounts of sleep, I jumped out of bed to juice my fresh organic lemons from the farm. When using the juicer I actually got Just over a cup of lemon juice from 3 lemons!!! Definitely seems a lot more economical than just squeezing them, and I'm sure the juice from the rind of the lemon is also pretty nutritious. Thank goodness my friend is picking up another gallon of maple syrup for me, because I only have enough to get me through today tomorrow and maybe the morning of Tuesday.

After the flush (y'all dont need details on that quite yet) I drank my first wonderful glass with lots of cayenne. I used a straw to avoid the acidity sitting on my tongue. If you ever feel that the coating on your tongue is getting really thick, especially around days 3,4,5... consider using straws. Also I know that too much lemon can harm the tooth enamel so if you MC often, use straws !!

The father, brother and I are off to Chicago for the day.  I have my lemonade with me, some peppermint tea sachets and baby wipes.... Cause a happy hiney is a clean shiny hiney.

Before I head out to enjoy the beautiful sunny mild temperature of today... here is my day 1 picture. I have no shame.

P.S. I love my body.

Pre-Disposition

I am ready.

• 1 gallon of organic grade B maple syrup, and a backup litrer of blackstrap molasses?
• Check
• 1 ten pound case of assorted lemons and limes from an organic farm in California?
• Check
• Cayenne pepper shaker to carry with me like a talisman?
• Check
• un-iodized falkan sea salt for the flush?
• Check
• Senna tea? And peppermint for the gloomy bad breath days?
• Double Check
• tongue scraper?
• Mindset?
• triple mother**ing Check 

in case you are wondering what I will be doing, here is a video explaining the process. 

Will post every day once I start!! Just waiting for the lemons to arrive (probably Friday)

Encore!!!

It shall begin again.

The case of lemons and limes has been ordered, the gallon of grade B goodness is in the kitchen, and the cayenne is practically in my utility belt. To read my pre-musings (as I will use this blog to only journal the fresh hell of daily accounts during the cleanse) visit my other blog, fat2fit. I'll ramble a bit more about exercise and food there.

Until the lemons arrive, stay juicy my friends.

Afterwards: Day 11

I woke up with no cramps and no urge to go to the bathroon. Quite amazing!! I drank a glass of tropicana orange juice (lots of pulp) slowly before going to class. I felt like I had eaten a watermelon. Nearly exploding!!!
I took lots of water to class and By lunchtime felt I needed another dose of juice. I drank it and went out with a friend. I bought some vegetarian vegetable soup, very mild and mostly light veggies in it for later on.

In the middle of the afternoon I had 2 pieces of cacnteloupe and chewed them slowly. A lot of sugar, in my opinion! And very grainy. Wow, the world tastes different! Later still I opened a can of hearts of palm (no preservatives, they were immersed in water and salt)and feasted. I ate 5 of them, amounting to 70 calories!!!

I felt great being able to eat so little and feel like I had eaten an entire cake.

I was naughty before bed though... I had a granola bar:) It sent me into a sugar high and I fell asleep, sooooo happy!!!!

Everything I ate during the day amounted to about 660 calories. Not a lot you may think, but I feel like a pig!! Everything I ate was very healthy, and very satisfying.

www.calorie-count.com <<< that is the most awesome website for dieting ever!! you can log your excersize, everything you eat, your weight and even what your occupation is. easy calculations and there's a graph of your progress. Check it out!

I have to weigh myself again, I got some of my water back, I can tell by my ankles. But my jeans are still loosening, not as fast as they were, but still loosening.

Once again, thank you God for giving me the strength to do this!

Day 10 - it's done!

Wow... I can hardly believe I've fasted for ten days! It seems like it wasn't that long...

I went about the salt flush in the morning, very grateful that it would be the last. I brewed my lemonaid and went to class. For some reason, this incredible sense of tiredness and weakness overcame me in the afternoon an I couldn't do anything. I wasn't hungry or nauseated, but I felt like there was something trying to keep me from finishing. It was hard to even walk to the campus center. I layed in bed, unable to sleep, for half the afternoon. Afterwards I bucked up and drank a bottle of the lemonaid (forcing energy into me) and went to do homework, then afterwards went to walmart for more post-fast supplies.

I bough chopped veggies, like green beans, string beans, corn and such. Hearts of palm (low calorie, high nutrient content!) And some stuff for my hamster. It's not fair, he gets nuts and dried corn. I get lemonaid.

Tomorrow I am having tropicana orange juice for breakfast!!! **everyone do the happy dance** I can almost taste it in my mouth just thinking about it. Later at night I'm going to have a couple cubes of canteloupe and the day after, more orange juice and try a bowl of fruit for lunch. By Sabbath I should be able to eat yogurt and granola :)

The master cleanse fast was probably the hardest and best thing I've ever done for myself. If a person can overcome the desire to eat, what others desires can't he/she overcome? Let me correct myself. If a person can hand his desires over to God and actually let Him take them away... He or she can give anything up. Aything!

Till tomorrow, and thank you for the support of those who have been reading :)

Day 9

The expectation builds up. I am only doing 10 days. It wasn't the pressure that got to me, or hunger, or anything. I'm just really excited to start on my new lifestyle as a variatarian. (that's right, variatarian. Try to be vegetarian most of the time, except for thanksgiving and when people cook for me, etc.)

Back to the cleanse. Today was allright, I did a lot of health food shopping and my expectations for finishing up are huge. My tongue is back to a nice healthy pink, it's just a little stained from the molasses.

I went to classes and told my classmates that I was just drinking iced tea. I had lots of peppermint tea too. In the afternoon I went for a 4-mile walk and felt amazing!

After a power nap, went to walmart to buy a blender. I've decided that smoothies are my friends. Also got some granola bars and fruit. I'm sooooo ready to start!!!!

My friend shot pictures of me in the studio later in the evening, and I got to see the way my body looks to others. I almost didn't recognise my hips and my curves!

Today was like the other days of the flush. No problem whatsoever. Have I already said I feel great?

Tomorrow I will enjoy my last lemonaids. My last saltwater flush. And oh, tomorrow night, the last senna leaf tea... (well maybe not the last senna tea;)

I will keep journaling for 10 days so you can follow the introduction of my new diet.
Until tomorrow!

OH THE EXCITEMENT!!! THANK YOU GOD!!! THIS HAS BEEN THE MOST WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE EVER!

Day 8

Hello misery.

Saltwater first thing in the morning. I was soooo thirsty!!! I drank it all at once. I even wanted more. Took a long shower, got dressed and went to the cafeteria to buy more water. I felt so goooood, I was wearing jeans from last summer! Stopped to chat with my friend, and I completely forgot that I still had not disposed of the saltwater... I was back in my room getting ready for work and I felt the urge to fart. Lately I have been farting, it's not dangerous. But I did, and it was a hazard. A messy hazard.

That pissed me off royally. I took another shower and went to work, almost late, fuming. I got over it, however. I was at work from 1pm till 7pm, so most of they day was food-temptation-free.

My mouth feels really dry on the inside, and I've been drinking a lot more water than on other days. It feels like the inside of my cheeks are sticking to my teeth. Not fun! And my tongue is a nasty brown. It's regained it's pink appeal at least, but with a brown coat instead of white. I hope tomorrow being day 9 things will start to clear up, especially because I have a date. He's taking me out for lunch... Or should I say, Tea time.

I'm on the second day of my period, and even though I though I wouldn't, I'm bloated, and I think I regained 4 pounds because of it. The good thing is I know they'll drop off in a few days. "Frailty, thy name is woman!!!"

Some people are suggesting I stop at day 10. I say no. They say I'm training myself into anorexia. I say I'm cleansing and teaching myself discipline. They say I'm crazy, I say SO WHAT??

Day 7

Saturday... The hardest day, in my opinion!!

I slept for as long as I could, seeing as I had to work at 11:30am till 4pm. Did the SW, did the potty breaks, and went to work. It was good that I was there because that meant missing Sabbath lunches, and these are amazing.

I got my period today. Narf!! So I was pretty hungry and grouchy and in pain because I couldn't take Midol or anything. he funny thing is, the cramps only lasted for a couple hours, then they vanished completely! And, because of all the weight I'm losing, I couldn't tell if I was bloated or not.

My friend came to pick me up after work, and we hung out for the rest of the day and evening. She's going to start the cleanse on tuesday, because that'll be my 10th day. We'll do 10 days together and then finish it together. Finally, some REAL support!!!

Later at another friends' house, we were goofing around and dancing salsa. I think I got at least a few calories burned! There was a scale in his bathroom.. The moment of truth. 184 pounds!!! Hooraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!! 12 down ladiesssss and gentlemannnnnn!!!!!! (sorry, I got excited)

I am sucessfully halfway through my first weekend on the cleanse. And also, oficially 1/3 of the way done! And very happy. I feel great. :)

Day 6

Okay so this is the third night of oddities. I woke up with excruciating cramps in my left leg. I was howling with pain. And I had to wait for that to pass so I could go to the bathroom for my morning senna disposal!!! *groan*.

I seem to be passing mucous and toxins. More mucous. I think the toxins are almost done. The coat on my tongue is thinning but it's still white.

Did the saltwater, went back to bed. Woke up, disposed, then went to the movies with friends. We went to my favorite restaurant, El Rodeo, after the movie. I was fine, actually. I didn't even pull out the lemonaid, I just drank a tall glass of water while we were there. Went straight to work after that, Had a quick jog then a 30 minute walk to the store for more lemons and some thicker molasses. I figure I need more potassium in my system to keep from getting cramps. The molasses I'm using has only 140mg of potassium per serving, whereas the full flavor has 290mg. Note to self: the thicker the better.

Oh, victory!! I farted today with no fear of it being a wandering potty break!!! Yay!

14 days to go. I can do it. I can see the shape of my body changing. My lips are ruby red all the time, and my skin is very clear and glowy. My nails are harder. My hair is impeccable. I win!

Day 5 - feelin' great!

I'll start by saying I could barely sleep during the night because of the rampaging thunderstorm. Kept me up for a long time.

I nearly puked the salt water in the morning. I threw out the last 6 oz or so because I could not handle it. I think it was warmer than it should be.

The rest of the day went fairly easy, I lived vicariously through my friend and her chicken enchilada soup. OOOOOOh I bought coconut lipgloss and I felt like I was cheating becaue the smell is sooo real and it sort of tastes like coconut. Teehee.

I am passing mucous, I believe. It still smells like sin.

My tongue is white and brown, no amount of brushing will better it. Also, I started some stretching excersizes today and plan to hit the gym on monday, when school resumes. I'll need the energy burst. I'm feeling a little flabby. My jeans are loose! Yaaaaaay! I got checked out today... *blushes*

I had my first mint tea today. It was amazing.

It was a good day, overall. No stress. I'm 1/4 of the way there!!!! Yaaaay! 15 more days to go!

Day 4

Last night was terrible. I woke up in the middle of my 2nd rem cycle with a severe stomach ache. It felt like the walls of my tummy were sore. At first I though I just needed to go to the bathroom but it wasn't that. I remembered I read somewhere that massaging the colon helps with something, so I tried that and felt better after a few minutes. But waking up because of pain is horrible.

I think I'd been overdosing the salt in my saltwater flush. I don't have a teaspoon (I live in a college dorm, I don't have many things!!) And maybe that's why it takes so long to act. I corrected the dose today.

I stayed in my room until around 3:30, ran some errands them went to work until 7pm. I've been faithfully drinking the 60-64oz of lemonaid a day plus some water, about 16oz. Very proud of myself.

I have realized that all things coming out of me are dark and sink to the bottom of the toilet. Is this the mucous already? Or toxins? Cause it smells like sin.
My breath is getting funny, so time to invest in some peppermint tea. Also, I find I'm very tired in the mornings but wide awake and bursting with energy in the afternoon and evening.

Later my ENTIRE GROUP OF FRIENDS decided to go to IHOP. Again!! Dangiiit! I took my lemonaid and my senna teabag with me just like last time and survived again. torture I tell you! The gang is finally getting the point, and they're being a little more supportive. By that I mean the don't fork something and dangle it in front of me.

I feel amazing. I can see the weight loss. 16 days to go... Will I make it? The coating on my tongue is pretty thick but it doesn't feel weird. I'm afraid in a few days, when the toxins really start releasing (even through the pores) I'll begin to stink. *sigh* I'll be doing 5 showers daily.

I think I'm going to switch from molasses to maple syrup next week. A change of taste will do me good. Then I'll switch back for the remaining 8 days.
16 more days... today was wednesday... This will end on a thursday, then about 3 days of food rehab... more... like 6 days. hmm... I think I'm going to go crazy.

Day 3

Allrighty... Today was sad.

Woke up at around 10 am, did the saltwater thing. I was sooo fatigued I went back to bed and figured my intestines would drag me to the bathroom soon enough. Ya, not happening. It was 3pm before I willingly got out of bed and went.

weird stuff coming out of me. it's all liquid now, but the color variation and the smell... sometimes it sinks, sometimes it just dissipates. whatever.

started on the lemonaid and my friend wanted to shoot some pictures of me for a project. that took a couple of hours, and I felt like I was going to just flop over and fall asleep wherever I was. I could barely walk up the stairs into my room! Not counting that I had to endure him eating thai food (which smelled amazing) before we went out to shoot the pics.

as soon as I nested into bed my other friend called, he wanted me to come over for a movie. as soon as we all got there he put out the chips and salsa. DAMN YOU PEOPLE THAT ARE ALLOWED TO EAT!!! I just drank my lemonaid.... The thought that I'll probably keel over and puke if I eat helps. Not eating is a lesser evil.

On the good side, today I noticed my jeans were feeling a little less tight. This is a wondrous event and it makes me happy. I shall continue!!

Tomorrow I have to go to work. Blaaaah. I just drank the tea and you know, I really like the taste. the smell's not so great.

My tongue is white. I was really cold today. No headache, and that's a master inprovement from yesterday. 3 days down, 17 more to go!!! wooooot!

Day 2 - oy vey.

I woke up at 10:30 am, went to let the bathroom for my morning senna disposal. Chugged the salt water (it kinda tasted like popcorn, but I think I'm just being wishful) Then my boss called me in again. CRAP. I figured it'd take at least an hour to come down, so I went over to the station. Turns out I was in there for almost an hour, quitting my job. Let me tell you, that takes time! We settled on a 1 week notice instead of 2. Anyways, back to the cleanse.

I had to go to the cafeteria for water and my friends were there, so I was social and sat down. Maaaan, I could hear lettuce crunching, the sandwiches squeaking with ketchup. I was very proud of my composure and lack of homicidal acts. After an hour or so of ungoldly torture and being offered a piece of gum (which I gracefully denied ) I left.

So my friend Nate wanted to head out to buy clothes. I took 2 16oz bottles of my yucky-yesterday overspicy lemonaid and we went to the mall. I just realized how food is the center of people's lives! There are gum and candy machines everywhere, the food court was packed, and even the lipgloss I wanted to buy tasted like some assortment of dessert. Nevermind, I'll just go with chapstick for now.

I stayed in my room for most of the day, online. Everytime I got fuzzy or hungry I just chugged some more lemonaid. I made a new batch of 20 oz with less pepper and the right dose of lemon and maple. It tasted amazing! A delicacy...

Then my friend Dee called me and wanted to go hang out. I put a teabag in my purse knowing we'd be out late, and went. To my horror, we went to IHOP. She had 3 eggs, hash browns and pancakes. Emily had a breakfast sampler. I had water... And senna tea. It was horrible. But I survived.

LESSON 2: FRIENDS ARE NOT SUPPORTIVE.

I'm back now, hiding from all food products in my room. Today was traumatic.
but triumphant :)

Day 1 - Horror flush.

Sooooo I woke up at around 5pm, the Senna tea had begun it's magic. I went to the bathroom and the diarrhea came a comin'. (sorry if this become too graphic, but hey, it's a master cleaning) Afterwards I chugged the Salt water, the whole quart. I felt bloated then had to wait for like, 2 hours. I was on the phone with my mom then all of a sudden I felt like farting.

LESSON 1: IF YOU THINK YOU NEED TO FART, DO NOT FART. IT IS NOT GAS. IT'S THE FLUSH.

There were no cramps, just, literally, a flush. It took about 45 mins to come out in 3 increments. After that I started on the tea, didn't make the whole 64oz cause I was back in bed by 11pm. I drank about, oh, 45oz? I think I underdosed the lemon and overdosed the cayenne, cause it's disgusting. Tomorrow I will finish the batch I made today but then I'll make 16oz of it at a time, then it'll be fresh and if I under or overdose anything, I won't have to bear the rest of it.

Tongue's not sore anymore (it was yesterday) but it is kinda pale. I dunno if the coating is supposed to feel weird or not, but for now it's fine. I just feel like I skipped a couple meals and no biggie.

error: unable to execute task. Please reboot your system.

ummmm yea so stuff got messed up.
Saturday morning my boss called me out of bed at 6 am to go man the radio station. No time for the salt flush, I went and survived purely on water until 1 pm. Already lightheaded and moody, my friends called and decided they wanted to go to CHICAGO, land of the good food. So I tried my lemonade concoction out of sheer curiosity and realized I had overdosed the cayenne. Good thing I know now. I ate in Chicago.

It is about 10:30 am and I still have not slept, except for the miserable 3 hours on friday night. As soon as I get off work at 1:30, I'll take the senna tea again and go to sleep. Whenever I wake up will be my "morning" and my salt flush will happen then. Whatever works for my body!!

oh yes... The tea did work yesterday. All mushy, went twice. I've decided that I will continue taking my birth control pills, I'll take them with the tea so they have all night to digest before the flush. I read someone's journal that they had those instructions from their doctor. I don't get to see mine for another 4 days so I'll get his opinion later. For now, secondhand experience!!!

I shall write again, most likely, after the flush. Or tomorrow. Depends how long I sleep. Tomorrow will oficially count as day 1 I suppose. *sigh*

The night before: prep.

Allrighty. Here are the facts about me.

Name: Victoria.
Age: 19
Height: 5'6''
weight: 196

I am going to embarc on the Stanley Burroughs Master Cleanse Fast. I've read several journals about it and decided that keeping a jounal will greatly benefit me and I'll be able to see my owm progress. There will be pictures but not till I take them:P

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the MC, it is a liquid fast in which you drink a saline solution in the morning (salt flush) and live off of a lemon-cayenne pepper-maple syrup drink for the rest of the day. Laxative tea before bed. As I write this, I am enjoying my first delicious cup of Senna tea. Oh God I love tea!

I have 3 main reasons for doing the MC flush- I mean- fast.
reason number 1:
My faith in God has been dwindling. I'm not a radicalist religious nut or anything but I do believe that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (I quote the book of Matthew) So I'm going to take that literally. Tomorrow is Saturday, and what better day to begin a fast than on God's day of rest? I plan to take this on for a mininum of 12 days, and a maximum of forty. Dr. Burroughs says 40 is safe.

reason number 2:
I have micropolisistic ovaries. Say it with me now children: micro-poli-sistic. The point I'm at has provoked a non-ovulation and an inability to bear children. Not that I'm trying to bear them now, but it will be nice to have that option in the future. The MC fast has amazing healing abilities. I'm going to test these. I've got nothing to lose...

reason number 3:
I'm 5'6'' and I weigh 196 pounds. Something is wrong with that. Goal weight: 140. I do have a small frame, I am fully aware that "big-boned" is not a fair excuse. I understand that most of the weight I lose during the cleanse won't stay off but it'll help me reeducate my eating habits.. Once I'm allowed to eat again.

So wish me luck, pray for me, and till tomorrow.