The Master Cleanse was a bust, or maybe not.

It is 3:34 A.M. and I am writing my blog. Yesterday morning I woke up to a very sick little boy. He is running a pretty high fever, coughing, stuffy nose, and very snotty. He has been kinds puny all week, but yesterday he was especially puny. I have taken him to the doctor and he does not have the flu, an ear infection, or strep, so it is viral and all we can do is wait it out. Needless to say I have tip toed up the stairs a few times to check on him and make sure that he is okay.

Needless to say the Master Cleanse is a bust for me. I only had enough lemons for yesterday morning's lemonade and I needed to go to the grocery store to get more, but there was no way I could take Phillip feeling the way he does, and no way I was going to leave him home without me or Wayne. I had pretty much gotten over the hungry feeling, but I was still pretty tired and cranky -- not good things to try and negotiate when you have a sick baby. So, maybe it is just not for me at this juncture in my life.

I am not saying the Master Cleanse is a bad thing, in fact, I think it has helped many people. But, I am no longer trying to lose weight -- thanks to my raw diet, I reached my goal weight. I did want to see if it would help me achieve some mental and emotional clarity about my life, but I think there are other ways I can do that.

Beginning a raw food diet was a HUGE step for me, and it has literally changed my life for the better in so many ways! At the time it seemed like I was making an extreme move, and I needed to do that because my health was very poor. I did not know what I was going to eat if I couldn't have beef tacos, smothered chicken, french fries, and macaroni and cheese. Not that I didn't eat healthy foods, too; I always had a side salad (covered in blue cheese) and a vegetable side. Now I see the choice to eat raw was not as extreme as it first seemed. Instead of swinging widely to some fad diet (as I had done so many times before) I was making a choice to balance my life with the foods that nature really intended me to eat. I said no more to engineered food -- no refined sugar, processed junk, additive and preservative coated meat and dairy products, or salt infused mixes and sauces -- and returned to simple foods. What seemed extreme at the time was not at all, it was returning to the basics. Where and how did I get so off track? I can think of numerous reasons now that I SAD (Standard American Diet) consumer. Like many Americans I was turning a blind eye to the food industry, and I was telling myself, "If they can sell it in the grocery stores or a restaurant, it can't be that bad for me." I neglected opportunities to learn about how my food got on the table. I was consuming exactly what I was told. I was filling my emptiness, disappointments, and heartaches with fat laden, sugar coated, syrup dripping, salt loaded ANYTHING that looked like it couldn't possible come from a garden or farm. I was so disconnected from my food!

When I started this I had no idea what a turnip looked like, or that there were so many varieties of kale. I did not know that a salad could taste so good without croutons and blue cheese. I did not know you could put berries and nuts on a salad. I had no idea that there were so many different types of greens or sprouts. I did not know what tahini or young coconut was or where to even begin to find them in the grocery store. I did not know I could roll sushi (vegetable, of course), marinate vegetables and not cook them, or make raw cookies. I had no clue that I could prepare an entire meal without using the stove, oven, or microwave. I did not know food, real, natural, food could make such a huge difference in how I felt and looked!

Yesterday, I must say I was a little bit disappointed that I could not stick it out through the Master Cleanse. After all, I did all my research, read the entire book, and thought I was totally prepared. I REALLY wanted the clarity. But, as I sit here typing at what is now 4:18 A.M. I am realizing that perhaps the Master Cleanse gave me exactly what I needed after all. I don't want an extreme diet. I want my food to give me balance, health, taste, and goodness and I have all of that already.

Cleansing One Day at a Time

This morning went much better. What went down, stayed down. I must admit I was a little worried and nervous about drinking the salt water this morning, but it worked out alright. I was, however, quite tired and cranky today. The book, Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days by Peter Glickman, says that is normal and part of the detox. It should go away after tomorrow. I hope so.

I was a little hungry today, too. However, I wasn't craving crazy stuff or really anything from a SAD diet. I miss my raw almond cookies, a good salad with fresh berries, and my trail mix. I don't think I craved a green smoothie because it is a drink, and I was craving something to chew. Part of me is wondering if I can make it 10 days, but I am going to keep trying. One day at a time.

Rough Start to the Master Cleanse, but good 1st Day

Well, the cleanse started out a little rough this morning. I drank my salt water this morning and all seemed to be fine for a few minutes. Then, all of the sudden, I started gagging and next thing I knew I was running to the bathroom. Needless to say, what went down came back up. It was not fun, but I immediately felt better and was able to continue the regimen for the rest of the day.

Wish I could say as much for Wayne. He chickened out after a long meeting today. He bailed on me. I can't really blame him, to be honest. It is difficult to do this. I made dinner for the kids tonight and felt quite hungry. I also made the mistake of visiting Bliss Cafe's website (a local raw food restaurant) and checking out their new menu. I was having some pretty big cravings for Bliss! Perhaps I will go there to celebrate making it through the cleanse.

Have I been truly hungry? No, not really, but the habit of eating is what makes it hard! It is so natural to pick up a piece of fruit when I walk by the kitchen and chomp on an apple or enjoy a banana. I wonder how many times I have grabbed a piece of fruit or handful of trail mix and eaten it when I really wasn't hungry. Something to think about, isn't it.

Master Cleanse Revisited

Well, I have been pondering the Master Cleanse since the last time my plan to do it fell through due to birthday plans. I have done lots of research on it and I am going to try it. I went to the grocery tonight and got all my lemons, so I am ready to give it a go. If I don't like it, or the way it makes me feel I will discontinue it, but I am planning to give it my all. Those of you who know me, know that once I decide to jump in I do so with both feet!

I am actually a bit excited about it. I feel as though I have been in a bit of a rut, and am hoping to gain a bit of clarity and perspective. This is going to be a time of prayer, reflection, and meditation for me. Wayne says he wants to try it, too, so that should make it a little easier -- having a partner. We will see.

Master Cleanse Delayed

Thank you to everyone for your well wishes and support on my cleanse. Please keep all of that support in your front pocket because I will need it again soon. For now, I am postponing the remainder of the cleanse due to my friends' and families' disappointment with my plans considering it is my birthday next week and they had made some special plans. At first, I thought I would just keep going with the cleanse, but then I realized it really wasn't very good timing. Two days after my birthday is Phillip's birthday, and my parents are coming to visit and I want to take them to a Raw Food Meetup and to Bliss Cafe (a delicious raw food restaurant). So, the cleanse is still on, but delayed a bit -- when I do it, I want to be able to fully concentrate on what I am trying to achieve.

I did do the cleanse today, though. (Poor Wayne, he didn't know whether to say anything or not, but finally expressed his disappointment late this afternoon. I am glad he told me.) Anyway, my impression of the cleanse is, "WOW!" Let me say first, my colon feels pretty darn clean. I cannot imagine what could be left after doing it for even one day. That being said, I did feel like I had more energy and that I was in a better mood. I felt a little hungry at times, but when I felt hungry I drank a lemonade and the hunger subsided. I wasn't tired at all, and that was something because I did not sleep well last night due to some thunder storms moving through our area. The salt water was a little bit nasty, but I made it so it was warm and drank it through a straw and that definitely helped me get it all down. Also, I was definitely glad I was near a toilet for a few hours. Neither of these things was bad enough to scare me off from doing the full cleanse. I am glad that I found the cleanse and my experience with it today makes me want to follow through on the 10 day cleanse soon! I am thinking I will start October 29th or 30th -- that will be a good way to stay away from all of the Halloween candy and reaffirm my health commitments. I will keep you updated! Thanks again for all of your support!

The Master Cleanse

I have decided I am going to do a Master Cleanse. If you have not heard of it before, think lemonade diet. I have been doing some research on it for a couple of weeks because I have started to feel a little tired and crankier than normal. Also I am feeling a little bit backed up, if you know what I mean. I remembered reading about the possibility that this could happen once I started eating a raw food diet. The logic, as I understand it, is that I ate badly for a very long time. My new diet has allowed my body to heal and transform, but I have kind of a build up of all the bad stuff just waiting to be "flushed away" (quite literally, in fact).

I want to make clear that I am not doing this cleanse to lose weight. I am going to be accountable for the number of calories I take into my body. I am doing the cleanse so that my body can release all of the junk I don't need anymore. I am also doing the cleanse in hopes to regain my vibrancy and mood. Since my cheese binge a couple of weeks ago I have felt some cravings for some old comfort foods that are not good for me or healthy for my body. I want to completely get rid of those cravings and am hoping the cleanse will remind me that I am in control of my food and food choices -- food (and my emotions surrounding it) are NOT in control of me. Finally, I mentioned earlier this week that I feel change stirring in my soul and I am hoping that the cleanse will help me gain some clarity and perspective on where I am in my life right now. I was wrong about the finally part, I also want to do the cleanse because I want to be accountable to myself and my health. I have come too far with my new raw food lifestyle to turn back now. My health is better than ever and I want it to stay that way -- if the cleanse will help me do it, then I am all for it. Oh, I just thought of one more reason I want to do the cleanse -- I cannot bring myself to do an enema or colonics (something many raw food gurus recommend) at this point in my journey. I am not saying they are not good or warranted, I am just saying they are not for me at this time.

Stanley Burroughs developed the Lemonade diet in the 1940's, but the information about the diet is most accessible and accurate through Peter Glickman's book, Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days. I have read it from cover to cover and I am ready to begin. There is also a very helpful website by Peter Glickman -- http://therawfoodsite.com/index.html

Basically, you eat nothing for 10 days. You drink a cup of Smooth Move tea before bed each night. In the morning you mix some salt (not iodized) with 32 oz of water. Then you make lemonade from organic lemons, cayenne pepper, and Grade B maple syrup. You are allowed 6 - 12 glasses of lemonade during the day and all the water you want. All of the specifics for amounts and how to mix the ingredients are on the website I posted above. The book states that you may experience some detox symptoms, especially the first couple of days, but that they soon pass. It also talks in detail about those symptoms so you know how to recognize and deal with them better. In other words, if you are going to embark on the cleanse yourself, PLEASE take the time to read the book and decide for yourself if it is for you or not.

Anyway, I am both nervous and excited about starting the cleanse tomorrow. I will keep you updated and let you know how it goes. Please wish me luck! This pic was taken this evening (yes, I cut off all my hair -I love it!), I will take more pics along the way so you can see for yourself if there is any difference.