Just a Quick Hello

Hello again everybody! I hope you had a good day. I'm going to keep this as brief as I can, since I'm up against a deadline with some of my creative writing and I'm also very tired; I'm submitting an anthology of work from this year, which was supposed to be inspired by the poetry of 1950's America... and which ended up as a Victorian Gothic Romance poem. Oh well, I'm sure I can fashion a tenuous link or two for my explanatory essay. See, I start of saying I'll keep it short, and then go off on a tangent that has nothing to do with the Master Cleanse. Sorry! Today I found my food much easier to manage, perhaps because I kept myself a little busier. I had a fruit breakfast and didn't eat again until lunch, when I had carrot and coriander soup with a vinegar salad. I think I'm eating much more slowly on the Ease-Out than I did before the Ease-In. The result is, of course, that I feel more satisfied by my meals; the brain takes around 25 minutes to realise you've had enough food, which of course means that if you're eating fast, you're likely to eat too much. As it is, I waited for my soup to cool, enjoyed my greens by eating them s.l.o.w.l.y., and then patted myself on the back for being a good little cleanser. In the afternoon, I got a few cravings for something sweet, so I dipped into a fruit portion from my Graze box and also ate a banana. I had dinner (soup again!) at around 5, and tempered any cravings thereafter with plenty of water and a handful of grapes. I also had a small success today when I went to the bathroom for the first time during Ease-Out without having used a laxative. My bowel movement this morning was the result of last night's laxative tea (my final one), and was dense and rope like. But then (woohoo!) at 2 in the afternoon, I managed to go again of my own volition. I was a little worried about how my system would cope with the reintroduction of solids, but it seems that by keeping up my fibre intake and hydration I'm negotiating the pitfalls pretty successfully. Right now it's just gone midnight, which I suppose means I'm technically writing this on Ease-Out Day 4, and I can feel my insides brewing up a bowel movement once again. I just thought I'd share that in case anyone was wondering what it was like to go back to normal, unaided pooing. I certainly wondered before I started, but then maybe I'm just weird. Tomorrow I can look forward to more of the same type of diet; salads, broths and fresh fruit are all making an appearance on the menu. I'm seriously craving some garlic and cheese, so maybe I can find a way to facilitate that come lunchtime? I hadn't planned on introducing dairy until Ease-Out Day 5 was over, but since I seem to be managing the rest OK, I'm wondering whether to bend my own rule and do as some people do, returning to dairy as a food group as early as Day 4. We'll see. It seems a shame to give in now, when I've been doing so well. But then again, I have a pack of Boursin in the fridge, and it seems a shame to leave that unattended, too.

Mmmmmmmmmm... 

Right, I will see you in the morning with a menu and a recipe for Ease-Out Day 4, an update on the cheese and garlic situation, and no doubt some grossly indelicate account of my experience in the bathroom. Good night everybody! Sweet dreams!!

Ease-Out: Day 3 Menu (Detoxifying Vegetable Soup)

Ease-Out Day 3 is the almost-identical twin of Day 2; in fact, for me it probably will be the same, since I'm living alone and have still got a lot of yesterday's soup to eat up. For those of you cleansing in groups, or cooking for your families as well as for your Ease-Out needs, I've included a tasty detox recipe to try for the middle of the post-Master Cleanse process.

BREAKFAST: light, soft fruit and fresh fruit juice

LUNCH: soup or broth with raw vegetables and a vinegar dressing

DINNER: soup or broth with raw vegetables and a vinegar dressing and chilli

DESSERT: light, soft fruit, served fresh, frozen or stewed

(Drink plenty of water, herbal tea and fresh fruit juice throughout the day)

Breakfast will be much the same as yesterday. Remember to keep it interesting by trying new and exotic fruits, and try to get as much different-coloured produce into your day as possible; I will be having green grapes, strawberries and blueberries, with a glass of fresh orange and lemon juice and a peppermint tea to aid digestion. It's best to eat your breakfast within 30 minutes to an hour of waking up. When you are able to freely consume a more varied diet, you might consider eating a portion of fruit first, followed by a source of protein to help keep you fuller for longer. Fruit is high in fibre, so begin drinking water as soon as you've had your breakfast; without proper hydration, high fibre foods, however nutritious, can make you constipated, and this is never more true than when you are easing out of the Master Cleanse.

Accompany your broths or soups at lunch at dinner with a salad of raw vegetables, served with vinegar and/or fresh, spicy chillis if you enjoy them. Both vinegar and chilli peppers stimulate the metabolism, and so are a good choice when your digestive system is unaccustomed to solid food. If, like many people, you find your stomach has shrunk during the Master Cleanse, you might like to enjoy these salads between your meals instead of with them. Fruit might fill you up quickly, but leave you hungry again by mid-morning. Make a wise food choice and eat metabolism-boosting, fibrous and nutritious raw vegetables whenever you feel this hunger slump. It will help retrain your body's capacity for food without compromising the success of Ease-Out.

This light soup will be easy on the digestive system and can help remove any lingering post-cleanse toxins from the body.

Detoxifying Green Vegetable Soup:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a supermarket-sized bunch of spring onions
• 1 small white onion
• 1 tbsp cooking oil (I use Carotino)
• 1 large potato 
• 500ml vegetable stock
• salt, pepper, and other seasoning, to taste
• 140g fresh mixed salad: watercress, spinach and rocket, shredded

1. heat the oil in a large pan and cook the spring onions and white onions for 5 minutes, stirring consistently as they brown and soften. If the onions start to stick and catch the sides of the pan, add a dash of water
2. add the diced potato and cook on a medium heat for 2 minutes as you continue stirring
3. pour in the vegetable stock and seasoning, simmering until the potato is tender
4. when the potato is ready, add the leafy salad, stirring gently for 2 minutes
5. remove from the heat and serve

This recipe goes very well with a salad of raw carrots, peppers, chilli and salad leaves, served with vinegar and spice for a punchier flavour. If you don't feel ready for the solidity of raw vegetables, either because your digestive system is making you uncomfortable or because your stomach doesn't have the capacity, you can leave them for another day. Pay close attention to your own needs and don't force yourself to speed through Ease-Out just because you think you should. If you feel very uncomfortable after the consumption of food, you might consider returning to the Master Cleanse's liquid diet for another 2 days, and then reattempting the transition.

For dessert, I will have a fresh half of grapefruit and some red grapes. Try putting grapes in the freezer in a freezer bag, then taking out 10 or so for a sweet but healthy snack after tea. Bon Appetit everybody! Good luck with Day 3! I feel pretty comfortable today, so I'm hoping that my post this evening will be full of good news. See you later, have a nice day!

Feeling Better

Hello again! I'm feeling a little happier today, as promised, since I have enough energy to function! This morning I got up at 5 and cooked my home-made soup, and ate my fruit-based breakfast. Although the ideal breakfast would contain fruit and a little protein to keep me full, I'm still on the ease-out, so a couple of portions of strawberries, grapes and blackberries had to do it. This doesn't fill you up very much, but since I'm straight off a liquid diet, I'm guessing this is easier than it would have been 10 days ago. Even so, I wasn't sustained, so to fight the mid-morning slump, I had a little salad with vinegar. Vinegar kick-starts the metabolism, which is crucial when your digestive system's learning the ropes again, and it also makes the greens taste nicer. I had soup for lunch and dinner, with plenty of water in between. It's been tough, and I have to confess, I had to have a sachet of Options instant hot chocolate with water to get me through the afternoon. Well, I didn't have to, I suppose, but I felt it was a lesser evil, when I still have an unopened box of Thorntons on my bed. All in all, although my brain seems to be finding it a little hard to adjust, I think I'm fairing pretty well with my new, healthier regime. Of course, my fear of real illness if I eat too soon after the Master Cleanse doesn't hurt. This morning, as soon as I woke up, I had a large bowel movement which was a lot more solid than anything I've had in the past ten days. It actually felt like I was going to the bathroom, not peeing out of the wrong orifice like most of my liquid diet expulsions. Anyway, sorry to be gross, but I had to mention how things were going in that area. Much as I am determined to love my new diet, it seems that someone on my floor isn't too pleased with me. We have three fridges between 18 of us, two large ones and one small, domestic sized one. The latter is right outside my bedroom door. Now, since I hardly ever cook at uni (or used to...) I haven't laid a claim to either fridge, but apparently, I'm supposed to. I put my freshly made soup in a lunchbox in the little fridge at 6 this morning, and by 12, there was a note on the door saying "THIS FRIDGE IS NOT JUST A COMMUNAL FRIDGE. FOR SOME OF US THIS IS THE ONLY FRIDGE SPACE WE HAVE." But the thing is, a) there are almost 2 shelves empty in said fridge, b) the other 2 fridges are full and close to other people's rooms, and c) I don't have a place in either fridge. I'm trying to find a way to point this out in as un-twattish a way as possible in a reply note, since the message was anonymous. Perhaps something like "This is a communal fridge. I never used to eat, now I do. Surely there's enough room for my lunchbox and some yogurt. x Rachel xx". Aaah, the pleasures of corridor living. If anybody has any idea for how to word my note, by the way, feel free to make suggestions. I genuinely had no idea, until today, that I'd missed the boat when it came to fridge space allocation. But, you know, now I guess I don't have a right to fresh food??? Hmmm, this post might be livelier than yesterday's, but I'm not sure I've kept the promise with "happier"...moanier, maybe... aah, well, tomorrow I might be onto raw vegetables. I don't think the salad was completely kosher for today, technically speaking, but since I can manage raw fruit, I think soft raw vegetables must be OK. Touch wood my readjustment to digestion seems to be going pretty well. I did wonder whether my illness yesterday was to do with a shift onto different food; maybe it was a bit of a shock to the system? That would make sense, since I still feel the edges of that illness today, but I'm taking things pretty slowly, so hopefully I'm managing ease-out pretty well. I read a couple of critical reports by people who had used the cleanse purely for weight loss, where they moaned that it didn't work... then they went on to say that they hit the cookies at 12:01 am on the first day of ease-out!! I was doing the Master Cleanse for a more spiritual and psychological experience, but even so, I don't see any sense in abandoning caution so quickly after 10 days of success. I don't doubt that next week, I'll be eating chocolate dessert with some of my meals, but as I said, I don't want to get ill from indulging too soon. Right, see you tomorrow morning, where I'll be adding another menu plan and (rebel rebel...) perhaps even nibbling some raw carrot. And they say punk is dead... in that frame of mind, I'm off to get a sharpie and compose a return fridge-note. Bye!!!!

Talking Tongues

Ooh! By the way, although my tongue isn't exactly pink and perfect this morning, it's no longer white and furry. I forgot to mention it in my post because- well, it's not that noticeable any more! Isn't that cool? I'll let you know if it eventually goes 'back' to pink, but today I'd say it's the best it's been in a long time, Master Cleanse or otherwise! Catch you later!!

Ease-Out: Day 2 Menu (Carrot and Coriander Soup)

Day 2's pretty basic by normal standards, but if you've just finished the Master Cleanse (without cheating!) this will be your first contact with food in at least 10 days. Make sure you take it slowly and make eating a mindful process; this is important both because your stomach is smaller than usual, and because you need to take this chance to change your relationship with eating. Without further ado, it's ease-out day 2!:

BREAKFAST: light, soft fruit and fresh fruit juice

LUNCH: soup or broth

DINNER: soup or broth

(Drink plenty of water, herbal tea, and fresh fruit juice throughout the day)

If you want to make fruit even easier on the digestive system, you can give it a whizz in a blender. Add some ice to make a smoothie-type drink, but whatever you do, don't add dairy products like you might with a normal smoothie. The term 'soft fruit' is pretty self explanatory. Berries are especially good, as they're high in antioxidants and relatively easy to digest. Fresh fruit is best at this stage, but later on, you can stew apples in water or freeze grapes to make them into a more interesting treat.

The soups need to be pretty smooth and light at this stage of the cleanse. Although tinned or packet soup is more convenient, it would be better to set aside time to make your own, out of preferably organic ingredients. If you don't have time or are a hopeless cook, opt for soups from the refrigerated section of your supermarket; they are fresher and will have a greater nutritional value than canned or dried versions. Today, I'm opting for carrot and coriander, a light and nutritious soup (and one of my personal favourites!). At home, I would be able to give it a whizz with a hand blender, but since I don't have one at uni, I've chosen this recipe especially because the vegetables are still soft and easily digestible in the finished product:

Carrot and Coriander Soup:

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion
• 450g carrots
• 1 tbsp cooking oil (I use Carotino)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 handful fresh coriander (only if using a blender)
• 1 sweet potato
• 1.2l vegetable stock

1. heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion for 5 minutes, stirring continuously
2. stir in the ground coriander and the sweet potato, cooking for a further 1 minute
3. pour in the stock and the carrots. Bring the soup to the boil, then reduce the heat and cover
4. cook for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Serve straight away, freeze, or keep refrigerated for 3-5 days
5. (if using a blender) chop the fresh coriander and add to the soup. Blend until smooth, then return to the pan to reheat for serving

Bon Appetit! This soup will last me a couple of days post-cleansing, and is a great low calorie option with plenty of nutrition. I've used sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes because they contain more beneficial ingredients, but if you've only got normal ones, they taste just as good in the soup! 

So, this is what I'm eating for the second day of my ease-out process. In fact, since I'm only cooking for myself at uni, it's what I'm probably going to be eating for the next couple of days! I hope you enjoy the recipe and find it a useful way to introduce your intestines to eating again. See you later, when I'll let you know how my willpower's holding up!

The Sweetest Taste!

I just sank my teeth into a strawberry. Oh. My. God. I had to share this. My first bite to eat after what has really been an 12 day fast... I ate it in front of the mirror so I could really savour it. You know, a lot of people say that food isn't all that amazing when you're allowed to go back to it, but I swear to God, that's going down in my memory as the best strawberry I've ever tasted. And what's more- hey! the first thing I ate was soft fruit, not a chocolate bar! I'm following the rules!!!

To anybody about to embark on the Master Cleanse, I have to say it's worth it just to get this food experience back; the sheer enjoyment of a simple, natural food pleasure after a fast is so much more rewarding than quick-fix modern day addictions. Go on! You can do it!!

The Importance of Probiotics

During the Master Cleanse you can expect to flush a lot of stuff out of your digestive system. Most of it is stuff that you don't want to be there: age-old food waste, toxins, mucous... But there are some things you'll lose that you can't afford to miss. Laxative teas and salt water won't discriminate when it comes to flushing out good bacteria. It's very important that you begin to replenish the 'friendly' cultures in your gut as soon as you come off the cleanse; whilst probiotic yogurts and dairy drinks can be tasty, it's better that you do this in tablet form, especially as dairy is one of the main food groups you need to focus on slowly easing back into. I've been to my local health food store and picked up some Seven Seas' Multibionita Vitality. It was the cheapest probiotic there (£6.49) and has 28 tablets, with a dosage of one-a-day. So, I'll be on a course of probiotics for a month, and then I'll stop taking them.

These tablets seem like a pretty good choice for post-cleansers on more than just the probiotic front. They also contain 'complete multivtamins', so they should help to fend off the beginnings of any deficiencies that the Master Cleanse might have prompted, especially if you've cleansed for longer that 10 days. Each daily tablet contains 10 million cultures to replace the ones you've flushed away, and they're specially coated so you know they'll make it to the right part of your system without being dissolved. They're available on Amazon if you don't have a health food store nearby, as are many other, similar products. Although some people opt to skip this stage of post-cleansing, I'd recommend sticking it out for around a month at least. Refilling your body with the right kind of bacteria is very important, and will be the finishing touch to your new, cleaner digestive system! 

A Post-Cleanse Menu

I've mentioned before that you should spend half the amount of time you spent cleansing on a gentle easing-out process. So, for example, if like me you spent 10 days fasting, you should invest the following 5 days in getting your digestive system back in working order. This is important not only because your stomach will be unaccustomed to solid foods, but also because you must get used to processing waste without the use of a laxative. If your primary reason for going on the Master Cleanse was to lose weight, it is especially vital to your results that you take the ease-out seriously; although some of the weight you lose whist fasting will be uncontrollably regained through water content, you can keep off the rest through healthy eating and exercise. I've read that women can lose an average of 16lbs through the Master Cleanse, but will regain approximately 6lbs of this. Therefore, if you're careful about what you do when the lemonade drinking is over, you can expect to lose 10lbs in 10 days! Not bad, huh? I should point out at this stage that weight loss is not the primary function of the Master Cleanse; whether you're interested in shedding pounds or detoxifying, the following ease-out menu is a good place to start when the fasting is finished:

Day 1 : freshly squeezed orange juice, herbal teas, water and an evening laxative
Day 2 : freshly squeezed orange juice, herbal teas, water, broth, light soup, soft fruit (such as berries and kiwi fruit)
Day 3: herbal teas, broth, light soup, raw vegetables, salad, soft fruit, water
Day 4: see Day 3
Day 5: herbal teas, water, soft fruit, raw vegetables, broth, soup, salad, steamed vegetables, minimal wholegrain food (dunking bread in your soup, or a bowl of fruit and cereal, etc...)

If you've been cleansing longer than 10 days, you can use this menu as a template and stretch it out. Although it may seem a little dull on paper, reintroducing solid foods and difficult-to-digest food groups with care and patience is vital to your success. Furthermore, it may help you to adjust your diet and alter your relationship with food. Try to enjoy shopping for colourful fruits and vegetables, experiment with the flavours of home-made soup, and reintroduce treats (if you want to) only on the day after ease-out. Some Master Cleanse websites state that you can "go back to normal eating" on day 4. Personally, I don't really feel like doing this at the end of my cleanse. Whilst I miss my favourite chocolates, the detoxification process has helped me to break some of my addictions to processed food, both physically and psychologically. Good luck with the ease-out process!! Happy Eating!!!

Ease-Out Day 1

Well, I wrote this morning that I hoped my little walk to the shops would unlock a wealth of energy... let's just say, now I'm back, that it's going up there as one of the nastiest 4 mile walking trips I've had to take. There's something about Dr. Marten boots that makes me walk with power. It's funny how a shoe can really change your attitude for the day... anyway, I powered up the occasionally hilly road to Sainsbury's this morning in my boots as I normally do, ignoring the fact that my heart was feeling a little stressed. By the time I got there, my pulse was really racing; I had a glass of orange juice before I left, but since this is an orange juice day, I suppose the calorie deficit was even higher than on a cleanse day. I felt the same physical impairment on the way home, which was harder because I had things to carry; all in all, I was feeling flu-y, achy and exhausted before I'd even reached 9 am! What's more, when I reached home, I had some light blood spotting in my pants. Not very much, but enough to signal a little discomfort, since I finished my period a couple of days ago. On that subject, a warning to girls on the Master Cleanse: the cleanse can trigger brown blood spotting, like you get at the end of a period, or, like it did in my case, can bring your period early. Also, if you take birth control tablets, you might still get your period, since most pills are flushed out of your system before they can work on the cleanse. Anyway, back to this morning. Walking got my bowels working and I had a reasonable dark movement, with some discomfort and an almost-constipation feel which resolved itself about 10 minutes later. The laxative tea's still working from last night, and I plan on taking them in the evenings for the next couple of days, just to help my body get used to solids. I felt pretty rubbish for most of the day, and to be honest I still feel a little daunted and empty like I did when I first woke up. To counteract this, thinking it might be withdrawal from the strict regimen of the Master Cleanse, I've made myself a tick-box menu for the next 5 days, to help me through ease-out. Even though I feel a little better now, I have a lot of psychological cravings for bad foods. This is bizarre, as for the last 10 days I've had less and less. As I say, I think it's to do with the relative freedom of finishing my detox. I just have to remind myself that the things I do for the next few days are very important to my over-all success. I'm sorry to post as such a misery guts; I'm hoping that the taste of food tomorrow will put a smile on my face again. In fact, I'm setting my alarm nice and early so I can make my own soup and have the kitchen to myself. See you tomorrow for some post-cleanse recipes and a cheerier post (I promise!!!). I've finally reached the end of my hardest day. Unlike many people, who hate day 3, I hate day 11! Aaaah!!! Bye! Good night everybody!

Here for Another Orange Juice Day...

It's hard to explain, but this morning I feel a little listless; it is as though, now that the strict rules of the Master Cleanse are out the way, I don't have very much left. It's not a pleasant feeling, though perhaps it's not one all cleansers experience, since I am more than a little depressive!!! This morning is the beginning of another orange juice day for me- it's an important part of ease-out and isn't really that different from the day-to-day liquid restrictions of the Master Cleanse's main body. However, the fact that I now technically can, if I want to, have a bowl of soup- or hell, even an ill-advised wedge of cake! So I think it's that, in the main, that's making me feel a little small and daunted. The prospect of the challenge is one that I relish, but also one that saddens me in a way I can't control. I expect I'll be sighing all over the place today, I just feel down. Sorry to write a depressing blog post so early in the morning. I'm going to put on my mp3 player and pop over to Sainsbury's to get some shopping, keep my mind active, and hopefully cheer the fuck up! It's only 6am here so I can't give in to feeling low all day...

Right! I'm taking a stand. I'm leaving the computer now, having a glass of orange juice and changing out of my dressing gown. I know there's a euphoria of health hidden somewhere in this come-down; I just have to find it.

Money Matters

Way back on Day 1, I said I'd be keeping track of how much the Master Cleanse is costing me. I'm a frugal little thing and I want to have a bit of money saved for the summer in case I can't find summer work. Seriously, my town is dead. Well, here's the update so far. I have to say I've been pleasantly surprised by the cost of the whole process, especially in comparison to some cleansing programmes out there. Most notably I'm using less maple syrup than I expected. From the sounds of other people's diaries, I thought I'd be using just under a bottle a day, but in my own experience, maybe because I'm sticking to a six-glass programme, I'm only using a little over half. This has helped keep the cost down considerably; thank God I didn't bulk-buy, because I don't think I'll be using this syrup in my day-to-day life after the cleanse. Sorry, my friend. You're just too delicious.

Anyway, prices.  Here goes:

• 13 large oranges- £3.33 ...
• 40 lemons - £9.16
• 6 bottles of maple syrup- £11.88
• 15 bags Organic Smooth Move tea- £5.99
• SAXA coarse sea salt- £0.60
• Cayenne Pepper- £0.80

That's it. £31.76 for over 10 days of cleansing. I have to say I'm really pleased with spending just over £3.00 a day on my food. I don't think I'm expecting to maintain these prices after the cleanse, but I will be cutting costs by dodging supermarket offers on chocolate and the like. I'm so used to adding 'bargain' multipacks to my weekly shop, it'll be a nice change to redirect funds towards unusual vegetables. I might even cycle to the market on Thursdays to pick up some food. Wow. The Master Cleanse has a lot to answer for. I feel like a happier, healthier and readier person than I was ten days ago. And as a happy and considerate person, I apologise for the boring, meticulous blog post.

Top 10 Tips for First Time Cleansers

Now, I can hardly call myself an expert on the Master Cleanse; this is only my first time round. But I thought I might compile a list of 10 handy lessons I learnt the hard way over the past 10 days.

1. Look After Your Teeth: even if you don't feel sensitivity when you're on the Master Cleanse, it's best to make sure all that acid isn't doing too much damage. To limit the effects of the syrup and lemon in your mouth, drink your lemonade through a straw, and invest in some sensitive, repairing toothpaste. Some people like to brush their teeth after every drink; whatever you decide, it is vital you don't brush your teeth until at least 20 minutes after a glass of lemonade. Brush any sooner, and the softened enamel will most likely be pulled away for good.
2. Drink Plenty of Water: this is pretty good advice on any day, but you mustn't confuse the Master Cleanse's water requirements with the general 8 glasses rule. Even though your liquid diet is giving you plenty of water, you need to make up for the hidden water content that you're missing from food. Half your body weight in water every day is a good place to start.
3. Sip Constantly: this is just an extension of the 'Drink Plenty of Water Rule', but you should remember that it's better to maintain a steady water intake than to down glasses in one go. The former will keep you properly hydrated, whereas the latter might cause you some digestive problems. 
4. Don't Drink Too Much (Or Too Little) Lemonade: the recommended daily dose of lemonade is between 6 and 12 glasses. Whilst it is true that the less lemonade you drink, the more weight you lose, you must pay attention to your needs. Do not drink under 6 glasses a day. Even if you don't feel 'hungry' for them, you must consume at least the minimum amount. Set yourself alarms throughout the day if you think you might forget to have the mixture.
5. Laxatives Are Your Friend: they might be a little yucky, but you need to have a laxative every morning and evening. The evening laxative should be taken as a tea, with another tea in the morning or the Salt Water Flush, depending on your preference. Whatever you do, don't skip them. There's no point dislodging the things stuck in your colon if they don't make it out!
6. Do Your Research: there's a wealth of information about the Master Cleanse on the internet- some of it critical, some of it positive. Read through as much as you can and take a note of useful facts. Going into fasting unprepared can lead to disaster, especially if you're not aware of all of the consequences of a detox. Speaking of which...
7. Know Your Detox Symptoms: a lot of people have done the Master Cleanse, and every single one of them has had their own unique experience. You might not receive all of the following, but be on the lookout for any of these symptoms. They're not a reason for giving up; they're a sign of the bad things coming out. : increased earwax, itchy skin or rashes, spots and pimples, dizziness, headaches, faintness, 'furry' white tongue, bad breath, sensitive teeth, rapid weight loss (mostly sustainable with a good diet), aching muscles, sleeplessness, increased energy (especially in the mornings), sweating, liquid waste.
8. Make a Tick Chart: make a chart for ticking off each day of cleansing, and carry round a daily one to record how much water and lemonade you drink. It will help you keep track of things and look after yourself, as well as encourage you to continue. 
9. Prepare for After Cleansing: the lifestyle you choose to lead after you've finished the cleanse can greatly effect your over all results. Even if you don't expect to go completely cold-turkey on your little vices (caffeine, chocolate, alcohol etc...) you cannot go straight back to your usual eating after day 10. Take a look online at what to do to ease yourself out. I'll be adding more information about my own ease-out, with healthy recipes and a day-by-day plan. Most importantly, expect to spend half the amount of time you spent cleansing in the post-cleanse stages. If you cleanse for 10 days, the first 5 days after will be your ease-out period. 
10. Write Your Own Blog: writing about my experience on the Master Cleanse is perhaps the main thing that's kept me going. Having a place to vent your frustrations and share your successes is great, and there are few things more public (or more anonymous...) than the internet. Make a cleanse blog as you're easing in, and update it at least once a day with as honest a diary entry as you can manage. If you cheat, write about it! Reviewing each day will help your learning process and make your cleanse more successful.

Good Luck with the Master Cleanse!! Try to keep the advice you hear online close to hand, and add your own wisdom once you've started cleansing. You never know who you might help!

The Final Day!!!!

Today is my 10th and final day on the Master Cleanse, and I can't believe it's gone so quickly! With my ease-in and ease-out orange juice days, this totals 12 days without eating; my attitude to food has been transformed, and I feel happier and healthier than I have in a long time. I woke up this morning at 5 am, and was ready to get up and about and begin my day. Cleansing has given me increased energy levels in the mornings over the past couple of days, which is wonderful, especially now my symptoms of faintness have subsided. However, I have noticed a severe energy drop in the evenings, which combined with an inability to sleep is pretty damn annoying. Still, I'm hoping my healthier post-cleanse diet will remedy this, giving me the best of both worlds; the energetic vigour of cleansing and the genuine fuel energy of food. Although I was too busy to drink more than 4 lemonades yesterday I managed to pass dark solids this morning, so it looks as though my body will keep being cleaned out right up until the end of my detox!

My tongue is still white and coated; in the original Master Cleanse booklet, it states that the tongue will go pink when the detox is finished. Although this wisdom is often repeated online, a quick look at the Master Cleanse forums has been enough to comfort me that most people's tongues do not, in fact, look healthy on the 10th day. What's more, many of the people who prolonged their cleanse, thinking that they still had detoxing to be done, found themselves to still have furry tongues on their 40th day!! There are even people whose tongues went white, returned to pink, and then went white again, all in the space of a 10 day cleanse. All in all, I'm not certain how correct Burroughs was about the idea of the tongue looking healthy, and since I don't want to go beyond 10 days, I'm going to chance my arm and begin my ease-out tomorrow morning.

Today I had 6 glasses of lemonade, a lot of water, and a laxative tea both morning and evening. I felt wide awake at 5 this morning but I've been listing all afternoon and now it's almost 5 pm I'm thinking of going to bed. What's more, my cravings for food have been much stronger today, perhaps because I know it's only a matter of hours until I'm technically allowed to eat again. I have to admit, I used the 'chew and spit' technique on a piece of chocolate today, just because I couldn't resist it. I know that chewing and spitting doesn't necessarily cut calories, but it did give me the flash of taste (and CHEWING!!!) I needed without messing up my digestive system, so in this way, it's perfect for the Master Cleanse. I was disappointed in myself for this little indulgence in sub-cheating, but I'm almost too tired to berate myself right now. I wonder how much of this is psychological? Is my brain acting up because it knows I'll be eating soon? Hmmm...

I would definitely consider cleansing again. It's a struggle, but an enjoyable one; it's amazing what the body is capable of, and I think I've succeeded in restoring my respect for my digestive system. Though I'm looking forward to the taste of chocolate once again, I've become aware of a psychological dependency that I've been able to address. Now, I can think more carefully about my food choices and enjoy eating. I can also enjoy shopping more than I have before. I'm really looking forward to trying unusual fruits and designing my own soup recipes. Although this is my last post whilst I'm cleansing, I'll be blogging about my ease-out too. Once I'm home and reunited with a working camera, I can share some of my favourite recipes and get some more pictures on here! See you in the morning for Day 1 of post-cleanse; it's still a liquid diet tomorrow, but I'll be getting a few more flavours at last!!!!! That's it for Day 10, and my Master Cleanse experience! Bye!!!

Can't Wait to Get Grazing!

My graze box is here on the date promised! This is a major achievement with the postal system at uni. They normally take a billion years to get a parcel through to me, but no! I went to my post box this afternoon, and there is was!! This is a bit of an odd review, since I can't actually sample the food Graze has sent me yet, but I'll give it a go anyway. The box is a little smaller than I expected. It's designed to go through letterboxes, so that's not necessarily a detrimental feature, but somehow I'd imagined the parcel to be a little meatier. Likewise the snack boxes inside contain less than I thought they would. However, since they're all marked with their calorie counts and nutritional benefits, this might actually be a good thing. They help you to achieve an accurate portion size so you know exactly how much you've had. As for their selection, well, I can't fault them. For those unfamiliar with the system, you let Graze know about your snacking preference by rating all of their possible products. You can choose to Bin, and never receive the item, Try, Like or Love. There is also a Send Soon option on many of the items if you really fancy one in particular. Beyond this, you can ask to be sent more of the products you want to Try or more of the products you Like or Love. If you want to avoid the more calorific treats, you can opt out of the chocolate mixes and have a nutritionists select your food for you. Without further ado, here are the things they sent me:

I rated some products 'Love' even though I haven't tried them, because I know I will love them when I can open them. As for when that will be, well, some of the sell-by dates go as far as July, and they are all individually wrapped in plastic, cellophane-lidded containers. I have to say, if you need to have snacks on the go, these are perfect handbag-sized portions. As for the price, well, I got the first box free on promotion and my next two are half price. After that I can expect to pay £3.89 a go. I'm set to receive them once a week at the moment, but I might cancel in a month or so, when I get to go home. In fact, I'm signing up now not just to promote healthy eating after the Master Cleanse, but also to try these out as a bit of present-research. My Dad will absolutely love these, so I'm thinking of getting him a 10-box gift card for his birthday in June. Mmmm... the billionaire's shortbread looks especially good, even if it doesn't quite match up to its bakery counterpart!! So, if you're looking to eat healthier, visit graze.com and try a free box on me!! Every time my code gets used, I get £1 off my next order. Just use 3WNKMWX  ,my personal Graze code, to give it a go. 

Byeee!!!

Penultimate Day!

Wow, it's day 9 and I'm almost there. I'm starting to really think in detail about my diet after the cleanse and the way I'm going to look after my body. This extends to more than just dietary issues. My Dad's a meditation enthusiast and this is what he would call a very 'mindful' process. I think it's especially true if you've taken time off to invest in the cleanse, but I find myself to be a lot more aware about how to look after myself. More specifically, I find that I'm able to devote more time to the things I normally can't be bothered to do. I've started body brushing every day after my shower, rather than just occasionally, and I have to say, my skin feels so much softer. Also, I'm taking better care of my face, hair and nails, getting up earlier and taking more time over yoga. I haven't worked out as much as normal on the Master Cleanse, but that's due to lack of calories; I'll be returning to Insanity as soon as day 10 is over. In terms of bowel movements, I passed some dark solids this morning, which definitely couldn't have been anything I've eaten recently, so I suppose that's a good sign. I don't feel physical hunger very often at all. My tongue is still white but I know that many people experience this right up until the end of day 10. Which will be this time tomorrow. Wow!

I woke up this morning and realised I only had one small lemon left and about a third of a bottle of maple syrup. So, I had a glass of water and headed off to Sainsbury's on an energy deficit, both because I wanted to know if I'd still be faint on long walks, and also because, well, I don't think half a lemon a day is going to cut it.  Today I feel jubilantly energetic. It took me a little while to get going, but all day I've felt great. So great, in fact, that I spent 5 hours tidying my room!! It's needed it for ages, but I never manage to get round to it. The downside to this is that I've broken my own rule and only managed to have 4 lemonades; I didn't want to go near food and drink with bleachy gloves and bleach on my hands. Although this hasn't made me feel any more tired, I know that drinking under the 6 glass limit is a bad idea. Tomorrow, for day 10, I'll be straight back to my regular 6 glasses. Now, as I sit down to my laxative tea, I'm not sure whether I'll get much of a bowel movement tomorrow; the Master Cleanse concoction is supposed to dislodge things from your colon throughout the day, but since I haven't had that much of it, I'll be interested to know whether there's anything for this tea to move on. I don't have much more to write today; I still need to try and get the smell of cleaning products out of my room. 'Citrus Fresh' is lovely on a normal day, but when you've been eating just lemons for over a week, it's a little bit annoying! See you tomorrow for - wait for it - DAY 10!!!!!

Shopping Spree!!!

Happy Day 8 everybody!! I feel a little worse for wear today, probably due to cleansing, so I decided to cheer myself up with a little trip into Birmingham. After a few initial hiccups- there was a fire evacuation at the station and we got stuck on the train- I was in the midst of lots of shops and cafés... and feeling very tired. I had a sneaking suspicion when I went out to Kenilworth, but today has confirmed it; there's a whole other side to my love of chocolates and treats. I don't just like eating them, I like the act of buying them. Even today, as I bought some snacks to take home for my little brother, I didn't mind that I couldn't eat any myself. It's very strange. I don't think it's a shopping addiction or anything, but it is rather comforting for me to be shopping freely again. I had a £5 off voucher for Thorntons that needed using up, so there is now a lovely, large, beautifully presented box of their Milk, White and Dark Continental Collection sitting on my bed. Don't worry, I'm not going to open them! And when I do, I'm fairly confident I'll be able to savour them, one at a time, and make them last for ages.

Actually, it's a challenge I'm rather looking forward to.  Restraint has never been my strong point where those gold-wrapped Diplomats are concerned, but since I haven't tasted them yet (and I've been back several hours) I think they're probably safe. Besides, I'm expecting a graze box to arrive in the post pretty soon, so I should have plenty of snacks to keep me happy (when I can safely ingest solid food!!!).

As for the aforementioned faintness I have today? Well, that hasn't subsided. I have a teeny weeny headache coming on, so my brain feels a bit cloudy, and even though my limbs are less ache-y than yesterday, there were moments today when my heavy shopping bags nearly had me on the floor. I also feel a bit tired, but there may be a good reason for that. I had to get up early this morning to take my bins out, and when my alarm went at 4, I was fully awake! It's absolutely bizarre, but I just started going about my morning routine as though it was later; it's a good thing I noticed the time before I started drying my hair, or else I would have made a lot of enemies on my floor!!! Other people have written about this boundless Master Cleanse energy they get in the mornings, but I don't think I'd got the full weight of it until today. Even though I'm quite a reasonable morning person, I don't think I could normally get up without issue at 4 am! My relationship with the Master Cleanse is a bit weird at the moment. I can't wait to move on to real food, but equally I'm very grateful for the help its giving me. There are only two days left before I am allowed to taste something else!! Right now I'm off to research my post-cleanse meal plans. Aching and drowsy though I am, I have to say, I'm pretty excited!!!...

Just Ordered from Graze!

I've just taken my first step in post-cleanse snacking by ordering a Graze box from graze.com. Well, it's not strictly speaking the first step; I'd say that the Master Cleanse in itself is a pretty significant milestone in managing my snacking. Whatever the case, if you haven't heard of Graze, I'd really recommend you look at the website. It's supposed to arrive with my letters on Thursday, although knowing the postal system here at uni, I might not get it until Friday or even Saturday. I can't endorse it too much when I haven't tried one, but it looks very encouraging. I'll post a review online as soon as I've opened the packet. Yummy, healthy snacks here I come....!

An Ache-y Day 7

Today I decided to take a trip into Kenilworth, but opted to leave the bike at home. I'm no good in hot weather, delicate little Scot that I am, and besides, this morning, my legs were aching. Well, so much for the leg-ache plan; one mile out of the city our bus broke down and I had to walk the rest of the way! I didn't even get a refund! Anyway, I'm guessing the feeling in my muscles is something to do with the Master Cleanse. When I was in the shower it felt like it was an effort just to stand up. Funnily enough, I didn't feel faint, just as though I'd done a lot of exercise and was starting to pay for it. I know that fasting can cause your body to start "digesting" your muscles; I hope that isn't the case. It's a vicious circle really. The further I walk to try and keep my muscles in tact, the more my body calls on the energy I don't have. Part of it was my own fault today though- I left the house at 1 having only had 1 glass of lemonade, and it was 4 in the afternoon before I was home to have another one. Even though I had a bottle of water in my bag, I have to confess with the mildest form of cheating I think there's ever been. In fact, I'm not even certain it is cheating. You can decide: to stop myself feeling faint, I picked out the healthiest-sounding water based juice drink I could find, a 7 calorie cranberry drink with a couple of added sweeteners. I really needed it and it did the trick. Besides, this is leading up to a brilliant moment where I didn't cheat, and I totally could have. I've been into Kenilworth before, but I hadn't realised they had a Waitrose. Nowhere at home has a Waitrose so until today I'd never been in. They have some amazing sushi and an incredible bakery. Also, their chocolate selection was amazing. I killed some time, wandering from aisle to aisle and savouring the sights and smells of delicious, middle class food. And you know what? Even though I've marked some things out to come back for once I'm off the cleanse, I didn't want to eat any of it. As a testament to this I picked up a few picnic items to share with my family when I come home. We go on lots of cycle rides and climb the Brecon Beacons, so I'm sure these treats will make a welcome addition to the rucksack when we're back together. Tunnock's Dark Chocolate Tea Cakes, Bahlsen Cranberry Messino, Pink & Whites Jammies... I also bagged a few individual bars for my folks: Magnum Chocolates (which I never knew existed!), Lindor bars, Eat Naturals and (for me!) a new Cadbury's creation. Behold the jaw-dropping, multi-coloured, calorific masterpiece that is Dairy Milk Jelly Popping Candy Shells chocolate bar:

I have one sat beside me right now, and it doesn't seem to bother me that I can't taste how nice it is until I'm safely post-cleansing. Don't get me wrong, I really want to try it. But equally, there's no gluttonous impulse to binge on a stack of them, or even sneak the wrapper open to nibble a corner. Well done Master Cleanse, I'm a changed person. And well done me for sticking with it. 

Physically, day 7 has not been without its tests. As I mentioned, my legs were aching. This moved on to involve my other muscles as I went about my day. Typing now, my arms feel a little tense, as though there's something weighing down on them, but its nothing I can't fight through. I also got a blocked ear, which I think is a little better now. Detoxing is associated with an increase in earwax, which I imagine is what's been going on. Again, its a minor setback that I'm reasonably happy to go through if it means those toxins are on the way out. A slightly more annoying though almost certainly related affliction is a small spot by the outside corner of my left eye. I woke up with it this morning, and its a kind of raised, puffy lump with a bit of fluid in it. Its not attached to my eye or eyelids but it is annoying, mainly due to its high visibility. I'm hoping it will be gone by morning like a lot of my other Master Cleanse ailments, but there's nothing to guarantee it. I need another glass of lemonade and a bit more water before the day's out, as well as a laxative tea. I'll make a brief note on the laxative, since almost all of what I published yesterday seemed to be related to the toilet. The tea is still working, and my bowel movements are now easy, predominantly liquid and vivid yellow. Some of my afternoon waste was solid and almost syrupy- maybe it is syrup?- so I can't tell if it's an old piece dislodged from my colon or a new bit of lemonade. Right, I think that that's me done for the day. I'll see you tomorrow for an ideally less ache-y day 8; I can't believe I'm nearly there already!!

It's all leading up to Fantasy Friday!

Every time I skype my parents it makes me feel hungry. This isn't just the case when I'm on the cleanse; my dull, repetitive student diet always pales in comparison to whatever it is they've been cooking up on their functional cooker. Yesterday evening was one such mouthwatering occasion. Although what I eat is predominantly vegetarian, it can't be denied that I eat more meat when I'm at home. I've been managing the hunger pangs of the liquid diet pretty well, but my brain was no match for the plate of gammon, crinkle cut chips, cider gravy and vegetables that my dad waved in front of me. That meal was miles away, but I swear to God, I could smell it! A lot of people on the Master Cleanse suggest that you remove yourself from exposure to food so as not to be tempted. This includes everything from not watching T.V. commercials and cooking shows to sending someone else shopping. You can probably tell from my blog that I'm not one of these people who benefits from this "out of site, out of mind" mentality; it seems that most of my posts require me digging out some picture of a chocolate bar or other. Well, I've indulged in a bit of pretend online shopping and compiled a list I have labeled "Fantasy Friday". Friday's the day that I finish the cleanse, and on that day, I'll be going shopping for my post-cleanse ingredients. I read somewhere that the easing out period should equal half of the time that you spent cleansing. That means that from next Saturday to Wednesday, I'll be very carefully edging myself away from the liquids and onto the solids. The trick is to do it gradually, so you don't suffer from constipation, water retention and weight gain. I'll cover all of that as well as the actual menu I've compiled when I get to the appropriate days, but today I just wanted to mention my list, since I had such fun making it. Sainsbury's online grocery calculator adds it up to roughly £18.00, which is pretty good for most of a week, and its a much more colourful basket than I'm used to; which is to say, this time the colours occur in natural products and aren't printed on labels and packets. So, without further ado, the Fantasy Friday ingredients list that I'm using for motivation. There are a couple of cheeky additions there that aren't so healthy, but in moderation I'll be able to ease them in too:

• carrots
• oranges
• onions
• sweet potato
• raspberries
• blackberries
• kiwi fruit
• bananas
• salad
• Options' instant hot chocolate sachets
• peppermint teabags
• ground coriander
• smooth vegetable soup
• 2 rolls fresh wholemeal bread
• 1% UHT milk
• Philadelphia lightest
• 2 Cadbury's kids bars

Isn't that lovely? Perhaps it seems a little weird, but for me that list is very exciting. I can't wait to shop for real foods... and I really can't wait to cook them. Stay tuned for what I'm going to do with the ingredients. If you're going to do the cleanse, then coming off properly is vital. Here, have a picture of some colourful foods, on me. Doesn't it just feed your soul? Ha! Well, I know I'm being a little bit melodramatic, but it changes your viewpoint when you know it can't feed your stomach!! Back to the lemonade for me! Bye!!

Zingy Relief...

It's now 2 in the afternoon, and my senna tea has finally started to work. I haven't stayed as hydrated as I'd hoped, but I have managed to drink 3 lemonades and 3 glasses of water so far. I'm sipping the water and that seems to have helped me. For the past hour or so I've been feeling especially queasy and uncomfortable, though I really do think a fraction of that physical stuff can be explained by psychosomatic imaginings. My bowel movement took quite a long time and was almost completely liquid. And man did it smell like lemons. I mean really, if anybody goes in there after me they're going to think someone's been juicing in there. It's not exactly an unpleasant odour to leave in a toilet but I thought I'd strike a match anyway, since there are about 18 students using our facilities and you have to be considerate. Relieved as I am about finally getting some movement back there, I keep hitting this feeling of almost-constipation. That is, when I'm finished with the easy part of the stool (and when you do 'go' on the Master Cleanse diet, it can be really easy...) I can feel something there waiting to get out. Whether it's a large dose of the possibly mythical mucoid plaque or some other kind of ancient colonic obstruction, I never leave the bathroom feeling like I'm finished. Maybe it's me misinterpreting the feeling. Could this 'blockage' actually be what it feels like when there's nothing to push out at all? Ah well, whatever the case is, I'm fairly confident I'll find out in the next four days or so. Sorry to be indelicate on the matter, but the fact is, bowel movements are a major part of the Master Cleanse. I'll post again later if there's anything else to report, but if not, I expect I'll be back on tomorrow. I can't believe it's already day 6!!!...

Ouch!

All of today's postings seem to have an unappetising theme of bowel movements... sorry about that, but this one is no exception! It's a little bit weird, but normally, it's easier to go to the toilet when you're crouching like a caveman. Think about it. Before we invented toilets, we wouldn't have gone in a sitting position. I know there are a couple of bathroom accessories designed to helped people go in the right way- steps to raise your feet on and so on. Or, if you haven't thought to purchase something special, you can put your head between your legs like your plane's going down to ease the passage. Well, weirdly enough, the Master Cleanse diet seems of late to have been turning those rule upside down. If I raise my feet, I find myself unable to go. If I sit upright, like a swot in a Victorian classroom, it comes a lot more naturally. It's a weird and inconsequential thing, but I'd like to know what's going on there; are the laxatives I'm using moving my stool further towards the exit? I guess if that were the case, it would eliminate the need to help it on its way with knees and such. Another poo-related thing I've noticed- well, a repeat of an earlier warning really- go easy on the cayenne pepper and try not to exceed the 1/10 of a teaspoon by too much. At least two of my lemonades today have been a little on the spicy side; one had me retching and clutching my throat when a whole clump of pepper came right up the straw. It may be beneficial to the inside of my system, but my bum feels a little painful again right now, and- get this- there were flakes of cayenne pepper in the bowl when I went to the bathroom today. Yeah, maybe I'll ease up on that. Well, I promise that tomorrow I'll talk a lot less about what I've been up to in the bathroom. It's one of those things that is really really interesting to you, as the person cleansing, but that you wouldn't share with anybody else. That's the weird thing about the internet. I don't think I could talk about all this so candidly face to face, but on here, well I don't mind sharing at all!! I don't have any followers at the moment anyway! See you in the morning for day 7, where I promise I'll move on to more savory subjects; perhaps the gunk on my tongue, or the frequency of my peeing? Haha!!! Byeee!!

The Master Cleanse- Day 6

I'm feeling a little concerned and disconcerted this morning. I took a laxative tea last night and lay there, unable to sleep, until around midnight, my innards squelching and gurgling in a way that assured me the senna was working. For those of you who are worried about taking a laxative, don't be. This isn't a painful sensation; in fact, it's rather interesting. So, when I woke up this morning to go for a pee, I expected a bowel movement too. Only, there hasn't been one. It feels like I need to go, but I just can't. It's not quite constipation; there's no pain and, since I'm not eating solids, it's unlikely to be a back-up of food, but that's the problem. Psychologically, I'm imagining a whole load of dislodged waste that wants to get out of my system, but is failing at the last hurdle. I wrote that for the pat few days I've skipped the laxative tea in the morning due to inconvenience, but today I had one anyway. Who cares if I'm rushing back and forth to the bathroom all day? Well, I do actually, but it's better than leaving my cleansing half finished. Currently, I'm sat at my computer, feet on the windowsill, listening to the gurglings of this morning's tea, and hoping that, combined with last nights installment, I'm in for a good bit of purging. On the plus side, and I've only just noticed this, but my nose isn't itching anymore. That's a turn up for the books at least. I've googled causes of mid-Master Cleanse constipation to find it's relatively common and reasonably treatable. The general consensus on the forums seems to be that, whilst many people will experience many large bowel movements across the 10 days, other people might pass mainly liquid, in smaller amounts. I'm trying to stay hydrated so I don't absorb all my water into my system; since normal constipation is often aided by drinking more water, I'm hoping this one will be too. And hell, the two doses of senna tea in just over 12 hours should be kicking in too.

Facial Analysis

I was writing a post about itchy noses yesterday evening and mentioned a Chinese medicine face map. Some people don't put a lot of stock in Chinese medicinal practices, I myself am not entirely convinced by a number of aspects, but one thing I am very interested in, is the mapping of acne. I'd say I have a reasonable complexion. It flares up from excesses of sugar from time to time, but that's my own fault and I can totally predict it. Similarly, like most girls, I get spots around my chin once a month when I'm on my period. The other spots on my face are fairly unpredictable, stubborn when they arrive, and difficult to coax out. That is, when I'm going to get a spot, I know about a week in advance because of infuriating red bumps under the skin. When I list out my ailments like that, my complexion doesn't sound so great, but I don't have acne and there are times (rare, delicious, unpredictable times) when my skin is *almost* entirely clear. I use Neutrogena's Clean & Clear Grapefruit range on a daily basis, dabble on occasion with a Rio Sonicleanse, and treat myself twice weekly to Montagne Jeunesse's heavenly vegetarian face masks.

Well, that's the background out the way. What I really want to handle in this post is the position of spots on my skin since I started the Master Cleanse. Running my hand over my face now, there aren't that many obvious spots I can feel. But there are bumps under the skin and the beginnings of spots in the following places: lower forehead, upper forehead, bridge of nose (I think that's from sunglasses!), chin and sides of mouth. Conversely, repeat-offender areas like the insides of my eyebrows, temples and sides of face are feeling pretty smooth. Do I have the Master Cleanse to thank for this? Research suggests I do. Many people report having their best skin in years during or after the Master Cleanse, even if they have to suffer through detox-induced break-outs first. This is the same with any successful skin treatment, cleanse-based or otherwise. They have to get the bad things out before the good things can begin. With Rio's Sonicleanse (similar to the Clarisonic Mia), this was referred to as 'purging', so I'm going to use the same term here. Now, let's assess my current 'purging' areas with a Chinese Medicine face map:

Apologies for the pink border. I don't own the image but I usually prefer them borderless... ah well, anyway!! So, I had spots on my lower and upper forehead, on my chin, on the bridge of my nose and either side of my mouth. This translates to toxins from the colon, small intestine, pancreas (though, as I said, that could equally be glasses!) and gynecological problems. The gynecological problems can include periods, and since it's my time of the month right now, and I always get these kind of spots, I'd say that one's safe from our cleansal analysis. So, I have spots in areas linking to my colon and small intestine. It might not be scientifically proven, but I'd say that's a pretty good indication of how the Master Cleanse is panning out for me. Here's hoping the face map is right, and when I finally get to ingest some bloody solids in a week-or-so's  time, I'll be putting them into a cleaner, healthier and better-functioning system! Over and out!!

An Itchy Nose... apparently, that's a GOOD thing...

It's coming up to 6 in the evening over here and I'm settling down to a laxative tea. And boy, is my nose itchy. It's not the inside of the nose, but rather the creases where the nostrils meet the rest of your face. The areas look mildly dry and irritated but if you didn't know about the problem, I don't think you'd notice it. (Hopefully, it'll stay that way!) I haven't changed my skincare regime or used some new makeup. I did a Montagne Jeunesse thermal face mask this morning but I don't think it was that. Best of all, for the first time ever, I know it's not something new that I've eaten; a diet consisting of five or so ingredients will do that for a girl.

This made things very simple, and I was only mildly surprised when I googled 'Master Cleanse itching' and it came up as a suggestion. People get itches all over on this programme, but I must admit, I hadn't read anything about it until I searched for it today. Strange, since I must have read 10 or so cleanse diaries and a heap of cleanse literature before making a dash for the shop to stock up on lemons. It quickly emerged that some of these people have had it really bad; all-over rashes and itches that drive them to the point of quitting. So far- and touch wood, for the rest of the cleanse- my only itches are the ones either side of my nose. They're constantly present and mildly irritating (although writing about them can't help me forget them) and I'm hoping they're a sign of something good. Itching is apparently a common side effect of diets like the Master Cleanse. In their most extreme form, like the whole-body rashes, these itches can indicate the cleansing of a toxic liver. That's right. The same toxins that are coming out in my stools and in the gunky fuzz on my tongue are also coming out of my skin. It's the kind of information that makes your skin crawl and sends you into into a psychosomatic itching frenzy!! The good news? Well, if the toxins are coming out, they're not in my body any more. It seems a little suffering during the cleanse can actually lead to an overall better complexion once it's completed. I have no idea why its the edges of my nostrils that are being affected. I did look up a Chinese medicine facial map, but to no avail. Hmmmm... write to you later for an update on the itchy skin situation. Hopefully it won't worsen; I just have to remind myself that, although the price of detox might be icky, the rewards will be very great indeed.

Day 5- Today, I'm half way there!

Day 5 of the Master Cleanse and I'm fairly confident it's working. My tongue's still been fuzzy today, but I'm starting to get used to it. It's amazing; the whole thing is coated right up to the edges in thick, green-white gunk. It's a little gross, especially when I'm not allowed a mint to freshen my breath, but it's also weirdly amazing. My stools are almost completely liquid with a few solids in there, they smell faintly lemon-y (but unpleasant), and they're fairly frequent. I took a laxative last night, and skipped it this morning, but continued visiting the bathroom intermittently from 4 this morning to the afternoon. Physically I appear a little bonier. I'm pretty fit and healthy anyway, and can always see a bit of rib, but they have been more prominent since I started the cleanse. I feel much lighter and airier, presumably because I'm both losing toxins and giving my innards a rest. I read somewhere that a fasting cleanse like this one allows your body to revisit old injuries and fix them anew; it's as though, once you remove the tasks of digesting complex foods from the equation, they have more time to devote to making you better. In the final stages of the cleanse, old injuries may start hurting again, but this is a very good thing. There is increased white blood cell activity and your antibodies will seek out damaged tissue to remove and replace it. That's a very basic, analogous version, but it all sounds pretty cool, huh? Personally, I've never broken any bones, but I did have weakened joints as a child and my elbows were constantly being dislocated. Maybe the damage I don't know about will get fixed at the end of the cleanse? Who knows? I'll let you know if I feel any aches and pains, anyhow. I'm a little less bored with the lemonade today... well, I've found a different way of dealing with it. Whenever I get a craving for something else- it's usually something specific, and unhealthy- I rationalise my thinking:

Why do I want a roll of Refreshers? Is it because I'm genuinely hungry? Would a pack of Refreshers realistically sate that hunger? If I make myself think on it for long enough, I realise that I'm not hungry at all. Then I have a little bit of lemonade, because if I'm craving Refreshers, my body might be in need of a little more sugar. It's a pretty cool mini achievement really. And when you think about it, it might not be that mini at all. After all, if I can do this when I've finished the cleanse I might stand a chance of keeping those toxins out of my body. What's the point of doing a cleanse if you're not going to stick with the lessons you learn? That said, now I'm at the halfway mark, I cannot wait until the end. It's a feeling of boredom with my food that's causing that little attitude problem. I didn't know how much of my day was spent dealing with eating: going to the supermarket, choosing my meals, picking ingredients, cooking them up, and finally, eating them. Dealing with nothing but juicers and kettles for the past five days makes me miss the smells of the kitchen. Ah well, if its willpower you're after, I'd nonetheless recommend cleansing for a long term solution. If you can stick to 10 days, you can stick to anything... well, you stand a better chance of it at least. And, fingers crossed, once I'm halfway in, the other five days will be a doddle. Touch wood, huh? I really don't want to jinx it!

Constant Sipping

I'm sure you've read many times that most of us are walking round in our day to day lives chronically dehydrated. I know when I was at college, I'd be lucky if I drank anything between leaving the house at 8 and coming home at 7. Appalling, I know, which is why when I started at uni I decided to make sure I drank over my recommended 8 cups a day. After all, how hard is it to pop a bottle in your bag or take a trip to the tap? Whilst this didn't make my complexion better, as it does for some people, it does make me need to go to the loo more. Within 10 minutes of a glass of water, I have to go pee, like right away. Well, I googled that this morning, and it seems that, although I have been getting myself more hydrated, I've been doing it all wrong. Starting right now, I'm replacing my large, drink-it-all-in-a-oner drinks with frequent sipping. I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm hoping I'll finally be able to reap the benefits of proper hydration and feel a little better about the Master Cleanse. Perhaps it will be the answer to my lack of wanting to drink these past few days. Rather than force down the minimum amount, I can drink my lemonades a cup at a time and just sip at my water. Hooray!!

Promises, Promises...

I wrote a little while back that I'd been looking through my old recipes and planning what I'll be able to eat when I'm safely off cleansing and onto a new, better diet. Those are still coming, once my cleanse-diary's complete. For now, I have them blu-tacked up on the wall in front of me on little hand-written post-its. At the top of the wall made of recipes, I've stuck up a little promise to myself. A few weeks back, I was talking to my mum about the things we can have when I come home. I really miss a proper kitchen and people to cook for. Here, it's mostly cooking for one with the stove or the microwave, and giving the oven a wide berth, since it's never been cleaned. Ah, the pleasures of student accommodation. One thing I especially long for, when I'm hungry for the smell of real cooking, is baking cakes. Well, when I'm heading for home in around a month's time, I will make a delicious gift to take with me. You know those caterpillar cakes you get at kids' parties? Well, since I'm on the Master Cleanse Diet, I'm missing my baking and my favourite chocolates are Smarties, I've decided to whip up my own rendition with as many sweets as possible. Well, when I said I'd be eating better when I came of the cleanse, I was expecting to give in to a few temptations. Make no mistakes; my healthy eating plan remains entirely intact, buts it's a picture of this that I've got on by note-wall, and weird though it is, it's smiling at the picture that's getting me through the cleanse.

I'm thinking Thornton's Alpini for the feet. Good God that sounds fantastic!

Fuzzy Tongue

Just checking in before I go to bed to say that the famed detox tongue has officially arrived. By the end of my cup of laxative tea (my last drink of the day) my mouth felt weird and fuzzy. It's hard to explain but the texture of my tongue is similar to when it's burnt, but it doesn't hurt. The whole thing is covered in white 'fur', replacing the various shades of lime that the Master Cleanse has so far coloured it. It's a little unpleasant, having a tongue that's so obtrusive and noticeable, but it's a sure sign that the toxins are starting to exit the body...or so I'm led to believe. Fingers crossed it will be pink and lovely before the end of day 10! That would really be something; no matter how much I scrub my tongue with those wretch-inducing tongue scrubbers, it's kind of yellow-grey on a good day. Sweet dreams everybody! See you in the morning!!

Day 4- I'm bored bored bored bored BORED of lemons!

You know what they say; only boring people get bored. Well maybe they should try a lemonade diet. Yesterday I was beginning to have to force myself to drink the minimum 6 cups of mixture. It's nothing to do with the taste, it's simply the fact that, after a time, my mouth wants to taste something other than laxative teas and detoxifying lemonade. This is a tricky situation to be in. It's neither hunger nor a craving. There's no specific taste or texture that I have in mind. I just want something else. I took an early morning trip to the supermarket to pick up another load of lemons and some cleaning stuff, and managed to come home with everything that I had on my list and, most importantly, nothing extra. Even so, when I walked past the confectionery stand, I really really wanted the chewy feeling of a Reese's NutRageous bar as a bit of a cheat. Man those things are good.

But, as I said, it wasn't a hunger craving, so the cleanse on the whole seems to be working.

I monitored my intake of lemonade better today, and made myself drink it when I wasn't hungry so I was full at regular intervals. I'm trying to stay super hydrated, since a liquid diet misses out all of the hidden water in normal food and laxatives really take it out of you. My laxative teas seem to be working faster, though my movements haven't been nearly as big as yesterday, and I had to get up at 2 this morning to go to the bathroom. I think I'm going to go now, and get down one last glass of water before I brew my tea. It takes a whole 20 minutes to steep, plus a little extra to cool down, so it gets a bit annoying if you're tired and want to go to sleep right NOW. I'll post again tomorrow, when I will hopefully be less bored of my 'food' and feeling a little happier. One benefit of this diet is that I feel kind of trapped into completing the course. Even if I do want food (that NutRageous craving has subsided now), I know I won't be able to eat anything I like straight away to break my fast. It's a real lesson in discipline that I'm hoping I'll remember in a week or so when I'm shopping for real food in the supermarket. I know it's not worth it, and even if I think it is, I'll get pretty sick if I start on the chocolate now.

Thinking of Food

Looking forward to eating is different to being hungry. For me, hunger is a physical gnaw or a psychological craving for something specific. The Master Cleanse so far is helping me to remove the last two and look forward to eating again - properly. Being at university usually makes it hard for me to make proper food. I hate using our yucky communal kitchen and generally just pop a soup in the microwave when I feel hungry. The lack of cooking has led me to looking for ready-to-eat foods. Sainsbury's vegetable bhajia are to-die-for and, well, apart from that, I mainly eat gum and cookies. When I do make a soup or a one-pot meal, I have to get up early in the morning and reheat it later. I've got a bit of a thing about eating in front of people, and in the last few months that's extended to cooking in front of people too. It's best not to go into that. I'm sure a psychologist could tell me all about what's going on there, but then I'm equally sure we're all walking around with our own neuroses. Today was a good day for food preparation. I've spent the day collecting recipes from my various notebooks and started typing them up. At home I love to experiment with healthy cooking and I really want to be able to try some here too. The Master Cleanse is already making me look at my diet in a different way. When I go back to eating, I want to do things properly, paying attention to nutrients and natural flavour rather than quick-fix snacks. I haven't eaten food for three days and I'm thinking off colourful vegetables, not Thornton's. That's really impressive. I'll share my post-cleanse recipes when I get round to making them. The official Master Cleanse site says you can "return to normal eating" on the fourth day after the cleanse; I cannot tell you how glad I am that I don't want to do that!

Not the hardest day...

Given all the posts on the internet, I'd expected Day 3 of the Master Cleanse to be extremely difficult. It's pitched by many as the 'wall' most cleansers have to overcome. Well, touchwood, I haven't seemed to face that issue at all so far. I woke up on day three and went almost immediately to the bathroom, where my stool (sorry!!) was yellowy-green and mostly liquid. Having resolved to never again attempt the Salt Water Flush, I made myself another laxative tea and drank it for breakfast. The advantage of avoiding the Salt Water Flush is that you can get on almost immediately with drinking as you please. Whereas the flush requires a wait of an hour and a half before you drink your first lemonade, this morning I drank my first glass after my tea. That was the advantage. The disadvantage was that, for whatever reason, my system reacted to the tea much quicker and more, effectively, than it ever has before. It's a good thing I didn't have any reason to go out today, but in the future, I think I'll be skipping the morning laxative altogether unless I'm completely sure I can stay indoors. My waste was liquid and almost-lime green; I'm given to believe that this is something to do with bile? The cayenne pepper has made going to the bathroom painful. If you are going to exceed 1/10 of a teaspoon in your cups of lemonade, I'd stock up on baby-wipes, because even if you can handle the spiciness going in, it might be a bit more burn-y coming out. Sorry for the slightly gross warning, but I wish I'd read that somewhere before I started over-doing the pepper. Apart from the difficulties in the bathroom, and the frankly alarming frequency and urgentness of my visits, this day hasn't been so bad. I only feel hungry now, in the evening. In fact, I'm having a bit of trouble making myself hungry enough for 6 drinks a day and a lot of water. I suppose it must be something to do with the stomach shrinking, but I have been forcing myself to keep drinking because I know it's for the best, especially if I'm not taking two laxatives a day. Oooh, finally, I have to say that I've managed to make it through an Insanity workout whilst on the lemonade diet. I mentioned before that I was a little bit nervous of over-exerting myself, but actually I found the whole thing really nice. I'm not used to not working out, and I suppose that's what made me want to give it a go, but I managed to beat most of my previous rep. targets and stay conscious and alive. Hooray!! It's amazing what the body can do on such little energy. It really makes me wonder what I was doing with all that comfort food before. See you tomorrow!! Day four, here we come!

Sensitive Teeth

I mentioned my the pain in my teeth in my last post, but seem to have gone off on one before I mentioned my real solution. No doubt the straws I bought will help to lessen the damage of the lemonade mixture, and the toothpaste will help to recoup the enamel, but the main thing that's helped me- in the absence of pain killers- is a method called Oil Pulling. Obviously, no tablets are going to do there job while I'm on the Master Cleanse Diet. I guess they get flushed out before they can even get started. Oil Pulling feels a little uncomfortable at first, but if you're able to manage a Salt Water Flush, a mouth full of oil should be like a walk in the park. Just take some oil from your kitchen- olive oil, vegetable oil, I use Carotino- measure out a tablespoon, and swish it around your mouth for roughly twenty minutes. It's better to do this on an empty stomach in the morning, so if you're looking to prevent tooth sensitivity for the rest of the day, it might be an idea to do this before the Salt Water Flush. Best of all, you spit the oil out when you're finished, meaning it shouldn't interfere with your cleansing. Maybe the sensation of moving your mouth might even trick your brain into thinking you've eaten something? Who knows? Just rinse your mouth, pulling the oil through your teeth and using your tongue to help swill it about. The oil should take a whiter colour as it begins to pull the toxins from your mouth. I've yet to see the full effects but it might be that this process aids with the change of tongue colour supposed to be an indication of a completed cleanse. The tongue will go white and fuzzy when you're cleansing and should return to a pink colour when you're body knows it's done. My tongue always seems to be a little yellowish, for as-yet unidentified reasons, and I'm hoping the cleanse might help me overcome the affliction. When your twenty minutes of oil pulling are up, spit the oil out and rinse your mouth with water. If you feel a compulsion to swallow the oil, spit it out and start again. It's certainly helped me with the pain of sensitive teeth, and, who knows, might even help me fix my longstanding tongue problems. Exciting stuff, huh? I'll keep you posted... And because I'm never sure if written sarcasm comes off as sarcastic, I'd like to say that's what that comment most definitely was. Write to you later! Bye!!!!

Salt Water Failure!!!!

You know, I was definitely right to be most worried about the Salt Water Flush. As I said, I found the prospect more daunting than 10 days without food; after all, how long does an accidental taste of seawater stay in your mouth? Eurgh!!! Well, as the title suggests, I am here to admit that I really couldn't finish te Salt Water Flush. For those of you who don't know what the flush entails, it's a 'simple' case of mixing 2 tablespoons of non-iodized sea salt with 1 litre of warm water. I lined up the solution in three large glasses, stirred in a little lemon to aid the consumption, and brushed my teeth so I had a nice minty canvas to start with. The lemon didn't help. A straw, apparently meant to skip the solution over the salty part of your taste buds  made it taste different, but still weird  I'm guessing wanting to spit out salt water is part of human nature. The solution can't be digested in the stomach (that's why the flush works as well as it does), and can be taken as an aid to vomiting. Mmmm... I made it through roughly 1 large glass and could go no further. I'm sorry Master Cleanse. I really wanted to follow every last part to the letter. Luckily, the delicious Salt Water Flush is one of the few parts of the cleanse marked as 'optional' in the original booklet. I have decided instead to drink a laxative tea every other morning, as well as every night. The tea seems to work very well, and I can actually finish a cup without wanting to vomit. As for the salt water I did consume this morning, it has yet to take any effect. I'm not expecting much, since I only drank a third of what I was supposed to, but if it does have any effect on my bowel movements, I'll let you know. It sounds kind of creepy, but if you're anything like me, you'll want to know as much about the Master Cleanse process as you can before you get started! Write to you later. I'm off to scrub my tongue with a whole tube of toothpaste!!

Day 2 - So that's what the laxative tea's for!...

Good Morning! I woke up this morning with my alarm, not especially energised as some have reported but not super tired either. Having taken my laxative tea at 9 last night, I was ready to go pretty much straight away.

WARNING- graphic content ahead! I've never taken a laxative before, so I didn't know what to expect. In hindsight, it wasn't really that surprising. My movement was normal size but pretty much all liquid, with a few lumps towards the end. It didn't feel like I was going to the bathroom and the stool was a slightly yellow-brown colour.

Graphic content over. Sorry about that, I just thought I'd share because some of the euphemisms on Master Cleanse websites- 'mysterious dark solids', etc.- are, well, mysterious. I don't feel that hungry this morning, and since I didn't manage that Salt Water Flush, (which I did after visiting the bathroom. I think that's the right order) I went onto my first glass of lemonade. Six glasses seemed to work OK yesterday so I'm hoping to stick to that today. I'll write to you later, but right now, I'm off to begin my second experiment of the day. Since the Salt Water Flush failed so spectacularly  I'm going to see if my apparently healthy energy levels are enough to get me through an Insanity workout. I know that cleanse diets like this can lead to muscle wastage and I don't want to be completely un-toned at the end of my 10 days. See you later! Byeeee!!

The Master Cleanse - Day 1

Well that's day one over and I have to say- it isn't as difficult as I expected. I know, I know, it's only my second day on a liquid diet, but the foods I'm avoiding have become an integral part of my daily life. It's bizarre how I feel the need to eat the amount of rubbish I do, and how easy it was to show that to myself. Wow. That said, I have to be on the watch regarding maple syrup. This is the first time I've ever had it, and I have to say, I'm kind of starting to see what all the fuss is about. I'm allowing myself to lick the spoon after I've made lemonade, but every time I want the lemonade just for the taste of the syrup (I have a really sweet tooth), I make myself have water instead. Speaking of teeth, my teeth started hurting this morning after my first couple of glasses. I looked it up and found that it's probably the lemons (and yesterday's oranges) to blame. Hardly surprising really. I took a walk to the supermarket to pick up some straws and sensitive toothpaste, just in case, and was surprised to find that the walk didn't tire me. It's a sunny day here and I thought my calorie intake might wear me out on the 4 mile walk. But no- hey! I don't need so much after all. I don't know if I'm up to working out yet, I'll see how it goes this evening. I'm a devotee of Shaun T's Insanity programme and I don't want to flake out halfway through the session. Especially since I'm currently at uni; if I pass out in my room I don't think anyone's going to notice. I decided to try 6 glasses of lemonade a day. It's the lowest you can go and I think for me it's about right. I've supplemented that with 6 or 7 glasses of water and a cup of peppermint tea. The recipe I'm following per glass is 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 2 tbsp maple syrup, at least 1/10 tsp cayenne pepper, and warmish water to top up the glass. I'm also, of course, taking my laxative senna tea, which tastes pretty good and comes in individual packets. I love it when tea bags are individually wrapped. Ahhh... the tea itself seemed to work pretty well. I went to the bathroom this morning for a normal movement. I guess they start getting more...interesting... once the liquid diet really takes effect. I'm in for my first Salt Water Flush tomorrow as well. I think I might be as nervous at that as I am about the whole not eating thing. Ah well, take each day as it comes. The main thing is I'm feeling better, brighter and happier today, and I have to say, the sense of accomplishment I've had at the end of these past few days far outweighs the effects of any toxin-laden comfort foods. See you in the morning. For the Salt Water Flush. ... bleurgh!!!!!!

Day 0 - part 2

So, I'm back from my bike ride- only a short 7 miler with a couple of major hills- and I have to say, my energy isn't nearly as low as I thought it would be. I'm not as energised as some people have reported on their Cleanse diaries, but then again, I haven't started the lemonade yet. I'm guessing there's a pretty big difference between the energy in the lemonade mix than there is in orange juice and water- after all, I've yet to open the maple syrup! I did have to stop and grab a little cheat half way through the trip. I felt a little bad about it, but am still counting it as a personal achievement; normally I can't walk down the confectionary aisle without grabbing a few bargains, but today I managed to stop it at a little Kinder bar. Yay me! Although I like to think of myself as a generally healthy person, one thing I'm really hoping for out of the Master Cleanse is the ability to resist chocolate. It has become a full-blown compulsion for me, and even though I work it off, I know I can't keep putting those toxins in my body. Anyway, enough about that- the chocolate was a quick fix for tackling the final hill on the way home. Generally I'm finding the orange juice really refreshing. I don't feel physically hungry, and now that it's heading towards bedtime, I don't feel that mentally hungry either. I'm off to drink my first cup of laxative tea and head off to bed. I'm drinking Traditional Medicinals' Organic Smooth Move Tea, available on Amazon: 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000F7T92I/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And I'm keeping track of how much the Master Cleanse is costing me. As a student, I'm used to keeping a pretty close eye on what I spend, but I've got a feeling that this will end up cheaper than food. Especially if I'm able to resist the aforementioned chocolate bargains when the cleanse is over...hmmm, we can but dream. Good night!! I'll write you tomorrow for the first day of the Master Cleanse!!