The most recent happening I wish to share is my experience on the Master Cleanse. For those of you who have not heard of the Master Cleanse, this is a "colon cleanse" also known as the "Lemonade Diet". The average time-frame for this cleanse is about 10 days. I actually made it to about 9 1/2 days. The cleanse is simple, and it works. The hardest part is making your mind up to stay focused and just do it. The first couple of days are also hard since you do experience major detox symptoms.
I started the cleanse on 3/18/09 in the evening by drinking a laxative herbal tea called Smooth Move. The next morning and every morning after throughout the cleanse, I consumed a "salt flush" drink made of 2 teaspoons sea salt and a large 12oz glass of purified water. Then I would have the herbal laxative tea again. I drank nothing but the special lemonade concoction made of 2T fresh lemon juice, 2 T organic maple syrup grade B, 1/10 tsp of cayenne pepper (sometimes a little more), and 8oz water. I would drink anywhere from 6-12 glasses of this stuff depending upon the day and how I felt. Then at night I would have the herbal laxative tea again just right before bedtime. Believe it or not, you don't feel hungry. You do feel energized by the third and fourth day. The only thing that I really dealt with was the emotional part of not being able to eat my favorite raw food treats. I was definitely able to maintain without breaking down, and did find pleasure in preparing foods for my family without feeling deprived. However, by the weekend (day 9 1/2) I was ready for the break.
As I said before, the first couple of days were tough. The detoxing I experienced wasn't severe but still uncomfortable. I did have some headaches, a lot of watery bowel movements - most of the 9 days, and some cramping. In the beginning I had some flu-like symptoms too. My tongue was actually completely white on the third day - very gross! It hasn't been that way since. The cool part is I feel so light, my body feels fresh, I lost 11 pounds of the weight I had gained back, and my skin was smooth.
Now breaking the fast was also an experience. One thing I have to say before I go into the details of day 9 and how I broke my fast a little after that...is, if you do this cleanse I recommend that you make time for yourself to be close to home, with not a lot of things to distract you or put you in a situation that will make it so you can't handle your detox symptoms. I spent all day 9 at a drumline competition with my son. We were gone from 8:00am till past midnight! Although I made my lemonade and brought it along with water, I didn't want to drink too much and have to deal with toilet issues. So I just drank enough to stay hydrated, but not enough to have detox issues. Anyway, by the time we got home I was so tired, somewhat hungry, and bored and depleted - didn't want my lemonade, that I decided to break the fast. It was also 2:00am in the morning. I should have had juice, but I was craving salt, and ended up binging on a couple of cups of organic corn chips (sea salt, corn, sunflower oil - baked). These were good, but gave me a tummy ache. Then I made the mistake of having about 1/4 bottle of Kombucha tea (a favorite of mine), which caused more detox issues. Needless to say today, Sunday (Day 10), I chose to drink the juice of one orange, and then drank water all day long until about an hour ago. I then made a Hawaiian papaya smoothie, and I did manage to eat 4 pieces of my son's sushi - it was too good to pass up, and a piece of a Righteously Raw Maca bar! I still am going to take it easy, cause my stomach has shrunk, and my body only wants a little bit of food. So, I'll keep you posted.
Originally I wanted to break the fast and go into a juice feast for a couple of days, but obviously I wasn't committed to that...
Overall I felt that the cleanse was definitely worth my time. I realized a lot of things about myself, including that when I truly put my mind to something I can achieve the results I want. I also realized that food truly is an emotional part of my make-up. I view it as an art, as a treasure, as a form of security, and so forth. However, I realize also that there are other things I can use for these feelings in place of food, and that food is strictly to feed my body. You'll laugh but I checked out a bunch of raw books from the library, and was writing down recipes the whole time I was fasting! Talk about teasing!
While fasting I did prepare some raw treats for my family to help them naturally detox a bit from their normal way of eating. I made delicious raw granola. I got the recipe from Raw Food World and changed it up a bit. I also made some delicious salads too. Today I went to Whole Foods and the Asian market and purchased a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables - I'm all ready for a raw week! So I'll definitely have some recipe ideas to share here pretty soon. I'm also planning on doing my first video clip on the variety of raw chocolate bars that are out there - which I think will be fun! I'm still updating my website every chance I get. I want it to be a real source of information for everyone. So check it out when you can. Let me know what you think. Visit www.rawrifficfood.com.
I'm just about finished reading The Law of Attraction, and the 80/10/10 Diet. I also started reading Money and the Law of Attraction. I hope to give you quick reviews when I'm done.
Well for now, that's it. Peace to all!
Debbie :)
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