Master Cleanse 5 - Day 9!

Weight 166 (-.5 lbs)

It's day nine already. Time seems to take on a different pace on the cleanse because there aren't the usual markers around eating. Am only 1 pound away from my goal now. My tongue is almost pink today. That has never happened before. Yay! I'm a little tired in this video because I shot it late in the day rather than in the morning.

Master Cleanse 5 - Day 8

Weight 166.5! (-1.5 lbs)

Physically, I am doing great. I am not hungry. I didn't even have my lemonade until 1 pm today. I should not wait so long though. What I am noticing is that when I have stress, I do not have my normal way of helping to cope with it. I think I will start taking walks when I notice stress coming on because feeling like I don't know what to do, drives me nuts. Hope you enjoy today's blog.

Master Cleanse 5 - Day 7

Weight 168 (+.5 lbs)
I went up half a pound today but I am not worried about it and last time I did this cleanse, I plateaued right here also but after 3 days, I had another drop. Am feeling great. Hope you enjoy today's video.

Master Cleanse 4 - Day 6

Weight 167.5 (-7.5 total)

I'm over the half way point! Yippee! Am feeling much better today than yesterday. Plan to just sail on through to the end!

Master Cleanse 4 - Day 5

168.5 (-.5 lbs)

It's Day 5 - so I'm half way there... I am really wanting to eat all of the sudden. I don't think it's hunger..I think I just want to put food in my mouth and chew. So, I need to either go get myself busy doing something else so I forget about it...or drink more lemonade. The great thing is that I am making progress on my goal and what I really need to do is focus on that - the results of doing this, after all that is WHY I am doing this in the first place. I'm doing this to be more healthy, cleanse my system, and get my excess, unhealthy weight lowered in the process. Those things ARE happening so what I need to do is focus on that and be happy! And keep going!

Master Cleanse 4 - Day 4

169 (- .5 pound)

So here we are at Day 4. I've been very busy these last two days and the days feel like a blur. I am writing this post in the afternoon rather than the morning. I am more tired in the afternoons than the mornings although I seem to pep up toward night time. Am looking forward to Day 5 which will be my half way point. So far, so good! Onward!

Master Cleanse 4 - Day 3

Weight 169.5! (-5.5 lbs)

Today is day 3! Yesterday was an easy day. I expect today will be also. Here is my video for the day. I feel like my face is looking thinner.

Master Cleanse 4 - Day 2

171.5 (-3.5 lbs)

Day 2 has got to be my favorite day because after getting through Day 1, I get to wake up in the morning and weigh myself and I am never disappointed. I lost 3.5 pounds yesterday! Yes, I know this cleanse is for health and one great side effect that I love is weight loss. Here is my video post.


10:00 pm
It's the end of day 2. I made it through the day. I went to a place where there was food and I almost ate an avocado! I picked it up, looked at it, and then I put it down and ran away from the refrigerator. Am SO glad I stayed strong! Going to bed early and staying away from places where there is food is definitely part of my strategy so I'm going to need to work on how to strengthen myself when I need to be places where there is food around. Other than that, it was a pretty easy day. I find the cleanse tends to get easier the more days I do it, rather than the other way around.

Master Cleanse 4 - Day 1

175 lbs

So this is Day 1 of my cleanse for 2010. I did a cleanse at the end of 2009 for 14 days and looking back I wish I would have continued longer so I am going for it again. In those 14 days, I lost 18 pounds. Once I started eating food again, it actually didn't taste as great as it seemed like it would. I am getting within range of my target weight and this cleanse, besides being extremely healthy, is the best thing I've found that ALWAYS takes the pounds off of me. So... here I go. The most important things I've found toward my success are: Pre-make the mix and take it with me everywhere I go, find support like blogging or going to chat pages (www.therawfoodsite.com), and staying away from places where there will be pressure to eat. That is pretty much it. Oh - and drink, drink, drink the lemonade all day long. Do not skimp on it. I never measure it. I just drink as much as possible. Good luck!



It's 6 pm. I'm a little sleepy actually and ready for a hot bath and early evening. I tend to get cold more easily when I am doing the cleanse and I find that going to be earlier than normal helps me avoid the late night munchies. I spent the day cleaning house, organizing, and clearing out clutter. Once I get cleansing, I tend to want everything in my whole life to be cleansed, too. It's a big job but I made a dent today. Onward to tomorrow.

Master Cleanse 2 - Day 9

159.5 (-12 pounds)

Ok - Monday I didn't write my post and guess what..... Ughhh..... Monday I lost it for about ten minutes around 7:30 pm and ate some green beans and almonds. All I can say is that I let myself get a little stressed out and I decided that I was so hungry I just couldn't wait anymore. To tell the truth, I'm not entirely sure just how hungry I was because I haven't felt terribly hungry while I've been doing this. But that is what my mind frick said to me when I was low on self-control. It got the best of me and I gave in.

Surprisingly, the food didn't taste that good and it didn't feel good after I ate it. More than anything, I felt guilty about it. I certainly didn't like the idea of writing about it on my blog, but I didn't think about the blog while I was scarfing almonds. My mind frick forgot to remind me about admitting it and being honest on my blog.

So, I lost it for about 10 minutes but have since stayed true. I think I can use this as a learning experience for other areas in my life. In the past when I have gone against my word on something, diet or exercise or whatever, I've decided that I've now failed entirely and then I've dropped what I've been doing. This time, I am choosing to look at this like tripping. So I tripped and crashed. So what? I'm still here. I can either beat myself for it and quit or I can just accept that I screwed up and keep going. I'm keeping going. Believe it or not, that is a break through.

This is Day 9. Tomorrow is my last scheduled day! I'm not sure what that is going to feel like. I'll let you know...

Master Cleanse 2 - Day 8

159.5 !!!! (-12 pounds)

I am writing this post a day late (sorry) but I want to comment on day 8. Day 8 was Monday.

I tend to write this blog first thing in the morning and comment about the day before - so Sunday turned out to be rather interesting. I was SO tired. I ran an errand in the morning and then came home and went to bed. I had plenty of things I needed to do but I just didn't feel like I had energy to get anything done. So, rather than fighting it I decided to just go with it and rest. I think I slept until something like 1:30 in the afternoon. I even began to wonder if I was depressed because that is how my body felt. It was not a good feeling at all.

Later in the day, I phoned my friend who is also doing the cleanse and learned that on day 5 and 6, she had been feeling similar to how I was now on day 8. That made me feel better. We also talked about how daunting 10 days feels. We both agree that doing this cleanse for 5 days would feel much more doable than 10. So far, we're hanging in there. She cheated a few bites of food on day 5 but she got right back on track and is continuing.

Sunday was father's day and I spent a little time at my parent's house in the evening. I phoned my mom ahead of time and let her know to PLEASE not offer me food. She had lemon and maple at her house so we ended up drinking lemon and maple together. By the evening, my energy level was perfect. I had tons of it. I came home and again, was barely able to get to sleep. I have no idea what that is about. It seems like I spend most of the day feeling tired and then by nighttime I'm just not tired anymore. My heart rate also seems to be high at night. Hmmm...

Master Cleanse 2 - Day 7

160 lbs (-11 1/2 lbs)

Yesterday was Saturday and I felt pretty wiped out. I got some chores done in the morning then I decided to read and I fell asleep for a couple hours in the afternoon. A friend of mine and I were trying to think of something fun to do yesterday and we both kept forgetting we were on the cleanse. (She's doing it, too.) There was a bar-b-que we could have gone to. Actually, we probably should have gone and enjoyed the people.

I am feeling a little bit isolated. A part of me really wants to get out and be around people and another part of me wants to crawl into my bed and sleep through the next three days to get this cleanse over with. (I do get to work and I don't get to sleep through my life so the bed for the next three days is not an option.)

So, I'm not sure what this low energy is about. I actually think it is because I've been home for the last several days by myself and normally I would get out to the coffee house or have lunch with someone, or have breakfast with my parents. Getting around people always boosts me up and it is interesting to notice how much being out there in public often revolves around food.

But anyway, so far so good. I only have three days left to go. I have not had a single bite of food in all this time. This morning I was feeding carrots to my horse and I was biting off pieces for her so she wouldn't inhale the carrot in one bite. I usually eat some of the carrot, too and it was my habit to expect to eat some. But something in my mind kicked in and reminded me not to eat it. It makes me wonder just how much of my actions are done out of habit.

Master Cleanse 2 - Day 6

161 (-10.5 lbs)

I have decided I am a lame brain. I almost ate last night. I opened the refrigerator and started looking around and I could hear my mind frick talking. "Just a little cheese won't hurt you. It's low carb. You can eat that." There were cucumbers that had been in there for a while and thank God they had started to mold. I shut the door and went to bed.

I didn't drink enough lemon yesterday. I had a relatively busy day and I just sort of forgot about it. I did walk in the evening again with the same friend I went with last time. We walked for close to two hours. I am feeling the soreness in my legs.

Oh, but a really great thing I've forgotten to mention is that I've been testing my ketones with ketostix (You hold the stick in your urine while you pee, and depending on the color it turns, it indicates if your body is burning fat.) According to my sticks, my body is burning fat in a solid way. The sticks come out 'moderate' which is a deep purple color.

Another reason I'm a lame brain is that I am all the way down to the bottom of the 160's. This is exactly the point when I would sabotage myself. I know this cleanse is a cleanse and that weight loss is just a bi-product but my brain, no it's my mind frick again, would try to convince me to give up and not get myself into the 150's. My ultimate perfect weight is about 145. I'm 5'9'' and 145 has me 21.4 bmi. (Today I am at 23.8 and that's not bad either.)

Yesterday, I was cleaning up my computer and I ran across old photos of myself from several years ago when I was really heavy. At the time, I didn't even realize how heavy I was. I just want to stick with this cleanse. I am so close. My plan is to complete the entire 10 days. That will likely have me into the 150's. After a break for a few days, I want to do it for however many days it takes to get me down to 145. Then I'll need to figure out how to maintain myself. I was eating fruits, vegetables, and nuts for several weeks before starting the cleanse and I do enjoy eating that way. I think I'll blog about maintaining the weight, too. Blogging is really helping my head to stay focused.

If anyone reading this would like to add a comment, it would be great to hear from you. I want to encourage anyone who wants to feel better in their life to give this a shot. I truly do feel better on so many levels, especially in pride in myself for taking this on and not giving up.

Master Cleanse 2 - Day 5

162 lbs (-9.5 lbs)

Wow... I'm on day 5! I'm at the half way point. To tell the truth, this is feeling very easy. In many ways it is easier than eating. I don't have to think about what I am going to eat, I don't have to do much grocery shopping, I don't have to cook, and there are essentially no dishes to wash!

Yesterday, I bought new jeans. I bought a size 12 but I also bought a size 10 because I'm not sure if by the time this cleanse is over, if I will need the smaller size. I went to Costco and managed to stear clear of those little food sampling stations. I am doing so well.

Another thing that is happening is that other people are noticing a change in me. One of my friends wanted to know what I was doing and so did my mom. Yesterday, I bought lemons and maple syrup for them and they are starting, too - at least they say they are.

It's funny, because I was truly afraid to start this cleanse. I did not think that 10 days was a possibility but now that I am doing it, it is so easy. I feel fine plus the extra weight I have been carrying for years is just dropping off of me. Now I am wondering why I wasted so much time struggling with slow methods of weight loss.

Do you realize I am almost through the 160's? I am a day or so away from the 150's. I have a piece of paper in my bathroom with weights written on it from when I spent several weeks on a low carb diet. It says, 174, 173.5, 173, 173, - day after day, I ate low to no carb for something like 5 weeks and the lowest weight I got to was 167.5 but I leveled out around 170. That took weeks.

Psychologically, my brain gets stuck at certain weights - it's my mind more than it is my body. This lemonade method creates such rapid results that my brain doesn't have time to get attached to any numbers. I didn't even see 171, 170, or 169. They didn't even show up on my scale. I didn't see 168 or 167. I just skipped over them. I don't have to lose weight one painful half pound every few days and then eat one Chinese dinner and gain three pounds of water retention and feel like I didn't accomplish anything. I am creating results. My body looks better, my body feels better and I am only half way finished. I can't wait, actually, to see where I end up on this. I will definitely see the 150s. That just blows my mind!

Second go - Day 4

163 lbs (-8.5 lbs)

Yesterday got really challenging around 5 pm. I drank the lemon all day like i was supposed to and then later in the day, I took a walk. Part of the time, my work involves people and horses and yesterday a boy and I decided to take one of the horses for a walk. The problem was it was hot and the horse was being a little bit pushy and required me to exert extra energy in order to lead her. By the time I got home, not only was I wiped out but I started getting a headache in my temples.

I've read that other people have taken Advil and such things to assist with the pain so I did that and I'm glad I did. Shortly thereafter, I felt pretty good. I got home around 8:30 in the evening and then met up with a friend who was taking an evening stroll. The two of us walked about 4 miles and I returned home at nearly 11 pm! We walked for atleast 2 hours!

My knees were a little achey by the time I got home but what I am finding very unusual is that I am having a lot of energy at night. Normally, 9 o'clock rolls around and my body just seems to shut down all by itself but on this cleanse, I am like the energizer bunny in the evening. This morning I woke up before 6 am with no alarm. Crazy, huh?

So, I'm excited I made it to Day 4. I'm still committed for the entire 10 days. The exciting thing is that tomorrow will be my half way point. I am really hopeful that the hardest days are behind me. Last time day 2 was tough. This time day 3 was tough.

And I'm definitely looking thinner - even I can see the difference.

Second go - Day 3

165.5 (-6 lbs)

Wow... this is incredible. I feel great. I'm a little bit bored with drinking but on one hand, it is easier than preparing food, it does taste good, and the weight loss side effect is so nice. I purchased a different laxative tea and this one is much better than the one I had originally. The first one I used was called Super Dieters Tea and it cramped my intestines and felt like it was hurting me. I don't know what was in it because i no longer have the box.

This new one has Senna in it and the directions say to make it mild for the first day or two. I've had no trouble at all with this tea. I'll get the name of it.

So here we go on Day 3 of the Master Cleanse lemonade diet. I am almost certain that day 3 will be easier than Day 2. Several people have asked me if I'm thinner and it's so fun to be able to reply with, Yes!

Second go - Day 2

168 lbs (-3.5 pounds)

Here I am at the end of Day 2. I actually feel just peachy. I am so pleased that I did the first 4 day cleanse. It has made this time round fairly simple. I do not have any negative side effects, no headache, very little fatige, no hunger. I just need to remember to drink often enough - I feel so normal it is easy to forget.

I am very happy to do this the whole ten days this time. I did record myself on video today and I was surprised that I looked pretty good! So, day 2 is done. I did the tea both morning and night and I definitely prefer that.

So far so good. Looking forward to Day 3 tomorrow!

Second go - Day 1

171.5

Here I go again. It was actually disappointing a little bit to stop the cleanse but it was also nice to eat. I noticed how much more mindful I was about the eating decisions I made. There were many stops at gas stations and fast food and I am proud to say, I actually made good decisions. I could always find salad at fast food but about the only thing I could find at the gas station that was a real food was peanuts and raisins.

I also noticed that I felt thinner and I liked that feeling a lot. My weight has popped up according to the scale but I don't trust what the scale says this time. While I was gone, it was super hot and I retained water badly. I almost always retain water when I travel and within a day or two of returning home, the weight drops right off.

So, day one has been a breeze actually. I'm looking forward to this cleanse this time and I'm not feeling nervous about it this time. I planned on videoing myself today but I don't have a camera until tomorrow. I'm excited. Here we go...

Oh, and I did the salt water flush this morning. It wasn't horrible and it did cause me to have to use the bathroom but I think I will stick with the herbal laxative tea instead. The book says to use either one or the other and the herbal tea is so much more palatable than the salt water.

Master cleanse - Day 4

166 pounds (-6 pounds!)

Well here it is day 4! Believe it or not, I am feeling better now that i have been doing this cleanse longer. Yesterday, I was a little hungry here and there but as soon as I drank the lemonade, I felt fine again. Today, I woke up at 5:30 ready to get up! That is completely unlike me. The first few days, I felt like I had some brain fuzziness. That feels much less today.

I am also noticing how empowered I feel. I decided on day 2 that I would do this cleanse for 4 days and then do fruits and vegetables while I am traveling with friends for 4 days. I am now feeling a little disappointed about stopping after today. I am realizing that it is not so difficult to keep my word to myself. I have not cheated at all - and that feels really great! So, I'll check back in, either later today but definitely tomorrow morning.

If you are thinking about doing this cleanse, just do it. It is not so difficult. It is not easy but it is completely doable. Once the first day or two is done, it gets easier and the rewards are massive. I used to wish I could just work really hard at losing weight and get it handled but usually weight loss has to be long and slow - I hate that. This is a way to just get it handled. It doesn't take long and it does work!

Master Cleanse - Day 3

9:00 am 167.5 (-4.5 lbs)

Happily, I'm feeling much better today. My energy feels normal again, am not feeling fuzzy or exhausted. I'm not even that hungry but I need to hurry up and go get my lemon drink for the day. So far, so good. Day three seems like it will be no problem at all. I'm actually very happy that I am doing this!