Anyone ever done the Master Cleanse?

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

My girlfriend in N.C. just hit the month mark.

She did it to break sugar & salt addiction.
She has lost 3 sizes & 30lbs....Not going to say if I'm for it or against it but she feels great & has enormous energy!

Whoops needed to add the 3rd day she had a horrible headache & ended up staying in bed. Her twin is now on day 3 & is having the same experience.

 

[Scurvy]

My girlfriend in N.C. just hit the month mark.

She did it to break sugar & salt addiction.
She has lost 3 sizes & 30lbs....Not going to say if I'm for it or against it but she feels great & has enormous energy!

Wait. . . she's seriously been doing that cleanse for a month?! My friend did it for a few days and ended up in the emergency room, and everything I've read says it's extremely dangerous to do it for over 10 days. There isn't even any protein in this cleanse. How is she still functioning? And how on earth does she have any energy?

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Wait. . . she's seriously been doing that cleanse for a month?! My friend did it for a few days and ended up in the emergency room, and everything I've read says it's extremely dangerous to do it for over 10 days. There isn't even any protein in this cleanse. How is she still functioning? And how on earth does she have any energy?

It was a month Wednesday......she says she feels terrific.

 

[Guy Incognito]

my 2 cents.... clense/detox diets are bunk.... if you eat right and get regular exercise, you don't need that other stuff....


if you go on some liquid diet, your body will go into starvation mode to protect itself and your metabolism will slow considerably.... you might lose weight, but it can end up being muscle weight as well as fat weight.... and when you go back to eating normally, you're more likely to gain back the weight, since your metabolism hasn't kicked back into gear.

just cut out the junk food/sodas/other garbage; eat plenty of fruits/veggies/proteins and start a regular exercise program..... it'll be better for you in the long run.

 

[rie'smom]

It's nasty--if you can google you can find images. (google master cleanse pictures)


But imagine the tongs used in a buffet line to serve your food.

Those type of tongs are what folks use to get these things out of the toilet that cannot be flushed. It looks like the shape of your colin and is really long.

As much of that as is coming out of the bottoms of these people--it makes me wonder if it is a "Bigfoot" kind of thing. To be THAT stopped up and it taking 2 weeks of a cleanse to get all that come out looking so dang perfect...it just blows my mind.

That is the lining of the intestine. Some cleanses are harsh and actually remove the lining. Sounds fun?

It was a month Wednesday......she says she feels terrific.

Your friend sounds like she may be bulimic. Many people are under the impression that bulimia is only about vomiting but it isn't. Taking anything for an extended period that makes you poop and over exercising are also forms of bulimia.

There's a high that bulimics get from having 'control' over what goes into and out of their bodies. The terrific feeling could that high.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

It's nasty--if you can google you can find images. (google master cleanse pictures)


But imagine the tongs used in a buffet line to serve your food.

Those type of tongs are what folks use to get these things out of the toilet that cannot be flushed. It looks like the shape of your colin and is really long.

As much of that as is coming out of the bottoms of these people--it makes me wonder if it is a "Bigfoot" kind of thing. To be THAT stopped up and it taking 2 weeks of a cleanse to get all that come out looking so dang perfect...it just blows my mind.

That's seems to be nonsense.

 

[Scurvy]

Your friend sounds like she may be bulimic. Many people are under the impression that bulimia is only about vomiting but it isn't. Taking anything for an extended period that makes you poop and over exercising are also forms of bulimia.

There's a high that bulimics get from having 'control' over what goes into and out of their bodies. The terrific feeling could that high.

That's what I just found also. I started googling when I couldn't figure out how someone could function after a month of only consuming water, salt and simple sugars and I found lots of stuff about bulimics who get hooked on the cleansing. That's very disturbing! I think at a minimum you'd be in really bad shape physically after that amount of time, and if someone actually followed the cleanse strictly for that long they could literally be starving themselves to death. I'd be very concerned if one of my loved ones was doing something like that to themselves!

 

[manning]

As a start eat a balance diet and go for a half hour walk. Start slow. You will be surprised how easy it is as you change your habits. Slowly increase your walk or start running if you like that.

One thing I got out of the army was how to exercise. Everyone thinks you have to start runining full tilt. When we arrived for basic training they walked us a couple of miles to our barracks. Then they walked us each day for about five days. This took place about a half hour each day in the morning. Then we would walk 25 min and run five for a day or two. about every 3-4 days the running would increase five minutes a day and the walking would decrease.

That's the way to handle it. Start slow. You'll be surprised how easy it is.

With eating, eat a little bit of everything and cut back.

 

[LindaR]

To the OP, perhaps you should look into Weight Watchers. It is not about eating prepared (food that's sent to you) foods. WW is learning about portion control (you CAN eat just about anything!) and making better choices.

The thing with these fads is that.....YES you may have a big weight loss in a very short period of time.....but it's not long term! At some point you need to LEARN how to make good choices on your own. How to NOT use food as comfort/rewards/etc.

Weight Watchers offers SUPPORT........and for LOTS of people, that's REALLY what is needed. Anyone can learn portion control, counting calories, exercise, etc. on their own......people to talk to when something is going wrong and you are tempted to comfort yourself with food.

There is a healthy way to lose weight. Permanently. But it's up to you to choose sucessful long-term weight loss and how to become healthy over the "get-rich-quick" type of thing that does NOT last and does NOT teach YOU how to live a better life.

YOU have to decide. YOU have to do it.

Good luck.

 

[momrek06]

I see Ads in the local OC newspapers for colon cleansing quite often. Out of curiosity what does this cost??? Reading all these posts, it sounds very risky to your health.

 

[Tess]

After all the whining I do over a prep for colonoscopy and dealing with colitis--I can't imagine bringing it on yourself! Why don't you just do an OTC colonoscopy prep and you might change your mind about a "colon cleanse". I guarantee you will be clean. . .

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

That's what I just found also. I started googling when I couldn't figure out how someone could function after a month of only consuming water, salt and simple sugars and I found lots of stuff about bulimics who get hooked on the cleansing. That's very disturbing! I think at a minimum you'd be in really bad shape physically after that amount of time, and if someone actually followed the cleanse strictly for that long they could literally be starving themselves to death. I'd be very concerned if one of my loved ones was doing something like that to themselves!

Cleansing on those cases are just a substitute for laxatives.

While I have never consider it--it makes sense. And for the "health-conscious" bulimic--"everyone else is doing it, so it can't be that bad".

And since "normal folks" are doing it--they probably use that as a justification for their actions.

 

[XTinabell]

My girlfriend in N.C. just hit the month mark.

She did it to break sugar & salt addiction.
She has lost 3 sizes & 30lbs....Not going to say if I'm for it or against it but she feels great & has enormous energy!

Whoops needed to add the 3rd day she had a horrible headache & ended up staying in bed. Her twin is now on day 3 & is having the same experience.

Um 30 lbs in ONE month is NOT healthy.

To the OP, I also had a junk food addiction and tried to kick the habit by allowing myself one day a week for junk and that's it. Then only twice a month, now I don't even care if I eat junk food and it doesn't haunt me like it used to and my stomach feels much better. Just thought you might like to hear another alternative.

 

[dodukes]

OP, I actually have been contemplating the cleanse now for a couple of months. I have 2 people who I know, one better than the other as the other is a coworker of my friend, have done this cleanse and also have done it multiple times. The coworker claims that her really bad cramps during her time of month are now gone. My friend is vegan and I'm not sure if she did that after one of her cleanses or not but she appears perfectly healthy and so does the co worker. So on that end, I dont think you're going to die or be terribly ill afterwards but like everything, everybody's body is different. My friend did say that one time she stopped it cuz she felt kinda funny, so I would say listen to your body while you are on it.

I did a lot of research online, pros and cons, as well as talking to her and decided that its something I'd like to try. I have really bad eczema on my hands and allergies up the wazzoo. She firmly believes that it will at least take care of the hands and I agree. From research on my hands its shown that it comes from inside (at least thats what most of us believe) its a reaction to something in your body. I have dyshidriotic eczema (and yes i know i probably misspelled it, I alway do!) So anyway, just label me another fad person or whatever but I think this is something you need to be mentally prepared for and relaly listen to what you believe after doing your research and if you feel really off after you start then stop.

There's a board if you google master cleanse that deals with raw foods that has a whole board and people who have done it and are doing it, i just registered myself to be able to ask and what not.

With that being said, today is DAY ONE of my dealing with the cleanse. I'll tell you it was rough!...I am by nature a foodie. I LOVE food! So it was realy hard to not physically eat something, i was daydreaming with hamburgers and french fries and when lunch came around my coworkers ordered pizza and that was almost the end of it. But in any case I really have not felt bad per say, a little hungry but I'm not sure if its acualy hunger or obsession and craving with food. Cuz if I take sips of the lemonade the stomach thing goes away. I have also drank ALOT of water, needless to say make sure you have acces to a bathroom cuz all that water has to exit. Also the only "thing" I have felt is a little lightheadedness but I'm not overly concerned today about it because one day wont hurt me and I didnt sleep really good last night so it could be a little of that mixed in.

I have not yet done the salt water flush, that will be in the morning. I did not do one today nor willi be drinking the laxative tea at night. I belive from everything I read that this is acceptable.

I will try to remember to post tomorrow night to see how it goes, if it goes at all!..lol

 

[rie'smom]

Um 30 lbs in ONE month is NOT healthy.

To the OP, I also had a junk food addiction and tried to kick the habit by allowing myself one day a week for junk and that's it. Then only twice a month, now I don't even care if I eat junk food and it doesn't haunt me like it used to and my stomach feels much better. Just thought you might like to hear another alternative.

Another BIG problem with suach a long cleanse is the loss of electrolytes. It's likely that someone doing this may end up having a heart attack.

 

[denisenh]

i ate a few bowls of grape nut cereal one day (because i love it) and i felt pretty empty when all was said and done. maybe that will work?

 

[Green Tea]

Holy Crap! I'm blind now. I googled.

It look like these folks lost something pretty important. I don't know what it was, but it looked like it should have stayed inside.

 

[castleview]

My sister did the a 3 day cleanse. I think the only thing she drank was lemon juice with Grade B syrup and honey. Yuck! That was hard enough.

Honestly, OP, I would just jack up the fruits, vegetables, salads, and smoothies instead of depriving yourself. Add some flax seed to yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast several times a week and that will "cleanse" you. Roast some garlic and use it as a spread on chicken and veggies (that will clean the blood stream too).

The Master Cleanse sounds unnecessary to me and the people I know that do it a few times a year have borderline eating disorders (just my opinion). You still need vitamins, anti-oxidants, polyphenols, etc. from food.

 

[Ember]

You don't need to clean the inside of your body, your body does a perfectly good job of doing that all on its own. Drinking plenty of water is sufficient to rid the body of waste and toxins. Your kidneys and liver were designed to naturally detoxify your body. The kidneys and liver naturally rid the body of harmful substances and allows for “good” toxins to remain and help the body to function. The use of the Master Cleanse is harmful in that it disrupts and interferes with the liver and kidneys abilities to do their regular processes.

I know I'm probably stepping over the line here, but it's like reading that someone wants to see what it's like to be in a car crash and seeing people giving tips on how what angle to best hit the brick wall! Please listen to the posters that are recommending safe and sensible ways to make your body feel better.

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but please be cognizant of some of the risks you are putting your body through:

As part of the Master Cleanse it is suggested to drink a quart of salt water every day and to drink a laxative concoction at night. This mixture cause the fluid in your intestines to be drawn out and purged as waste. In doing this, the body is purged of electrolytes that are important and necessary to the body. Electrolytes help to regulate your body and keeps the body’s system in balance. If there is a severe imbalance of electrolytes, it could result in cardiac arrest.

Since the Master Cleanse requires only the liquid to be consumed for a good amount of time, your body will be deprived of essential nutrients and your body could rebel and you could end in a state of ketosis. Ketosis is what is referred to as chronic starvation. Due to the significant low calorie intake of the Master Cleanse, the body is thrust into a state called ketosis acidosis, which results in an excess of acid that is harmful to the body. Other negative side effects of using the Master Cleanse include diarrhea, being extremely lethargic, vomiting, severe weakness and fainting.

Because you lose lean muscle mass using the Master Cleanse because you’re not getting all of the proper nutrients that the body needs. Having a lower muscle mass means you won’t burn calories as efficiently. Since the Master Cleanse results in drastic and rapid weight loss, when you start to eat again, the weight will come back. Since being on the Master Cleanse means depriving yourself of food, your body will hold on to as many calories and nutrients it needs to in order to build that muscle mass back up.

The Master Cleanse drops your metabolism drastically. Since you’re only drinking the Master Cleanse liquid concoction, your metabolism will be lowered. Once you go back to eating normally, you’ll need to eat less calories than you normally would, until your metabolism stabilizes again. If you eat more calories right after using the Master Cleanse, the weight will come back quickly.

Again, I'm sorry for posting something you obviously don't want to hear. But just because something has been around since the 40's doesn't means it's safe, it means it's persistent. Also keep in mind that just because something temporarily makes your body feel good, also doesn't mean it's good for you. Alcohol and drugs are a great example of this.

 

[momrek06]

You don't need to clean the inside of your body, your body does a perfectly good job of doing that all on its own. Drinking plenty of water is sufficient to rid the body of waste and toxins. Your kidneys and liver were designed to naturally detoxify your body. The kidneys and liver naturally rid the body of harmful substances and allows for “good” toxins to remain and help the body to function. The use of the Master Cleanse is harmful in that it disrupts and interferes with the liver and kidneys abilities to do their regular processes.

I know I'm probably stepping over the line here, but it's like reading that someone wants to see what it's like to be in a car crash and seeing people giving tips on how what angle to best hit the brick wall! Please listen to the posters that are recommending safe and sensible ways to make your body feel better.

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but please be cognizant of some of the risks you are putting your body through:

As part of the Master Cleanse it is suggested to drink a quart of salt water every day and to drink a laxative concoction at night. This mixture cause the fluid in your intestines to be drawn out and purged as waste. In doing this, the body is purged of electrolytes that are important and necessary to the body. Electrolytes help to regulate your body and keeps the body’s system in balance. If there is a severe imbalance of electrolytes, it could result in cardiac arrest.

Since the Master Cleanse requires only the liquid to be consumed for a good amount of time, your body will be deprived of essential nutrients and your body could rebel and you could end in a state of ketosis. Ketosis is what is referred to as chronic starvation. Due to the significant low calorie intake of the Master Cleanse, the body is thrust into a state called ketosis acidosis, which results in an excess of acid that is harmful to the body. Other negative side effects of using the Master Cleanse include diarrhea, being extremely lethargic, vomiting, severe weakness and fainting.

Because you lose lean muscle mass using the Master Cleanse because you’re not getting all of the proper nutrients that the body needs. Having a lower muscle mass means you won’t burn calories as efficiently. Since the Master Cleanse results in drastic and rapid weight loss, when you start to eat again, the weight will come back. Since being on the Master Cleanse means depriving yourself of food, your body will hold on to as many calories and nutrients it needs to in order to build that muscle mass back up.

The Master Cleanse drops your metabolism drastically. Since you’re only drinking the Master Cleanse liquid concoction, your metabolism will be lowered. Once you go back to eating normally, you’ll need to eat less calories than you normally would, until your metabolism stabilizes again. If you eat more calories right after using the Master Cleanse, the weight will come back quickly.

Again, I'm sorry for posting something you obviously don't want to hear. But just because something has been around since the 40's doesn't means it's safe, it means it's persistent. Also keep in mind that just because something temporarily makes your body feel good, also doesn't mean it's good for you. Alcohol and drugs are a great example of this.

Great post, Ember!