Everything I’m not, made me everything I am

So I decided to re-commit to the Master Cleanser fasting program yet again. I failed myself and I failed my cause. I cannot let that happen again. If I had stuck to my original plan to fast between 09/01/07 to 10/10/07, I would have been well on my way to coming off the fast by now.

A combination of things made me quit:

1. I was not in the right mental state to complete the fast.

2. In a moment of weakness, I gave in to pressure from folks that were certain that they were saving me from myself.

3. I succumbed to my detox symptoms just when it was about to get easier.

From my past failure I did learn some valuable lessons:

1. Do the MC for all the right reasons and only when you are ready mentally for the challenge.

2. Tell no one of your fast and the reasons why until it is over or almost over

3. Meditate

Here is a snaphot of the how the MC is going so far:

Day 1

October 14th was the first day of the MC. I rested most of the day and then went for a 2 mile run at the track in the late afternoon. I them came back home and rested for the remainder of the day. I drank about 6 lemonades(LA) and plenty of water today. I drank the senna herbal tea at night and went to bed. I did not have any detox symptoms today, and it was fairly easy.

Day 2

I did the Salt Water Flush (SWF) in the morning and had a bowel movement (BM). I rested till about 10.30 am then I went to the gym and ran 2 miles on the treadmill. I then hit the sauna for about 20 minutes. I ran some errands which included buying more lemons and some Madhava Agave Nectar to substitute for the organic maple syrup. The Agave Nectar was really good. It has more nutritional value than the maple syrup with less sugar and better from a glycemic staindpoint. It’s awesome and I highly recommend it. It’s no wonder why I had zero hunger pangs today. I’m definately sticking with it. I went to my Muay Thaiclass late, but I managed to get through and hour of an intense workout. I seem to be drinking a lot of my LAs before, during and after my workouts to fuel them and mostly water during the day. I drank about 6 LAs today. I drank the senna laxative tea around 10pm. I started getting a slight headache before I fell asleep at night. Detox at last.

Well I made it to Day 5 of the cleanse. I have to say, so far so good. I woke up really tired so I skipped the morning run and the sauna. I did the salt water flush (SWF) this morning and I had a lot of stuff come out in the bowel movement (BM). It wasn’t the case the last few days where almost nothing came out. It’s kind of crazy to see the things that remain in your digestive tract after 5 days of no solid food. I had a cleansing crisis around 4pm with a headache that is still with me right now. I guess I’ll have to get through it.

I went the Muay Thai training at 7pm – 9pm today and I’m not really sure that was a very wise idea. I didn’t make it past 8pm and left for home partly because I was tired, and partly because I had work to finish up tonight. I’m not really hungry at all. Day 5 is supposed to be really hard, but except for my headache that started at 4pm, everything else is fine.

I’m starting to realize that I maybe shouldn’t tell anyone about my fast. It leads to a lot of askance looks and rolling of the eyes and sometimes of real concern. What I’m doing defies the general conventional wisdom I suppose and people are not used to that. Oh well…I’m soldiering on.

On to day 6

On September 1st 2007, I decided to go the Master Cleanser as a means to wean processed food and refined sugars out of my diet. I am not using this cleanse as a weight loss mechanism, but if I lose weight while I’m on it then more grease to my elbow. If you haven’t read the book, go to your local bookstore and pick it up. There is also a free copy of the plan in pdf form here

Day 1: was pretty difficult. I got up and did a 1 mile jog before my 9am Muay Thai training session. On saturday we have a 9am -10.30am session and then a 1pm – 3pm session. I did both. It wasn’t physically hard watching everyone else eating delicious smelling subway sandwiches around me, but it was mentally torturous to say the least. I had hunger pangs and headaches all day. I almost quit the whole thing by dinner time because I went to the movies and with all that popcorn and M & Ms everywhere, I almost broke down due to mental and not physical cravings. I just had to keep reminding myself that M & M’s don’t actually speak and weren’t calling my name. I stayed strong went home, drank the lax tea and went to bed.

Day 2: was just as bad as Day 1. I went to the gym to do a weight training workout, ran a mile and then hit the sauna for about 25 minutes. I felt a little light headed after the sauna, but I hear that it helps dispense toxins from the body, so I’m definately down with that. One of my co-workers decided that it was just the right time to give me a huge canister of UTZ mix. The canister reads that it’s “A savory blend of crunchy snacks”. I say it’s pure refined sugar. However, I almost blew my entire progress by rationalizing why and how I could get away with eating that crap. It wasn’t easy to contain myself, but contain myself I did. I went home, took a fat nap and then went to barnes and nobles to pick up some books. Day 3 has to be better right?

Day 3: was a better day. I had cravings, but they weren’t as intense as Day 1 and 2. I made it through the whole day drinking my lemon aid and water. The UTZ mix was also tempting as well, but it was all mental. I was not physically hungry at all. I went to Muay Thai training early this morning because it’s labor day. I ran a mile before the training session so I took it easy and did basically nothing the last 15 minutes of the 2 hr class. I’m honestly acting and behaving like I would normally do on any given day. I sometimes forget that I have no solid food in me when I go all out on my training.

I was shocked to come back home to find out that one of my brothers friends had made a “soul food feast”. Fried Chicken, collard greens, mac & cheese, cake etc etc. I was so salty. Needless to say, I almost blew my cleanse on the spot. I just sat there and dutifully drank my lemonade. Why does this happen only to me? On to day number 4.

I was going about my merry business at Whole Foods when I ran into a book called The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs. The book is basically about how the body can heal itself through fasting.

The purpose of The Master Cleanser (MC) is:

1. To dissolve and eliminate toxins and congestion that have formed in any part of the body.

2. To cleanse the kidneys and the digestive system.

3. To purify the glands and cells throughout the entire body.

4. To eliminate all unusable waste and hardened material in the joints and muscles.

5. To relieve pressure and irritation in the nerves, arteries, and blood vessels.

6. To build a healthy blood stream..

7. To relieve pressure and irritation in the nerves, arteries, and blood vessels.

8. To keep youth and elasticity regardless of our years.

Not bad for the body huh?

I’ve been following a great excercize regimen for the last 6 months (Muay Thai training), but I still struggle with the elimation of processed food from my diet. I am in desparate need to completely detoxifiy my body inside and out. I made a decision to go on the Master Cleanser for the minumum 10 day requirement on September 1st 2007. I will document my progress on the blog.

Wish me luck!