This is a documentation of my progress on The Master Cleanse. I decided to do this cleanse as a method of detoxification and a path to healthier eating habits. This page documents my 40 day fast from February 25th 2008 – April 4th 2008 and a few days post the cleanse.

Resources

1. You can purchase the book The Master Cleanser by Stanley Boroughs on amazon.com or your local health food store. You can also find a free copy here.
2. If you need motivation and support please visit The Master Cleanser Forum. There is great support and advice on that forum. Also you can find all the answers to any questions you may have right there. It will be your best friend should you decide to do the cleanse.
3. To understand all the Stages of fasting go here:
4. To understand how to properly go off the Master Cleanse go here

The Ingredients

The ingredients below make 1 glass of lemonade. The book suggests taking between 6 -12 glasses a day. So if you want 6 glasses, multiply by 6 and so on.

Lemonade

1. 2 Tablespoons of Organic lemon juice.
2. 2 Tablespoons of Organic Grade B Maple Syrup
3. 10 oz of distilled or pure spring water
4. 1/10th of a teaspoon of Organic cayenne pepper

The book also requires the flushing of waste from the system this is done by the following:

1. Organic Laxative Tea such as Senna or Smooth move every night before bed.
2. Salt Water Flush in the morning which consists of: 2 teaspoons of uniodized sea salt in 32 oz of water.
3. If you cannot do the Salt Water flush, then it is recommended that you drink the laxative tea twice a day.

What I’m doing

1. I take 6 Lemonades everyday, but with only 1 tablespoon of maple syrup per glass.
2. I do the SWF occasionally and when I don’t, I do the laxative tea twice a day as recommended.
3. I try to drink as much water as I can.
4. I am exercising about 5 times a week. Cardio everyday and weight training 3 times a week.
5. I am not doing my beloved Muay Thai, because it’s too intense a sport to do during a cleanse…..sniffle.
6. My start weight on February 25th was 271lbs.
7. I am starting this progress report from Day 10 because the first 10 days of any cleanse are pretty identical. Headaches, nausea, irritability, hunger, possible insomnia and all out grouchiness. Then it all goes silent and then you start truly dealing with yourself.

Here we go:
 
Day 10

I’ve quit trying to be the perfect little Master Cleanser and just rolled with it. For instance, I don’t juice my lemons everyday fresh. Sometimes I juice the lemons for a couple of days and keep it in the refrigerator and then just make the lemonade fresh everyday. If I feel that the SWF is going to interfere with my work schedule or workouts, well then I might do the Senna tea twice a day. If I run out of grade B maple syrup and want to try agave nectar, then I will.

I’m basically doing what I can to make the fast as easy as possible. To be honest with you, I don’t feel the least bit guilty about it. For all you new MC’ers out there, please go by the book. This is my own personal MC journey.

The good news is that I’ve lost about 20lbs in the last 9 days so that ain’t bad. I’ll be documenting daily going forward. I just wanted to reach a landmark day before I said anything at all.

Happy Cleansing everyone.

Cheers!

Day 11

Well I woke up today with an abundance of energy so I hit the gym for a run and some weight training. I had the Senna tea this morning instead of the SWF. I mixed up 6 glasses of lemonade. So far so good. I’m down 1lb since yesterday for a total loss of 21lbs in 10 days. I don’t measure weight daily so my next weigh in will be Monday when I will be on my 15th day.

I’ve been doing a lot of research into these green smoothies that everyone seems to be so crazy about. I think I will give it a whirl when I come off my cleanse. I’m planning to buy myself a blendtec blender as a present to myself when I finish the fast. It seems to be just what I need for these green smoothies. I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I saw the demos of the CEO of blendtec blending camcorders, iphones and golf balls in this blender. It’s expensive, but I figure it would be a worthwhile expenditure given that I will be having one everyday for breakfast after my fast.

Day 12

Well day 12 is here and it hasn’t been so great so far. I started feeling nauseous, very anxious and irritable at the end of Day 11. I woke up feeling great this morning, but as of right now I’m still feeling a little nauseous and slightly irritable. I guess it’s detox. I’m not hungry at all. However I do feel a little tired. I’m drinking about 6 LAs daily.

I am hoping that I will be able to exercise a little later since I didn’t make it in this morning. Let’s hope that the day gets a little better.

Happy cleansing everyone.

Cheers!

Day 13

Well Day 13 is winding down for me and for some reason I feel rather anxious tonight. Maybe it’s because I basically did a water fast today. I did have a tablespoon of Grade B maple syrup before I went to the gym. I just wasn’t in the mood to drink any lemonade today.

I’ve been spending most of my time researching raw foods and recipies to see how much of it I can incorporate into my diet once I get off the fast. That’s been one of my saving graces during this fast. I wake up every morning fresh and ready for the day, but things seem to deteriorate as the day drags on. I’m hanging in there though.

Happy Cleansing Everyone.

Cheers!

Day 15

Well it’s day 15 for me and I’m feeling ok this morning. I feel great every morning of the cleanse, it’s around 4pm that I start feeling terrible. For some reason, I’m still feeling very anxious and irritable. Sometimes I get a little dizzy when I get up too fast, but it leaves quickly. The anxiety and irritability is almost like the period before I fell into a depression about 2 years ago. I had to go on a very low dosage of zoloft then, but I stopped taking medication about a year ago. I was expecting to feel this towards the end of the 40 days and not right now, but I guess something is happening.

To add to that, I haven’t lost any weight since my 11th day. Not sure what’s up with that. I’m still trucking though. I’m expecting good things to happen this week.

Happy Cleansing Everyone.

Cheers!

Day 16

What can I say. It’s been 16 days since I last ate solid food and I’m still standing. I was able to get up today on time on less than 4 hours sleep and hit the gym for a cardio workout as well as weights. I felt great and all was well in world until I got into the ferry that takes me to work everyday.

I really don’t know what it is about that ferry that makes me nauseous and sick. It’s not even the ride on the ferry, it’s getting off the ferry where the walkways are swaying from side to side as you walk. It sickens me everyday and it takes a good 2 hours or so to get back to normal. It sucks.

As for the MC, so far so good. It hasn’t been easy and I’m waiting for the so called burst of energy. I don’t think my energy has increased at all. I feel great every morning though. Let’s see what the remainder of the day brings.

Happy Cleansing Everyone.

Cheers!

Day 17

I am winding down for the end of the day. I am about to take my senna tea and call it a night. Today wasn’t so bad really. I did the tea in the morning, went for a cardio workout at the gym and then went to work. I did about 6 LAs today. It was all good. I did have a slight dizzy spell around 3pm this afternoon, but it went away rather quickly like it always does. I’m still waiting for the burst of energy Very Happy. It’s not that I don’t have energy…heck I work out everyday, but I don’t think it’s anything more than I usually have. Then again it might be. Afterall, I haven’t eaten anything in 17 days and I am still working out and lifting more weight than I usually do when I am eating. Go figure.

I do have a lot of mental clarity though. Seems like I think better, faster and I’m getting things done. Also, I sleep well at night and wake up every morning refreshed and ready to go. So something must be happening.

Happy Cleansing Everyone.

Cheers!

Day 18

Well the end of day 18 is fast approaching. As normal, the day began quite well, but towards the end I started getting a little grumpy. In addition, I’m starting to have really sensitive teeth and I’m starting to really dislike the lemon tangy after taste that seems to be ever so constant. It’s just starting to irritate me just a little bit. Sometimes I find myself getting angry that I am still on this cleanse and it’s not over yet. However, I promised myself that I wouldn’t fight tooth and nail on this cleanse. I decided to just surrender and succumb to it and that’s what I’ve done so far. I’m averaging about 6 LAs a day pretty much. I’m also not drinking a lot of water either. I just think that it’s because it’s cold, my body is not really craving the water like it does during the summer months. I promise myself to drink more water and I fail in that regard almost everyday.

I’m still hanging in here though. I don’t have any stats to report because I haven’t weighed myself. I think the last time I weighed myself was on day 15 and I hadn’t lost anything since day 10 or so. I didn’t want to depress myself so I’ve stayed off the scale. I have the good mind not to even get on it till I finish. We’ll have to just wait and see.

Happy Cleansing Everyone.

Cheers!

Day 19
I woke up as usual with a some energy today. I then went to the gym for some cardio. I can’t believe I’m almost half way to my goal of 40 days. It feels like just yesterday when I started. I got a lot of stuff done with regards to writing on my blog. I just wrote and wrote and wrote. It was almost as if I were participating in a writing marathon or something. I’ve not posted up all the things though. I’m saving them to post gradually. My website is http:www.christmasgoat.com if you are interested.

The good news is that I’m not grumpy or irritable today. I’ve been that way for the last 9 days. I was hoping it would pass at some point. Glad it came today. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I haven’t done a weigh in for a while. I’m tempted to just not do anymore till I get done. I don’t have much to report really. I Just checking in.

Happy Cleansing Everyone.

Cheers!

Day 21

What can I say, day 21 is winding to a close. Yesterday and today have been extremely rough. Then again I attribute that to basically doing a water fast for both these days. It hasn’t been easy, but I need time off from the lemonade. I have taken about 3 teaspoons of maple syrup for energy. Went out to lunch with the family and drank water as they chowed down. I was only tempted slightly, but thinking of the progress that I’ve made so far, made me stay strong. One thing for sure is that it’s been an interesting journey so far. On to day 22.

Day 24

I’ve been on this MC train for 23 days now. This is the start of my 24th day. This is the stage that brings about deeper levels of cleansing or so I’m told. I welcome it. This hasn’t been an easy process so far. However, every time I remember that I’m not going to win by fighting the cleanse tooth and nail, something always gives and I go back to a state of surrender. What I will say though is that the level of mental clarity that I have right now is amazing. No matter how late at night I might sleep, I always wake up in the morning with amazing energy that propels me till around 4pm. I usually start feeling the effects of the cleanse mainly in the late afternoon and at night.

I have lost weight and inches close to (30lbs) in 23 days so far and I’m glowing. It’s amazing how much stuff is still coming out of my colon after 23 days of not eating. I really can’t believe it. I’ve been really struggling with the way I’ll be eating after the cleanse. It will be a setup for failure and disappointment if I proclaim that I will be a 100% raw food vegan or even a vegetarian after my cleanse. I do not know if I’ll ever be any of these things. All I can say at this time is that I know I can maintain a 75% raw diet by incorporating green smoothies, leafy green vegetables, nuts,seeds and fruits into my daily diet. The cooked portions will come from mostly fish. On the weekends, I’ll intend to be mostly raw but flexible about fully cooked meals if I have dinner arrangements with family and friends. I think that this will work for me at this point in my life and it’s a fair compromise for someone who has eaten a Standard American Diet.

Lastly, I think that with the above nutritional changes in addition to my continued exercise regimen and fasting one day a week, I will be able to see drastic changes this year. I also intend to so 2 more 10 day fasts before the end of the year

Day 25

It hasn’t been a good day so far. I did my morning workout today and it all went downhill from there. I was really feeling detox symptoms like tiredness and dizziness all day today. It’s been no fun at all. I can’t wait to get home and go straight to bed. No hanging out on the computer. No researching raw foods and recipes. No nothing. Just gonna call is a day as soon as I get home.

Day 26

Well Day 26 is almost over. As usual, morning great. 4pm till bedtime always a little grumpy and tired. It’s like night and day….literally. The energy I have in the morning is almost overwhelming, but I pay for it just around 4pm or close to that time. Around 5.30pm today, I started to get pretty angry at being on this fast. The lemon taste was not leaving my tastebuds no matter how much water I drank. I was getting visibly upset when all of a sudden I heard my own voice whispering to me outside of my own body “Who’s forcing you to be on this fast?”. I was like..”No one”. Then the voice said..”Well if you’re not being forced…change your disposition right now”. I actually started smiling to myself. Unbelievable. I was trying to fight this fast again and when I do, I get upset and angry. It doesn’t serve me well. I’ve already surrendered for 26 days. I can continue to do so for 14 more.

Happy Cleansing Everyone.

Cheers!

Day 30

Well what can I say. I finally hit the 30 day threshold and I can now begin the countdown to the end of my cleanse. I officially have 10 more days to go. I can’t really describe the feeling of getting to this point. Suffice to say that it’s really a testament to mind over matter as so many other people have said. In my opinion, the Master Cleanser is an exercise in human psychology and will. There are constant battles between two separate but equal parts of the same person when on this fast. It’s really a fight to the finish of who comes out on top at the end. Will it be the ever so constant and loud voice of self sabotage that creates in our minds every possible and conceivable reason not to accomplish our goals? Or will it be the quiet, subtle and reassuring voice that guides us and gives us hope that it can be done.

Whether a cleanse is for 1 day or 40 days, these separate but equal characters will be there. The question becomes how to recognize and appreciate both of them for what they are and then truly hear the one that gets us to where we need to be. Once I recognized these two characters on this fast, I succumbed and surrendered to both of them. When sabotage came, I succumbed and did nothing. When reassurance came, I succumbed and did nothing. This is really the only way I have been able to make it this far. I look forward to the next 10 days. Let the countdown begin.

Happy Cleansing Everyone.

Cheers!

Day 32

Well it’s day 32 for me. I’m tired. I’ve completely lost the urge to drink any more LA. As a matter of fact yesterday was a straight water fast for me. I think I’ll be doing one day lemonade and one day water till the end of my cleanse. We’ll have to see. Also around 3pm yesterday I got really really cold. It was so bad that I had to wear a heavy winter jacket indoors. I’ve been cold the entire fast which is normal, but yesterday was on another level.

I got up and went to the gym today after ingesting nothing but water yesterday. I ran for about 20 minutes and then jumped on the elliptical for all of 6 minutes before I felt like I was going to pass out. So I stopped, got ready and went home. I promptly went back to sleep for another half hour. I’m still feeling tired. Almost like I’m getting sick. No appetite…nothing. Maybe I’m going through an end of fast healing crisis. Oh well! I’m ready for this day to be over already and it’s just starting.

Happy Cleansing Everyone.

Cheers!

Day 35

I’m struggling theses last few days. Yesterday was horrible. Today, I’m feeling much better, but I haven’t been able to get out of bed. I feel weak, tired, irritated and grumpy. I keep going back and forth as to whether to start OJ on day 36 or not. I haven’t felt this way since the first 3 days of the cleanse. I can’t really say that I’m hungry. I just can’t seem to keep it together. I don’t want LA, water or anything. I just want to curl up and stay in bed all day. It almost seems like I’m going into a depression. I’m carrying on though as best as I can, but it’s been hell. I was under the impression that the last 10 days would be easier. For me, it’s been the toughest.

I think that maybe it’s the anticipation of finally eating and getting on with life. I’ve put a lot of the things I enjoy on hold for this fast namely my Muay Thai training. In addition, I know I have to juice for an additional 10 days after this cleanse which I’m not sure I’m psychologically ready to do. I just want to get back to living a healthier life already! I’m not happy right now.

Happy Cleansing Everyone!

Cheers!

Day 36

I’m still hanging in here by a thin thread. I’m just really, really, really, really tired. Couldn’t do much but rest in bed all weekend. Then I got up to get ready for work today and I’m still rather tired at work as well. Haven’t been able to work out in the last 5 days. I don’t feel well at all. I was thinking that things would improve, but not so much. I’m still hanging tough though. I’m really giving it my all to make it to 40 days. We’ll have to see.

Happy Cleansing Everyone.

Cheers!

Day 37

The last 4 days have been very very rough and still I persist. I truly believe that they have been the toughest of the fast so far. Yesterday it felt like death was knocking on my door. I felt nauseous, weak, irritable, tired. I could barely manage to concentrate at work. I barely managed to walk 5 blocks to the office and 5 more blocks back to the ferry without being completely exhausted. I really felt I was getting sick or coming down with the flu or something. It was with that assault on my entire body that I decided that I had had enough of cleansing after 36 days. So, I went to whole foods last night and bought my probiotics and some oranges ready to start juicing this morning. I took my probiotics and went to sleep.

Well when I woke up this morning, I was surprised at how much energy I had (Could this be the probiotics?). I almost….almost put on my gym clothes and went to the gym. I decided not to push it and stayed in bed and rested this morning before work. I then got up, got ready and went to work. I didn’t make any LA because I didn’t have any left and I planned to do OJ this morning. So right now I’m doing a water fast today(to be honest, I really don’t think I can handle any more lemonade period.) So here I am on day 37 and so far so good. I’ll take it one day at a time till I hit day 40 on Friday. Wish me luck folks!

Happy Cleansing Everyone.

Cheers!

Day 39

Well here we are on Day 39 of the fast. Can’t believe I haven’t eaten anything in 39 days and I feel great. I went to the gym this morning for a run and the elliptical. It has been the first time I have had any energy to do any exercise in a week. Maybe it was the OJ that did it. I am going to remain on OJ for the next 5 days and then green smoothies alone for another 5 days before I venture into eating solid fruits and then salads. Doing this will bring my total cleansing days to about 50 days or so. Total weight loss up to this point is 41lbs in 38 days. Which isn’t half bad at all. I think with the additional only OJ and Green Smoothie days with the ire-introduction of my hardcore exercise routine which I gave up for the cleane, I will not only stabilize, but also drop another 10lbs or so in the next couple of weeks which is perfect. So to recap. I started at 271lbs. At day 38 I weighed in at 230lbs. I’ll keep you all updated as I go through the next 10 days of OJ and Green smoothies. I hope to stabilize at 220lbs by the end of April which is very achievable.

Happy Cleansing Everyone.

Cheers!

Day 40

Today marks the 40th day of my MC and it’s been relatively non eventful to be honest with you. I’m not exactly sure what I anticipated would happen when I got to Day 40, however it’s just been a run of the mill regular day in these parts. I started OJ on the 38th day am actually going to be doing OJ for today and the next 2 days and then green smoothies for 5 days after that. This will bring my total days of MC + Juice fasting to about 50 days or so. I will then incorporate mono meals of just fruit before bringing in salads and everything else gradually. So that’s the plan going forward. I really thought that I would want to wolf down everything in sight after my fast, but surprisingly I’m happy with OJ and I have no cravings for anything whatsoever which is nice.

What I learned from the fast

1. It is possible to accomplish what you set out to accomplish if you have a good enough reason for getting to the finish line in the first place. I set a goal for 40 days and for all intents and purposes I’m doing 50. So in other words, if you are what you say you are…then do what you say you will do. Whether it’s 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week or 1 month. Like my father likes to say, the downfall of a man/woman is not the end of his/her life. If you fail, getting up for another day is success in my opinion.

2. Enlightenment: Some people may be under the impression that at some point during the fast, the heavens will open and angels will descend and begin to sing in a heavenly orchestra and they will be finally enlightened. And this may happen. However, what I’ve learned is that in fact the enlightenment that you receive is in the form of SELF enlightenment. If you fast long enough, you will begin to understand who you truly are. All your vices and virtues will surely come through and your true self will start making itself out.

3.Weight loss: Yes, it is possible to lose a tremendous amount of weight on the MC. I’ve lost about 42lbs. However, I think it’s important that as you fast, you plan in detail life after the fast that incorporates healthy eating with exercise. One hand feeds the other. There is no other long term solution to weight loss that the aforementioned. You are doomed to repeat the same vicious cycle over and over again until this phenomenon is understood.

4. Sabotage: During the fast, there will be moments where you are tempted to participate in self sabotage. There will always be two voices speaking to you an any given decision that you have to make. One will be a voice of reassurance, and one will be a voice of sabotage. The approach I took was to do nothing when confronted with both. Doing absolutely nothing was what got me to this point.

5.I will not be a 100% raw vegan. Heck, I’m not even going to be a vegetarian. However I’ve committed to drinking Green Smoothies for breakfast daily and a huge big green salad for lunch daily and also have a sizable amount of vegetables for dinner daily. They will be as much raw as possible with optional cooked if I feel like it. The reason is rather simple. I’ve always been a person of extremes. If I set out to be 100% raw vegan and I fail, I will be very unforgiving to myself. I know who I am and it’s not in my best interest to go down that road right now.

Well I think that’s it folks. I’ll keep updating as I go through juicing and green smoothies for the next 10 days.

Day 44

So I’m finally on Oj and Green Smoothies and so far so good. The good news is that I haven’t gained a single pound since my fast ended. The bad news is that I haven’t had a BM either. Not sure if this is normal. I’ve been taking probiotics as well so I’m not sure what the problem is. Any advice would be appreciated. I started OJ on Day 38 so it’s been 5 straight days of OJ alone and 2 days of Green Smoothies. I intend to do 3 more days of Green Smoothies before actually eating solid fruit by the weekend. I’ve gone back to doing Muay Thai and all is well in my world right now.

Day 46

Well it’s day 46 and I’m still on green smoothies. All is well so far with the exception of mental cravings to eat something bad. So far I haven’t given in to temptation. I intend to start eating solid food on Saturday. I will start with fruit and then work my way up to Salads and homemade soup. By Monday I intend to be back to eating normally. I have been working out quite lot this week and I feel ok, but I still don’t have the normal levels of energy required for those kinds of workouts which is the main reason I am anxious to get eating normally again. I’ve lost an additional 2lbs this week which is encouraging because it is important for me to stabilize the current weight. I didn’t want to gain back the 5 – 10 lbs that I’ve heard that people do after the MC and so far the weight loss has been trending in the right direction. That’s all I have folks. I’ll keep you all posted if anything new happens.

Happy Cleansing Everyone!

Cheers!