Advice To Tashia the Newbie from Hawaii

I dedicate this post to Tashia and all the other Master Cleanse newbies who haven't taken the plunge.


What advice can I give to first timers? Here goes my attempt to sound smart and helpful in just two words...

Plan well.

• I can't tell you how many times newbies underestimate the initial lemon purchase. Buy lots. Buy too many. Pretend they're going out of style. Then buy even more than that.

• Don't start without all of the ingredients and pretend you'll make it to the store on the day you begin. That is a serious cleanse-killer, because the trip to the store may be interrupted by a bacon cheeseburger. Or the detour could become the excuse to just "try again another time."

• If you live alone, get rid of your favorite foods. If that means eating them before you start... you can do that too. hehe

• If you cook for a family, like I do, I find planning a menu very helpful. That way, I only buy the food I need for them and don't spend so much time browsing the options.

• Pre-plan what you'll tell those around you, from family to co-workers. Whether on purpose or not, those folks can be major cleanse-killers by offering food or talking about what a "dangerous thing you're doing." Get in the zone and be ready for them.

• You may want to 'cleanse before the cleanse.' Some folks prepare by cleaning-up their act the week before. In our Yahoo! Group, the general consensus is that coffee drinkers have a hard time with detox headaches. If you drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, sippy-sippy on the alcohol or eat a lot of refined carbohydrates, you many want to wean off these things in the days leading to the cleanse.

• And I can't end without recommending our awesome support group at the Yahoo! Mastercleanse group. Don't underestimate the value of talking to other folks going through the same drama as you!

Bonus advice. Measure your lemon juice every single time you mix. Some have 'rule-of-thumb' estimates about the amount of juice a single lemon holds. I measure every single drink, because juice yield can vary. Stanley Burroughs is very clear that the juice measurement is not negotiable for each glass. This isn't Walmart. Cut corners and you'll get what you pay for... And I'm not talking about cheap gadgets painted with toxic materials and flesh-eating rubber sandals.

As always, you can search through my blog posts to find a few more gems... like the priceless value of Bordeaux Butt Paste and the benefits of local bathroom maps. hehe

Happy Cleansing!

Weight Loss Challenge 2007

Right now, the moderators (including me) at the mastercleanse Yahoo group are working on plans for a 2007 weight loss challenge. The challenge will begin with a January cleanse (minimum 10 days), and continue with healthy eating and exercise (methods of your choice).

Here is an excerpt from the early plans (nothing decided for sure):

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Our first annual weight loss challenge (20 weeks) will begin on Friday January 5^th and continue through Friday May 25^th.

The challenge will feature:

• Published entry forms for those who want to “compete” for prizes.
• Weekly journals for all Challenge participants.
• Published 20-week journals of the top 3 participants plus participating group moderators.
• A top prize and runner-up prize, judged by List Owner Mary, and Moderators Anna, Hawa, and Thia.
• The most awesome weight loss and cleansing peer support available on the internet!

Background

In spite of several concerns that a few of our members are using Stanley Burroughs Master Cleanse as a quick way to lose weight, we are hosting our first annual Weight Loss Challenge. This year’s challenge is named: Lemonhead Losers.

In his book, Stanley Burroughs declared his own cleanse as an optimal way to lose weight (fat, toxins, and water). If that isn’t convincing enough, also consider the following:

• Overweight/obesity is a known contributor to life threatening illness.
• The American Heart Association maintains a list of known cardiovascular problems that are specifically caused or greatly magnified by carrying extra weight.
• The quick weight loss associated with the cleanse is no different than fast weight loss on shows like The Biggest Loser and no different than the quick weight lost after bariatric surgery.

No matter how you slice it, losing the extra weight is a necessary part of any plan for overall health and fitness.

If you fall into the category of folks with a weight loss goal, we invite you to join our Challenge!

Why Now?

We have an unbelievably supportive group of members. Time and time again, our members help each other through difficult cleanse times. Why not offer such quality support for weight loss? Sometimes friendship, support, understanding, and even a little competitiveness can make the difference between reaching the goal and quitting too soon.
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Whether or not the Weight Loss Challenge happens, I have a plan to lose 40 pounds in the new year. I'll share that journey at this blog - duplicating my journal entries from the Yahoo group if necessary.

Leave a comment if your New Year involves losing weight. Make your way over the the Yahoo group and get some of the best support available on the internet!

Day 2 of My Third Cleanse

Monday March 27, 2006

Today is Day 2 of my third cleanse. This cleanse rolled-in with no red carpet and no parade. I managed to start without a huge blog introduction or ticker-tape confetti. I even skipped the "I'm getting ready" speech from a hilltop, complete with local news cameras.

This cleanse tiptoed in more like a lamb than a lion because I'm feeling like an old pro. Honestly, the nutty anxiety and the frantic shopping weren't present. In fact, last night, mom said, "Wow, I didn't even know you were on another fast."

This is starting to feel like a familiar road. It's kinda like driving home from work. You've done it so much, that you give little attention to the whole affair. That's in stark contrast to driving to an unfamiliar place, when you might turn off the radio, glare out of the window, and tell passengers to "hush" as you try to read the road signs.

For me, there's no staring out of the window with a white-knuckled grip on the wheel. The cleanse feels natural and right.

A member of the Yahoo group (guruin2) recently dubbed cleansing "an expression of pure love for myself." The rest of us have embraced that statement as the most accurate mission, purpose, and victorious result of cleansing. If you've ever seen a person drive miles to find the right gas for their car, but fuel their own bodies with deadly garbage, then you truly understand the need for "self love" above "car love," especially if you want to ride in a real car instead of the funny looking car riding at the front of a funeral.

It's still early on Day 2, but I can share a few blurbs:

• I started the day at 6:15am with Senna tea. By 11:05am, I was making Toilet Soup.
• Mild headaches, runny nose, body aches, and mild earaches reveal some quick cleansing work going on.
• If you have the habit of waiting until the last minute to go to the bathroom, stop it. Stop it now. I just received a close-call reminder that the first "gurgle" means RUN.
  

Fascination

Thursday, March 2, 2006
As my thighs become reacquainted with each other and make that reunion swishing sound, I have a renewed fascination with our relationship to food. Over at the Yahoo group, we have a lively conversation going about using food to escape - and other links between food and emotions. Once you go on a cleanse with no food for 10 or more days, you learn just how often you think about food. A thin and healthy coworker even found himself surprised over impulse food habits that he'd developed over the years. One member of the board posted a most interesting theory:

Its funny how weight gain actually manifests itself into an emotional disorder. A period of short term stress with long hours and little sleep can cause a person to adopt unhealthy eating habits in order to cope with the stress. As the unhealthy eating causes a person to gain weight, they begin to feel sluggish and lazy and begin to reduce any physical activities previously enjoyed.

This in turn leads to more weight gain. When the gain has reached a point where it is readibly noticeable by the person and their peers, then self esteem issues begin to surface generating stress leading to more unhealthy eating habits. Also, most unhealthy eating habits involve large amounts of bad carbs which I personally know to be addictive.

Looking back over the past several years, I can't remember a lonely, stressful, angry, or sad moment that I didn't stuff with a comfort food. Sadly enough, commercials are openly promoting the strategy of stuffing an emotional issue with crappy food.

So I'm actively searching for a replacement. I'm firing comfort food on the spot, and hanging the "help wanted" sign. Who or what should apply for the job? Use the comments feature to share your answers, and I'll post my responses to your suggestions.

I have a few ideas of my own, and I am on a serious personal mission to win a battle that many people lose. Besides missing the mark God established for the body-as-temple, I realize that I don't look or feel like the "me" I know and love. I have plans for a long and prosperous life. Now only if I could get my thighs to cooperate...

Strength in Numbers

Thursday, Feburary 9, 2006

Besides having the support of my cleansing co-workers, I am more and more blown away by the level of support shared at the Yahoo group: mastercleanse. I was invited to join the team of moderators, which was logical since I'm a group junkie anyway.

Although you can't argue with the joys of expanding your cleanse vocabulary (thanks everyone for the ever-accurate "butt pee")... I am more impressed at how open and honest people are about the mental aspects of cleansing.

People oftem come my way, wondering if the "cleanse experience" will be good for them. Although we sometimes feel totally unique, wisdom says we basically share the same fears, concerns, and desires for a better life.

So if you're still considering the cleanse, and my blog didn't convince you that butt pee is just groovy... get yourself a free membership to the Yahoo group!



Click to join mastercleanse

LIfe After Cleansing

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Life after cleansing is a huge new priority for me. Are we required to go back to the Standard American Diet, and feeling like crap, so we can escape through the euphoria of another cleanse a few months later?

My goal is to see how good I can feel, how healthy I can feel, for how long after a cleanse. Here's a recent post I sent to the great gang at the Yahoo mastercleanse group:

Yesterday was my first real "day off" day.
As many of you know, my plan for life after the cleanse includes (by week):

1. 64 to 80 ounces of water per day (I thought that was a gallon, but it's just half a gallon!)
2. four days of eating right, including the quality of food and attention to total caloric intake - with a focus on good fruits, veggies, whole grains, and good protein (e.g. limit or avoid red meat)
3. one day of fasting (Wednesday, water and some fresh juice only)
4. two days "off" of fairly unmonitored eating

On my first real "day off", I had lunch at my favorite restaurant (tilapia in butter cream sauce and ceasar) and 3 Tastykake cupcakes. I also had water, nuts, and fruit in between.

Well let me tell you, I felt lousy by the end of the nite. I don't think I ever want to see a Tastykake again! What surprised me most was how my next morning went...

By this AM, I wasn't feeling like the glowing ball of vibrant life that I was getting used to. I almost felt "blue." I even thought about starting the day with a Wawa cappuccino! I wanted "relief" and found myself craving the wrong stuff.

My mind wandered back to the kind of eating day I had, and I realized how much food really does affect our emotional state and why cleansing is such a euphoric time. Imagine how terribly we eat on a daily basis sometimes. We really do adjust to being "sick and tired" all the time. Remember how the school was able to eliminate behavior problems in the movie "Super Size" when they switched to a healthy hot lunch program?

I'm really ready to challenge my post-cleanse guideline of "two days off" for eating. I feel like I'm gonna spend this entire fasting day (today) trying to recover from the crap I ate yesterday.

I've even changed the date for my next cleanse from June/July to April. There's no way I'm waiting that long in between cleanses. LOL