You can try the Master Cleanse, a popular detoxification process that theoretically allows your body to clean itself.
You take in lemonade and nothing else for several days.
But this is not the ready-mix or ready to drink lemonade you buy from the grocery but lemonade that you make at home.
Can you survive a few days without eating anything? Can you withstand the temptation of seeing your co-workers and housemates gorge themselves on food while you feel that you are starving to death and all you can have is lemonade?
Going foodless for days is an uphill climb. It won’t help if you go to bed imagining a big McDonald’s Angus beef burger, crunchy French fries, or a big steak hot off the grill. You can’t watch the Food Channel. When everybody goes out to lunch at work, you must stay behind and chug your bottle of lemonade.
Easing into the lemonade diet will give your body the time it needs for cleansing without having to process and digest new food.
Some individuals go through the master cleanse from three days and some can do it for up to 40 days.
Food-less for five days
IT&E sales and marketing associate Brad Ruszala, who have undergone the master cleanse several times, said it’s not that easy.
Ruszala, who recently set out for a 10-day master cleanse, said he lasted only about five days before caving in.
“It was not the first time I went into the master cleanse, but it was not any easier,” he said.
For five days, Ruszala said all he had was a mixture of 100 percent pure maple syrup, cayenne pepper, water and lemons.
These, he said, provide your body with the needed calories to get by.
Ruszala said individuals who are not into the master cleanse tempted him with invitations to dine out but eventually, they too, tried his “diet.”
He said going for days with only the lemonade mixture does not make one weak or cause hallucinations about food.
Sneaking in even a morsel of food anytime during the master cleanse process ends it.
“Once you cave in, it’s over,” Ruszala said.
The master cleanse also involves a salt water flush at the end of each day.
Ruszala said this is not a pleasant task because you literally have to set up shop on the “throne” for a while as the brackish mix cuts through your digestive track like a cleansing laser beam.
He said success with the master cleanse process requires determination and discipline.
For those who are planning to try it, Ruszala said reading about the master cleanse on the Internet can help a lot.
“You will see lots of blogs and video logs of people who have recorded their everyday experiences while undergoing the master cleanse process and you can learn from them,” he said.
The master cleanse has three phases — the ease-in or pre-diet routine to prepare your body to go without solid food; the lemonade diet; and the ease-out or the post-diet routine.
During the ease-out phase, you should go easy and take juices on the first day. You can move on to soups and broths to prepare your body for re-introduction of solid foods, and finally go on a “live food” diet on the third day, which means no processed food but fruits and vegetable only.
The psychological need and urge to eat everyday is a challenge, but for each day that you overcome the urge, you can feel a growing sense of control and determination that you can complete the process.
The master cleanse is not for everybody. See a physician before even considering it.
HELPFUL TIPS
1. Clean your refrigerator and pantry of all food if you want to resist temptation.
2. If you did the salt water flush in the morning, stay near a restroom for about an hour or else you will regret it.
3. If you had tea in the morning, you should also stay near a restroom for several hours. In fact, be prepared to stay in the restroom for several hours in the day.
4. Buy a lemon juicer to make it convenient to prepare your daily diet.
5. Don’t make lemonade for days in advance. Have it fresh.
6. Keep a log or journal of your progress. Write your feelings, and if you crave for your favorite foods, you can write it down.
7. Take photos of yourself, especially if you are targeting to lose weight after your master cleanse.
8. If you experience a cold or sore throat, don’t be alarmed but just keep on going.
9. Drink as much pure water as you can throughout the day
10. When you are done with the master cleanse, start afresh by eating healthier foods.
11. Take a laxative in the morning and in the evening. As an alternative, you can do the Salt Water Flush instead of taking a laxative in the morning.
Preparing the lemonade diet
In an 8- ounce (250 milliliters) glass of pure water
• Squeeze two tablespoonsof fresh lemon juice.
• Add 2 tablespoons of Rich Maple Syrup
• Add 1/10 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper Powder or as much as you can handle.
• Drink this whenever you get hungry, from six to 12 glasses throughout the day.
