A How to Guide for Mastering the Master Cleanse
I remember the first time I fasted. It was for a weekend retreat and we were only to drink liquids starting Friday morning and ending with a light potluck dinner on Sunday evening. It wasn’t easy, but I made it through. That was just for two days, can you imagine going for the suggested 10 days of the lemonade cleanse? If going without food is a new concept for you, you may be wondering how to get through this Master Cleanse process. Here are some key pointers for those who want to know how to prepare yourself before starting the master cleanse.
Identify where you fit in the scheme of things.
The Master Cleanse is going to go for much longer than 2 days. Ask yourself are you up for this? Have you fasted before and if so for how many days? If you’ve never missed a meal in your life you may be biting off more than you can chew. There’s no shame in postponing the cleanse for a week and doing a juice fast every other day to get your body ready.
Do your prep work.
As stated above, prepare your body for the cleanse by doing smaller fasts. Begin to gradually exclude the processed and fast foods from your daily routine. And because the cleanse is a fast and not a diet, you need to get yourself mentally prepared as well. Your body will talk to you and tell you it’s hungry. Foods will whisper your name in the midnight hour. Make the resolve that you, not your body, is the boss. Plan out your daily intake instead of being a reactionary eater. Make a schedule if you have to. If you’re serious about your health these are things you may want to make permanent habits. Everybody is different, and the steps to success for you may look slightly different than those for someone else.
I know you’re hungry but get a hold of yourself.
Now after 10 days without solid food I’m sure road-kill might start to look pretty tempting but don’t do it. It’s all in your head. Your body should be pretty much adjusted to your liquid diet by now. Just as it took time to adjust to liquids only, it will take time for your body to readjust to solid foods. Ease into a healthier diet. Drink lots of water and diluted fresh squeezed orange juice for your first day off the cleanse. Stay away from orange juice with added sweeteners. Just because it says Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice on the carton doesn’t always mean it’s truly that. On day 2, try introducing vegetable broth to your system. And by the third day it should be safe for you to eat some fruits or veggies. Don’t go crazy and order a 16 oz. Steak dinner. You could end up with some serious constipation. Everyone’s body is different so you may need to do some experimentation here. But a good rule of thumb is, less and slow is better than more and fast.
Monitor yourself closely.
As you come off of the Master Cleanse you’ll notice that you have a heightened awareness of how your body feels. Use this to your advantage and keep tabs on the frequency of your eliminations, energy level, and your overall mood. You may experience some nausea, headaches etc. In most cases this means you’ve transitioned to a more complex food type too soon. Of course you should check with a doctor if something isn’t right, but don’t let a little extra gas scare you into the emergency room.
Bottom line.
The Master Cleanse is just that, a temporary cleanse of the body. Once the fast is over you have to maintain a healthy diet. I’m not talking about a 60 plus year old, out dated standard for nutrition. And no, a glorified TV dinner with the label LITE stamped on it doesn’t count. Eat more raw or close to raw fruits and vegetables and less meat. Drink more water and less soda.
Stick to these basic rules and the ten plus day investment you make in the Master Cleanse will not have been in vain.
