Master Cleanse - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Cynthetiq · 10-04-2008, 11:57 AM

Quote:

View: I Heard It Through the Diet Grapevine
Source: Nytimes
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I Heard It Through the Diet Grapevine
December 10, 2006
I Heard It Through the Diet Grapevine
By LOLA OGUNNAIKE
WHEN Teron Beal, a songwriter and aspiring actor in Manhattan, was looking to drop weight quickly for a photo shoot, he didn’t double up on gym visits, gulp metabolic boosting pills or limit his diet to leafy greens and lean protein. Instead, he took a more drastic approach: he tried the “master cleanse,” a fast that requires subsisting for 10 or more days solely on an elixir of fresh-squeezed lemon juice, cayenne pepper, maple syrup and water.

“I had only three weeks and I needed the difference to be noticeable,” said Mr. Beal, adding that he lost nearly 10 pounds during his 12-day fast in July. “The first few days were horrible, but by the fifth day I woke up and looked in the mirror and saw two ab muscles that had eluded me for years. I was grumpy no longer.”

While popular diets and fasts come and go, master cleanse remains a perennial favorite, a kind of folk regimen that owes its popularity to word of mouth and the Internet. Created in the 1940’s by a nutrition guru, Stanley Burroughs, to treat ulcers and other internal ailments, the fast enjoyed a vogue in the late ’70s after the publication of his book “The Master Cleanser.” Its fans then were health-conscious types, interested in purging their bodies of impurities and toxins like pesticides and food additives.

But in recent years master cleanse has enjoyed yet another vogue among people seeking to shed pounds in a short time. Celebrities, of course, are in the vanguard. On Oprah Winfrey’s show, the singer and actress Beyoncé Knowles announced that she had lost 20 pounds on the fast to prepare for her starring role in the new film “Dreamgirls.”

Robin Quivers, Howard Stern’s long-suffering sidekick, told People magazine that she did the fast on three separate occasions in 2004 and shrunk to 145 pounds from a peak of 218. (She heard about it from the magician David Blaine, no stranger to challenging his body.)

And on a recent episode of “30 Rock,” the NBC comedy, Tina Fey’s character is asked: “What are you doing? South Beach? Master cleanse?”

She did look skinnier.

The Internet teems with testimonials to the cleanse, also known as the lemonade diet, claiming that it fights disease, clears the mind as well as acne, and increases energy. Bloggers chronicle their daily fasting. Master cleanse video diaries can be found on YouTube, and a cottage industry has developed with various companies peddling cleansing kits including all ingredients for the beverage except lemons.

Never mind that most nutrition and diet experts advise against multiday fasting.

“I cannot believe how this thing has had a total revival,” said Joy Bauer, a nutritionist and the author of “The 90/10 Weight-Loss Plan.” “People want a quick fix and they want to be thin so badly that they’re vulnerable and open to almost anything.”

Ms. Bauer estimated that fasters who drink six glasses of the lemony potion a day — the low end of the recommended amount — are consuming about 650 calories, far less than the 1,600-plus calories the average woman needs to maintain her weight or the roughly 2,400 calories a man requires.

“Of course you’re going to lose weight,” she said. “You’re starving yourself.” Seldom do the pounds stay off, she added, and people have a tendency to binge once they begin eating again.

Still, many are willing to disregard the word of nutritionists, seduced by the notion that the only things standing between them and a slimmer body are a citrus-flavored drink and several days of discomfort.

Last week at Amoy’s Beauty, the hair salon of Amoy Pitters in the East Village, a brunette complained about her holiday weight gain. “Girl,” Ms. Pitters said, “you need to do master cleanse.”

Ms. Pitters, who first tried the fast four years ago at the prompting of one of her clients, Kacy Duke, a personal trainer to several celebrities, said she was skeptical at first. But 10 days and dozens of lemons later, she was eight pounds lighter, and elated. “I fit into my ultraskinny jeans and I couldn’t believe it,” Ms. Pitters, a petite clotheshorse, said. “I was so proud of myself for sticking with it, because it wasn’t easy.”

Ms. Pitters estimated that 85 percent of her more than 200 clients have tried the cleanse after hearing her rave. She uses it after the holiday season and before trips to bikini-friendly locales. “I know it works,” she said. “And you’d be surprised how many models I know who do it, too.”

Kristina Wong, a performance artist in Los Angeles, lasted on the fast for only five days, but she also saw results. “I looked great,” said Ms. Wong, who uploaded a video diary of her fasting experience on YouTube in September. “No more stomach rolls. I was such a skinny mini.”

Ms. Duke, who puts herself on the lemonade diet four times a year for a week to 12 days, pointed to other supposed benefits. “My eyes are clearer, my skin has a different glow and some of my best running times have been while I’m on master cleanse,” she said. She introduced it to her client Denzel Washington and “he loved it,” she said.

The enduring popularity of the cleanse may have as much to do with its instant results as with the drink’s relatively inoffensive taste (think lemon Gatorade with a spicy kick) and simple recipe: 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons Grade-B maple syrup, 1/10 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 8 ounces of spring or purified water.

According to “The Master Cleanser,” Burroughs’s book, the lemon acts as a purifier and provides potassium, the cayenne pepper adds B and C vitamins and aids in circulation, and maple syrup, a sugar, provides energy and minerals. Burroughs suggested that fasters drink anywhere from 6 to 12 glasses of the stuff a day as well as a mixture of water and sea salt in the morning and an herbal laxative tea in the evening, to help aid in waste removal.

On message boards at Web sites like CureZone.com, writers warn that it’s best to stay close to a restroom. “One day it was just two hours of me running back and forth to the bathroom,” Ms. Wong said.

All that time in the loo can adversely affect one’s social life. Many fasters also say so long to the business lunch, the after-work cocktail and dinner at the latest restaurant, for fear of temptation.

Samuel Klein, the director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis, is leery of master-cleanse-like regimens because there is no data that prove they provide any medical benefit and no evidence that fasting helps rid the body of toxins, which happens naturally, he said.

While fasting for a few days is not dangerous, Dr. Klein said, “Fasting for too long can deplete muscle tissue, including your heart muscle, and it can reduce the size and functioning of organs like the kidney and liver.”

He is just one of many nutritionists who caution that fasting can be counterproductive. Some say it can even slow down the metabolism, making it even more difficult to lose weight in the future.

Try telling that to the converts. Peter Glickman, the author of “Lose Weight, Have More Energy and Be Happier in 10 Days,” is among them. Mr. Glickman, who at 6-2 once weighed more than 230 pounds, had already made over his lifestyle, going on a vegan diet and losing 42 pounds, when he came across the fast three years ago online. He lost 23 pounds in 20 days, he said. He sold his software company and went into the business of promoting the diet.

It has proved lucrative. On his Web site, themastercleanse.org, he sells Burroughs’s original book ($8.95), his updated version and an accompanying CD ($31.95), and a master cleanse kit ($49.95; just add lemons). He wouldn’t give specifics, but said his book is in its fourth printing. “I just put in an order for 10,000 more the other day,” he said.

Adaora Udoji, an anchor at Court TV, grew up watching her father use the fast. “We all just thought he was a weirdo,” she said.

But after quitting smoking last year, she fasted for 14 days, and now she is a believer. “It’s almost like a religious experience,” she said. “The first few days you’re obsessing about food and by the fourth or fifth day, you get this inexplicable burst of energy and you feel like you can run laps around the world.”

Ms. Bauer, the nutritionist, is not convinced. “I really think this chanting about people feeling so invigorated by this really comes from the happiness that people feel about losing weight,” she said.

Running laps was the furthest thing from Ms. Wong’s mind during her fast. She found herself staring longingly at takeout menus and scouring food blogs. “I drive a car that runs on vegetable oil so it smells kind of like a fast-food restaurant, and there were times when I was so hungry I just wanted to pull over and put my mouth around the exhaust pipe,” she said.

I was with a friend last night who swears by this. She says that this is what helped her figure out how she was poisoning her body with processed foods and beverages. She claimed to have lost about 40lbs from 165 to 121 over the course of the 2 times she did the cleanse about 5 months apart last year.

I've met a few people who have done this regimen. My interest is piqued because since I gave up my other vices a few things have come forward. I'm allergic to alot of different things. So far no food allergies that I know of, but really I've learned I'm allergic to cats, dogs, horses, weeds, trees, grasses, and many other things. I've also gained 20 pounds over the past 2 years. I'm not thinking of this as a crash diet, but more way to reset the body. I'm just not so interested in what she called "mud butt" since the tea and saltwater are laxatives and cause you to have to go to the bathroom very regularly.

Anyone have any comments about the Master Cleanse?

ASU2003 · 10-04-2008, 12:08 PM

I would think a healthy sustainable diet and exercise would be much better for you. It is hard to find good food out there though. It seems like everything is high in sodium, high fructose corn syrup, fat, cholesterol or something else that is bad for you. Most people either don't care, or don't want to be restricted in what food they can buy. And since it is cheaper for companies to make the unhealthy stuff, they stop making the healthy food.

The human body was made to go for days without food (but only 3 without water) The problem I see with this plan is that your metabolism will slow down and it will want to store more calories for the next time you do this. I also wonder how much water these people are drinking, because that can effect weight and what muscles are visible.

settie · 10-04-2008, 01:15 PM

I haven't done this master cleanse before, but I suppose I've done something similar this past spring. I kept getting kidney stones, so I looked up natural cleansers, anything to sort of flush out my system. I'll try to dig up the recipe if you're interested, it works well because it doesn't kick you off food for so many days as this master cleanse.
It consists mostly of cranberry, orange, pear, and lemon juice, with flaxseed in the morning and at night. you alternate for two days between this mixed juice, and water...one glass every hour until bed.
After those two days, there's a list of light foods to eat at what times, that you can follow daily to keep your metabolism up and kicking. Its suggested also to do it max every two weeks.
I've only done this once myself, and haven't had a kidney stone since! Funny enough, I lost a lot of cravings for certain bad foods after this cleanse too. It was great though, no bad side effects, it only makes you pee more (of course, drinking THAT much fluid!) I had a HUGE boost in energy (and I'm in my early 20's, so that's saying something) for days and days, and I just felt better internally.
EDIT: Forgot to point out that while on this juice fast I was on, I lost ten pounds or more like it was nothing. heh. It was pretty strange to see weight disappear like that.

That master cleanse sounds pretty stupid though, an act of desperation really...like torturing your body.

SSJTWIZTA · 10-05-2008, 01:10 AM

meth seems like it would have the same effect, only you wouldnt be hungry while not eating.

i dont think i would ever attempt this diet (if i ever gained weight.) it sounds as if you are starving your body of some important vitamins and nutrients.

little_tippler · 10-05-2008, 03:32 AM

All these "cleanses" to me are bullshit. Show me scientifically gathered data that proves this has long-term benefits and actually does something positive to your body and then we'll talk. I wouldn't do this myself.

Your body doesn't need you to cleanse it, it does a good enough job on its own. Your digestive tract was made to deal with waste and absorb nutrients. All through it, there is a delicate balance of bacteria and natural chemicals. Interfering with this process can hurt or destroy these relationships, meaning your intestine may not work as well as it should after that. Your liver, kidneys and lungs also work on detoxing your body. We are a fine-tuned machine and doing these aggressive things like not eating for ten days and going to the bathroom constantly are an assault on the balance of the body.

I think this is a terrible way to go about losing weight, and I doubt it will stick if it's done in such a drastic way. A balanced diet and exercise will serve you better in the long-term, and instead of resetting your body, a lifestyle change will help to reprogram your mind.

thingstodo · 10-05-2008, 07:26 AM

I couldn't agree more with all the setiments posted here.

While it might be a good idea to detox your body over a few days doing something like this for ten days sounds insane. And your body does work very hard to reset things. I would see rebound weight gain to be a big issue.

It takes a little more work to eat right and avoid all the processed stuff marketed to us nearly every minute of every day. It also takes a little work to get some exercise. Qucik fixes are just that. And as SSJTWIZTA said, you might as well jump on the meth craze.

dlish · 10-05-2008, 07:36 AM

cynth - i asked she-lish about this and she said exactly what all these nutrition experts said before i even read this thread to her.

from muscle wastage, to loss of water, to starvation, crashdieting and lack of nutritional requirements.

you should talk to her about this! she's a nutritionist and dietitician. better yet she may make a long awaited appearance really soon

Jozrael · 10-05-2008, 07:36 AM

It sounds interesting. I might try it not to lose weight but just to have the experience. Heaven knows I can't afford losing more weight xD. And I'd probably only do it for a day or three.

guy44 · 10-05-2008, 06:14 PM

Heh. I have a friend who tried this. He lasted three days I think. Enjoy the constant, liquidy diarrhea.

This is precisely the kind of idea that reminds of that old Bad Idea Jeans SNL skit.

genuinegirly · 10-05-2008, 09:01 PM

Hm. This was mentioned in "The Office" season premiere - Kelly went on the diet to try and lose weight for an office weightloss competition. Even showed her making the concoction with lemon and cayenne pepper at her desk.

Occasional fasting can be a great thing for your system. I was raised Mormon, and my family fasted for 24 hours the first Sunday every month. I found it a cleansing and invigorating experience.

Prolonged fasting in the fashion put forward in the OP sounds like an excellent test of self-control, patience, and fortitude. Also sounds like a recipe for bodily harm.

dlish · 10-06-2008, 01:58 AM

GG, is that no food or water kind of fast? or is that just food?

i just finished ramadan about a week ago, but thats food and water during daylight hours.

highthief · 10-06-2008, 07:03 AM

I tried a cleanse earlier this year hoping to lose just a couple of pounds. Didn't do a thing in terms of weight loss, just spent some extra time on the john.

dlish · 10-06-2008, 07:10 AM

highthief, if you're running as often as i think you are, do you need to lose a few pounds??

Baraka_Guru · 10-06-2008, 08:41 AM

What she-lish says.

The human body has all the equipment it needs to "cleanse" itself so long as it gets the proper diet. You don't need Master Cleanse when you have organic legumes, grains, fruit, and vegetables. Eat enough of those, cut out the crap (including most if not all meat and dairy), and drink enough water and you'll get all the cleansing you'll need.

I'd never use Master Cleanse. I know what the body can do with the proper diet.

CinnamonGirl · 10-06-2008, 08:54 AM

Sigh. Even knowing how bad of an idea it is, I'm still tempted to try it (well, maybe "tempted" is the wrong word. I like thinking about it, but I wouldn't do it). I've dropped a LOT of weight the past couple years (about 65 pounds total), but it's so sloooooow. Some days it's just like, "okay! let me be thin NOW. I can maintain it once I get there, but I wanna get there NOW."

Ah, well. You know how the saying goes. "If it sounds too good to be true..."

Lasereth · 10-06-2008, 11:12 AM

Yeah I agree with Cinnamon Girl. It's so annoying "waiting" for your body to go down in size. I've lost 75 pounds in the past 1.5 years and have hit plateaus 3 or 4 times that lasted months and months (the current plateau I'm on has lasted 8 months). I go to the gym 3 times a week after work for an hour, and I actually use the work gym EVERY DAY for 30 minutes doing weight training. I rarely eat out and eat vegetables and soups and the like most of the week yet I sit here at 205 pounds with a fat ass stomach for the past 8 months.

It would be an informative test if nothing else to see if I could break the plateau on this cleanse.

Baraka_Guru · 10-06-2008, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lasereth

I go to the gym 3 times a week after work for an hour, and I actually use the work gym EVERY DAY for 30 minutes doing weight training.

Woah, man. Not even professional bodybuilders train every day. And you do every day? Sometimes twice?

Maybe you should reevaluate your exercise regimen before considering something like Master Cleanse. Overtraining can work against you.

Lubeboy · 10-06-2008, 02:29 PM

Best thing to lose weight is cut out carbs and sugars and do a lot of cardio. Run for at least 40 minutes a day to burn fat.

genuinegirly · 10-06-2008, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlish

GG, is that no food or water kind of fast? or is that just food?

i just finished ramadan about a week ago, but thats food and water during daylight hours.

No food, no water. Rather than spending meal time eating, one focuses on prayer, reflection, and the giving of alms. Some families meet up during their normal meal times to read scripture or pray together, setting a book of scripture out on each plate and a bookmark in place of a utensil.

Ramadan is a wonderful "holiday" - I can't imagine keeping such a habit up for a month. One must note, though, that Ramadan adds the delightful element of community - my muslim friends at Berkeley would meet up with their friends and family each evening to end their day's fasting.

Lasereth · 10-07-2008, 04:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lubeboy

Best thing to lose weight is cut out carbs and sugars and do a lot of cardio. Run for at least 40 minutes a day to burn fat.

I have a separate thread about this but I've tried that. I did cardio for 30 minutes a day for 4-5 months and didn't lose a pound. I gave up on that and tried jogging for 45 minutes and I didn't lose a pound either. My body laughs at cardio.

I did give up eating a lot of pasta (I used to eat it twice a week at least, in small portions) and that helped me get over the last plateau I was on thankfully.

settie · 10-07-2008, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lasereth

I have a separate thread about this but I've tried that. I did cardio for 30 minutes a day for 4-5 months and didn't lose a pound. I gave up on that and tried jogging for 45 minutes and I didn't lose a pound either. My body laughs at cardio.

Cardio doesn't do it for me either Lasereth. It's a royal pain in the arse! I used to run 45 to 60 minutes every other day for a long, long time, and only saw results from muscle toning exercises, not the cardio. While it's good for my heart, it does not help me lose weight.

highthief · 10-08-2008, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlish

highthief, if you're running as often as i think you are, do you need to lose a few pounds??

Oddly enough, the reason I tried to lose a couple of pounds was that I was gearing up for a race and knew that if I could lose even 3 or 4 pounds, I'd come away with a better time.

Glory's Sun · 10-08-2008, 06:20 AM

Here's the thing for me. These type of things may be great for a quick fix, but there's no long term benefits from using this or any other quick fix weight loss routine. In fact, I'd challenge that it's actually more damaging than anything.

There is a struggle at home over this. My wife who..frankly doesn't need to lose weight wants to take diet pills. I always tell her how stupid it is because it's not doing anything for her. If she would just go back to the excercise routine she would be fine. What good is losing weight if you don't tone muscles or build strength and cardio along the way??

We're currently adjusting our whole diet. I'm not overweight and neither is she but now it's more of health factor as well. We're supposed to be starting a full on routine together as well, but she's fighting every step of the way.

I just wish people would understand there is more to weight loss than popping a pill or taking a cleanse agent.. if they do it the right way they won't need to keep buying the newest trends for weight loss.

Lubeboy · 10-09-2008, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lasereth

I have a separate thread about this but I've tried that. I did cardio for 30 minutes a day for 4-5 months and didn't lose a pound. I gave up on that and tried jogging for 45 minutes and I didn't lose a pound either. My body laughs at cardio.

I did give up eating a lot of pasta (I used to eat it twice a week at least, in small portions) and that helped me get over the last plateau I was on thankfully.

Your body doesn't start burning fat until after 40 minutes and you have to run hard and get your heart rate way up. Jogging won't do shit.

Willravel · 10-09-2008, 03:09 PM

No thank you. A relationship with food has to be healthy, and this cleanse really doesn't strike me as a normal, healthy way to treat food. Considering an unhealthy relationship with food causes unhealthy weight/fat gain, it seems being unhealthy in a new way to fix the problem is a way of dealing with the symptoms and not the cause.

It's like dealing with a cold by not hydrating. Sure, you stop producing saliva, but you're not going to get well.

Baraka_Guru · 11-07-2008, 01:32 PM

I just picked up a bag of whole golden flax seeds.

I'm going to grind them up to add to the dates and coconut I'll put on my steel-cut oatmeal.

That's the kind of master cleanse I'm talking about.

If you don't normally eat things like this, try it. You'll be amazed at how well your body is equipped with its own mechanisms for cleansing and elmination.

evilbeefchan · 11-12-2008, 03:52 AM

Have done it twice. Remember that it's a fasting "cleanse" and not meant to be a diet, though you do end up losing weight in the end (I'll explain that). About 3 years ago my doc told me I had high cholesterol and fatty liver. Before going on a real diet, I decided to just try this out with a buddy. He lasted 2 days. The first 4 days pretty much sucked, as I craved every food I'd ever stuffed in my face. After that, no cravings for food whatsoever, though I had tons of free time now that I didn't worry about cooking. I felt more energetic by day 6, and didn't mind the laxative teas after 7. Couldn't really hang out with my friends as they would always order tons of food to try and break me. I did 13 days, then some vegetable soup to reintroduce myself to eating. I had lost 5lbs, all water weight that I gained back the following week.
But then I lost 5lbs by months end. My eating habits changed, as I was actually enjoying vegetables and drinking more water. I started doing pushups and crunches more, lost 5 more the following month. Stopped eating fast food completely, started to cook more. By my next checkup, I had lost 40lbs, my cholesterol and liver were normal. I did it again 6 months later after my gf wanted to try it (she didn't last 3 days), I did 10. I was 237 before the cleanse, am now 192 (was 186 but Malaysia has too much good food).

Was it worth it? I mean, I did get great results from it. Could I have easily gotten the same results by adhering to an exercise routine, to watch my eating and drinking more water? Absolutely. I consider the experience to be a big placebo, that got me into eating better and exercising. Why couldn't I have done just that, and not resort to some desperate lemon fast? I don't know. Lack of willpower, I guess, but it took willpower to do it. I admit that it could have gone wrong. I could have relied too much on fasting for weight loss, ending up with an eating disorder and possibly in the hospital, and probably in that article above. A fast is a good experience, but definitely not for everyone. Try it as a test in willpower, but not as cure-all.

MSD · 11-12-2008, 12:38 PM

Amazing, cutting calorie consumption and going through two weeks of shitting your insides out to shed water weight will result in weight loss. And who would have guessed that depriving yourself of most nutrients would have negative effects?

10-04-2008, 01:15 PM	#3 (permalink)
settie Junkie	I haven't done this master cleanse before, but I suppose I've done something similar this past spring. I kept getting kidney stones, so I looked up natural cleansers, anything to sort of flush out my system. I'll try to dig up the recipe if you're interested, it works well because it doesn't kick you off food for so many days as this master cleanse. It consists mostly of cranberry, orange, pear, and lemon juice, with flaxseed in the morning and at night. you alternate for two days between this mixed juice, and water...one glass every hour until bed. After those two days, there's a list of light foods to eat at what times, that you can follow daily to keep your metabolism up and kicking. Its suggested also to do it max every two weeks. I've only done this once myself, and haven't had a kidney stone since! Funny enough, I lost a lot of cravings for certain bad foods after this cleanse too. It was great though, no bad side effects, it only makes you pee more (of course, drinking THAT much fluid!) I had a HUGE boost in energy (and I'm in my early 20's, so that's saying something) for days and days, and I just felt better internally. EDIT: Forgot to point out that while on this juice fast I was on, I lost ten pounds or more like it was nothing. heh. It was pretty strange to see weight disappear like that. That master cleanse sounds pretty stupid though, an act of desperation really...like torturing your body. Last edited by settie; 10-07-2008 at 10:27 PM..

10-05-2008, 01:10 AM	#4 (permalink)
SSJTWIZTA Master Thief. Master Criminal. Masturbator. Location: Windiwana	meth seems like it would have the same effect, only you wouldnt be hungry while not eating. i dont think i would ever attempt this diet (if i ever gained weight.) it sounds as if you are starving your body of some important vitamins and nutrients. __________________ First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for me And there was no one left to speak out for me. -Pastor Martin Niemoller

10-05-2008, 03:32 AM	#5 (permalink)
little_tippler Leaning against the -Sun- Super Moderator Location: on the other side	All these "cleanses" to me are bullshit. Show me scientifically gathered data that proves this has long-term benefits and actually does something positive to your body and then we'll talk. I wouldn't do this myself. Your body doesn't need you to cleanse it, it does a good enough job on its own. Your digestive tract was made to deal with waste and absorb nutrients. All through it, there is a delicate balance of bacteria and natural chemicals. Interfering with this process can hurt or destroy these relationships, meaning your intestine may not work as well as it should after that. Your liver, kidneys and lungs also work on detoxing your body. We are a fine-tuned machine and doing these aggressive things like not eating for ten days and going to the bathroom constantly are an assault on the balance of the body. I think this is a terrible way to go about losing weight, and I doubt it will stick if it's done in such a drastic way. A balanced diet and exercise will serve you better in the long-term, and instead of resetting your body, a lifestyle change will help to reprogram your mind. __________________ Whether we write or speak or do but look We are ever unapparent. What we are Cannot be transfused into word or book. Our soul from us is infinitely far. However much we give our thoughts the will To be our soul and gesture it abroad, Our hearts are incommunicable still. In what we show ourselves we are ignored. The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged By any skill of thought or trick of seeming. Unto our very selves we are abridged When we would utter to our thought our being. We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams, And each to each other dreams of others' dreams. Fernando Pessoa, 1918

10-05-2008, 07:26 AM	#6 (permalink)
thingstodo A Storm Is Coming Location: The Great White North	I couldn't agree more with all the setiments posted here. While it might be a good idea to detox your body over a few days doing something like this for ten days sounds insane. And your body does work very hard to reset things. I would see rebound weight gain to be a big issue. It takes a little more work to eat right and avoid all the processed stuff marketed to us nearly every minute of every day. It also takes a little work to get some exercise. Qucik fixes are just that. And as SSJTWIZTA said, you might as well jump on the meth craze. __________________ If you're wringing your hands you can't roll up your shirt sleeves. Stangers have the best candy.

10-05-2008, 07:36 AM	#7 (permalink)
dlish Currently sour but formerly Dlishs Super Moderator Location: Australia/UAE	cynth - i asked she-lish about this and she said exactly what all these nutrition experts said before i even read this thread to her. from muscle wastage, to loss of water, to starvation, crashdieting and lack of nutritional requirements. you should talk to her about this! she's a nutritionist and dietitician. better yet she may make a long awaited appearance really soon __________________ An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay? - Filthy

10-04-2008, 12:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
ASU2003 immoral minority Location: Back in Ohio	I would think a healthy sustainable diet and exercise would be much better for you. It is hard to find good food out there though. It seems like everything is high in sodium, high fructose corn syrup, fat, cholesterol or something else that is bad for you. Most people either don't care, or don't want to be restricted in what food they can buy. And since it is cheaper for companies to make the unhealthy stuff, they stop making the healthy food. The human body was made to go for days without food (but only 3 without water) The problem I see with this plan is that your metabolism will slow down and it will want to store more calories for the next time you do this. I also wonder how much water these people are drinking, because that can effect weight and what muscles are visible.

10-05-2008, 07:36 AM	#8 (permalink)
Jozrael Junkie	It sounds interesting. I might try it not to lose weight but just to have the experience. Heaven knows I can't afford losing more weight xD. And I'd probably only do it for a day or three.

10-05-2008, 06:14 PM	#9 (permalink)
guy44 Somnabulist Location: corner of No and Where	Heh. I have a friend who tried this. He lasted three days I think. Enjoy the constant, liquidy diarrhea. This is precisely the kind of idea that reminds of that old Bad Idea Jeans SNL skit. __________________ "You have reached Ritual Sacrifice. For goats press one, or say 'goats.'"

10-05-2008, 09:01 PM	#10 (permalink)
genuinegirly Eat your vegetables Super Moderator Location: Arabidopsis-ville	Hm. This was mentioned in "The Office" season premiere - Kelly went on the diet to try and lose weight for an office weightloss competition. Even showed her making the concoction with lemon and cayenne pepper at her desk. Occasional fasting can be a great thing for your system. I was raised Mormon, and my family fasted for 24 hours the first Sunday every month. I found it a cleansing and invigorating experience. Prolonged fasting in the fashion put forward in the OP sounds like an excellent test of self-control, patience, and fortitude. Also sounds like a recipe for bodily harm. __________________ "Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq "violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy

10-06-2008, 01:58 AM	#11 (permalink)
dlish Currently sour but formerly Dlishs Super Moderator Location: Australia/UAE	GG, is that no food or water kind of fast? or is that just food? i just finished ramadan about a week ago, but thats food and water during daylight hours. __________________ An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay? - Filthy

10-06-2008, 07:03 AM	#12 (permalink)
highthief Junkie Location: Ontario, Canada	I tried a cleanse earlier this year hoping to lose just a couple of pounds. Didn't do a thing in terms of weight loss, just spent some extra time on the john. __________________ Si vis pacem parabellum.

10-06-2008, 07:10 AM	#13 (permalink)
dlish Currently sour but formerly Dlishs Super Moderator Location: Australia/UAE	highthief, if you're running as often as i think you are, do you need to lose a few pounds?? __________________ An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay? - Filthy

10-06-2008, 08:41 AM	#14 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	What she-lish says. The human body has all the equipment it needs to "cleanse" itself so long as it gets the proper diet. You don't need Master Cleanse when you have organic legumes, grains, fruit, and vegetables. Eat enough of those, cut out the crap (including most if not all meat and dairy), and drink enough water and you'll get all the cleansing you'll need. I'd never use Master Cleanse. I know what the body can do with the proper diet. __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

10-06-2008, 08:54 AM	#15 (permalink)
CinnamonGirl She's Actual Size Location: Central Republic of Where-in-the-Hell	Sigh. Even knowing how bad of an idea it is, I'm still tempted to try it (well, maybe "tempted" is the wrong word. I like thinking about it, but I wouldn't do it). I've dropped a LOT of weight the past couple years (about 65 pounds total), but it's so sloooooow. Some days it's just like, "okay! let me be thin NOW. I can maintain it once I get there, but I wanna get there NOW." Ah, well. You know how the saying goes. "If it sounds too good to be true..." __________________ "...for though she was ordinary, she possessed health, wit, courage, charm, and cheerfulness. But because she was not beautiful, no one ever seemed to notice these other qualities, which is so often the way of the world." "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Last edited by CinnamonGirl; 10-06-2008 at 08:57 AM..

10-06-2008, 11:12 AM	#16 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	Yeah I agree with Cinnamon Girl. It's so annoying "waiting" for your body to go down in size. I've lost 75 pounds in the past 1.5 years and have hit plateaus 3 or 4 times that lasted months and months (the current plateau I'm on has lasted 8 months). I go to the gym 3 times a week after work for an hour, and I actually use the work gym EVERY DAY for 30 minutes doing weight training. I rarely eat out and eat vegetables and soups and the like most of the week yet I sit here at 205 pounds with a fat ass stomach for the past 8 months. It would be an informative test if nothing else to see if I could break the plateau on this cleanse.

10-06-2008, 02:29 PM	#18 (permalink)
Lubeboy Crazy	Best thing to lose weight is cut out carbs and sugars and do a lot of cardio. Run for at least 40 minutes a day to burn fat. Last edited by Lubeboy; 10-06-2008 at 02:32 PM..

10-08-2008, 06:20 AM	#23 (permalink)
Glory's Sun Registered User	Here's the thing for me. These type of things may be great for a quick fix, but there's no long term benefits from using this or any other quick fix weight loss routine. In fact, I'd challenge that it's actually more damaging than anything. There is a struggle at home over this. My wife who..frankly doesn't need to lose weight wants to take diet pills. I always tell her how stupid it is because it's not doing anything for her. If she would just go back to the excercise routine she would be fine. What good is losing weight if you don't tone muscles or build strength and cardio along the way?? We're currently adjusting our whole diet. I'm not overweight and neither is she but now it's more of health factor as well. We're supposed to be starting a full on routine together as well, but she's fighting every step of the way. I just wish people would understand there is more to weight loss than popping a pill or taking a cleanse agent.. if they do it the right way they won't need to keep buying the newest trends for weight loss.

10-09-2008, 03:09 PM	#25 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	No thank you. A relationship with food has to be healthy, and this cleanse really doesn't strike me as a normal, healthy way to treat food. Considering an unhealthy relationship with food causes unhealthy weight/fat gain, it seems being unhealthy in a new way to fix the problem is a way of dealing with the symptoms and not the cause. It's like dealing with a cold by not hydrating. Sure, you stop producing saliva, but you're not going to get well.

11-07-2008, 01:32 PM	#26 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	I just picked up a bag of whole golden flax seeds. I'm going to grind them up to add to the dates and coconut I'll put on my steel-cut oatmeal. That's the kind of master cleanse I'm talking about. If you don't normally eat things like this, try it. You'll be amazed at how well your body is equipped with its own mechanisms for cleansing and elmination. __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

11-12-2008, 03:52 AM	#27 (permalink)
evilbeefchan Addict Location: Alhambra, CA	Have done it twice. Remember that it's a fasting "cleanse" and not meant to be a diet, though you do end up losing weight in the end (I'll explain that). About 3 years ago my doc told me I had high cholesterol and fatty liver. Before going on a real diet, I decided to just try this out with a buddy. He lasted 2 days. The first 4 days pretty much sucked, as I craved every food I'd ever stuffed in my face. After that, no cravings for food whatsoever, though I had tons of free time now that I didn't worry about cooking. I felt more energetic by day 6, and didn't mind the laxative teas after 7. Couldn't really hang out with my friends as they would always order tons of food to try and break me. I did 13 days, then some vegetable soup to reintroduce myself to eating. I had lost 5lbs, all water weight that I gained back the following week. But then I lost 5lbs by months end. My eating habits changed, as I was actually enjoying vegetables and drinking more water. I started doing pushups and crunches more, lost 5 more the following month. Stopped eating fast food completely, started to cook more. By my next checkup, I had lost 40lbs, my cholesterol and liver were normal. I did it again 6 months later after my gf wanted to try it (she didn't last 3 days), I did 10. I was 237 before the cleanse, am now 192 (was 186 but Malaysia has too much good food). Was it worth it? I mean, I did get great results from it. Could I have easily gotten the same results by adhering to an exercise routine, to watch my eating and drinking more water? Absolutely. I consider the experience to be a big placebo, that got me into eating better and exercising. Why couldn't I have done just that, and not resort to some desperate lemon fast? I don't know. Lack of willpower, I guess, but it took willpower to do it. I admit that it could have gone wrong. I could have relied too much on fasting for weight loss, ending up with an eating disorder and possibly in the hospital, and probably in that article above. A fast is a good experience, but definitely not for everyone. Try it as a test in willpower, but not as cure-all. Last edited by evilbeefchan; 11-12-2008 at 03:56 AM..

11-12-2008, 12:38 PM	#28 (permalink)
MSD The sky calls to us ... Super Moderator Location: CT	Amazing, cutting calorie consumption and going through two weeks of shitting your insides out to shed water weight will result in weight loss. And who would have guessed that depriving yourself of most nutrients would have negative effects?