Out With the OLD

Day 1 / 11:50am / 160 lbs - I'll spare you my current measurements.
Last night 5.5 hours sleep

My darling husband and I are starting the Master Cleanser today - commonly known as the Lemonade Diet. It's a 10-day detox program from a book written by Dr. Stanley Burroughs in 1976. The short of it - you drink a detox lemonade (lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper), herbal tea and a laxative tea for 10 days. That's it. Sounds crazy I know, but back in 2003 I did it for 14 days and I was convinced! I lost 22 pounds (which I kept off for 7 months), and I slept better and had more clarity that I could ever remember. Fasting from food emptied my stomach (and pantry), but it filled my day with all this found time, and filled me with this renewed energy and awareness. I did it twice more since then for shorter periods and had great results each time.

Trust me, it's not all bliss and roses. I've been through what I can only guess is some of the worst sugar withdrawl and detoxifying symptoms. At one point a rash broke out all over my face; at another, I thought I was coming down with some kind of fatal flu...But then I felt better - better than better, I felt new. So here we are again...This time hubby's in on it so I feel great about the odds that I won't quit. I prefer to avoid his evil drill sargeant alter ego, so I'm going to do this right. I'll post some before (yikes!) and after (yay!) photos for those interested, and blog about how we feel and the things we notice day-to-day as the fast progresses.

Today's biggest challenge was the morning's Internal Salt Bath. Here's how that works:
Each morning on an empty stomach, add two teaspoons of non-iodized sea salt to a full quart of water. Do not use ordinary iodized salt as it will not work properly. Drink the entire quart of salt water first thing in the morning. "Chug" this — drink it as fast as possible. This sums it up: "You'll need to be by a toilet for half an hour to an hour."If you've heard about this cleanse then it won't seem so strange to you that I've chosen to chronicle it here. If you want to learn more about it, check out the book "The Master Cleanser" by Stanley Burroughs on your favorite discount book site, or go to www.therawfoodsite.com/mastercleanse for a great preview, including the recipe and helpful hints. What I like most about this cleanse is that you don't have to focus on the weight loss, if you need to lose weight you will, and if you don't, you won't (most of pounds dropping are nasty toxins anyway). I also love that Dr. Burroughs wasn't pushing a product...simple natural ingredients to clean out and give your self another shot at treating your body right.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU! I send out a toast to having 365 more chances to live, love, learn, and leave a legacy.