The Master Cleanse

I tried the master cleanse this past week. This was my first experience with any type of cleansing, dieting or fasting. I decided to give it a try to give my body a chance to rid itself of toxins, clean out my system, challenge myself, and most importantly, experience something new that would allow me to speak on this subject in the future. Losing weight was not a goal, merely a side effect.

The Master Cleanse is a book written by a guy named Stanley Burroughs back in the 70s. The idea is that you drink water mixed with a small amount of lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper for 10 days and eat no food during that time. You also drink a laxative tea to help your body clean itself out. I decided to do the cleanse for only 5 days since your body begins eating away at lean muscle after a couple days with no food.

I also weighed myself during the five days.

Beginning – 200
Day 1 – 198
Day 2 – 197
Day 3 – 192
Day 4 – 191
Day 5 – 191

At the end of my 5 day cleanse, there are several things I learned.

1) Our bodies do not need as much food as we give it. When my body adjusted to not eating (day 3-5), I didn’t really crave food because my body didn’t need it that badly. I was drinking a ton of water which cured my hunger.

2) I found that I was able to concentrate better without food. During lunch I studied chapters of economics for school and was able to easily memorize the material. During a normal week, I’m not able to focus on studying at lunch.

3) While some people come out of the cleanse having totally changed their perspective on food, this did not happen to me. Some people decide to only eat healthy food moving forward, cut out all fast food, cut back on drinking, etc. The cleanse made me realize that being healthy is incredibly important. We have to be careful about what we put in our bodies.

But food is meant to be enjoyed. It tastes great and it is an important part of social interaction. So instead of staying away from foods that might not be totally healthy, I just want to make sure I appreciate them when I eat them. Food, like life, is about experiences and pleasure, and eating, drinking and being merry is what all of us should be doing because you never know when the opportunity will be taken away.

4) I mentioned to a coworker at the office that I lost 8 lbs in 3 days doing this cleanse, and I literally had girls coming out of the woodwork asking me, “So I overheard you mention that you lost 8 lbs in 3 days. How?” You gotta love E!.