Photo: ms.Tea on Flickr

So I’ve embarked on a journey of sorts… a journey to improve my health and mindset.

I’ve been a fan of regular cleansing for some years now, but have only been inclined to do a very gentle one-week cleanse, during which you still get to eat food. I’ve never fasted more than 24 hours either, but I’ve decided to dive into the Master Cleanse.

The Master Cleanse, also known as the Lemon Cleanse and the Maple Syrup Diet, is a dieting program created by Stanley Burroughs in 1941 and made popular by Peter Glickman through his book Lose Weight, Have More Energy and Be Happier in 10 Days, which promotes Burroughs’ regimen to a modern audience. Burroughs states that it is a detoxification program that aids in the removal of harmful toxins from within the body, as well as a reducing diet for loss of weight, and a cure for ulcers and “every kind of disease,” resulting in “the correction of all disorders [wikipedia]

I’ve had stomach problems for years now and have never been able to get to the root of the problem, nor put a name to my symptoms and discomfort. So my own analysis? I’ve just done damage by years of poor nutrition.

I’ve decided to start the Master Cleanse on Monday, May 4th.

Leading up to that time, I’m doing the gentler Re-Cleanse for one week. On the Re-Cleanse regimen, I eat a very simple diet and, ultimately, the same thing every day. This isn’t necessary, but it makes it easier for many reasons:

1. I only have to cook twice during the week
2. It prepares my head for going days and days without eating anything at all
3. It reminds me how blessed I am to have a variety of foods to eat every day

So my meal plan on the Re-Cleanse program consists of the following:

• Breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal with a few chopped up pecans and a chopped banana
• Snack: 1 apple
• Lunch: mixture of 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup lentils, veggies with a hard boiled egg
• Snack: cuccumber, tomato, pecans & a couple of prunes
• Dinner: same as lunch

I also have to drink a minimum 10 cups of water per day – but I’ve been averaging about 12-13 plus 2-4 cups of herbal tea.

Today is day 5.

So far, in 4 days I’ve lost about 5 lbs and my moods are very stable from the lack of sugar and the associated ups and downs. I love the feeling – it’s almost like being sedated, but with mental clarity. Last night I was really tired before dinner, though… but as soon as I ate dinner I perked back up.

It’s sort of shocking to realize the extent of the emotions we tie to food or drinks. The biggest one for me, so far, has been coffee. I’ve written before about my coffee addiction and this experience has brought to light just how much it has come to mean to me.

On the Re-Cleanse you can still have coffee, but only one cup a day and no sugar or cream… so black it is. But, because I’m starting the Master Cleanse next week and can’t consume any coffee at all during that time, I’ve decided to just wean myself this week so that I can (hopefully) avoid the awful caffeine withdrawal headaches. Yesterday I poured less than a full cup of coffee and it actually made me sad. It’s like I was mourning my coffee.

… now if only I can get so excited about downing a litre of salt water each morning, I’ll be all set.

This weekend will be a transition period – my Re-Cleanse ends Saturday and I am going to a party that evening and will end it beforehand so I can enjoy a little bit of food and drink. Sunday will be an ease-in day to the Master Cleanse – I’ll only be consuming orange juice while I try and get my head around a purely liquid diet for 2 weeks.

I’m excited to see how my body and mind cope with the Master Cleanse. I’ve planned to take Monday and Tuesday off work just to ease myself into this. While I am going to try and do 14 days, I won’t limit myself to that if it’s going well. Then again, I may not make it through day 1. We’ll have to see.

If you’re interested in trying this, you should pick up either Peter Glickman’s book Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days or Tom Woloshyn’s book The Complete Master Cleanse: a step-by-step guide to maximizing the benefits of the Lemonade Diet (this is the one I have, only  because Glickman’s book wasn’t available at Indigo when I went).