The Master Cleanse

Happy New Year! 

I hope everyone has gotten off to a good start in 2011. As tradition would beckon, I have once again begun the Master Cleanse. I think I’ve done this cleanse the past 3 new years in a row. I also did the cleanse in  June 2010 and can’t tell you how many amazing benefits I saw as a result of the cleanse.

To gain a better understanding of what the master cleanse is. Please click on the link and read all about it. The web is full of information on the master cleanse.

In a nutshell, the Master Cleanse is this:

§                         The diet takes at least 10 days (up to 40 days, the period of time that Jesus fasted after his baptism, as Burroughs points out)

§                         The only nourishment that you take is a special lemonade concoction made from the Master Cleanse ingredients: lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and water, six to twelve glasses per day, each glass containing about 110 calories in sugar carbohydrates

§                         An herbal laxative tea is drunk at night and a quart of salt water is drunk first thing in the morning, resulting in several liquid bowel movements every day — you need to always be near a toilet when you do this diet, and you need to stock up on toilet paper

§                         You come off the diet by transitioning to solid food over a few days, ideally becoming a raw food vegetarian in Stanley Burroughs’ version of the diet.

Why am I doing the master cleanse?

I’ll tell you.

Over the past year and a half I have cut out the majority of my vices. I quit drinking. I quit using mood altering substances, and I quit smoking. But when I cut everything out, my body began to crave sugar. More sugar than normal. In fact, I have eaten more sugar over the past 6 months than I probably ever have in my life. And I’m not just talking about a sweet tooth, I’m talking about butt- loads of candy.

This, as you may guess, is not a good thing.

My remedy to get off of sugar is the Master Cleanse.

I am vowing to stay away from sugar for all of 2011.

Yes, I realize that it may be pushing the envelope a bit but I have found that once I begin to eat sugar (like most everything else in my life) I can’t stop on my own. I am just as addicted to sugar as I was to alcohol and drugs.

So, the master cleanse isn’t really about losing weight for me (although I am elated to drop a few of the 15 pounds I gained during the months of November and December) it’s more about embracing a new life style …a healthier lifestyle. One that does not include sugar.

I will be cleansing from Jan 1^st (today) to January 14^th. I will gradually transition back to solid food beginning January 15^th. I have never done the cleanse for longer than 10 days but I’m really “feeling” it this time. So, I’m going to stretch my limit.

Am I crazy?

Hell yes.

But if you know me, then you already knew that.

 I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time in prayer and meditation for the new year as I cleanse. I'm also excited about reading a book my mother gave me, Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamott.

Here’s to a new year, a new me, and a new you.

Happy 2011!