Today I woke up, drank the usual salt mixed with water and waited to see how I would feel. Normally when I wake up, I don’t usually feel hunger until about 2 hours into waking up. So now a little over that time has passed and honestly, I don’t feel that hungry.
I predicted that day 3 would be much easier than the previous 2 and fortunately I was right. There is very little hunger and my cravings aren’t that big either. This is really the motivation I needed to push into the next few days I have remaining on the master cleanse.
Today will continue in the same exact way the previous 2 have:
Start off with the drinking about 2 liters of water mixed with seal salt. Check.
Then drink the lemon mixed with maple B syrup, water and cayenne pepper.
I have to say the drink itself would be fine, but the biggest challenge of consuming that is the cayenne pepper. Even though it’s in small amounts, it still gets annoying to drink after awhile. Without the pepper, this would be easy to do, but it’s also a key ingredient in the mixture so it’s just something I have to overcome. People who like spicy foods won’t have issues with this.
I have also noticed that I feel clearer, both in body and mind. I have also noticed that my focus has improved as well as my stamina. Falling asleep has also become simpler. Also, I feel as though my hair feels stimulated. It’s a strange, but comfortable sensation that’s hard to describe, but hair growth was also a goal of mine throughout this cleanse. I just hope that my senses aren’t something else.
What about weight loss? Well I have lost 4 pounds in the last 2 and a half days. It’s not something I was aiming for from the very start, but I’m hoping those 4 pounds have been on the waist where I’ve been trying to get rid of that fat for quite sometime.
As you may have read in a previous post, I have an upcoming event to go to on Saturday, so I’ll be cutting the cleanse a little bit short and eating my first, light meal starting Friday night.
One thing I’ve also added to this cleanse is taking “steam showers” before bed. Basically what I’ll do is cover up the bathtub and insulate the steam so it creates a sort of steam room, sit there for about 20-30 minutes, take a hot shower and head to bed. The extra sweating has definitely added to the detox effect. This is an optional side of the master cleanse and if you’re not someone that enjoys this, remember, you don’t have to do it.
I’ve preoccupied myself with work and errands to run all the way until I finish this cleanse and as I’ve said earlier, this has really helped distract me and now that the cleanse is starting to get easier, it’ll be that much more likely that I’ll be fine all the way through day 5 (hopefully no jinxing it!). Stay tuned for the next day’s news!
Well I’m basically halfway into day 2 of the master cleanse and I’ve got to say, I’m not nearly as miserable as I originally expected. Last time I did this cleanse, day 2 was the worst.
This time around, I honestly feel fine. Hunger cravings do pop up pretty often as I expected, but they aren’t nearly as bad as last time. In fact I feel like it’s rather easy to handle them. I either work or sleep pretty much. If I was to give these 2 days ratings from A-F, I’d say yesterday felt like a C and today also feels like a C.
One major mistake I’ve made is leaving food in the fridge and easily accessible in general around the kitchen. The smell of food and even the though and even hearing a word you’d normally associate with food is enough to jump start the cravings.
Why am I not feeling the major cravings?
It could be because I’ve done this cleanse before so I’m used to the experience of feeling hungry and how to deal with it.
Or it could be because I have very erratic eating patterns. I may eat once, twice or many more times depending on the day and how it plays out. I believe not eating pretty much for an entire day many times before has better prepared me this time around.
Now that I am pushing to day 3, I would expect things to improve since that’s what happened the last time, but I’m not going to be too optimistic and hopefully there will be no negative surprises.
Technically as I move into 3, it should get much easier and all the way through day 5.
Coming off the cleanse and doing it properly:
Earlier today, I was invited to a brunch Saturday which is the day after my cleanse ends. However, this interferes with my plans as I was planning on easing back into a full meal type of lifestyle.
Usually after coming of a cleanse, it is important to not stuff yourself right away. You should have several days (up to 3) before you get back to the old ways. Because of the recent invite, I’ve decided to stop the cleanse Friday night and have a small meal, then a light breakfast the next day, followed by the brunch, during which I will not stuff myself and only eat until I am somewhat satisfied. Usually this is not recommended, but we’ll see how things play out.
When you come off the cleanse, very light meals are recommended. What are some examples of light meals?
Oatmeal.
Salad.
Fruits and vegetables.
Drinking water.
Fish (in small amounts).
The key is to ease back after the cleanse through small portion eating until your body gets used to it’s old ways and the irony of saying that is that after the cleanse is done, you’re not going to want to eat in your ways.
Another thing I’d recommend for people going through this cleanse is to try and avoid stress. It’s so imperative as stress really makes us want to eat. I know it isn’t easy, but if you can avoid confrontations or other things that trigger the stress, you’ll be much better off and likely to finish the cleanse successfully.
I have tried doing the master cleanse before and saw great benefits from it. Starting today (1/19/15), I will begin a 5 day journey. It has been one of my goals early on in this year and I will be writing up a success story everyday.
Now for those of you who know about the master cleanse, there’s one thing you may have noticed that was missing:
It’s that I mentioned I’m doing it for 5 days. The usual is 10 days. Unfortunately, given the schedule I have, my only open days are this week. And even though I won’t be getting the full, 100% benefits of the master cleanse, I will be getting a majority of it if I can stick to it for the 5 days.
Right now as I sit, getting ready for bed, I know tomorrow is going to be difficult, as will day day 2, so I decided to write this post right now before I start to get cranky. Just know that if you are doing this cleanse, I want to right away help you figure out a few things:
First, the master cleanse ingredient list:
There’s really just 5 things you need:
1. Organic lemons (not juice). I purchased about 30 of them. Might be too much for 5 days, but it’s ok, I’ll just use the rest for tea. Notice I said organic lemons. Since this diet is focused on detoxing, you will need every ingredient to be natural.
2. Purified water. This may be difficult to get for a lot of people. I do have a water filter installed in my place.
3. Cayenne pepper. I purchased a small bottle of it and it’s more than enough to suit me for the 5 days. Cayenne pepper is supposed to help speed up metabolism and increase body temperature. It should also help with the detox.
4. Pure organic maple B syrup. Why B is needed is still something I have to research, but for now I’m just following the rules. The normal syrup we get in supermarkets is usually grade A. So if you plan on doing this cleanse, keep in mind: B!
5. Non-iodized, non-refined sea salt. This will be used in combination with water and I will be drinking this in the morning.
That’s really all there is when it comes to the list. The total price I paid for all this was about $50, but I did overdo it on the lemons so if you try this, you should expect a slightly lower price. All of the ingredients can be purchased at an organic store or if you don’t have one nearby, order online.
Next we have the master cleanse recipe:
I like to prepare all of my ingredients at once so the recipe I’m going to give applies for each and everyday. First we must drink the salt water with warm water when we wake up. Here’s the recipe for that:
It is recommended to combine 1 teaspoon of salt with about 30 ounces of water (about 3-4 cups). I’m going to be drinking this within a 15 minute time frame.
This is going to help flush out the toxins and undigested foods in my body. I expect to be running to the bathroom a lot and if you’re doing this too, expect the same thing!
Once this is done, then begins the actual master cleanse (lemon diet). What we’re going to do here is combine the remaining 4 ingredients together and keep it handy for the entire day. I will have to drink this 6 times throughout the day. Some people prefer to prepare this one drink at a time, but I’m going for all 6. So here is the recipe for that sum:
Combine about 7-8 glasses of water (60 oz) with 12 tablespoons of lemon squeezed from the organic lemons.
Then add 12 tablespoons of the maple B syrup into the drink.
Then finish it off by adding 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
You can mix up this recipe anyway you want.
Now this drink will have to be consumed 6 times throughout the day.
Optionally, if you want, you can drink a laxative tea every night before bed. I will instead focus on just drinking water if the urge to drink arises.
Then the next day, the same thing will repeat, starting from the salt water drink, to the same lemon juice preparation and all the way through day 5.
What can help you make it through the cleanse:
It’s not going to be an easy process, but most importantly, it’s going to be hard mentally. I’ve prepared a lot of work for myself to keep my mind off things for the first 2 days (the most difficult) while I go through this cleanse. You may want to try the same thing.
I’d avoid doing anything involving exercising because we’re not going to be making up for lost calories. The cleanse itself will be more than enough to help you lose weight if that’s what you’re going for.
Occupy your mind with productivity or something entertaining like a movie. Anything to keep your mind off hunger.
Hunger cravings will happen. There’s just no escaping it. But when it does hit, make sure you don’t allow yourself to fall of the wagon. You can do this by ridding your refrigerator of anything that will make you fail. Unfortunately for myself, I have left a few things there so I’ll just try to avoid opening the fridge for a few days…
This isn’t easy, but again if you can make it through the first 2 days, you’ll feel great on the third. The first 48 hours aren’t going to be impossible to handle, but they will be difficult. Focus on the outcome and believe me, in the end, it’ll be worth it.
I recommend you consult with a doctor if you’ve never tried a master cleanse before or if you have any medical conditions that can impact it.
The outcome I want reached from the master cleanse is:
1. I want to get rid of some of my waist fat. I’ve been trying to do that for a number of years to no affect.
2. I want to get into shape faster and doing a master cleanse will really catapult me in that direction.
3. I want to have more energy, stamina, clearer skin and more focus. This is what a master cleanse will absolutely do.
4. I want to try to see how it will affect my hair. I know it helps it grow, but I’ve been balding for a few years. Now I have a few things in mind I want to try (supplements/products) and a master cleanse will make these products have an even greater effect.
That is day 1 of my master cleanse success story (well not exactly a success just yet), but tomorrow, I’ll let everyone know what happens.
I just finished reading Dr. Phil’s 20 20 diet book and have to say for the most part, it has a lot of very interesting facts that will be profound for most dieters who are only used to a traditional way of losing weight. I do like that he mentioned a lot of unorthodox concepts that aren’t mainstream such as eating foods that make you feel fuller as well as other important concepts.
I knew about them before, but now that someone like Dr. Phil mentions them, it’s high time they received their long overdue praise. I’ll be going over these things as well as providing a fully comprehensive review of the 20/20 diet, the foods within them, sample meals and much more.
The 20 20 diet explained:
It’s a 3 phase diet (really 4 if you count the after diet plan) which lasts for 30 days. The first 2 are 5 days long and the third is 20 days. The foods you eat are supposed to help with thermogenisis which is a state where the body just increases fat burning & metabolism. One thing Dr. Phil is careful about saying if it’s guaranteed to do what it’s supposed to. He just uses the word “May”.
The concept of the 20/20 diet isn’t really the foods you’re eating, but the overall picture Dr. Phil tries to paint which is looking at past mistakes we have made in our dieting efforts, with failed attempts, lessons learned, and in hindsight taking that and making up for it.
That is what the 20/20 aims to do, to make what right what we’ve been doing wrong this whole time. Dr. Phil really goes deep into explaining why other diets have failed using 7 examples of what other diets cause such as hunger, cravings, temptations and other negative effects which ultimately lead to failure. He even bolds the failure part (at least in the kindle edition). These failures are what eventually led him to create this diet plan which is “fail proof” against those 7 failures.
As for how much weight you can lose, that’s not exactly mentioned. What is given is a table with a list of heights and how much you should weight based on that. That is supposed to be your target weight.
Now with that out of the picture, I’m sure everyone reading this is “dying” to know the 20/20 foods and what makes them so special.
Here are some of the 20/20 foods (20):
Coconut oil, Green tea, Mustard, Walnuts, Olive Oil, Almonds, Apples, Chickpeas, Greens from vegetables as long as they are leaf like (cabbage), Dried plums, Lentils, Peanut butter, Pistachios unsalted and roasted, Raisins, Cod (fish), Rye, Tofu, Whey protein.
Note: These aren’t the only 20/20 foods! The ones above will be used entirely during phase 1 as you’re about to learn and in the following phases, including the post diet phase. There will be many more foods within this diet, as well as recipes and they will also be counted as 20/20 foods. Info on the recipes can be found here.
Now let’s see how these foods are going to apply to the actual diet.
Phase 1: 5 day boost
Basics: Lasts for 5 days and you eat 4 meals, 4 hours apart. The foods you eat must contain the 20/20 foods. You are given recipes where multiple foods from the 20 above are put together. For example: Apple walnut parfait, apple peanut butter and many, many more. In terms of drinks, green tear, water and lemon juice is allowed.
It is important to eat within the confines of the list. As you get into the next phases, it’ll become much more flexible.
Phase 2: 5 day sustain
Basics: You can eat whatever foods from phase 1, but with those original choices, you can now add in more foods. Here is a sample list:
Chicken breast, tuna, black beats, oats, brown rice, corn, carrots, tomatoes, mushroom, cashews, blueberries and more.
Again you are given a lot of recipes to combine these foods with phase 1 foods. The same rules apply here in terms of eating 4 meals, 4 hours apart, everyday. You should eat until you almost feel full each time.
Phase 3: 20 day attain
Basics: Again, 4 meals, 4 hours apart, but now you get even more flexibility and more choices. There’s 80 different dishes to choose from and it’s all located in the last parts of the book. In addition to the already many choices you have from the second phase, you can now add in more foods. Here is a sample list:
Avocado, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, peaches, oranges, limes, bananas, cauliflower, mushrooms, onion, parsley, yogurt, potatoes, spinach, quinoa, pita whole grain, black beans, cannelloni beans and more.
Phase 4: Maintenance stage
This is the post diet part where you should maintain a lifestyle change. Basically you continue to eat in a way you’d eat during the 3rd phase. You should aim to eat from the food list provided, including when you go out.
Rules for going out to eat: Dr. Phil provides a list of different restaurants and examples of how you should be eating. Basically you can eat whatever you like, but try to order dishes/drinks that include the foods from the 20/20 list.
Exercise:
There is a “30 second” exercise plan added into the book where you do HIIT exercises. There is a large list to choose from, with things such as squats, dumbbell and other weight like exercises, but the point is that you do them in turn. So you can work for 1 minute, then do 30 seconds of as many exercises from the list as you can, then rest, then go back to regular training, then again for a 30 second explosion.
If you can’t do these exercises, then just do more walking instead of using escalators or vehicles. Run more than you walk (you can also do the 30 second bursts like this). Just basically move more than you sit. Dr. Phil talks about NEAT which is an abbreviation for thermogensis where you simply burn calories by doing very small things such as brushing your teeth, walking, chewing, ect… This isn’t anything special. It just means, be more active and the calorie burning will add up.
Pros:
The approach to dieting in this plan is pretty flexible. The hardest parts are the first 5 days.
Not much restriction on carbs which makes it more manageable.
The diet is pretty short.
Doesn’t use traditional approaches to weight loss.
A huge bibliography is cited at the end of the book giving credit to the claims in it.
Cons:
I don’t like that Dr. Phil uses the word “may” so often. It seems like he’s being politically correct.
A lot of very basic things are mentioned in more complex ways (NEAT) to seem like they are more than they really are. Just move more to lose weight! How much clearer can you get?
20 20 Diet Score:
3 out of 5 stars. Overall good diet, but I feel there’s more flexible, faster alternatives, like this:
Conclusions on the 20/20 diet:
This plan is good, but it’s not overly good either. Focus is more on gradual weight loss so if you need fast results, this might not the option for you. The exercises will help boost results though, just not by that much.
Health wise, the plan makes a lot of sense and I like how Dr. Phil talked about changing your though process on weight loss. To eat for nutrition, not to full fill an emotion as he mentioned using an example of a person who broke up with her boyfriend who begins eating ice cream to calm herself down. This is not how food should be treated.
In the end if you do this diet, you will lose weight. But I don’t know if you’ll be able to keep up with the 20/20 food implementation for the rest of your life, even though there are a lot of choices. If you can do it, good, but make sure that most of your food consumption comes from that list, otherwise your weight might return.
Weight loss goals are probably right up there with fitness goals when it comes to the most popular New Year’s resolutions, but in 2015, how do you plan to lose weight? If you’re thinking of doing something standard, I advise you rethink it for the moment, at least until you read of a strategy you could take that may very well make sure you never have to diet again.
Try this:
One of my goals this year has been to do a master cleanse. The aim isn’t to lose weight, it’s to get healthier, but for those seeking weight loss results, you’ll find this does the job. In about 5-10 days, you can drop over 10 pounds, get rid of bad food cravings, have healthier skin/hair and that’s just the start.
Now one of the reasons I will personally be doing a master cleanse is because in 2015, one of my resolutions has been to become healthier and ripped. I’m not an overweight guy. I am 5’11 and weight about 180, but I do have some stubborn belly fat around the waist that needs to go and while I can try fat burning foods and other diets, I am not in the mood for long term changes and I do not like most diets.
A master cleanse is great at getting rid of that fat. It is also great at really resetting things and helping your body regain it’s health potential. I did mention you’re going to stop having bad food cravings. When I did the cleanse, the though of eating anything unhealthy (fast foods) made me nauseous. What better way to insure you don’t fall of the wagon when you’re done?
Is the master cleanse for you? If you are on medication or have some sort of medical condition where fasting or limiting food intake is very dangerous for you, do not do this cleanse. Instead you may want to consider something easier like the Every Other Day Diet where it’s much easier to lose weight and have a flexible way of eating.
How long?
If you decide to do this cleanse, try to stick to it for at least 3 days. 10 days is usually the longest you should do this for. I’m going to go for 5 due to certain time constraints I have.
What to do after the cleanse:
You can consider most of your weight loss resolutions and fitness goals handled once you complete a cleanse because it isn’t just the cleanse’s initial effects that will show, but it’s the long term results that will also count.
1. You’re going to hate eating bad foods and crave good ones, thus you will maintain your results and a healthy body.
2. Your weight will continue to go down or maintain what it should be at your age/height/weight since you’ll be eating healthier/
3. Things you do afterwards to be healthy and/or exercise will have an even better effect since your body will be cleaner from the inside. Nutrients will absorb better. Metabolism will increase. Energy levels will stay high.
So really after the cleanse is done, you’re really going to have an easier time moving forward. Think of it this way:
After most diets are done, a long term plan is also set and this is where most people quit. The lifestyle changes are just too much to handle (although they are healthy!). With a master cleanse, your body is going to crave the healthy lifestyle so it will be that much easier to maintain.
If there’s anything specific you should/shouldn’t do after the cleanse, it’s this:
1. Eating unhealthy foods in large amounts. If a craving ever comes up, make sure it doesn’t happen more than a month (you probably won’t need to worry about this at all).
2. Try to stay away from unhealthy ingredients such as white sugar, flour and salt.
3. Try eating organic.
4. Drink more water.
That’s really is.
For non-cleansers:
Cleansing may not be for you and if that’s the case, try to stick to a different diet, maybe something like I mentioned above. But in addition to that, make a habit of doing some of the 4 things I just mentioned. It’ll go a long way.
Also I’d avoid doing any fad diets. The mindset there always seems to aim for fast results even though they usually preach the opposite. Instead focus on gradually lessening the bad foods/ingredients/lifestyle choices in your life and adding more and more good choices.
Walk more. Exercise more. Add more water into your life. These simple things add up and overtime your body will get used to it. In fact, like with the post cleanse effects, it’ll crave it. It’ll take longer to feel it, but it will happen.
The problem is that people try to make changes in a cold turkey fashion and this makes them quit within the first month. So don’t set your goals too high because there’s more chances of them failing. Make small changes and let them slowly add up and overtime those small goals whether it be just walking more everyday or drinking more water, whatever you do, it will add up and you will see and feel the changes.
2015 shouldn’t just be a year where you set a single goal and make it happen. It should be the start of a journey where you aim for constant self improvement and that is never a journey that really ends so focus on being a better you and doing things to make that happen and weight loss will follow as will a better you!
