I have just finished the Master Cleanse to detox my body from everything that has accumulated in my system over the years, 31 years to be exact. WOW! I have to share all that I have learned throughout this experience and also how wonderful I feel. There are so many diets that you can participate in that are getting their own publicity, but wouldn’t you want to find a healthy way to rid your body of the toxins that have collected and in the process lose weight, feel better as well as establish a new, healthy relationship with food? This is one way that I have used to do it and I feel great! You can find information on the details of the Master Cleanse if you go to http://themastercleanse.org/ but I would also recommend you getting the book by Peter Glickman. You can search his name on google or Amazon and find his book. He adapted the info from Stanley Burroughs, who is the original writer of the Cleanse. I didn’t get that book but heard that there is more info in there too. There is a lot of useful websites that you can take a look at as to the healing properties of Cayenne Pepper and if you like it and can stand it, I would recommend getting in a habit of drinking cayenne tea. I add lemon juice in mine to make the taste a little more pleasant.

Ok, so this cleanse is to eliminate solids foods from your system for at least 10 days though you may do the cleanse longer than that if you choose. I won’t go into the details of the cleanse because you can find that out in the above mentioned locations. However, I do want to tell you what I have learned in the process.

1. I was able to distinguish the feeling within my body for hunger vs craving. By day 3, I was wanting to eat something, mainly when I was in the grocery store purchasing more lemons, and found that once I listened to the feeling my body was creating, I noticed that it wasn’t hunger, but a craving. One way to determine this is whether or not you are wanting to eat anything, or if it is something in particular. Because a craving is when you want something specific, but if you are hungry, anything would look good to eat.

2. I realized that there are unhealthy reasons that we, as a society, have chosen to eat when we aren’t hungry. For example, I didn’t want to just stay home while I was on the cleanse, I still wanted to get together with friends, and I found that when someone invited me somewhere, they asked to go to lunch or dinner. I noticed that we are always consuming food, and it tends to be as a social means of getting together with each other. So, instead, I offered going to see a movie or playing games together at home rather than going out to eat. Food does not always have to be involved when you get together with people.

3. You can allow yourself to go out to a restaurant with someone or to an event that has food, but you don’t have to eat. If you aren’t hungry, it is ok to get a drink but to still be part of the experience. If you wanted to get some soup or something small, you can do that. One of the reasons we tend to become overweight is because we have developed a habit of eating when we aren’t hungry because of the atmosphere that we are in.

4. Have you experienced hunger feelings when you are staying up later at night and then go to eat something? Then you realize that you weren’t actually hungry, but that you were a bit bored? This can happen too. If you stay up late, and start to feel yourself getting hungry, I would suggest drinking water and/or going to bed, or even switch your mindset and do something else to get your thoughts away from eating.

5. You may find that you want to eat because you want comfort or company. Perhaps you don’t have any plans and will be alone for the night. You can develop a feeling of wanting to eat because it is something that is filling you and keeping you company. I would recommend again, changing your thoughts to do something you enjoy, because it really can be just a change of perspective that is needed.

6. Do you have to eat three meals a day? The answer is no. The media has ingrained in our subconscious that we need to have breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is not true. Our ancestors ate when they were hungry and it is the same with us. We need not eat just because it is a certain time and that time is designated for putting something in our mouths. One reason that we have been told this is again, for consumption. If we are eating at least 3 meals a day and then having snacks in between, then we are consuming more food, right? Don’t let yourself get into this trap. Eat when you are hungry. You will find that you aren’t that hungry.

7. What have I learned other than these? Well, I am not craving foods that I used to crave. When you allow your mind to open to be able to listen to what your body is saying, then you will find that you no longer want to put those things in your body that don’t make you feel good. If you can continue to eat healthy once off the cleanse and to develop an exercise routine, as well as allowing yourself to drink more water, you should be able to keep the weight off and continue to feel better every day. You will also realize that you get full faster and are eating less as well as less portions when you do eat.

I am breathing better, standing straighter, have more energy, not blowing my nose hardly, which is a miracle for me. I was nicknamed the tissue queen! LOL

If you go on the cleanse after reading this or you have already done the cleanse, please feel free to comment to share your experience with me and with others.