Unsuccessful Master Cleanse Experience

Before I begin, I want to say that my intention is not to bash the Master Cleanse. It does work for a lot of people. I am only writing about my experience.

The Master Cleanse is a method you use to detox your body. Even though it's a detox, some people use it to loose weight. It consists of only drinking a special lemonade recipe and salt water. Laxative and herbal teas are optional.

This is the recipe for the lemonade:

½ the just of an organic lemon

2 tablespoons of grade B maple syrup

Cayenne pepper to taste

This makes one serving and you drink it a minimum of six times a day. The lemonade cleans out the body. To actually remove the toxins, you drink the salt water or laxative tea when you get up in the morning and before you go to bed. This is the recipe for the salt water. Its actually called the "salt water flush":

1 teaspoon of sea salt

25-35 oz. water

You stay on the cleanse between 10 to 40 days. I personally have done the Master Cleanse four times. That longest time I stayed on it was 36 days. I tried it because I was eating a lot of meat, cheese, take-out, processed foods, etc....and I felt like my body needed a break. Also, I had heard it's a good way to lose weight. Here are the main reasons why the master cleanse didn't work for me:

1) I had to stay near a bathroom for at least 2-3 hours after I drank the salt water. Since the salt water acts like an enema, you have to use the bathroom very quickly. I literally could not hold it. Because I had to run to the bathroom while on the cleanse, it was impossible for me to do it at work. I don't mean to be graphic but many people poop on themselves because they cannot reach the bathroom in time (and I am only talking a few seconds).

2) Drink the salt water was UNBEARABLE. It was torture because it tastes awful! It is recommended that you drink the salt water at least once a day (preferably in the morning). While it does remove the toxins from your body, actually drinking the salt water made me think that it wasn't worth it. Remember when your parents made you gargle with warm salt water whenever you had a sore throat? That's what your drinking.

3) The first few days were very difficult because I missed eating. I know it's a part of the process but the cravings were almost impossible to deal with. All I wanted to do was eat something solid because I was tired to drinking the lemonade. However, I do admit that you get used to the routine the longer your on the cleanse.

4) It was too hard for my body to adjust to food again. I always came off the cleanse properly and it still took my body over two weeks to get back to normal. It made me realize that the Master Cleanse was too extreme for my body.

5) While I did lose weight on the cleanse, I gained it all back very quickly. Since I did not consume a normal amount of calories on the cleanse, all I wanted to do was eat when I got off of it. It didn't take a lot of food for me to gain the weight back (I was eating healthy foods like salad, fruit, brown rice, etc.).

The Master Cleanse was not an effective way for me to get healthier. While it worked when I was on the cleanse, I didn't notice any added benefits when I started eating again. It was too harsh for my body, the process itself is extreme, and its very inconvenient being on the cleanse when I worked outside the home.