Master Cleanse - Day 5

Today I could not get warm. I walked around most of the day wearing a scarf, jacket, and gloves. Other than being cold, my cleanse is going well. I did my morning walk and I'm thinking of extending my 1.3 miles to a 3 mile walk. I would need to get up about 30 minutes earlier...which means an earlier bedtime. I'll try it out tomorrow.

I can't wait until my skin clears up. I have a fine layer of bumps. I know that my body is releasing toxins right now and unfortunately I have to deal with it coming out on my face and back. 5 more days to go (or longer depending on how long it takes for my tongue to turn pink). I just went to Trader Joe's to get more Grade B Maple Syrup. That stuff is not cheap at $16 a bottle. So far I have used almost 2 bottles in 5 days.

I'm still researching the best way to eat once I come off of this cleanse. I know that I don't want to go back to eating mucus producing foods. I also know that I want to be in control of my mood...instead of feeling the negative effects of food on my mood. One of my co-workers told me that I seem happy. I am :)

Master Cleanse - Day 4 & Baby Locks Update

A co-worker told me she noticed my skin is changing. By the end of the day my face is usually oily. Today, it was normal. My dry patches are almost gone and my pores are not as pronounced. I also noticed that I'm not having allergy symptoms. I actually had not paid attention to it until a co-worker came into the library with watery eyes, complaining of her persistent symptoms this week. Flatulence is nonexistent! I should have known all of those symptoms were related to my diet. Now I need to figure out what I CAN eat that will agree with my body. I want to look into Macrobiotics. It seems to fit my emerging flexitarian self.

I am loving learning more about my hair, skin, & body and what works for it. It's funny, anytime my goal has been weight loss, I fail. Now that the goal is self-care/self-love/self-discovery, I'm successful.

Oh...and best of all, now that my hair is locked, I don't waste 40 minutes in the morning trying to comb it out. I love that I can get up, either soak my hair in the shower, or let it fall with the steam, and go! I am growing to love the curly fuzzies (my baby locks). Right now I am washing my hair about every 4 days or so, which might be too much, but I love having a fresh scalp.

Master Cleanse - Day 3

This morning I woke up and it felt like I drank coffee. I don't know where this sudden burst of energy and elevated mood came from. I skipped my walk today because of the rain...it doesn't take much for me to postpone exercise (still working on that one). I felt much better not doing that salt water flush. I take 6 of the Oxy Powder pills and that does my system just fine.

I haven't been drinking extra water. As a matter of fact, its difficult for me to keep up with drinking the entire gallon of my daily portion of the Master Cleanse. I end up with a quart left by the end of the day. Yesterday I fell asleep and had 1/2 quart left. Today...about the same. Tomorrow I'm going to aim for adding more water to my day.

Today I found myself daydreaming about the last day of the cleanse. I can't wait to make my crockpot veggie stew. I have 7 days to go. I think my skin is getting better. I have been using an Oil Cleansing Method (more about that later). I've been thinking that I need to start getting more sleep. I know that would help everything. Right now I get about 5-6 hours. I should experiment one week and get 8 each day and see how that works for me. Oh...and I'm currently reading a new book, Medisin by Dr. Scott Whitaker, ND & Jose Feming, CN, MH. After viewing Food, Inc. and reading this book, I wonder what I will be able to eat. Sometimes I wish I took the blue pill.

Master Cleanse - Day 2

Everything is going well. I'm not feeling hungry. My energy level is good. I did however eat a banana. I couldn't resist! I was making green smoothies for my family and they smelled so good. I figured a banana wouldn't hurt. Oh well...

I decided today will be the last day to do the Salt Water Flush. I hate the taste. Today my gag reflex almost kicked in and I thought I would throw the whole thing up. Instead I will be using Oxy Powder tablets at night. They produce the same effects without having to swallow salt water. Two of my co-workers said they would start the cleanse next week! It would be great to have support during my last few days.

I took a walk today too! It feels good to take care of myself.

Master Cleanse - Day 1

**Warning** If you don't want to read about bodily functions...this is NOT the blog for you.


I started the Master Cleanse today. I had all kinds of ailments over the last 2-3 weeks: mood swings, acne on my face and back, horrible allergies, dry skin, lack of energy...I had enough! Every time I do the Master Cleanse, I feel great. I drink the following each day:

1 gallon of spring water in a 3 gallon container
1 and 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice (in the juicer w/ pulp)
1 and 1/2 cup of Grade B maple syrup
1 teaspoon of Cayenne pepper.

This makes a days worth. Stir well and pour into several containers.  My coworkers and kids know I'm always drinking some strange conconction (green smoothies), so I don't get questioned about drinking yet another strange thing :) It is very important to shake up the container before and during the pour into the smaller bottles otherwise you will have some very peppery drinks as all the cayenne will be in the last 2 (along with all the pulp).
In the morning I do a Salt Water Flush (SWF) using 1 quart of room temperature filtered water and 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Un-iodized organic sea salt is essential. It tastes awful! It took about 5 minutes for me to drink the entire thing. I hear that standing in front of the mirror while you drink helps you to do it in one shot. After that, I took a 1.3 mile brisk walk outside....YES! I went outside for a walk! I never do that! It took me about 19 minutes. I need to pick up the pace next time.

An hour after taking the SWF, I was finally ready to eliminate. There were no cramping side effects, however my BM was completely liquid. It took about 30 mins on the toilet for it to finally stop.  I made sure to drink the SWF 2 hours before I had to leave my house for work to give it time to take effect. I would hate to have to go to the bathroom...that way...at school...ugh!

At night they suggest using a laxitive tea or doing another SWF...however, I will be using Oxy-Powder Colon Cleanse and a huge glass of water. I can't imagine doing that Salt Water Flush twice a day. I am also drinking 1 cup of water with 2 Tablespoons apple cidar vinegar as my Cleansing Skin Detox. I've also heard that apple cidar vinegar is good for allergies. I hope so. I need all the help I can get this season.

I plan on incorporating Yoga at the end of my day. I have been so wound up lately (physically and emotionally), this should help.

So far so good. I am 6 hours into my day. The last time I did this cleanse, I had crazy headaches. I chalk that up to my caffeine addiction. I used to drink 1-2 cups of coffee per day. Now I am on th Green Smoothie train. I drink a Green Smoothie every morning instead of coffee. Now coffee is a "sometime" thing (about 1x per month). This time around, I have been off of regular coffee use so I shouldn't experience the headaches.

Want to join me in my cleanse? Who's in? Want to know more about the Master Cleanse? Read here.

1st Loc Tightening

There is no feeling like having someone wash your hair. I have been doing my hair for at least the last 12 years. I know it's been longer than that, but I'm using the birth of my son as a time marker :) I know I haven't had my hair washed in a shop since before I was pregnant. Moraa washed my hair 3x with a variety of Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap. I was shocked at how vigorously she scrubbed my scalp with her fingers. I had been so careful, thinking I would unravel my locs. To my surprise, they held together well. She estimated it would take 2 hours to tighten my hair, but she was done in 1 1/2 hours. I was pleased by the results. Before tightening, my hair was starting to fall all around my face. After the tightening, the front of my hair was pointing back.





After a couple days of showering, it returned to settling around my face again.

This time around the locs felt tight. They were much tighter than when she put them in. It brought back memories of getting my hair braided as a kid. I have a few bumps in the back of my hairline from them being so tight. Next time I will ask for her to make them a bit more loose. I guess there are pros and cons to the tight vs. loose thing. If its too loose, the hair comes out and you have loose hairs the entire time until the next tightening. When too tight, you can develop hair bumps, or worse, hair loss over time from the stress on the hairline. I think I'll choose the "too loose" option next time.