Question about the Master Cleanse

  • So I have been doing a lot of research on the Master Cleanse. However, I have never believed that cutting out food for days is healthy, and have read that most just gain the weight back after the cleanse is over, as most of the weight lost is water weight. I only have about 5 pounds to lose before I would be truly underweight, so I do not want to dedicate myself to the Master Cleanse. However, I have heard of people drinking the master cleanse mixture in the mornings and afternoons and eating healthy (my regular diet) for the rest of the day. Obviously the weight would not drop off as quickly, but I'm not looking to lose the weight THAT quickly. Just over a few weeks. Has anyone tried just drinking the master cleanse mixture for half the day and had any success?

    ANY info. would be great


    THANKS!
  • Biju- I just wrapped up with the Master Cleanse a little over a week ago. I did it for 15 days and probably could have gone longer if I wasent going on vaca with some friends. Anyway, I did not do the cleanse for weight loss but to cleanse my body of all the toxins and help me ease into an organic lifestyle change. That being said..

    Prior to the cleanse, I had lost 35 pounds on my own with calorie cycling and exercise and was still going strong. I did the cleanse for 15 days and lost 20 pounds, it has been about a week and a half and yes, I did gain 5 pounds back, but that was mainly due to VERY poor eating on vacation, I ate within portion size but what I did eat was bad and I consumed some alcohol. Anyway, since then, I havent gained anymore after my weekend away and Im pretty sure I have lost again, although weigh in isnt until Sunday. My body felt physically AMAZING after day 4 of the cleanse, I never felt so good and you could "see" the toxins, ie...color of tongue, bowel movements (I know TMI) leaving my body.

    I persoanally, highly recommend it. It was one of the best things I could have done and have every intention of doing 2 cleanses a year now, after the wonderful experience I had.

    Good luck with whatever you choose. I will say, you must have will power for this to be successful and at no point and time did I feel faint, dizzy or deprived, not sure why but it worked.
  • Well the master cleanse in itself is basically a low calorie liquid diet with a high laxative effect. In my opinion, it is just a gimmick to lose weight on the pretense of being healthy, which its not. So from what I get from your question is you want to use it to cut your calories so that you can lose and my recommendation is to skip the master cleanse drink and possibly evaluate your current calorie intake to see if it is possible to cut it somehow or if it is low enough already, then to increase exercise.
  • Thanks for your answers!

    Nelie- I have been trying all different calorie intakes over the past several weeks to try to lose the last 5 pounds, never going over 1,700 or under 1,100. I exercise 6 days a week, interval training on the treadmill, some elliptical to vary my routine, and light weights. I feel like I have tried EVERYTHING and my aim is to be and remain healthy.

    luckylindy - sounds like you had an amazing experience! as i said i would be really afraid to go on this cleanse for more than a few days because i really do not want to go under 115 pounds, as i'm sure i would not be able to maintain it. also, i just bought all new clothes and really cannot afford to buy more clothes again in an even smaller size!! so i definitely want to get to around 115 and no less. Do you think master cleanse in morning & afternoon and fruits veggies and whole grains for late afternoon & dinner would be something to try for a few days?
  • Biju - Are you really going for a number or are you going for a size? Are you happy at your size and just want to see a certain number on the scale? Interval training is awesome and varying your routine is awesome. Have you tried using heavier weights?
  • Nelie- great question...I was thinking the same thing.

    Biju-The scales dont mean anything if you happy where you are, its just a number, as long as your clothes fit the way you want and you feel, then I wouldnt do the master cleanse. Like I said, I did not do the cleanse to "obtain a number", I did it to clean out my body, with the understanding that yes, I may gain the weight back. Never in a million years did I think I would lose 20 pounds that fast and for obvious reasons, its not that healthy. My recommendation for the cleanse is based on you feeling happy and healthy, not to obtain a number. If that is not your objective, I would just leave the scale be and try to work on your exercise routine to tone. As far as doing the fruits and veggie, of course thats a great idea but remember...you dont want to put your body into starvation mode and just drink this and eat minimal calories. Just drinking, you eventually get over hunger pangs and cravings, but eating...you take the risk of binge eating. Also, now that I am done with the cleanse. I calorie cycle anywhere from 1400 to 2200 calories (of course Im bigger than you), I never go lower than that, as I dont want my body to feed off of muscle...ya know?

    Good luck!
  • luckylindy - your experience with the MC sound so amazing, i might do a 5 day cleanse and see the benefits. i'm really not obsessed with a number on the scale, and i love being a size 2, but with 5 more pounds off i would fit 100% comfortably into all of my clothes. it's mostly pudge around my waist that i have not been able to get rid of through diet or exercise, or sit-ups, because i think that is the last place where my body loses weight.

    what were some of the benefits of the master cleanse? did you have a lot of energy? how did you deal with hunger pangs? did your skin look better than usual? was the actual drink drinkable...or was it bad tasting? your experience sounds wonderful i'd love to hear the details! you might just inspire me to try it out.

  • Biju- Im not going to lie, the first 3 days were bad. I was hungry, and by day 3, I had such a massive headache that I had to leave work. After that...it was smooth sailing, literally I had NO hunger pangs, an occasional craving, but no pains. Your senses defiantely become more alert because the smell of bakery items were just amazing, however, it also helped when I smelled fried food. It would completely naseate me to smell anything fried, which is great because since Ive gone off the cleanse, I have hardly any cravings for fried and greasy foods. Energy - hmmmm, well, once again, the first 3 days are rough, I would not say I was lacking energy but I definately did not have the same giddy up I normally would. However, I did have enough energy to keep with my normal gym routine which consists of a 1.5 mile walk/run each day and 1 hour at the gym 5 days a week. My skin was AMAZING, its funny because I didnt notice too much but others were coming up to me saying I had a "glow" about me. Now, my face has since kinda broken out, which Im wondering if that is a side affect of the cleanse or just really bad PMS? I usually do not break out during my cycle but this time around TOM was exceptionally vicious to me. idk. Ahhh...the drink. The drink is definately attainable and to be honest, after a while you get used to it and grow to like it, however, the salt water cleanse is DISGUSTING. Its hard to keep down. I was also suppose to do a tea laxative but just the thought of tea makes me sick, so I had to pass on that. If I had any reocommendations, I would do your lemonade and maple syrup drink, but instead of putting real cayenne pepper in the drink (sometimes I would put too much and the drink would be gross), but cayenne pepper tablets, it is a recommended as an option with the program. Hmmm...what else, oh...DO NOT, DO NOT make the lemonade days in advance, it taste gross. I would make a fresh batch everyday. If you have any other questions for me, feel free to send me a personal message.

    Good luck!
  • I tried the Master Cleanse for one day. Honestly the drink was fine for me. I can't really tolerate spicy foods so I reduced the cayenne. I also reduced the syrup slightly because it looked like too much as I was measuring it out. The drink was neither too spicy nor too sweet.

    My problem was the combination of the tea and salt water flush. After half a day I felt like I'd been beaten up - my body felt totally brutalized - and there was a moment that is definitely TMI, so I'll stop there other than to say that it was really really no fun. Instead of just quitting the tea and flush, I quit the whole thing, with the thought that this can't possibly be okay. I may try it again without the tea and flush.
  • I tried the Master Cleanse and it was an interesting week. I debated back and forth at the time between doing a juice feast (which would require a juicer) and the Master Cleanse. So, I picked the Master Cleanse and the whole thing was a disaster for me. I felt horrible, absolutely horrible...when I felt like I was going to pass out, was shaky, super dizzy, I quit it and opted for a juice feast. You are basically just drinking lemonade and then flushing out your body with a salt flush. You are not getting all the nutrients you need and the high you feel is from the lack of food a euphoria experience. What bothered me is the guy who advocates it, in fact he wrote the newer books on it, he keeps his weight in check by doing several of these a year and he was talking about doing these for more than a month. Now, call me a crazy gal, but no way is that healthy. Another thing that bothered me was he said that he could feel the toxins when he went to the bathroom.."burning" him. That is the cayenne! lol

    So, I did it, had a bad experience and then went and did a juice feast for 30 days until I became saturated and couldn't do the green juices lol. Making my own juice, which I still do, was way better for me. Total life changing experience, but I wouldn't ever do a cleanse or juice feast like that again. If I want a spiritual or cleansing experience i'll just drink a smoothie or more homemade juice. As with anything though, there are people who use the juice feast method to loose all their weight. They will even do it for 90 days or more. I'm not into that aspect of it. I did the feast for an experience at the start of my weight loss journey and it was a lot of work, a lot of veggies and fruits juiced...much more involved.

    I know some people have had wonderful experiences on the Master Cleanse, but I can tell you that after doing a lot of research before and after there are an even amount of people that like me do not support that idea, but one can say the same for a juice feast probably as well.

    The lemonade drink wasn't bad either...I did read about a guy who did the Master Cleanse for over 100 days...I believe he had serious health issues afterward, according to his blog and video journals at the time. I don't think most people do that sort of cleanse for more than two weeks though...a juice feast can last longer, but I personally feel like I needed that experience at the time, but not now. I did try to do a short juice feast this year, but lol...my body remembers the green juices. Just smelling and looking at it made my body go "NOOOOOOOOO" and well..that was that! lol
  • Personally I think cleanses are one of those "everyone responds differently". Some people can't master cleanse, some people can't juice cleanse, some people can't mono-fruit cleanse. But, for every person who can't and has ill effects there is a person out there who did it and had wonderful effects.

    I couldn't do the master cleanse (I attempted twice) the tea and salt water part of it were just horrible, and citrus and me don't get along very well anymore (sensitive stomach ). Juice cleansing however I adore!