Hi - I am thinking about doing a cleanse but I there are so many on the market. I have read some older postings about the IP cleanse and it didn't sound very good.

I'm just wondering if any of you have done a cleanse, what products did you use and what did you think of them?

Sorry, can't help you - I just bought the IP cleanse, my coach says her clients swear by it and they always encourage them to use it starting in week 4. What I can't figure out is HOW to use it, so I posted a question in the daily thread.

I am on the IP cleanse. It is working great for me. Sherwood, what is your question?

I found your question in the daily thread and answered there as well but thought that maybe Stolaf may be interested in the answer as well. Here are the instructions on what to take when.

Day 1
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After breakfast: take 1 Novi-Renal & 1 Novi-pur

After supper: take 1 Novi-Renal & 1 Novi-pur

At bedtime: take 1 Novi-Lax

Days 2 - 23
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After breakfast: take 2 Novi-Renal & 2 Novi-pur

After supper: take 2 Novi-Renal & Novi-pur

At bedtime: take 1-3 Novi-Lax (I haven't had to take more than 2)

**My Novi-pur is liquid form not capsules. I noticed that after 1 week I won't have enough for the 23 days so I asked my coach about it and she said you take the Novi-pur just until it is finished not the entire 23 days.

Funny my coach said the IP one wasn't very good and recommended the Cleanse Smart one. The reason is to detox kidneys, and other organs and colon. I thank goodness am on my last day tomorrow... It was a long month. Hopefully I can start losing again. Good luck.. if you don't go for this one she said find one that detoxes the organs and the colon.

Thanks for all of your input.

2RIDE - do you think being on the cleanse stalled your weight loss? I would guess it would do the opposite, but I've also read about ppl saying the same thing.

I would hate to stall since I've been losing pretty steadilly so far.

As an RN, I have never been sure what people are trying to "cleanse". I understand evacuating the contents of the bowel as prep for surgery, tests etc. but "cleansing" I don't understand. The body takes care of excreting wastes all on its own; it's designed to do that.

I'd be interested in an explanation of what this cleanse is...not being impertinent here, just trying to learn. Thanks!

no I was stalled before starting the cleanse as well, just my body probably saying enough... we will see if my willpower wins out or my body...

Great I always wondered about the cleanse too why it is necessary. I can see if you have the big C for a long time... this wasn't the case for me... the way my coach explained it to me is. she thought maybe I was in a stall because my kidneys and liver have been working extra hard to get rid of the fat and that a cleanse will help them with that. I really would like your take on this, as personally not really sure that it has done anything for me... and now that I gained 4 lbs last week, she is rethinking everything once more. I know my gain was probably water retention, but I didn't think I ate anything different from before... soo we will see. The one thing I thought it might be is I had the fat free ham a few days. So I have cut out ham and see if that helps this week. Blue I would really like your take on this. Thanks.

The body takes care of processing food and excreting waste. Period. If it didn't, we would have died out as a species long ago.

Using bowel cleansers, while providing a temporary sense of lightness and "detoxification" (whatever that is), can cause dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. They are great money-makers for the marketers, as the appeal of being "detoxified" is so alluring and the pseudoscience so persuasive.

The vast majority of people never use them--do they live life in some sort of toxic state? No;they just let their bodies function as nature intended.

I'm always surprised that people resort to these "cleanses " which have so little benefit and are so hard on the body. Any other treatment with such drastic effects on one's system is usually done at the recommendation of a physician.

Interestingly, the use of this stuff is often recommended by lay people with no medical background because it seems like a good idea. Unless an individual has serious bowel issues, you would not hear a doctor recommending this kind of thing. And even then, its' not for "cleansing"--it's for some kind of serious medical condition where peristalsis (bowel motion) is impaired.

These are my opinions and observations as a registered nurse. Others may have different views.

Interesting. My clinic is run by a surgical RN, she's my coach. Her husband, the medical director, is a heart surgeon. My coach has never mentioned the cleanse to me. Maybe they don't "believe" in it? I trust them because of their backgrounds and their insistence on blood work before starting IP and notifying our PCPs that we are on the program. I'm impressed with their dedication to their clients.

Thanks!!

Others that share your view:

Dr. David Katz MD (google the guy, he's impressive!) says they are not only unnecessary but regular use can lead to malnutrition, anemia, and heart failure. (they can increase your electrolyte levels which is dangerous)

Dr. Oz agrees and explains that our bodies naturally cleanse themselves. If you need to take anything at all, it should just be choosing the right foods so you get at least 25g of fiber daily along with 8 glasses of water. Mother Nature does the rest. You may recall all of the so-called Dr. Oz colon cleansers on the market a while back. Dr Oz took them to court over that because he never recommended them.

Dr. Picco with the Mayo Clinic (he's a gastrointerologist) also says unnecessary and potentially dangerous. He also says the only reason anyone needs to clean out their colon ins in prep for a colonoscopy. So unless you do that on a regular basis, forget the cleanse

Colon cleansers and detox products have been one of the largest health and diet scams of the last few years. The kidneys also don't need a detox. They ARE a detox That's their job! along with a few other organs. Someone designed our bodies very well. These products are simply overpriced laxatives and diuretics. They are hard on the system, and can remove the good bacteria that are needed to keep everything balanced. They do not cleanse anything and they do not detox anything except for your wallets. That said, they are a huge seller by unscrupulous marketers because it's so easy to put a 'natural' spin on products and sell them for whatever they want. IP is in the wrong for doing this, as are other 'clinics' that push unnecessary supplements. It's all about $$$.

Wish I would have known that 30 days and $50.00 ago... Oh well good to know and to let others know. Thanks ladies.

I am so glad to have come across this post! I was considering doing this next week but now I am not. I'll save the $64.00 and drink extra water!

Bump

SO glad i read this thread. My coach follows the IP recommendation of a cleanse after 4 weeks but i balked at spending $69 on a cleanse. I use to work at a health food store and I knew there were some trusted cleansers at a more reasonable price.

Now that i've read this, i really need to do more research before I decide to do a cleanse at all. The thing is, before ip, i was already a big veggie eater and pretty "regular." Since IP, i'm still eating my veggies, although fewer than before because of carb counts, but I have to take Novilax to even go on a regular basis.