The real draw to this diet is that *supposedly* our colons are packed full of waste that just sits there full of preservatives, building up acid, harboring bacteria and leading to disease.
I decided I wanted to see what a "normal colon" looked like, so I looked up colonoscopy videos on YouTube. Weird, yes...fascinating, definitely. Granted these colons have gone through a medically-prescribed colon-cleansing regimen which usually include a sodium phosphate prep such as: Fleet Phospho-Soda.
See .pdf outlining steps for a pre-colonoscopy colon cleansing put out by Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals here.
The Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology published an article 1n 2007 reviewing current issues underlying colon cleansing regimens: Can J Gastroenterol. 2007 February; 21(2): 105–111.
But it is important to see how the prescription prep (usually a 2-day diet) effectively clears the colon and nothing is left behind, or 'caked-on.'
Normal Colonoscopy 2:00min
A Normal Colonoscopy 2:52min
Video Clip of a Colonoscopy Taken... 00:13min
The above are videos of healthy colons. They look pretty clean and the visible lining is necessary to protect the intestinal wall. Regular daily bowel movements are enough to keep the intestinal waste moving right along, ensuring that nothing stays too long in the colon to cause damage. Low fiber, high protein, high preservatives, inadequate hydration are all dietary pitfalls that may slow a bowel movement and possibly cause intestinal damage down the road. It is safer (and offers additional nutritional benefits) to change these dietary habits rather than to put your body through an extreme colon cleansing such as the Master Cleanse.
Read the following Yahoo!Answers page on colon cleansing, scroll down and read all posts.
Read more!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Day 7: Ease-out #3
Saturday, September 5th was the third (and final) day of the Ease-out, the goal was to eat primarily whole fruits and vegetables, incorporate bread and drink orange juice and water.
Weight: 188.5 pounds
Calories consumed: no telling
Fat: gobs
Carbs: ridiculous amounts
Protein: more than normal
Physical: I felt bloated from last night's meal, I ate a much larger meal than usual, but the fish didn't bother my stomach.
Mental/Psychological: Excellent
Exercise: none
Notable reaction of the day: "I'm pretty sure chocolate-covered bacon is not part of this diet."
Meal prep & how I felt:
This morning I had 2 clementines, a bagel with peanut butter, a banana, and a black tea. Today was International Bacon Day and my friend was celebrating his birthday with a bacon pot-luck party, needless to say I didn't stick to the recommendations and in one day I ate more bacon than I usually eat in a year. To add to the destruction of this diet plan, another friend had a wine and cheese party later in the evening. My daily intake included, bacon, chocolate, cheese, wine, and approximately 4 cups of raw fresh veggies (celery, pepper strips, carrots, cherry tomatoes).
My stomach felt fine today, but I probably won't eat bacon for another 3 years.
Read more!
Weight: 188.5 pounds
Calories consumed: no telling
Fat: gobs
Carbs: ridiculous amounts
Protein: more than normal
Physical: I felt bloated from last night's meal, I ate a much larger meal than usual, but the fish didn't bother my stomach.
Mental/Psychological: Excellent
Exercise: none
Notable reaction of the day: "I'm pretty sure chocolate-covered bacon is not part of this diet."
Meal prep & how I felt:
This morning I had 2 clementines, a bagel with peanut butter, a banana, and a black tea. Today was International Bacon Day and my friend was celebrating his birthday with a bacon pot-luck party, needless to say I didn't stick to the recommendations and in one day I ate more bacon than I usually eat in a year. To add to the destruction of this diet plan, another friend had a wine and cheese party later in the evening. My daily intake included, bacon, chocolate, cheese, wine, and approximately 4 cups of raw fresh veggies (celery, pepper strips, carrots, cherry tomatoes).
My stomach felt fine today, but I probably won't eat bacon for another 3 years.
Read more!
Day 6: Ease-out #2
Friday, September 4th was the second day of the Ease-out, the goal was to eat primarily whole fruits and vegetables, and drink orange juice and water.
Weight: 188.0 pounds
Calories consumed: 1273
Fat: 34 grams
Carbs: 161 grams
Protein: 73 grams
Physical: I felt better than yesterday, but still tired.
Mental/Psychological: Healthy and HUNGRY for everything!
Exercise: ran 2.5 miles
Notable reaction of the day: "Ugh!!! This is too long without good nutrients!"
Meal prep & how I felt:
I woke up this morning and ate 3 clementines (weird that I crave oranges now), and a cup of peppermint tea. For lunch I had salad of spinach, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, and cherry tomatoes with an oil and vinegar dressing. Later in the afternoon I had 1 banana, 1 medium apple, 1 orange. I usually eat the salad and the fruit for lunch, but found myself very full upon finishing the salad and left the fruit for a snack around 3pm. When I arrived home I ate 2 clementines and my friends called to invite me to sushi (not on the meal plan). I joined them and had miso soup, lettuce/carrot salad with ginger dressing, and sashimi (raw fish with shredded radishes). I ate about 6 pieces of various fish cuts and I also had a few bites of sticky rice, and a glass of pinot grigio (also, not on the meal plan).
Tomorrow is International Bacon Day, I am pretty sure I am not going to make it through Day #3 of the Ease-out.
Read more!
Weight: 188.0 pounds
Calories consumed: 1273
Fat: 34 grams
Carbs: 161 grams
Protein: 73 grams
Physical: I felt better than yesterday, but still tired.
Mental/Psychological: Healthy and HUNGRY for everything!
Exercise: ran 2.5 miles
Notable reaction of the day: "Ugh!!! This is too long without good nutrients!"
Meal prep & how I felt:
I woke up this morning and ate 3 clementines (weird that I crave oranges now), and a cup of peppermint tea. For lunch I had salad of spinach, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, and cherry tomatoes with an oil and vinegar dressing. Later in the afternoon I had 1 banana, 1 medium apple, 1 orange. I usually eat the salad and the fruit for lunch, but found myself very full upon finishing the salad and left the fruit for a snack around 3pm. When I arrived home I ate 2 clementines and my friends called to invite me to sushi (not on the meal plan). I joined them and had miso soup, lettuce/carrot salad with ginger dressing, and sashimi (raw fish with shredded radishes). I ate about 6 pieces of various fish cuts and I also had a few bites of sticky rice, and a glass of pinot grigio (also, not on the meal plan).
Tomorrow is International Bacon Day, I am pretty sure I am not going to make it through Day #3 of the Ease-out.
Read more!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
People really do this???
I really am glad that I am participating in this, not only has it given me the chance to better understand what someone would go through if they wanted to complete the cleanse, but I have also had the opportunity to speak with many people, through casual conversation, about this cleanse, their experiences with cleanses, or general questions about diets of this sort.
Just this evening, in the course of dinner, I heard about 5 people who have attempted the Master Cleanse:
My friend's massage therapist
Our waiter's mother, sister and sister's boyfriend
A waitress at our restaurant
People are really doing this! I don't know if they are doing it correctly, how long they are doing it, or their reasons for trying the cleanse... but they are putting their bodies through this process. Amazing!
Read more!
Just this evening, in the course of dinner, I heard about 5 people who have attempted the Master Cleanse:
My friend's massage therapist
Our waiter's mother, sister and sister's boyfriend
A waitress at our restaurant
People are really doing this! I don't know if they are doing it correctly, how long they are doing it, or their reasons for trying the cleanse... but they are putting their bodies through this process. Amazing!
Read more!
Day 5: Ease-out #1
Today was the first day of the Ease-out, the goal was consume orange juice throughout the day, this could be supplemented with fresh pineapple, orange slices, papaya, or mango. If the fruit was bothersome to the stomach, vegetable broth could also be eaten.
Weight: 189 pounds
Calories consumed: 1306 (232 grams of sugar today)
Fat: 14 grams
Carbs: 290 grams
Protein: 19 grams
Physical: Fine, my body felt a little sluggish, but didn't ache like the day on the lemonade diet. I still didn't feel like I had enough energy to workout.
Mental/Psychological: Great! I was so excited to fall asleep last night knowing that I would be waking up to a day that didn't include the lemonade drink! The orange juice tasted fantastic!
Exercise: no specific exercise
Notable reaction of the day: "Breathe deeply, I think you need more protein."
Meal prep & how I felt:
Upon waking I drank 2 cups of orange juice, and 2 more before I left the house. For lunch I purchased 2 cups of cut pineapple, a bag of organic clementines, a bag of tangelos, and a bottle of Naked Juice - OJ from Whole Foods. I drank the OJ and ate half the pineapple for lunch. I didn't know how quickly I would feel full upon eating the fruit. 2 hours later I ate 4 clementines, and two hours after that my stomach was rumbling (I think it was excited to produce gastric juices). I ate two clementine in the car on the way home and when I arrived home I juiced the four tangelos (produced 2 cups of juice) and drank that. For dinner I went out to a restaurant for a friends birthday and didn't feel too hungry, the only food I could order was a cold cucumber soup, I probably ate about 1/2 cup and my stomach feels fine.
I realized today how easy it can be to cheat the Ease-out, it seems like "it couldn't hurt" to just try a little something (protein, dairy, bread) if you are going to be able to eat it in a few days.
Read more!
Weight: 189 pounds
Calories consumed: 1306 (232 grams of sugar today)
Fat: 14 grams
Carbs: 290 grams
Protein: 19 grams
Physical: Fine, my body felt a little sluggish, but didn't ache like the day on the lemonade diet. I still didn't feel like I had enough energy to workout.
Mental/Psychological: Great! I was so excited to fall asleep last night knowing that I would be waking up to a day that didn't include the lemonade drink! The orange juice tasted fantastic!
Exercise: no specific exercise
Notable reaction of the day: "Breathe deeply, I think you need more protein."
Meal prep & how I felt:
Upon waking I drank 2 cups of orange juice, and 2 more before I left the house. For lunch I purchased 2 cups of cut pineapple, a bag of organic clementines, a bag of tangelos, and a bottle of Naked Juice - OJ from Whole Foods. I drank the OJ and ate half the pineapple for lunch. I didn't know how quickly I would feel full upon eating the fruit. 2 hours later I ate 4 clementines, and two hours after that my stomach was rumbling (I think it was excited to produce gastric juices). I ate two clementine in the car on the way home and when I arrived home I juiced the four tangelos (produced 2 cups of juice) and drank that. For dinner I went out to a restaurant for a friends birthday and didn't feel too hungry, the only food I could order was a cold cucumber soup, I probably ate about 1/2 cup and my stomach feels fine.
I realized today how easy it can be to cheat the Ease-out, it seems like "it couldn't hurt" to just try a little something (protein, dairy, bread) if you are going to be able to eat it in a few days.
Read more!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Hump Day
I am happy to report that today was hump-day, not only because it was Wednesday, but because I made it through one full day of lemonade and tomorrow will be changing directions to go through the ease-out process.
I wanted to experience the process of getting into the diet and a full day on the diet, but I am not interested in exposing myself to the full effect of the cleanse. I personally am not a big fan of the lack of protein, vitamins and minerals in the course of the day. I am healthy and can handle the stress of consuming low calories for a few days, but I am interested in exercising and worried about the effect 10 (even 3) days of this diet might have on my muscles.
I think it is important to also chronicle the ease-out period, because one concern I would have as a practicing dietitian/nutritionist is that a client interested in starting this diet, would lose patience and not be able to make it through the ease-out period. A person needs to plan to end the lemonade portion 3-4 days before they actually want to quit the cleanse.
I will continue to blog each day, especially through labor day weekend about a number of topics that need to be addressed due to the structure & composition of this diet...so stay tuned.
Read more!
I wanted to experience the process of getting into the diet and a full day on the diet, but I am not interested in exposing myself to the full effect of the cleanse. I personally am not a big fan of the lack of protein, vitamins and minerals in the course of the day. I am healthy and can handle the stress of consuming low calories for a few days, but I am interested in exercising and worried about the effect 10 (even 3) days of this diet might have on my muscles.
I think it is important to also chronicle the ease-out period, because one concern I would have as a practicing dietitian/nutritionist is that a client interested in starting this diet, would lose patience and not be able to make it through the ease-out period. A person needs to plan to end the lemonade portion 3-4 days before they actually want to quit the cleanse.
I will continue to blog each day, especially through labor day weekend about a number of topics that need to be addressed due to the structure & composition of this diet...so stay tuned.
Read more!
My Salt Water Flush
I woke up at 5:45am this morning because I wanted to have enough time to make it through the 'elimination' process following the SWF and not interrupt my day. To make the SWF I combined 1 liter of warm water with 2 level teaspoons of sea salt in a Nalgene bottle and shook it up. Woloshyn, in 'The Master Cleanse,' says that he imagines the salt water is a soup broth and it goes down easy. I tried this on my first few sips and it wasn't too bad, but I could only drink about 200mL before I had to take a 3-5 minute break. After 400mL my tongue felt funny, after 600mL my stomach started to ache. After 800mL, I was done.
A website www.themastercleanse.org has broken down the steps of the cleanse and provided a place for people to chat about their experiences with each part of the cleanse. For information and support they have done a very nice job. I bring up this website because on it I read that within the first 15 minutes of the SWF your stomach will gurgle as if it is time to eliminate, but it is important to wait another 30-45 minutes. I am glad I read this, because this is exactly what happened to me. I waited and about 60 minutes after I drank the SWF I went to the bathroom. It was relatively unexciting. I went two more times within the next hour and 15 minutes.
The salt water tasted gross, but I have to say that I have had previous experiences with colonic cleanses for medical evaluations and this process was much more gentle than Fleet, and actually tasted better too. I wouldn't line up to do it again, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Here is the beginning of my post.
Read more!
A website www.themastercleanse.org has broken down the steps of the cleanse and provided a place for people to chat about their experiences with each part of the cleanse. For information and support they have done a very nice job. I bring up this website because on it I read that within the first 15 minutes of the SWF your stomach will gurgle as if it is time to eliminate, but it is important to wait another 30-45 minutes. I am glad I read this, because this is exactly what happened to me. I waited and about 60 minutes after I drank the SWF I went to the bathroom. It was relatively unexciting. I went two more times within the next hour and 15 minutes.
The salt water tasted gross, but I have to say that I have had previous experiences with colonic cleanses for medical evaluations and this process was much more gentle than Fleet, and actually tasted better too. I wouldn't line up to do it again, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Here is the beginning of my post.
Read more!
Day 4: Lemonade Diet #1
Today was the first day of the actual Lemonade Diet, the goal was to begin the day with a Salt Water Flush, and then consume 6-12 servings of the lemonade/maple syrup/cayenne pepper concoction.
Weight: 190.5 pounds
Calories consumed: 881 (110 calories in each serving, I consumed 8 servings; 219 grams of sugar today!)
Fat: 0.7 grams
Carbs: 238 grams
Protein: 2 grams
Physical: Fine in the morning, started feeling increasingly achy throughout the day.
Mental/Psychological: Noticed very slow reaction times today, can't believe I was operating a vehicle. Also, started getting edgy and irritable.
Exercise: 1.5 hours of Tai Chi, walked dogs 1 mile
Notable reaction of the day: None, I didn't feel like talking to anyone.
Meal prep & how I felt:
(Salt Water Flush - see next entry)
After the SWF I prepared the lemonade mixture. I used an electric juicer to juice 7 lemons (2 pounds), the 7 lemons produced 20 tablespoons (1.25 cups) of lemon juice, enough for 10 servings of lemonade. The 2 pound bag of lemons was $3.99. I then mixed a cup of lemon juice with a cup of the maple syrup into a Nalgene bottle and chilled it to use later in the day. I used the remaining 1/4 cup of lemon juice with 1/4 cup of maple syrup for my morning lemonade and added 1/10 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. The first sip was okay, but by the time I finished the bottle (it took about 15 minutes) my tongue was on FIRE! Not pleasant.
My first two servings were around 8:45am, my second two were around 12noon, my third two servings were between 2-3pm, and my forth two servings were at 5:15pm. The lemonade is so unpalatable that I don't really want another two servings today.
I also drank 60 ounces of water and 2 cups of tea throughout the day.
I didn't feel so hot today, as I went through Tai Chi, I kept wanting to sit down (Tai Chi doesn't move that fast!). My joints hurt when I moved my fingers, arms, legs; and I had trouble focusing on the computer screen a few times throughout the day; and I kept getting chills. For much of the day I moved a lot slower than usual, it might sound nice to slow down but I prefer to do it with purpose and not by necessity.
Read more!
Weight: 190.5 pounds
Calories consumed: 881 (110 calories in each serving, I consumed 8 servings; 219 grams of sugar today!)
Fat: 0.7 grams
Carbs: 238 grams
Protein: 2 grams
Physical: Fine in the morning, started feeling increasingly achy throughout the day.
Mental/Psychological: Noticed very slow reaction times today, can't believe I was operating a vehicle. Also, started getting edgy and irritable.
Exercise: 1.5 hours of Tai Chi, walked dogs 1 mile
Notable reaction of the day: None, I didn't feel like talking to anyone.
Meal prep & how I felt:
(Salt Water Flush - see next entry)
After the SWF I prepared the lemonade mixture. I used an electric juicer to juice 7 lemons (2 pounds), the 7 lemons produced 20 tablespoons (1.25 cups) of lemon juice, enough for 10 servings of lemonade. The 2 pound bag of lemons was $3.99. I then mixed a cup of lemon juice with a cup of the maple syrup into a Nalgene bottle and chilled it to use later in the day. I used the remaining 1/4 cup of lemon juice with 1/4 cup of maple syrup for my morning lemonade and added 1/10 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. The first sip was okay, but by the time I finished the bottle (it took about 15 minutes) my tongue was on FIRE! Not pleasant.
My first two servings were around 8:45am, my second two were around 12noon, my third two servings were between 2-3pm, and my forth two servings were at 5:15pm. The lemonade is so unpalatable that I don't really want another two servings today.
I also drank 60 ounces of water and 2 cups of tea throughout the day.
I didn't feel so hot today, as I went through Tai Chi, I kept wanting to sit down (Tai Chi doesn't move that fast!). My joints hurt when I moved my fingers, arms, legs; and I had trouble focusing on the computer screen a few times throughout the day; and I kept getting chills. For much of the day I moved a lot slower than usual, it might sound nice to slow down but I prefer to do it with purpose and not by necessity.
Read more!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Day 3: Ease-in #3
Today was the third day of my Ease-in period, the goal was to consume 2 liters of freshly-squeezed orange juice mixed with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup.
Weight: 193 pounds
Calories consumed: 1069 (207 grams of sugar! I'm gonna rot my teeth out.)
Fat: 4 grams
Carbs: 250 grams
Protein: 15 grams
Physical: Rested (slept late), but felt a little run down all day.
Mental/Psychological: Had a fuzzy period around 4pm where I was having trouble composing emails for work.
Exercise: Ran 3 miles
Notable reaction of the day: "You have to blog about it (the poo) you'll be dropping deck chairs!"
Meal prep & how I felt:
It took me 15 minutes with an electric juicer to make 2 liters of OJ, and 8 pounds of oranges (approx. $9.00 total). Which isn't bad when compared to my normal breakfast routine which takes approx. 25 minutes to prepare. I used two Nalgene bottles and added 1 tablespoon of maple syrup to each bottle. My original concern was that I thought I could easily chug the first bottle of OJ for breakfast, but it turned out to be more filling than I thought. I wasn't really hungry until 2pm when I had a meeting next to someone eating lunch (that sucked), but I hung out with my boyfriend while he ate dinner and I was fine. In addition to the OJ, I had 60 ounces of water and 2 cups of tea.
Read more!
Weight: 193 pounds
Calories consumed: 1069 (207 grams of sugar! I'm gonna rot my teeth out.)
Fat: 4 grams
Carbs: 250 grams
Protein: 15 grams
Physical: Rested (slept late), but felt a little run down all day.
Mental/Psychological: Had a fuzzy period around 4pm where I was having trouble composing emails for work.
Exercise: Ran 3 miles
Notable reaction of the day: "You have to blog about it (the poo) you'll be dropping deck chairs!"
Meal prep & how I felt:
It took me 15 minutes with an electric juicer to make 2 liters of OJ, and 8 pounds of oranges (approx. $9.00 total). Which isn't bad when compared to my normal breakfast routine which takes approx. 25 minutes to prepare. I used two Nalgene bottles and added 1 tablespoon of maple syrup to each bottle. My original concern was that I thought I could easily chug the first bottle of OJ for breakfast, but it turned out to be more filling than I thought. I wasn't really hungry until 2pm when I had a meeting next to someone eating lunch (that sucked), but I hung out with my boyfriend while he ate dinner and I was fine. In addition to the OJ, I had 60 ounces of water and 2 cups of tea.
Read more!
The Steps (& Ingredients) for the Salt Water Flush (SWF)
So tomorrow is my first day to complete the Salt Water Flush (SWF) in the morning. The books I have read so far give the following instructions to prepare the salt water:
2 teaspoons of sea salt combined with a full quart of lukewarm water;
Another source gives the preparation instructions:
1 tablespoon of sea salt combined with 1 liter of water.
Drink the salt water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach within 10 minutes. The SWF will start to be eliminated within 30-90 minutes, and the final elimination come about 1 hour after the first.
I have a concern with the fluxuation in amounts of salt to be added because all sources I have read also include a line similar to the following:
"If the salt water does not work the first time, try adding a little more or a little less salt until the proper balance is found." (Burroughs)
I don't know about you, but trial and error with a liter of warm salt water doesn't sound like something I want to do over and over until I get it right.
The idea behind the SWF is that the salt water should be mixed to the same salinity as your blood so that the water will not be absorbed into your bloodstream "but will stay intact and quickly and thoroughly wash the entire tract in about one hour." (Burroughs)
Incorporating some basic chemistry and knowing that the salinity of blood is 0.9 percent (9 grams of salt for every 1 liter of water), I calculated the exact amount of sea salt necessary for 900 milliliters of salt water with 0.9 salinity. According to my calculations 8.1 grams of sea salt are necessary to produce 0.9 salinity, and each teaspoon of sea salt is approximately 5 grams. Therefore to create 900 milliliters of salt water with 0.9 salinity I need to add 1.62 teaspoons of sea salt.
It is mentioned in Woloshyn's book that a deficiency in salt or other trace minerals may cause the salt water to be absorbed. So it may be a good idea to be on the safe side and add a full 2 teaspoons to 1 liter of water for the SWF to be successful.
Read more!
2 teaspoons of sea salt combined with a full quart of lukewarm water;
Another source gives the preparation instructions:
1 tablespoon of sea salt combined with 1 liter of water.
Drink the salt water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach within 10 minutes. The SWF will start to be eliminated within 30-90 minutes, and the final elimination come about 1 hour after the first.
I have a concern with the fluxuation in amounts of salt to be added because all sources I have read also include a line similar to the following:
"If the salt water does not work the first time, try adding a little more or a little less salt until the proper balance is found." (Burroughs)
I don't know about you, but trial and error with a liter of warm salt water doesn't sound like something I want to do over and over until I get it right.
The idea behind the SWF is that the salt water should be mixed to the same salinity as your blood so that the water will not be absorbed into your bloodstream "but will stay intact and quickly and thoroughly wash the entire tract in about one hour." (Burroughs)
Incorporating some basic chemistry and knowing that the salinity of blood is 0.9 percent (9 grams of salt for every 1 liter of water), I calculated the exact amount of sea salt necessary for 900 milliliters of salt water with 0.9 salinity. According to my calculations 8.1 grams of sea salt are necessary to produce 0.9 salinity, and each teaspoon of sea salt is approximately 5 grams. Therefore to create 900 milliliters of salt water with 0.9 salinity I need to add 1.62 teaspoons of sea salt.
It is mentioned in Woloshyn's book that a deficiency in salt or other trace minerals may cause the salt water to be absorbed. So it may be a good idea to be on the safe side and add a full 2 teaspoons to 1 liter of water for the SWF to be successful.
Read more!
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