Last summer I voluntarily chose to stop eating for 10 days. I gave up solid foods as part of the Master Cleanse.
At 5’6”, I couldn’t budge my scale from around 140, no matter how many times I tried South Beach or Slim-Fast (and yes, I realize my desire to lose was more about vanity than health). A colleague told me he’d permanently shed 20 lbs. on the Master Cleanse, a very controversial liquid diet that helped Beyoncé quickly slim down for her role in Dreamgirls. The no-solid-food rule sounded a little scary, but the thought of losing 10 lbs. fast was too tempting to resist. So I started poking around the Internet and found a surprising number of Master Cleanse tips—some useful (always stay near a bathroom) and some not (rub your belly to rid it of toxins).
I was ready to spend 10 days ingesting nothing but homemade lemonade. Here’s what happened:
Day 1: Every day I was supposed to guzzle 16 oz. of salt water in the morning, and sip a mug of hot laxative tea before bed. According to Google, this was supposed to eliminate years of waste accumulated in my body. That’s basically a fancy way of describing water-like diarrhea and killer stomachaches.
Day 2: I wasn’t as hungry as I expected to be and even felt more energized than normal. But that night I went to the movies and could smell my friend eating gummy worms two seats away. I had to sit on my hands so I didn’t reach over and steal some.
Day 3: Wanting to burn some extra calories, I spent the day walking around the city. Since you’re not eating anything on the cleanse, you’re not supposed to exercise—and I soon found out why. Feeling faint, I had to sit down on more than a few benches on my way home. “Are you insane?” my friend texted me mid-rest, begging me to stop.
Day 4: I woke up weighing 135—I’d finally broken my 140 plateau! Seeing the scale go down was exhilarating and addicting.
Day 5: Socially, it was an awkward week to cleanse. My colleagues and I were taking our new manager to lunch, and an old college professor wanted to have dinner. My new coworker asked if I wasn’t feeling well when I ordered a measly bowl of egg drop soup at a Chinese restaurant. Embarrassed by my no-solid-food streak, I faked an upset stomach.
That night my professor picked a steakhouse. After just two bites of steak and some asparagus, I realized there’s a reason you’re not supposed to eat solid foods while consuming all that laxative tea.
Next page: Slipping on my skinny jeans
Comments (49)
Try http://www.MasterCleanseDietSuccess.com and use this as a guide to help you next time so that you can do the cleanse correctly and complete it successfully. Cheers!
This article is ridiculous. What an unfair “review” of the Master Cleanse, considering, as others have already pointed out, that you didn’t do it properly at all!
Things that were clearly wrong:
- Starting the cleanse as a means to lose weight, not to detoxify.
- Only taking in 16 oz of the saltwater flush; it’s 32 oz, & anything else won’t be as effective
AND especially…
- Eating EGG DROP SOUP, STEAK, & ASPARAGUS on Day 5! What part of the Master Cleanse says you are to ingest anything but the lemonade, senna tea, more water, & the saltwater flush?!? You are NOT to eat anything else at all. Was that not clear to you in all your research???
- Add to this, the devouring of cookies as soon as the clock hit midnight. LOL. NOT the way to go; you’re supposed to come off the cleanse slowly & eat healthily as you move forward.
So, writing an article on how you “survived the Master Cleanse” & how you “gained it all back” is misleading. It makes you look ignorant since you DID NOT even do the Master Cleanse properly.
What a mental obstacle course you took yourself through, and a physically threatening one as well.
The article is titled “I Survived the Master Cleanse…”, but honey, you didn’t ever DO the Master Cleanse. Maybe tried it, sporadically at best, but not fully. Egg drop soup, meat & asparagus, and then broke the fast with chocolate chip cookies? Sounds more like a bout of anorexia than anything else.
As evidenced from countless responses to your post and my own personal experience, this cleanse truly is a remarkable way to CLEANSE the body and restore healthy cellular functioning. Losing weight just happens to be a by-product. I encourage you to give it another go, but this time, KEEP SITTING ON YOUR HANDS!
With love. Namaste.
What a strange article headline. Obviously they did not do the cleanse.
The Dr Max Powers “15 Day Cleanse” flatten my stomach and I am convinced helped me lose more weight even when I wasnt eating perfectly(stupid schwarma). Seven pounds in two weeks (tomorrow is my last day) is pretty darn good if you ask me. It’s inexpensive which is also a plus.
Not everything you lose will be pure fat because thats not what this does it gets rid of the toxins,excess water and bloat and make your body run more efficiently which then makes it easier for to lose weight. I will definitely try the Dr Max 15 Day Cleanse again in 6 months. . .
I’m one whole year removed from doing the Master Cleanse for 30 days and losing 30+ pounds and I’m happy to say I have not gained back the weight…in fact I am continuing to lose. I’m down to a respectable 189 and 4 lbs. away from my goal! The key is “proper diet and exercise” AFTER an intense cleanse like this one.
hey! ..i wanted to know how you managed to keep your weight in control and not gain it back. Can you please tell me what you ate and didnt everyday right after you stoppd the cleanse ..and did u do the cleanse for straight 30 days?? ..thnx so much babe! –for posting your experience! ..hope to hear frm u soon! :)
this person didn’t do the master cleanse…they cheated…shouldn’t knock stuff you haven’t really tried
I have been extremely fond of the Master cleanse diet for a number of reasons as a fasting tool rather than a weight loss tool. Great post
Alma, I agree completely. I’m hearing quite a bit of negativity toward the Master Cleanse, whether it’s concerns about not getting enough nutrients while on it, gaining all the weight afterward, it being dangerous, etc. What’s really dangerous is people doing it but having little snacks or breaks through out it!? Now that is dangerous! But these comments also seem to be coming from those not having researched it thoroughly – let alone actually tried it. I did it for the first time a couple months ago for 15 days and luckily I had the pleasure of doing it with two of my best friends, making it pretty easy and fun! Sure, I gained a few pounds back but who cares?! I didn’t do it to lose weight! I did it because I read about all of the cleansing effects. If anyone is interested in doing the Master Cleanse, whether it’s for the first time or the fifth time, there’s an app for it (iphone app) called Master Cleanse. My dad got it a couple weeks ago, did a ten day cleanse with it, and was very pleased. I’m very proud of him and very proud of all of you who have the will power and determination to do it… correctly!