Master Cleanse Without Syrup or Agave

[luvnraw]

Hey everyone,

Not sure if you remember me, its been awhile. I did rawfoods 100% last year for about 6 months in hopes to rid my body of some serious chronic illness. Ended up caving in to family pressure that it wasn't healthy to live this way and also general love of food too. Since then, this year I went 19 days 100% raw and here I am again back at square one, today is day 4. I can't say that my chronic ailments have gone away or even subsided but the reason I keep coming back to rawfoods is 2 fold for me. I believe in the long run it will at least help if not heal whatever is going on with me if I do this for my way of life. The 2nd and most important right now is rawfoods takes away my disordered behaviors with eating and since stopping rawfoods last year all aspects of that have taken over and I have to stop for my health physically, mentally and emotionally.....anyway new computer and I had forgotten about this forum until I went digging for Alissa's book.....sorry to go on, I wanted to say how good it is to be back and here is my question:

I would like to do the master cleanse starting Monday. I was up until all hours last night reading everything I could on this forum about it and links provided here from past posts. I have not been successful at water fasts since by day 3 I am totally weak and can not get out of bed, am short of breath, etc. Veggie juice fasts are similar but it takes until day 7 to get to where I can not function. From what I read the Master Cleanse provides all of the nutrients, etc. to give you energy to keep you going and it appears many of you have done it for quite some time. I am looking for experience in energy level for anyone who has done it withouth the maple syrup and did not substitute anything for it like agave. Will it be as detoxifying with just the fresh lemon and cayenne? I know that my body needs to detoxify in a major way and right now I am able to be off of work so the timing would be good if energy levels were not what they would need to be for my demanding job.

I look forward to any information and experience you can pass along! Feel free to email me too! Thanks again for listening. I look forward to being a part of this wonderful board again.

[michigan roman]

lr , been through some same issues . then i started reading that wheatgrassjuice is a great detoxifier . so on some fast of just water i , when i started to run low on energy , started wheatgrass and it gave me energy . i just grow it in dish pans in soil then cut off at dirt with sisscors then put like 200 blades in blender half full with water , blend , let sit 15 minutes so minerals leach out then strain . so point is my next fast im doing warm lemon water with a little cayene and wheat grass juice with the hope of still detoxing at optimum levels while having the strength to carry fast on a sustained length . goodday :) ps- on wheatgrass cut up into 1/2" bits before blending so dont bog down blender .

[luvnraw]

Michigan Roman,

Thank you for the information on wheatgrass. I have never tried that but have seen it at the health food store. I will have to check into that. I plan to start the Master Cleanse Monday and will need to go to the neighboring town Wednesday where they do sell that and I might have to get some in case my energy runs low (hopefully if it does it will wait until after Wednesday!).
Would it be safe to blend it in the vitamix and drink it instead of straining? Thanks again!

[michigan roman]

hi lr , ive never used a vitamix but ide think thered still be alot of solid matter / slushiness to it which would slow down your detoxing . if i was serious about fast i wouldnt blend beyond little seeable say 1/4" bits and would then strain it . good day :)

[luvnraw]

Thanks M.R. I will probably just use my juicer when I do get the wheatgrass but am hoping to have it after the Master Cleanse and not during since its not on that plan.....besides now I won't be able to get any until Friday and my energy might be low enough that I get it that day :p Have a great week!

[lavendarJ]

Just wanted to add that with the master cleanse... from my own experiences and from what i have read of the experiences of others it seems that it is very much individual and determinant upons things likes one's current mental, physical and emotional health at the time of the master cleanse (above all else the previous physical health).

Please be careful with working so much....I have three part-time jobs but the one that bugs me the most is the one that is on the weekend. It's just 22 horus but it non-stop standing. You might have already read in another post but earlier this year I did it and lost about 21 pounds. I was worried about a lost of weight gain returning but I only gained back about 4 or 5 pounds which put me back at 225. I started another MC as part 1 of my celebration of Spring. Today makes day 6. According to the scale, I am at 215 (that was Sunday). The last time I did the cleanse it was just over 3 wks I think and work was a struggle. I didn't have any of the symptons that others have mentioned. I don't know? So far it is the same thing, I always started out a little restless during the first couple of days - have a little trouble falling asleep, and then afterwards my body is just tired and running on low energy...but other than that..no major issues, I have problems with not having any bowel movements but tha was an issue before the fast and something I am working on. While I am tired in my body, my mind is so much more focused and that is while I am doing this, so that I can achieve greater insight into some issues of my life that I am pondering about.

Excuse my wordiness, just wanted to remind you to take care and be careful during your journey.....if you are not able to get the rest that your body needs - especially during this time

[HappyCat]

Hrmmm....Well I'm on day 10 of the Master Cleanse right now and have a vigorous workout routine which I have continued to follow with no problems. The Maple Syrup is there to give you the vitamins, minerals, and energy, I think if you were to omit it you would feel the same as you did on the water fast (weak, tired, sluggish). You could maybe try reducing the amount of maple syrup to 1 TBSP instead of 2. Also, you mentioned you have a chronic illness and majorly need to detoxify, fasting on just water will cause your body to release the toxins into your blood stream VERY quickly, and could even be dangerous, (the same may happen if you do just lemon juice). Why don't you ease your way into it? Start the MC off with the maple syrup and as you get further into it start using less and less. Anyways, if you have any questions feel free to contact me, I have done the MC many times! :)

[ljcoolj]

I was going to say the same thing that HappyCat just did. I've done the cleanse before, I'm actually going to start one this Friday too. Anyway, just play around with the amount of syrup but definitely don't omit it. I've done an 8 day cleanse before and my energy level was fine. I'm shooting for 14 days this time....maybe longer ;)

[luvnraw]

LavendarJ - thanks for the word of caution. Right now I am actually off of work so that isn't a problem. I do work out quite a lot but am just listening to my body! I thank you for the word of caution though, I can tend to obsess and push hard, listening to my body is hard for me but something I hope to get more in tune with!

HappyCat - My energy is so so without the syrup and since I want to be 100% raw (was before this and plan to be afterward), I do not want the maple syrup at all. I understand I may detox fast but honestly that is what I want, especially since I am home and not having to do much, its a good time to do it. I appreciate the advice though. Guess I am an all or nothing kind of gal and when I do raw I do it 100% and hoping this time to not go off of it because well when I do that I do it in the worst way too! Thanks for offering me to contact you as well! Its nice to see others who have done this with success! Today is day 3 and I worked on Monday and skipped yesterday (rare for me) and am off in a few minutes for another intense weight lifting and cardio routine!


ljcoolj - Thanks for your advice, as I said to happycat, I want to be 100% raw so feel the need to omit the syrup. Today is day 3 and my energy levels are decent enough.....they are always pretty low and I push through anyway with the health issues I have! Thanks for the advice though and good luck with starting yours Friday!!

Have a great day everyone! :p