Fun and Mental Changes

I'M ON DAY 12 OF THE MASTER CLEANSE!!!!! For anyone who has ever done a fasting cleanse, you know that it is a big deal to get to day 10.  Anytime I can make it to the 10 day marker is a HUGE triumph for me (if you really knew me, you'd know that getting to day 3 is like a small miracle and I've only made it to day 10 a few times in the years that I've been cleansing), but this time around I discovered a little trick that seems to be making this whole process SOOOOO much easier.... and it was given to me by non other than Matthew McConaughey!  That's right, the actor... Alright, so he didn't DIRECTLY give me this trick, but I came about it after watching The Dallas Buyer's Club.  I googled (that's a real word now right?) interviews with him discussing his weight loss and I picked up on a little something he said about his transformation:  he said that he spent a lot of time reading and writing.  In other words, he occupied his mind!  BRILLIANT!!...

GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE CAKE to celebrate the inspiration to do it again.  To cleanse and clean my body, mind and spirit with another Master Cleanse.  If anyone's kept count, I DID NOT complete my February cleanse and also missed my cleanse back in August.  But it is time.... better late than never.  So tomorrow I get to spend the day with an amazing person who inspires me.  She's been through "stuff" and has come out the other side BETTER for it.  So to thank her for that inspiration and to kick off my MARCH MASTER CLEANSE (that sort of has a ring to it), I baked her a cake made from raw cacao powder, coconut flour, coconut oil, coconut nectar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, coffee and eggs.  The frosting is cream cheese, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cacao powder and coconut nectar.  This is an all-natural chocolate cake and completely gluten free.  Click HERE for the full recipe.  I'm gonna be eating lig...

My cleanse ended YESTERDAY!!!  I officially made it 15 days on the juice cleanse.  Here's my take-away: Pros SOOOOO much easier in the beginning than The Master Cleanse ever was... as in NO HUNGER!!! SOOOOO much tastier... as in there are about a MILLION different juice concoctions you can come up with! SOOOOO not boring...Drinking the lemonade on The Master Cleanse gets VERY boring after about the 10th day. Weight loss was a steady 1 pound a day. Staying hydrated was a snap! Monster Energy.  There are always sluggish days on The Master Cleanse.  This juice cleanse had NONE!!! Skin glowed. NO SALT WATER FLUSH... those of you who have completed The Master Cleanse know EXACTLY what I speak of here. Cons Cleaning the juice machine after EVERY "meal" of juicing got to be annoying. I found that I had some serious cravings... and for bad food!  On The Master Cleanse all hunger and cravings pretty much disappear after the first 3-4 days. NO SALT WAT...

Ok you guys... I just saw Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead!  WOW!!!  THIS is the fast I'm doing this year!!!  In the past, I've always done The Master Cleanse, but after watching this movie... I'm ALL OVER giving this fast a try.  I LOOKS DELICIOUS!!!  Instead of daily salt water flushes and choking down the lemon/maple syrup/cayenne concoction (which I won't lie, I personally enjoyed but had heard COUNTLESS complaints) I am going to be undertaking 20 days of fresh vegetable and fruit juices.... only fresh vegetable and fruit juices.... starting tomorrow. The movie made the fast seem very doable and the juices they consumed looked yummy so I'm hoping I won't suffer the INTENSE feeling of hunger I alway have to go through the first few days of The Master Cleanse.  They did mention that you don't feel very good the first few days of this juice fast because of detox symptoms, but I'm hoping that because I fast pretty regularly, I won't have the same issue....

WOW!  What a morning I've had already!!!  A friend of mine was recounting some health issues she's dealing with and I was reminded what this upcoming week with Curves Complete really means to me.... how far I've come with my own health.  I'm really overwhelmed with gratitude!  And it all really started with taking responsibility. I will never tell anyone that they shouldn't seek medical advice.  But while seeking medical attention from a doctor,  make sure you take responsibility for your health as well.  And if you're sick, don't rely on someone else to take care of you!  "Cure me with a pill while I do nothing"  is not a healthy attitude!  When we are sick we should do everything in OUR power to heal.  If you're ill and you think that donuts and ice cream will heal you, then you're biggest illness might not just be physical. And I can speak as someone who used to be very ill... while food SHOULD NOT be ...

With February fast approaching, I was reminded this morning that it's almost time for another Master Cleanse. Every February and every August I try to complete a 10 day round of a cleansing fast called The Master Cleanse. So with cleansing the inside to remove toxins, I also try to keep the outside clean of toxins by using all natural soaps and shampoos, haircare products, make up, even my toothpaste to all natural... well, I try to use them all the time, but CERTAINLY during my cleanses twice a year. So this morning when I opened up my Vital Juice Everywhere newsletter to see an ad for affordable, all natural soap, I was super psyched that I might be able to save a little coin on beauty products this go around on the cleanse... Body Soap AND Facial Soap!?! I think I might have to be all over this one. True Body soap is made with only five ingredients (facial soap is 7): Palm Oil, Coconut Oil, Water, Vegetable Glycerin and Sodium Citrate. It’s unscented, which means there’s no ad...

Ok.... Green Smoothie Revolution by Victoria Boutenko... High Five Victoria, High Five!!! I was SUPER excited to start this cleanse after reading the book and even convinced my husband to do this cleanse with me. I think he agreed to it since there isn't a "salt water flush" to do every morning and I can change up the smoothies every day. Not to mention that the smoothies are blended (more bulk) instead of juiced (more liquid), so I'm thinking that "full" feeling will help the cause. He agreed to 7 days with no meat, dairy or wheat, drinking only the green smoothies from this book for all his meals during the day. I told him that he can drink as much and as many smoothies as he wants. Today was the first day for both of us and I mixed a WONDERFUL concoction using fresh, organic, pineapple, peaches, dandelion greens and celery mixed with water. The pineapple and peaches made it REALLY sweet.... so I would have to say that the first day is a SUCCESS. Tomorrow...

Well... this last Master Cleanse only lasted me 5 days.... UGH! I was so hoping to finish a 40 day cleanse this time! DANG IT!!!! Oh well, I guess I'll just switch some cleansing gears. I just read Green Smoothie Revolution by Victoria Boutenko and now I'm SUPER motivated to give this "experiment" a shot! A special shout out to my sister for recommending the book! What a great (and tasty, judging by the recipes) way to continue cleansing at a slower pace while still filling up on fruit and veggies! You just blend it all down to liquid form with a high speed blender and "viola" super green super food perfect for on-the-go! I gotta admit, a smoothie seems like the perfect vehicle to get the cleansing job done without "emptying" (you devout lemon heads KNOW what I'm talking about here) and time prepping. Plus... did I mention some of these recipes rock? Even though I'm drinking my meals, which I'm totally used to with The Master Cleanse, ...

Alright... by now you all know that I'm a Lemon Head! Every year I complete (or attempt to complete) The Master Cleanse also known as the Lemonade Diet. So when Pam over at TheBugBytes invited me to be a guest on her blog to feature a project from one of the new Cricut Cartridges... OF COURSE the lemon-themed images on the Just Because Cards cartridge JUMPED out at me (JBC is the featured cartridge of the month)!!! Now, for the record, I haven't officially completed 40 days yet. The longest I've survived The Master Cleanse was 25 days. I'm hoping that by completing this scrapbook page, I'll be inspired to finish the cleanse with ACTUAL before and after pics. Pray for me people... hahahahahhahaha! I completed this whole project on my Gypsy. You can get the free cut file HERE . I shared a couple of tips over at TheBugBytes, that I wanted to share with all my readers here. First, for all of you who may not know what a cleanse is, here is a GREAT link ... suffice it to ...

Well... all is well! It has been a tough two weeks, but as always, when you make it through, things get significantly brighter. As is the case today. I'm on the Master Cleanse again (it's that time again folks... I'm twice a year now) and I'm doing very well. I'm going to cleanse for 40 days this time, so I'm in it for the long haul. I'm reaching for homeostasis, and only TIME cleansing can give you that. I will then be following that up with a much slower cleanse with raw food so hopefully by the end of the year I will look 10 years younger! HA! Don't judge! God uses vanity to motivate too! LOL! Seriously though, my goal is ALWAYS divine health!!! So if things weren't already wonderful today with the cleanse, I was also just asked to be a Copic Marker demonstrator for a scrapping event this weekend!!! What an amazing honor! And this will work out perfectly with this cleanse because it will occupy my hands and my mind and keep me from eating!!! LOVE ...

Time for the MASTER CLEANSE!!! I start the Master Cleanse tomorrow morning. Well, actually I start it tonight with a cup of senna leaf tea! Yay (sarcasm)!!! I was scheduled to do this back in February, but foolishly skipped it, so I'm rampin up tonight to do it again. WHO'S WITH ME???!!!??? hahahahahaha! You know you wanna!!! LOL! I have been a "lemonhead" for the past four years working my way up to doing the cleanse twice a year the past two of those four years, so skipping my February cleanse kind of set me back, but I'm hoping to make up for it this time. Last August I did the cleanse for 25 days, maybe this time I can go for a full month.... fingers crossed! For anyone who is curious about the master cleanse, here's a link to The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs in a PDF file: THE MASTER CLEANSER . The Master Cleanse, or Lemonade Diet as it's also known by, is the perfect way to clean your system, give your digestion a much deserved break, promote...

Wow... what a title huh!?! It's true though according to Jay Kimiecik, "Intrinsic Exercise" is the way to get there. According to me... HE'S DEAD ON! But I think there is a variable missing from his theory: the individual's present health. For years I have been on a quest to rehab my body from my past poor diet and exercise habits to the toxic chemicals doctors prescribed to me for years after I sustained an injury. These factors and more led to chronic fatigue, and were quickly snowballing into other serious conditions. I was in a very bad toxic way. Can anyone out there relate? While during most of these rehab years I did exercise, it was always a "something I have to do" and not "something I GET to do" because I just didn't feel good. Toxicity can be paralyzing. But a year and a half ago, things changed. I had just completed my third Master Cleanse and decided to incorporate raw food into my diet in a major way. I suddenly felt wonderful...

Well, I am on day 8 of the master cleanse and reading more and more information about the health benefits of a prolonged fast . A prolonged fast seemed impossible to me just a few short years ago when I first did The Master Cleanse. Honestly, I didn't think I'd make it the first day. But here I am doing it again, and I feel fantastic. I have energy and an amazing realization that I am a recovering food addict. But I also realize, biochemically, I wasn't the only one. Because the processed foods that we eat CREATE food addicts. Unbalanced sugars (man made) wreak havoc on our systems, causing deficits that lead to cravings that lead to eating more unbalanced sugars. It really IS a vicious cycle. But balanced sugars are complete and whole and don't break down our bodily systems, instead, they build them up. The sugars I'm talking about are the sugars we get from fresh fruit and vegetables. You don't hear about people being addicted to either (although I swear I am ...

I did a post a while back about the nutritious sweetener for the lemonade on the Master Cleanse: maple syrup ! In fact, for quite some time now it has been my only sweetner (well, that and agave nectar... YUM!). But why maple syrup... isn't honey the magical sweetener? First, let's consider where both come from. One comes from a tree and the other comes from flowers, but is predigested and then regurgitated by a bee. Can you guess which is which??? hahahaha ! Really though, just the idea that an insect's already digested nectar from a flower lends to the idea that the nectar is already devoid of nutrients when it's vomited back up. Isn't that the whole point of digestion? To pull the nutrients from whatever it is you have ingested. So is it safe to say that honey is a bi product ? Or even a waste material? I would certainly call MY vomit a waste material... what about you? But beyond the gross visual I now have in my head of honey, I also have a real concern about ...

Sorry about all the "Master Cleanse" posts, but since not eating is kind of consuming my life today... I find myself unable to think about anything else to blog about. But this blog post is really great with a super master cleanse tip and a mega HIGH FIVE product. Most anyone completing a cleanse knows that while one's body is detoxing, there is often an unpleasant body odor that accompanies until your system in clean. But the reality is that I don't want my husband to know about this odor... if you know what I mean. Enter Soaptopia ! Every time I have ever done the Master Cleanse, I have made it a point to only use all-natural toothpaste, shampoos and soaps. Since I'm trying to get unhealthy chemicals and toxins out of my body, it never made sense to put more back in while doing it. Unfortunately it's very hard to mask BO without chemicals... well, until now! I was at Whole Foods today to pick up some Master Cleanse staples and bumped into a display table wi...

Most "Lemon Heads" know that The Master Cleanse includes a lemonade made with cayenne pepper. I know that lemon is a cleaning agent as well as breaks up mucus (sorry... kind of gross), but what about the benefits of the cayenne? I mean, come on! Cayenne pepper in lemonade, that can't be good... can it? YES! It not only tastes good, but is so good for you. There's just something about that sweet and spicy mix that just really works. Ask any culinary guru... they'll tell you. So, I just finished reading The Healing Power of Cayenne Pepper by Dr. Patrick Quillin because, while doing this cleanse, I just HAD to know... "Why cayenne pepper?" . Wow... GREAT book! It's not a thick book at all, but is FILLED with wonderful homeopathic uses for cayenne pepper. From allergies and asthma to obesity to ulcers (yes, I said ulcers), this book has got some amazing information in it. And while I certainly appreciated practical information to increase one's heal...

Yesterday, I blogged about my Master Cleanse journey... the fifth time around. It got me REALLY thinking about fasting for spiritual connection and, of course, took me to my Bible. As I stated yesterday, I first did the cleansing for health and found something more. :) So after looking through my concordance, searching my Bible and hopping online (I found this REALLY great site ), I've come to some conclusions. Fasting seems to me to have been something that was done when making requests to God and also something that was done in thanksgiving after the fact. Fasting was also done in preparation for coming events. Why? Why all the fasting? And why is fasting deemed so unhealthy in today's day and age? Why do people shy away from something that sounds pretty "normal practice" to me. Exodus 34:28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. I ...

I am a HUGE fan of fasting for health , but what about those who fast for spiritual connection? Was I always a fan of fasting? No! As a matter of fact, there was a time when I thought I would never be able to fast at all. First of all, I LOVE food and second, I usually get sick if I skip meals. So when my sister introduced me to The Master Cleanse, explaining that the lemonade that is utilized for the cleanse is consumed throughout the day providing calories and energy, I was seriously on board. The first time that I tried The Master Cleanse , I was amazed at how easy it was... and how hard. I obsessed about food the first three days of the fast, but realized that I never felt hungry. There were days of super low energy and days that I felt like I could move a mountain. And I suppose I was moving a mountain because by day seven I was in utter shock that I had gone that many days without eating. But what was really interesting is that I discovered why people fast for spiritual connectio...

Balance is a word that I removed from my vocabulary some time ago when I attended a Quantum Physics seminar. Due to the state of "non-movement" when something is "balanced", I happily opt for... harmony (and come on! Musically/poetically speaking, harmony sounds better anyway) because I'm not in any rush to be in a state of non-movement. For me, the project started with my diet. I have honestly found that harmony is easier to find when I've completed the Master Cleanse . I read Stanley Burroughs' book, The Master Cleanser, paying attention to his thoughts on what he believes the human diet should be for optimum health. Could there REALLY be a correlation between the food we eat and our mental health? Absolutely!!! Feeling tired and dragged down effects everything in your life. If you too want harmony in your life you might want to give a little internal "house cleaning" a try and see how you feel. Certainly, clear it with your doctor first, but...

Every year I do the Master Cleanse and I love it. Along with being able to credit this cleanse with creating a cleaner me, it also can be credited with removing refined sugar from my diet... which is huge. So when I read one80.com's blog post on Maple Syrup , I sat up and paid attention. Note: REAL maple syrup should not be confused with pancake syrup, although tastes very good on them!!! In fact, the only sweeteners that I use are maple syrup and agave nectar. Maple syrup is one of those magical ingredients that sweetens AND nourishes. Unlike refined sugar , maple syrup feeds the body and promotes healing. Maple syrup is one of the ingredients used to make the lemonade that you consume while on the Master Cleanse... along with cayenne, lemon and water. Yes, I said cayenne. Any culinary guru can tell you that sweet and spicy works very well together and this lemonade is no exception (it doesn't hurt that cayenne promotes healing as well... wink, wink). In fact, the taste of t...