Anyone Try The Lemonade Cleanse?

Ok so how many of you experienced stomach issues after all that good holiday eating?

Well, I definitely did for sure! The food was oh so delicious, but my poor little belly is simply not used to eating like that anymore!

If you've read any of my previous post about food, you already know that I’ve been leading a pescatarian lifestyle – meaning I eat no red meat. I say pescatarian lifestyle instead of straight up pescatarian because I do allow myself to eat chicken on occasion, well I did pre-2021.

I am also sensitive to milk products and use almond milk instead and just, in general I don’t really eat much dairy.

But... I smashed that macaroni pie my grandmother bakes so well and the cheesecake my aunt made and pretty sure I had a bit more breads and curry than I do in my normal daily diet. That week after Christmas my stomach was a mess: not just, “Oh, I’ll feel better after using the bathroom,” type of mess. No! I had heartburn for like 3 days straight, I was bloated beyond imaginable; it felt like the only way to release was to pop my belly with a pin and let all the air out. Obviously that couldn't be done. SMH. I can’t recall any other time in life where my stomach was so uncomfortable for so long and nothing I did helped.

I drank peppermint tea, I took shots of apple cider vinegar, I added lemon juice to my water; but nothing was working. That’s when I decided It was time for a cleanse. Time get my life and my belly back in check!

Plan:

Week 1: Cayenne Pepper Master Cleanse

Rest of the year: Vegetarian meals during the week, Fish on the weekend.(Hopes of eventualy not even wanting fish anymore)

So I’m not a virgin at the master cleanse or anything but it has been a couple years, so it was time regardless. The 1st Sunday of the year (2021) I went out to

buy all my ingredients:

1) Cayenne Pepper

2) Lemon

3) Organic Maple Syrup – I used grade A

4) Water – If you don’t have a container that holds a gallon you’ll probably want to grab one.

5) Sea Salt – I already had some pink Himalayan sea salt in my cabinet, so I used that

I also made sure to get items for weening off the cleanse such as vegetable broth, fruit, and I made sure to stocked up on veggies.

Being that I hadn’t done the cleanse in a while I re-read the instructions online The Lemonade Diet Ingredients and Recipe | The Master Cleanse. This website answer how to’s, FAQs, and gives helpful instruction and suggestions. It also goes into detail about one of the most important steps

in this process which (in my opinion) is the Salt Water Flush. One question I could not find the answer to was whether or not I should continue the salt water flush on my 1st ease out day. I am no medical professional, so strictly based on my personal experience I think I should’ve done the salt water flush on that 1st ease out day because I had no natural bowl movement.

The other website I found useful was Master Cleanse Blog. I used this website to get the recipe for making a gallon sized mixture of the lemonade. Being the fact that I work a full time job, it was much easier to make a gallon in the morning to carry with me through out the day rather than stopping to make a new batch every time I felt hunger strike.

Now let’s go through my notes:

Day 1:

7:40am – Definitely needed more lemons. First Bowl Movement after flush about 1 hour. You will definitely feel the rumble and discomfort in your stomach. Just stayed on the toilet – there were several movements, I had a min of about 4 but didn’t continue counting.

10:10 -Another bowl movement ... pours out like water 2-times Period started early. Just started it wasn’t supposed to start until Thursday. Kind of nervous about that because my body will need to replace the blood. Going to be super lazy these next 3 days, intentionally, so I don’t overexert myself.

2:40

Pit of stomach hungry

Nearly half the gallon gone only 1 liter of water so far normally would be at about 1.5-2 by now

Day 2:

Heightened sense of smell for food... smells so good

Hungry at night

Resisted pulling into a drive through

Proud of myself because I went to a restaurant with a person who ordered food and I stayed strong!

Day 3:

Very low energy

Woke up at 5:30 maybe b/c of my female issue maybe b/c I was hungry.

Went back to sleep at 6:45

Woke up late for work

Normally leave house at 8:30

Force myself out of bed at 8:33 after waking up from a dream where I was rushing my nieces b/c I was late

Day 4:

Orange Juice and broth today. No bowl movement. Kind of nervous

Day 5:

Ate real food today

Breakfast:

Smoothie - kale, spinach, banana, apple, strawberry, almond milk

Snack: strawberries 2 or 3 sliced up

Peppermint and detox tea mixed together

Lunch: salad - spinach, cucumber, baby bella mushroom, onion, strawberries

Dinner:

I did not follow the rules. Today was supposed to be all raw fruits and veggies. No bread but I had my soup

Lentil soup: lentils, Bella mushroom, kale, spinach, carrots, onion, potatoes

And cornbread muffin

Had a bowl movement for the first time since Wednesday morning a couple hours later and a second time before bed.

Day 6:

Woke up to stomach feeling uncomfortable from digesting.

2 natural bowl movements upon waking.

1st was kinda light but much better than the little that came Friday night.

2nd go around felt like it pushed out all that needed to be pushed out

As you can see from my notes, I had some unexpected things happen, but I didn’t fold! My period started on the 1st day of my fast. I would not at all suggest fasting in that condition for anyone; but being the fact that I’ve done the fasting before I felt like I knew my limits and would quit if I needed too. They also brought in goodies to work on Tuesday morning which I resisted, and I went to meet up with someone at a restaurant and didn’t order anything. I brought my water and lemonade right in and drank to satisfaction.

Not only does fasting cleanse your body but it gives you a mental cleanse and I feel like it gave me sort of a self-esteem boost because you are proving to yourself that you have what it takes to be disciplined and committed to your goals and to your health.

So may people told me they don’t know how I’m able to do it … they “could never!” At the end of the day, I feel like we all are capable of doing whatever we put our minds to. I finished my fast and I glad I stuck to it. Someone asked me how I felt now that I could eat again... lol. I must admit, it was so easy not to have to think about which meals I was going to eat of which ingredients I forgot and have to run back to the store to get. However, food is delicious and im glad I can have that variety back. As it should, the fast did help me to be more conscious of what I was putting in my body. I mean after all, it would have defeated the purpose of the cleansing and fasting and detoxing had I just gone back to polluting my body.

I also did a vlog of my fasting journey. Check it out!