Researching the Master Cleanse Diet

I plan on purchasing the book for The Master Cleanse, but in the meantime, this website is pretty nifty: http://themastercleanse.org/

I decided that Beginning January 1st, I will begin my Master Cleanse (or "The Lemonade Diet" ) program. The website recommends you "ease" into the diet by allowing your body to adjust to natural, non processed foods, and then liquid foods, to juice, and finally into the "Lemonade" mixture.

This easing takes about 4 to 5 days, and then you can officially begin your ten day cleanse. Some have been known to carry out the cleanse to 40 days! This may seem extreme since the cleanse itself involves drinking 6 to 12 glasses of a "Lemonade" mixture of Water, organic lemon juice, organic maple syrup, and a dash of cayenne pepper, however, this mixture has been known to provide your body with all the nutrients it needs to energize and nurish your body, while allowing your body to rid itself of toxins and impurities. The diet also involves drinking a salt-water mixture in the morning, to cleanse your entire digestive track, and a detox tea at night.

This video is just one example of a woman who did the Master Cleanse for 15 days. She is a little wordy, but she has a great accent, and she explains what she felt like, and shows a before and after of results. Big Difference! Check it out and let me know what you think!

30 day Vegan Challenge

It is almost Christmas, and the holiday season has brought many exciting moments into my life, as well as many exciting cookies, brownies, cakes, pies, chocolate... you get the idea. It is difficult to control your cravings for junk food around this time of year, but prior to this week I had been going to the gym Monday through Friday, and had been very conscious of what I was putting in my body.

I have accepted that the last two weeks of December can be my "lazy" weeks, and that although I want to be conscious of what I eat, I am not going to freak out about being super strict.

This is because starting January 1st, 2012, I am going to be beginning a challenge I have always wanted to do: The 30 Day Vegan Challenge.

I have been a Vegetarian since before the Thanksgiving of 2008, but have always been interested in seeing what it would feel like to try a diet without any animal products or animal bi-products. Due to recent deep discussions on the health factors as well as environmental and moral benefits of Veganism, I have decided to try a 30 day trial of Vegan living.

Just as before I began my Vegetarian lifestyle, I have been doing a TON of research on the Vegan lifestyle. This includes learning about studies such as The China Study, listening to lectures by nutritionists, finding recipes that are well balanced, and discussing benefits and disadvantages to the diet itself. I want to be well informed and prepared before I jump into this.

My goal here is to feel healthier, lose some excess weight, and to blog/write about this journey daily.

My plan is to begin the first ten days of January with a full body cleanse. I am currently debating about either doing a fruit cleanse, which I have done in the past, or committing to the Master Cleanse- which is known to be an effective, yet challenging way to begin a lifestyle change and completely cleanse your body of toxins.

I will not be consuming alcohol, caffeine, or any substances during this cleanse, as it would thwart the cleansing process.

If you have any tips for Cleansing or beginning a Vegan diet, feel free to comment and help me out! Videos, tutorials and studies are all welcome!

Thank you and I hope you will follow me on my journey!