I was asked recently if I've ever detoxed like Gwyneth Paltrow does. Personally, I've never committed myself to a rigid master cleanse or detox diet for a prescribed amount of time, but I've definitely made adjustments to my diet.
After an unusually indulgent holiday season spent away from home, I cut out alcohol and sugar for a month and ate nothing but brown rice and steamed veggies for two days. And though I do think putting limits on sugar and alcohol are helpful, you won't see me on a restrictive meal plan like that again. It's important for me to have a balanced diet that also consists of dairy, fruit, and lean protein, and most cleanses don't allow for that.
I have a few friends that cleanse at least four times a year and they swear it does wonders for them. What about you — have you ever cleansed?
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I cleansed the natural way... I had food poisoning for a week, followed by a bladder infection. I was a mess the entire month of September, but once I 'got better' i felt a million times better, lost about 13lbs and made sure to get proper nutrients when I was sick... I never really ate too bad, I'm a fiber addict which I guess could be bad at times....
1I can't help but feel like its so bad for you, but I also am very curious. I've been very active recently and losing weight/eating more consciously because I'm going on a tropical trip at Christmas, and I feel like my diet will maybe be very restricted right before hand. but I'm doing well so far, so maybe not!
2I tried the master cleanse one time and it was horrible. By the second day I was ready to eat the kitchen counter. Not only was I starving, but I was light-headed and very irritable. Supposedly these side effects disappear, but I certainly didn't give them time to.
If I want to "cleanse" now, all I do is uninvite Ben and Jerry from my home! Seriously - just cutting out junk food for a week or so is enough to get me feeling better.
3Earlier this year I did the New Detox Diet (a book) Winter Cleanse with my husband to prep him for an elimination diet to figure out some of his tummy issues. We made sure to get at least 1200 calories/day for 7 days and ate real food (quinoa, veggies, brown rice, fruit, lean protein). It was great and left us with a number of recipes and sauces that we are still using 10 months later.
I tried the Isagenix cleanse a few years ago after a car accident that left me eating crap food since I couldn't move around or prep anything healthy. That was horrible for me... I was barely eating 600 calories a day and felt stupid for putting myself through that. I am glad it works for other people, but it definitely is something I would not do again.
4I've always though it seemed unhealthy to deprive yourself of necessary nutrients as well. Like the way it 'cleanses' is really just your diet making you physically sick. Who doesn't feel better after recovering from a bad case of diarrhea? Even if you're effectively losing weight, it doesn't necessarily mean it's good for you (like food poisoning). I'll just wait for the flu.
5It seems unhealthy to me to cut out healthy foods. It's just that simple.
6When one of my husband's friends went did the Master Cleanse this year, my husband decided to eat nothing but 800 calories/day of hot dogs for two weeks. They both lost the same amount of weight.
7I tried the Master Cleanse and I felt sick and extremely hungry because I wasn't getting nearly enough nutrients and I was basically starving myself. Most cleanses make you eat less than 1200 calories which explains the weight loss. I won't be doing it again and I'll just stick to eating healthy foods, exercising, and letting my kidneys and liver do the detoxing.
8I couldn't find an answer to choose. I've tried a few mild week-long cleanses (no wheat, sugar, salt or dairy), and even that was really tough for me! I missed my sugar and salt so much. But I would "cleanse" again by removing sugar from my diet for a period of time - it seems to "reset" my tastebuds so that a little sugar goes a long way again.
9Your body was made to get rid of toxins on its own and it does so quite effectively. It makes more sense to just change your diet so you are always (or at least the majority of the time) eating healthy, nutrient rich foods. If you do that you won't feel the need to cleanse and you also will be able to always maintain a healthy weight.
10I've never done one. I personally just don't have the desire. Does anyone know whether you can actually work out while you're on one? I know some people (Gwyneth) claim that it doesn't zap your energy, but I find that hard to believe.
11This is really a dangerous practice from a medical point of view. You wash out electrolytes and can actually throw yourself into cardiac arrest. Your body takes care of the toxins naturally. I have seen the results of injudicious use of cleansing techniques and we almost lost a patient as a result. One time probably won't hurt you just as you can take a strong laxative and possibly an enema for a colonoscopy, but it is not recommended other than for necessary medical procedures.
12No.
13Don't eat crap, and if you do, use good food (fiber, water, veggies, whole grains) to push it out.
I do intermittent fasting and food group deprivation, but that's for religious purposes, and it works in context of our culture (ban green veggies = eat more lentils; ban red chili = have an appreciation for the spices we normally eat).
14No thank you.
15I don't believe in doing cleanses. I eat a lot of fiber, fruits, and veggies anyway and the fiber in your food does an amazing job of binding up the toxins in your system so they can pass out of your system naturally. If you're a very active person, restricting your calories too much can be really dangerous...you can mess up your electrolyte balance and I doubt you'd have the energy to have a great workout.
16I'm not exactly sure what the definition of a "cleanse" is. On occassion, I have taken colon cleanse when my schedule has been off for whatever reason -- but I don't let it effect my eating habits (heatlhy in general).
17Never. I've read from enough REAL doctors that there is no benefit to "cleanses". The human body is an amazing thing, and it knows how to cleanse itself.
18I've had to "cleanse" for colonoscopies before.
I cannot imagine doing that willingly, to loose weight. 36 hours was bad enough, and I was off my workouts for two weeks.
19I tried, I failed... and it's very very hard!
20I don't believe in "cleansing" of any kind unless ordered by a doctor. Our species existed for thousands of years without them.
21wasn't it here that you posted about cleanse myth being busted? maybe it was another health site i'm reading. anyway, scientists said it's all BS
22Been using the Dr Max Powers 15 Day Cleanse for 3 years now (about 3 x per year) and I am SO happy I discovered it on the internet. I had never been regular even as a child, but these pills work magic for me. I'm guaranteed results the next morning. No cramps or other problems, just good results.
In the past 3 days I have lost 6 pounds of waste. My appetite is down and I feel great. I'm taking 2 pills a day, 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening. There is no stomach cramping, although my stomach has made a couple of growling noises at me..giving me a warning that it is time to go to the bathroom..but other than that..no real problems
Looking forward to more waste (weight) loss...hip-hip-hooray!!! I definitely recommend them for women looking for a great cleanse to do!
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