Master Cleanes

Please do not tell me that it is the famous Hot water, squeezed lemon, maple syrup and cayenne pepper diet? Please!

Nothing that severe should be used on a pouch or really on anybody...and if you shed 10lbs in 10 days they will come back and find you and bring their friends with them.

Diet is more a question of lifestyle change than drastic diet, Less intake and more Output...eat 10-15% less (fats, carbs, sugars) and increase your output (exercise 1/2hr 1-2xs/day)...The weight will come off slowly but surely...and stay off.

Sharon

I agree! No way is that intended for someone without a colon. The 10 pounds you lose is water, not fat. Just eat less. Much less.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_Cleanse

Jan

Thanks for your response. I will steer clear of this one. 

Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong about periodic fasting, liquid diets, etc., but these things are just gimmicks. I doubt that you would cause any physical damage with this diet, but you are likely to be very unhappy with the effect. I went on the Optifast diet and lost a lot of weight, but it was medically supervised. But, seven years later, I gained most of it back.

Jan

My family (on the women's side) have a history of weight gain and yo-yo dieting...my mom went through every diet fad that came out...she never missed a one. 

As a teenager she did the Master Cleanse and I did too...we did the full 30 days and the 1st 3 were hell...I was in high school and spent my time in the toilet...as it was I was sick so this just about threw me over the edge. But I held on...then we came back with the integration phase: 3 days just chicken breast, then integrating a 2nd food group etc...in the end I looked like an anorexic kid...mom was thrilled...she lost a ton...2 months later she was on a different one and of course so was I.

She destroyed her metabolism and mine along too...until I figured out that eating is not against the law and neither is gaining weight...I can eat just about anything that my pouch allows me to...just less. 

I eat pasta, meats, chocolate by the mountainload, breads and French cheeses every day...just very little of them (compared to American portions). Here a portion is 100grms or about 4 ounces. Sometimes I do half of that if I am not starving or cut it into 2 snacks at work. 

I do not count calories, carbs, or do fad diets and haven't since 1991...When I swore them off. My weight and size have stabilized nicely and even though I am far from thin (size 8 -10 depending on the season) I am happy not to be in terror of the scale.  I exercise as much as I can when I can, more so if I need to trim down and only eat whole grain breads and pastas, avoid all sodas (except for the occasional diet something on ice in the summer), don't use fake sweeteners, drink lots of water and homemade lemonade to both de-acidify my body, clear my guts and for pleasure. I do not live clean, am not vegan, love pastries and ice cream...but, I lean towards steamed veggies and grilled meats, fish or chicken in the evenings, avoid fast foods and never buy preprepared foods other than yogurt, buy 'plain' everything (no hidden sugars or fats) and cook a lot. Calories hide in strange places like salad dressings, sauces, toppings etc...so I don't use them. I discover in Mc D's 15yr ago that a salad with all of the fixings was around 800calories but if you didn't open and  use the little packages then it was around 350. Quite the difference. 

Yes, I live and love food.

Don't make it your enemy...

Sharon

I appreciate both Jan and Sharon taking time to share on dieting and good eating habits.  I am one of those who gains and loses 10 pounds and go from size 6 to 8 also.  I am fortunate to have a husband who is the foody in our house and now both retired, he does all the meals.  You have inspired me to go back to smaller portions and cut out the late night snacking. I use small plates usually but just got into over eating in the last six weeks. Thanks for the wake-up call ! Ha !

KJ,

I just got back from a 7 day all inclusive thing while visiting the Grandkids in a faraway land...the food was incredible, the meats and salads and sides to die for...I had to use tricks to keep from putting on 20lbs. 

Firstly breakfast was pure citrus...sucking lemons (in the end my teeth hurt so I started squeezing them into a glass of hot water) and oranges while hubby ate pancakes with homemade jam...I sipped my expressos and drank gallons of water. 

Then an hour in the heated pool...We were not in a warm country so the exercise in hot water was wonderful for the body and the joints. After the pool, I slurped plain yogurt and a nice piece of cake that I had 'stolen' from the dining room.

Lunch and dinner were a challenge to not eat everything in sight. I took the salad plate for the main couses, avoided all carb side dishes (except once) and stuck to wonderful grilled meats for the whole week. I did not skip dessert (the virtue of not eating carb side dishes allowed me the luxury of taking desserts)...Italian ices after lunch and pastries after dinner but no snacking in between. (like I needed more food!)

I came home with about 2lbs extra but lost them in 5 days thanks to going back to my usual work-time lunch routine. Citrus in the morning, a banana at 10ish, some simple veggies (radishes and cherry tomatoes with olives that I can just pop in my mouth while my students are busy) and cubes of cheese... 

Dinners were light, the weight is gone (it was temporary anyway) and I am back into my tight jeans. 

I am exercising double at home in the mornings and evenings to tighten up the travel-butt. 

Slow and steady work so much better than fast and furious.

Sharon

Hay Sharon,

You are just what the doctor ordered ! Some one who walks their talk and just by going through your day, I could visualize your thought process.  I strongly believe that a  clear path to see passed the pitfalls, instead of waiting until you are too hungry to make smart choices, crucial in finding success in staying in your proper weight. After I read your reply I asked my husband to drop the bread and pasta from my meals and his show of support for me, makes me love him more. I have screwed around with fast weight loss diets in the past and, as you mentioned, screwed up my metabolism as well.  I and still recovering from those bad choices, as I am on day 5 of good eating habits, I have not lost one single pound yet, but I am just going to stick with good eating.  No bread, pasta, beans ect. and I am confident the shift will happen in a week or two. 

So much could be spoke of here on food and leaking gut and I think the poor eating and anxiety was the reason for my first UC outbreak back in 79.  Who knows for sure as there seems to be so my mystery around colon disease and just listening to Dr. Gundry, who has a book out  this morning on points to consider eliminating  foods containing LECTINS, that hijack our gut in causing inflammation.   I am reading from different perspectives, that they are finding our gut also has brain cells, that has us, when eating lectins, crave foods that are bad for us, and the leading cause for failure in weight loss. We simply cannot say no, as the urge is to great.  He has tomatoes being at the top of his list, followed by grains, potatoes, peppers, beans and peanuts.  He does allow coffee, no milk, but almond or hemp milk is ok, dark chocolate, walnut and almonds, but only organic meats due to antibiotic in regular meat choices,  and pure virgin oil. The rest of food choices are just common sense.  I liked what you said about certain fruits and vegetable can cause weight gain and would like you to tell me which ones you found to be so.

Bottom line for me, is to take responsibility for what goes into my mouth and live a joyful life, even in the face of many challenges that life offers.  Your post emanates these qualities and that alone is wonderful to read !

kj

Thanks Kj,

There are 2 kinds of people in this world (this is a whooping generality and not really true but I am exaggerating for example-sake):

Those who need immediate gratification and those who can put it off.

Those who need immediate gratification usually tend to eat more and faster and those who can put it off (dear Lord, where do they get the strength?) can put that Snicker's bar on a shelf and stare at it for a week before eating it. 

I am not number 2.

So, I give myself little rules. Like I do not eat sugar during the daytime when I am working. I eat healthily. Mostly because I need to be high-energy with my job (university teacher with classes of up to 50 kids...you do not want your professor on a sugar-nap in the middle of a lecture!). 

Next, I "follow" a specific eating regimen in the mornings to keep my pouch as clear as possible...I have been doing it since 1991. Only liquids (coffee or tea, water, juice and eventually fruits in the morning until about 4 hours after I wake up especially when working or traveling...it allows me to be free for the better part of the morning and sets me up for a good day). Since I have started doing this I am very high-energy. (It is not for everyone...and should not be undertaken if you have diabetes or other metabolic diseases until you have seen with your doctor). 

That means that I have a mid-morning fruit snack (usually a banana or other fruits), then a light lunch. The rest of the day can be good or bad but I know that my day started out right. 

I am not a fanatic. I do eat whole grain breads, healthy, non-processed cheeses and yogurts. I do not like hidden sugars and salt in my food so I make most of it myself. It saves me a lot of calories...but it costs me a lot of work. It is worth it.

Your body knows what your metabolic 'healthy weight' is. It has nothing to do with fashion trends or what you might think...it has to do with your meta-biology, your family history and your lifestyle. 

So allow your body to find its balance. Eating healthy, walking, exercising, doing pilates or yoga...whatever sport works for you and that you can keep up, that does not require you to wear 'special' clothing or expensive equipment, something that you do not need to pay expensive fees to do or drive great distances to get to. Some people need classes, groups and friendship to get motivated (I get it, I did it for years and even coached in various gyms in the evenings and on weekends) but unless you are single, retired or your lifestyle supports it, it may be a challenge to get to the gym 3xs/week. 

Self-motivation is difficult for many. I am a self-motivator for exercise. I have been doing it my whole life (since age 11 when I was fighting the cortisone weight and gyms did not exist where I came from)... in the mornings I work-out. I work-out then because that is what my body likes. When in the States, I go to the pool every morning for 2hrs and work-out before the sun is too hot, back here in France, I  have a drawer with my equipment...A few light weights and elastic bands, a back support belt, yoga mat, different sizes of pilates balls for my back and abs...I turn on the t.v and I exercise between breakfast and lunch on my days off. It works for me and I can keep it up, it is free, no-guilt. Some days I do 20mins, others 2hrs, it just depends but I know that I feel better afterward so I do it.

Doing things that are hard to maintain, difficult or nearly impossible goals are not realistic in the long-run...so set it up in a way that you can keep it up your whole life and not just for 2 weeks. (that is what I call vacation exercise). Listen to your body.

Sharon

I am one of those people Sharon who is pretty good at eating well and not have a lot of carbs or bad fats to tempt me,  Once a week I allow pizza  or desert so not to deprive myself. As you said balance is the key.  Because I had ten years of taking prednisone at least once a year, I pay attention to maintain a diet that protect my bones and it still looks good so far. I was surprised how beans, lentils, peanuts, along with peanut butter just to name a few foods, very unhealthy for bones, and ones I consumed a lot. It is definitely a  learning curve and I encourage those like myself to look into an eBook that can be downloaded called SAVE OUR BONES PROGRAM, how to reverse bone loss naturally, by VIVIAN GOLDSCHMIDT, MD. As a educator, you know knowledge is power.  I just wish I had this information earlier in life. 

The nice part of being retired now, I am putting my health and well being a priority.  I am fortunate to have a platies machine and sauna to keep in shape and detox. It is  wonderful to have you as a resource.  Thank you again, you are an inspiration and love your positive attitude!

kj

Thanks KJ,

My dad was a stoic optimist...in other terms a smiling realist.

He knew what my life was going to be like and tried hard to make sure that I had what I needed to make it as good as possible.

In his case it meant keeping as fit and healthy as possible...he always said that I was born with enough problems so I didn't need to add to them with bad nutrition and laziness...even in hospital he had me doing pull-ups on the triangular bar over my head, breathing exercises (long before they came into fashion) and what turned out to be pelvic floor and pilates to keep it all tight.

We ate healthily...had systems and only ate natural foods...he was the cook and he taught me how to shop. He believed that prepackaged foods were dangerous and expensive so we never bought them, not even chips. He taught me that if I couldn't understand an ingredient on a package that I shouldn't buy it. That if the list of ingredients was more than 5 long that there was a problem and if the food in the package did not resemble the original product that I shouldn't be eating it.

We rarely went out to eat.

I still read all of the packages today...

They were lessons that have served me well...peanut butter should contain peanuts, not chemicals, chips (yes, I do buy them occasionally but only the kind made out of potatoes and oil and nothing else!)...I have survived eating well and happily without too many problems this way.

Food should never be your enemy (unless you are sick)...it should be a joy and if you are afraid of it for whatever reason, then it won't be.

Have fun with your meals, enjoy them and you will discover that your body will love you back.

Sharon

My Sharon, what a loving story of your Dad and just how important parents roles are in showing children how to take challenging situations and turn them around into something you can look back on and be proud of yourself. The story of the hospital was so touching to read.  You made my day !

kj