The Master Cleanse
One of the steps and recommendations set in The Depression Workbook, a book I'm reading to finally recover (as in, make plans to keep myself feeling good and contingency plans to prepare for major episodes) is to do things that will make one's well-being physically and emotionally better. I saw this "diet" (more of a detox regimen than a diet -- I would not recommend this as a weight-loss diet at all) on Zen Habits's How To Press The Reset Button On Life. I'm an avid reader of the blog and find many of the posts, while sometimes ridiculous (though funny in the way a follower of Taoism finds Buddhists funny), extremely beneficial. As such, I'm giving this diet a chance (along with the other things it has in the reset button).
My question is, does anybody want to do the reset steps with me (particularly the "diet")? I'm only planning to do the diet step for sixteen days (three days of preparation, ten days of the actual fast, and three days for post-care). It would just be fun to do it with others.
From what I understand, the requirements for the entire program is as follows:
Sea salt (for a Saline solution to initiate a bowel movement) or laxative tea
Three one-litre containers (cheap Nalgene-like bottles will work)
Enough lemons (7 tablespoons per litre) for 2 litres of lemonade per day for ten days
Enough maple syrup (7 tablespoons per litre, preferably Grade B) for 2 litres of lemonade per day for ten days and for preparation and post-care
Enough cayenne pepper (1/4 teaspoon per litre) for 2 litres of lemonade per day for ten days
Whole fruits and vegetables for the first two days of preparation and the last two days of post-care (for juices and veggie broths and soups)
Oranges (for orange juice) for the last day of preparation and the first day of post-care
While it's supposed to be a detox program, and it does specify to use organic foods, I think it'll still have a similar (though not as "pure" effect) if one substitutes pre-bottled juices in place of fresh juices. I know I'm going to be cheating on ingredients; I'll probably end up buying these things from Whole Foods:
Fruits and vegetables for preparation and post care
10 bottles of Simply Lemonade, adding water to make it 64 ounces (I find it to be slightly cloying anyways).
2 bottles of Simply Orange, adding water to make it 64 ounces
Organic Cayenne Pepper
Grade B Maple Syrup (or as dark as possible, about 42 ounces)
Sea Salt
The average price, about 40 USD -- the maximum I allow for my bi-weekly grocery budget.
