Question for people who have successfully done the master cleanse?!

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

The ingredients are not really that expensive, considering all the other food you won't be buying during the cleanse! Keep it in perspective!

Unless you normally really just eat peanut butter, lentils, and rice, with no veggies or fruits, you won't spend much more this week than in a normal week. And if you normally do just eat pb, lentils, rice, and no veggies or fruits, well, there's a change you should make in your regular diet. Invest in yourself! Eat more greens!

For the cleanse: Buy the largest, cheapest by volume, bottle of grade b maple syrup you can find (compare prices ounce for ounce!)

Depending on where you live, the lemons might be the most expensive part. You will go through a lot of lemons. Shop around, find them on sale, buy lots of them.

Cayenne is not that expensive, and you will probably only need one regular sized bottle.

Laxative tea is moderately expensive. You must get one that contains only natural ingredients, with the active ingredient being senna. Your natural foods store should have several brands.

Sea salt ranges from not that expensive at all to super expensive! You might be able to buy it in the bulk bins at a local natural foods store or co-op. That is the cheapest way. Otherwise, look for the salt on the bottom shelf in the natural foods store, not the super-expensive pink and grey salts near the spices, but the cheap stuff in the larger cardboard tube container. Should be only about a dollar or two per pound.

The book is also not that expensive. It's a tiny paperback! On Amazon, it's $6.50
http://www.amazon.com/Master-Cleanser-St…

We bought a copy at our local health food store.

Transitioning in and out, you will want to spend a few days eating lightly, mostly light vegetable soups and juices. Clear out the veggies from the fridge into your soups. Use those veggies up! Hide forbidden foods from yourself, use them up, or give them away before you begin. Don't have them around, taunting you!

When you return to solid foods, fruits will taste so sweet and fantastic to you! And the crunch of fresh veggies will be so satisfying! After transitioning back out, don't go back to an unhealthy eating pattern. Stay healthy, light, and vegan!

To get through it, especially that rough third day, make sure you always have enough of your drink on hand. Never run out! If you're hungry, drink some more. This is not the time to think about if you've had too many maple syrup calories. If you're hungry, if it's hard, drink some more! Also, for texture, it's nice to leave the pulp from the lemons in there, and maybe even the occasional small seed. That's all the chewing you get to do! Enjoy it!

I have to say, the Master Cleanse was not the best fit for me. I need to eat and drink lots of dark green leafy veggies to function properly. I went into all sorts of mood swings which did not clear up during the cleanse, but kept getting worse until I transitioned back out. I needed more nourishment! I only made it 5 days. I think that I actually do much better on much shorter fast/cleanse experiences, but I learned a lot! Next time I feel the need for a cleanse, I will use a different approach that is more tailored to my body's needs.

My sweetie lasted all 10 days and he did great on the Master Cleanse, but he had a lot of toxins to clear out. (He had recently been diagnosed with celiac disease, and had years of inflammation and bad stuff to clear out.) He felt much better, and lighter, afterward. And he had plenty of energy to continue exercising throughout the cleanse. The Master Cleanse was a great fit for him.

Don't feel bad if you discover it's not a good fit for you - maybe a different approach to cleansing (raw green juices and smoothies, for example) could be a better fit. It's a journey!

Anyway, now we both eat a high raw vegan diet (I eat a lot more raw than he does, he still loves his gluten free cookies! But I am not 100% raw either, I do love a nice warm bowl of oatmeal or quinoa, and hot soups in the winter, yum!)

Maintaining a clean, fresh, vegetable based diet after you have finished the cleanse is the most important part. It allows you to keep that bright, energetic feeling!

Good luck, and I hope you have a wonderful experience!

You will need to go to a health food store to buy the ingredients. I also recommend that you wait until you have a thicker wallet. Maybe after christmas. The ingredients are not cheap and you have to buy bulk to do a full 10 days.
My advice for getting part the first few days is that whenever your hungry, keep chugging at your drink. You need to have it with you at all times. Going an hour with no drink is too much. Keep drinking it all throughout the day.
If you only buy a certain amount and are afraid that if you keep drinking you will run out and not be able to afford more, then you will likely not get through it.