Those who cheat while doing The Master Cleanse are called Master Cleanse Cheats! Or are the “Master Cleanse Cheats” those tricks that are allowable, the “hacks” if you will, the grey-area you can search for to lean on when feeling confined by the strict bounds of stanley burroughs original Master Cleanser recipe.
Well we won’t point fingers and call names here. You’re not a cheat. Or a liar. Or a thief. Sorry, movie quote (or something) slipped in there.
Rather, we’ll spin the word “Cheat” to our purposes of
There are degrees of cheating. Here are some listed in order from questionability to acceptability.
Drinking more juice
Some people think the limit is 6-12 glasses and anything less or more is cheating. Drinking more simply increases your calorie intake and you will not lose as much weight. There is actually a persoanlly dependent scale of diminishing returns, which is to say there is a magic number of drinks for where you stop losing weight that is different for everyone.
Taking ingredients separately
Obviously, taking extra lemon juice, maple syrup, or a teaspoon of cayenne won’t hurt either as they are the ingredients of your lemonade. You can also suck on the pulp of one of the lemons you use to make the juice. Try taking a small dose of maple syrup alone, just to get the sweet taste unaltered by the cayenne and the lemons. Sometimes, that can be all you need to fight off psychological cravings.
Drinking Herbal Teas
These have been inferred as OK based on strict Burroughs rules that stated “Occasionally, if one has no desire for even this, try some hot peppermint tea. It gives a clean feeling and is a wonderful tonic” –however the context of this quote provides more confusion that clarity as to whether peppermint teas, and herbal teas in general are Stanley approved. I make the argument that herbal teas are already part of the routine in the form of the herbal laxative, and that at the very least Stanley mentioned one may take peppermint tea to open the smallest crack to all my rationale to allow for any herbal tea that doesn’t have a significant medicinal effect. You have to be careful, caffeine comes to mind, but herbal teas like dandelion, or licorice root are very powerful. Then there is also the confusion of what defines a “herb”. Stick to simple innocuous teas. And double down on your cheats by adding a little maple syrup or lemon, or even cayenne pepper to make your own blends.
Substitutes for Lemons, Maple Syrup, Cayenne Pepper and other Ingredients
Yes, you can substitute certain ingredients (see why lemon, why maple, why cayenne). You can even customize your cleanse, but there are many, many outcomes possible. Some are simple. Others not so much. People want to make their cheats seemingly insignificant by saying (what if I just have some other juices too?). The answer always is, you certainly can, but then your on another form of Juice Fast, and no longer doing The Master Cleanse. Long story short, unless your a “Master” cleanser, keep your cheats to those listed on the “Master Cleanse CHEAT SHEET” and you’ll be fine. When you’re a Master Cheater, you’ll know it.
Eating “Other” Foods
Digesting any food will cause your body to be less efficient at eliminating archived waste. By eating, you’ll set of a cascade of events that is the miracle of digestion, metabolism, immunity and so much more. The Master Cleanse was designed to rest your digestive system and instruct your body to enter a new phase of being, called autophagy, which is like a “spring cleaning” for your body and cells now that it has a chance to get rid of any junk or waste material that may have built up, and repair the damage of oxidative stress. When you start eating, this phase shifts out, and you lose the wonderful, well documented science of cellular rejuvenation. That said, If you must cheat, simply take more of the ingredients included in the diet and if that won’t do, don’t break more than one law at a time. Try organic, easily digestible juices or pastes. Sometimes, I suck on half a teaspoon of peanut butter (don’t tell anyone), but be WARNED: Cheating with hard to digest complex foods will likely lead to some digestion problems, usually not serious but it can be, and it is almost always a little uncomfortable.
Chew-Spitting
Chewing and not swallowing will cause your body to begin the digestive process and secrete acids. This is bad for your stomach – so, no gum either. I admit I have been guilty of this during my 2nd attempt (both epic fails). There is also the added problem of setting gut-mind imbalances that are at the heart of eating disorders like bulimia. You might think this Master Cleanse cheat is less cheaty than actually eating other foods, and you would be what I call wrong (ish). If you’re going to eat. Commit to it. The food tease is more harmful than the food. Your body knows what to do with food. It doesn’t know what to do when food starts coming, but then doesn’t arrive.
Swallowing Other Stuff
Leading our FAQ’s is always questions about prescriptions and supplements, as well as a common trick of taking your cayenne capsule form. You should stay on your medications because because generally speaking any problems of a hard-quit of these is more problematic than staying on them. But the rest isn’t needed. Especially anything artificial that causes a digestive process to unfold. I always picture that supplement laying barren on the fields of my stomach lining while all the acids and juices and enzymes etc. descend upon this little hard, non-food-stuff.
What to do if you cheat on The Master Cleanse?
You have two choices: Quit, or keep going (duh right). But it is really that simple. Yes, you impacted your cleanse. But just as you started, you can easily just re-start. Then again if you cheated because you really aren’t ready for this, and binged out for a day or more, maybe you should re-group and try again with a fresh mental slate.
Is there a Master Cleanse Cheat Day?
With the rise in interest towards Fasting and Intermittent Fasting, many people are starting to ask about cheat days. Because of the nature of the fasted state, and being in it for a long term phase as opposed to single meal skipping, or short term 1-day fasts, you really should cheat in the sense of a Fast/Feast dynamic. BUT… that said. YOu can certainly modulate your fasted state into a Ease-Between phase, where you take Smoothies, Soups, Salads etc. in a similar fashion as to the Ease-In or Ease-Out. Depending on how long you’re been in a long-term fasted state, the longer your transition to more complex foods should be.
Juice fasting as a cheat day sounds pretty good to me!
What about chewing on celery? I’ve hard a hard time with the salt flush and having a bowel movement? I’m on day 1…tomorrow I will add more salt in the morning but what do I do in the meantime…. Celery is nothing but water…..
Hello everyone! This is day two of The Lemonaide Diet. Peanut butter. Is it okay to consume a teaspoonfull…in the last days of the diet? I remember from the first cleanse (two years ago) that I not only missed the texture of foods but also the flavors. Eating a spoonful of peanut butter allowed me to get through some rough patches. Is this the healthiest choice available?
come on this is my day 3 and I ate some grapes, butteblah blah.. are u kidding me? this is for cleaning your body! answer that yourself please. If you are not supposed to eat then don’t eat!
on Day 2 and I ate yoghurt today! felt like major slip up! but i shall move past it and continue…
can you eat sugar free jello clear during the first few days of the cleanse to ease into it??
i normally exercise 4-5x a week and im on my 3rd day and still cant find the energy to workout? im afraid im gonna get super hungry and just cheat.. =/.
im 5’5 and weigh 114lb. im also afraid to lose anymore weight. im doing this hoping to clear up my skin and remove toxins in my body.
please help…
Can I drink coffee (black)
Can I drink my natural herb-diet supplement drink?
Lemonade Diet–Day 5
I finally hit the fifth day of the cleanse, which is supposed to end the two hardest days, which are 3 & 4. Those two days for me were so tough, but I managed to not cheat and stick to it. One thing that really made those days hard was the psychological effect of only drinking the lemonade. Let’s face it, it gets very monotonous and yes, disgusting! However, I developed on day 2 which has really helped as far as downing the actual lemonade. Go out and buy empty shells of vitamin capsuls. I found mine at a vitamin shop, and I’ve seen them in specialty health food stores as well–I don’t know if you would find them at a regular grocery store, but I doubt you would. Anyways, get the capsules and take your cayenne pepper and, using a measuring spoon and a small funnel (my mom fashioned one out of a post it note to fit the small opening of the capsule), start filling the capsules with the required amount of cayenne for one drink per capsule. Since these little guys dissolve very quickly in liquid, it is safe to take them with the lemonade, which will now only have the lemon and syrup. This has made things so much easier for me, since I can imagine that I am drinking actual lemonade or some other flavored drink. I also found that I like the taste of limes better as they are not as bitter to me, and they help alleviate the feeling of drowning in lemons and syrup all day.
As far as the psychological frustration of no eating, I found that you just have to press through and keep reminding yourself that you will be eating in the end, and a few days of this is ultimately benefitting your body. I like the backwards count down. Instead of saying I’m only on day 3, for instance, I said I only had 7 days left. Looking at a calendar helped me get a visual and see my progress as well. Hope this helps and good luck on your journey! You can do it!
What about raw juice from organic young coconuts?
This is definitely considered a superfood and has many benefits. I often drink it when feeling dehydrated or just ‘not right’. It has more electrolytes than anything else you can drink, and it seems like it might be a good way to ensure your body is maintaining proper electrolyte balance. This seems like it might be an acceptable addition – maybe once a day or every other day? I’m wondering what you think?
To be perfectly honest, I don’t buy the whole detox thing. And the “heat” felt during bowel movements with lots of toxins? Sorry, thats the cayenne pepper, anybody whose eaten an angry whopper will tell you about it’s bumhole burning effects. I do my own version of it anyway, because I always seem to benefit from the vacation from food. I still drink coffee, more than I should I agree, but I see no evidence out there that coffee is any worse than any other herbal beverage. Plus I work night shift, I need it! I decided out of the blue to do this thursday, and it is now sunday. Vague craving for fast food, which is wierd because I almost never eat such things . Its not hunger though . Usually I find that i have a hard time consuming enough of the lemonade, and can go 8 hours or more without getting a glimpse of hunger to remind me to drink. I also mix my lemonade with a blend of bottled lime and lemon juice. Im sure I would get a slap for that too lol. I really dont believe the whole enzyme thing either…. I havent seen anything saying which enzymes these actually ARE, or what they really do. All in all, I feel the diet has some good advice…for fasting anyway . It provides a good calorie source, though the nutrients are lacking. I just go with the basic plan until i start feeling severely undernourished…every time its different…some days its not till day 15, other times its day 5. Just dont venture too far if you understand nutrition, and give it youre all! Ive experienced the horrible hunger, if you can’t do it, your body isnt ready! Try eating healthily for awhile, and try again! You will be suprised, im sure. Good luck all!
Its not really a matter of what you believe, this cleanse gets people results. There are dedicated videos of people doing this cleanse on youtube and losing tons of weight, plus it isn’t a coincidence that they all have fantastic skin. Go check it out yourself. :)
Lemonade Diet Day 4, I have drank some organic vegetable broth and organic chicken broth (for electrolytes) and used smooth move tea. The salt water makes me vomit, so I cannot do that. When I work out I drink electrolyte water as well. Are those things ok?