Here’s why I am NOT doing The Master Cleanse this Group Challenge.
But I am SUPER FASTING…
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The 43rd Group Challenge is underway (The Ease-In Started Yesterday).
If you’re haven’t yet started don’t worry The Lemonade Diet starts Monday.
If you want to join or follow along go here now:
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Now I am writing you today because I want to share with you both an ALTERNATIVE to, and a COMPLEMENT for The Master Cleanse.
I call it…
The Super F.A.S.T. Method
This is a bit of a longer email so grab a lemonade, or coffee or tea and settle in. I will convert this to a blog post and video a little later too.
First let me just say.
I am back.
Back writing to you regularly.
I am back now because, over the last 5 years a lot of life changes have happened.
At last count I had 9 of the Top 11 Most Stressful Life Events over the last 5 years.
As I write this now, I am NOT doing the Ease-In, largely because I am on the road visiting with my Palliative Father, who has leukaemia. I am on my own. I slept in my wife’s van last night because the whole house is full of family and friends having their last visits with my Father. My wife and daughter are in Europe visiting her side of the family after 3 years since my Mother’s passing.
I am NOT doing The Master Cleanse, because…
Cleansing is Challenge.
FASTing is a major Challenge.
Which is why 12 years ago, when I first built TheMasterCleanse.org I did it to be supported by the global community, and to provide support to that community.
Now, Cleansing and Fasting is even more of a challenge when:
On the Road (Out of Routine –we’ll talk a lot about routines and how to master cleansing on the road.)
Under Stress (Any of the top 12 Life Stories / Stresses –more later)
Suffering Health Issues (Any of the Top 12 Health Issues –and how Cleansing can help– more later)
I am currently facing all 3.
I mentioned I am on the road, and a bit of the stress I am under (if you only knew the whole stories (plural).
I am also bogged down with 4 months of ear issues (effusion, or fluid behind the ear and tinnitus), as well as a chronic pain disorder that has developed over the last 5 years (and my whole life really).
Now, I know a lot of you can relate.
Which is why you might not be ready to do The Master Cleanse (but if you are or want to follow along join the group starting Monday).
This is why I AM NOT doing The Master Cleanse this Challenge.
BUT…
I am going to continue to do The Super F.A.S.T. Method that I have been developing since my first Master Cleanse in 2005.
Here’s what we’ll cover in the rest of this post.
The Master Cleanse is a 3 Stack Super F.A.S.T.
Quitting FASTs –Early, Quickly, Consistently and Safely
Extending a Super FAST Method (Indefinitely?)
The Master Cleanse is a 3 Stack Super F.A.S.T.
Back in 2009 I coined the phrases Ease-In and Ease-Out (of The Lemonade Diet), as I sought to define the stages of The Master Cleanse.
I defined The Lemonade Diet (often used synonymously with The Master Cleanse) as the 10 Days of doing The Lemonade Diet (obviously).
The next 3 Days that followed where always part of The Master Cleanse, but I wanted to reference them easily, so I called them Ease-Out.
A lot of people asked about starting The Lemonade, the days before, and the preparation necessary so naturally The Ease-In concept emerged. The whole 3 stages became (to me), The Master Cleanse.
Since then I realized the Week Before The Master Cleanse and the Week After The Master Cleanse are also very critical (stay tuned for more).
That makes 5 Stages of the Greater Master Cleanse Experience, and thus the 30 Day Challenge was born (now called the 30 Day FAST 15 Master Cleanse Group Challenge –a working title ;)
Ok, and?…
Well The SUPER part of Super Fast comes from the idea of stacking protocols, like when I was a professional hockey player, when I was in the gym constantly working out.
We did SUPER Sets (short bursts of stacked exercises, or intervals) –also sometimes called HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training.
You might have also heard of Intermittent Fasting.
Now I don’t like that term because Intermittent is defined as:
“occurring at irregular intervals; not continuous or steady”
But all FASTs themselves, that make up the idea of IF (Intermittent Fasting) are not intermittent at all. They are regular routines.
The Lemonade Diet is very routine.
The Eat-Stop-Eat FAST is very routine (Eat one day, Fast the next, Eat the next).
Now…
Combine a few of these IF protocols, and now they can become Intermittent, depending on how long you do each one.
Stay with me, I am going to bring this home for you.
The Master Cleanse Group 30 Day Challenge is as follows:
The 7 Days (Week Before)
The 3 Day Ease-In
The 10 Day Lemonade Diet
The 3 Day Ease Out
The 7 Days (Week After)
As a group that’s fairly intermittent.
As a whole, that is precisely a SUPER F.A.S.T.
You might have noticed the ACRONYM I use to write FAST.
It stands for:
Functional (For s specific purpose designed to derive a result)
Addition (Adding or focusing on a certain food, substance, organ etc.)
Subtraction (Subtracting or resting a certain food, substance, organ etc.)
Therapies (The collection of protocols).
So you can FAST FROM Sugar.
And you can FAST with WATER.
It’s funny, when I say to someone I am doing a 3 Day Water Fast, people say, WHAT??? You’re not drinking any water…
LOL.
No, I am ONLY taking in water.
It’s a FAST focused and isolated on WATER as the Fasting Agent.
Fasting from SUGAR would be all things normally except I am NOT taking in any Sugar.
Makes sense, no?
The reason why I am NOT doing The Master Cleanse, but I am SUPER Fasting is because of the 3 Factors I noted above, which brings me to point 2 of this essay.
Quitting FASTs –Early, Quickly, Consistently and Safely
One of the biggest commitments to The Master Cleanse, and the Lemonade Diet is that you must quit them well. You must Ease-Out.
I have seen my roommate and employee back in 2008 quit abruptly with a Burger King Veggie burger, which did not end (or come out) well.
Now that said, I quit very quickly once with raw broccoli, and wrongly once with lentil soup both with equally painful results.
The fact is, with any significant isolation FAST like a Water Fast or a Juice Fast like The Lemonade Diet you must prepare your system for more complex foods or risk a bit of backlash from your body.
SO…
If you’re going to quit early, it can feel daunting (which can be at good thing since it can motivate you to get past the obstacles in your Master Cleanse Journey). but it can also keep you from starting.
If you want to quit early you can ROLL into another FAST and Mindset, and just go on your merry way.
The key is knowledge and preparation, and it’s the hallmark of a Master Cleanser.
This is why I created MasterCleansing.com, the new parent site and company to TheMasterCleanse.org.
In order to Master Cleansing, you must change your mindset.
You have to look at quitting as “ROLLing with it” (and being kind to yourself).
You have to look at endings as new beginnings.
You have to look at Cleansing as a consistent, natural part of life.
Here’s a few Cleanses you do regularly and don’t even know it:
The Hair Cleanse (Shampooing)
The Tooth Cleanse (Brushing)
The Clothing Cleanse (Laundry)
The Stomach Cleanse (Pooping)
The Anger Cleanse (Yelling)
The Sadness Cleanse (Crying)
The Partying Cleanse (Puking) LOL (I Mastered that in College)
Now these are kinda playful and even obvious when you think about them. Aren’t they?
That’s because you’ve mastered them.
They’re even habits.
You don’t have to think about them.
MasterCleansing.com is built to established routines and habits that serve to cleanse your 12 Life Stories with monthly challenges and quarterly quests, fully supported by the community and expert coaches and mentors.
To ramble that back around to the point of this section…
…quitting well, and safely is important and so it should be thought of a transition.
And if done right, and with an eye for significant, Functional, Therapeutic reasons, which can dove-tail perfectly into the next phase of a SUPER F.A.S.T.
Extending The Super FAST Method (Indefinitely?)
So now that you have the theory of the Super FAST, how can you extend it?
Let me tell you how I am doing my Super FAST, which should give you some ideas how to quit, extend, or start your Master Cleanse Experience (or craft your own Super FAST when you become a Master Cleanser).
My Super FAST is as follows:
1-3 Days 18:6 FAST
1-3 Days Water FAST (Optional)
1-3 Days SSSmart FAST
1-3 Days SMILE Diet
1-3 Days of the 18:6 FAST
This is a very simple protocol and probably the easiest way to get started doing IF (Intermittent Fasting).
You simply stop eating a few hours before bed, and don’t eat until after lunch.
So you fast for 18 hours a day. Your eating window is 6 hours long.
For example. Start eating at 2 PM, don’t eat anything after 8 PM.
Drink lots of water, herbal teas, and perhaps 1 cup of coffee in the AM or evening (no coffee in evening).
(More on the other FASTs you can Stack to follow)
1-3 Days of The Water FAT
This is pretty self explanatory.
It’s a challenge to be sure, so if my week permits, I will do a 1-3 day water fast, but it will be optional. If I don’t do it, I will continue my 18:6.
It’s great for reducing inflammation, and that can help clear the fluid in my ears so I am trying to work that in. I haven’t done one since April a month after my ear problems started and it helped a lot. I am not sure I will be able to because my days are so hectic and unpredictable.
The key to Master Cleansing is to be kind to yourself and to be flexible and to have a plan and the support you need to ROLL through the waves when you’re not ready to drop in and get barrelled (sorry got carried away with a surfing metaphor).
1-3 Days of The SSSmart FAST
The SSSmart FAST is really fun and SSSassy.
It’s 3 SSS of course:
Soups
Salads
Smoothies (Juices)
This is otherwise known as The Ease-In and Ease-Out methods.
As mentioned, when ending any significant fast, like a Juice Fast, or Water Fast, you must Ease-Out, and so as with the Lemonade Diet, I will Ease-Out of my previous FASTS by graduating from Juices, Smoothies, to Soups, then to Salads.
Since I am going to ROLL with my SUPER FAST, I will see how many days I was able to Water Fast, and adjust my SSSmart FAST accordingly.
1 Day SMILE Diet
I generally don’t like the term “Diet” as it relates to a protocol, but when it describes the menu of ingredients you can chose from it seems appropriate.
In this case, the SMILE diet is any foods that would make up the opposite of the SAD Diet or the Standard American Diet.
These foods should be healthy, and make you happy.
They should give you comfort, and not stress.
Eat what you want, but ask yourself what happiness and stress means to you.
This is a loaded question isn’t it.
If you’re a stress eater and self-soothing through toxic food that’s designed to be addictive and to keep you sick, that can be a big problem.
If that’s the case, stick with our Master Cleansing community, and after a year you’ll have a whole new Mindset and set of tastes, and triggers that will naturally guide you to better choices.
It’s important to note that you can eat all the Spinach in the world but if you’re hating life and yourself it won’t do you any good.
Conversely…
You can eat all the Burger King in the world (and drink and smoke), but if your life is filled with JOY you can live a long healthy life.
It’s a paradox (more on that later).
But it’s a provable one.
It’s science.
(Mind = Blown).
So, think about what makes you smile.
Sit down and enjoy your meal.
Be grateful for your meal.
That’s the SMILE diet.
(BTW I just made the SMILE Diet up today as I wrote this, cool hey).
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Phew that was a lot.
I had a lot to say.
Lots more to come.
But for now, I will leave you with this summary:
If you’re not ready to Master Cleanse, that’s OK
Learn to Master Cleansing over time, and be kind to yourself
Learn to ROLL with the Waves of Life, and in-and-out of SUPER Fasts
Lastly,
Get Support and surround yourself with people that will elevate your game.
Which is why I am back.
I need to elevate my game once again (and always).
Join up for our Group Cleanse (even if to just follow along the comments of others.
It will elevate your game.
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I will be along for the ride with you, moderating comments, sending emails, and posting essays like this one. Even a few videos along the way.
Be prepared for full transparency, and some vulnerability.
It’s mandated by my commitment to Master Cleansing to Master Wellness.
If you want to learn more about all these FASTS, and CLEANSES, stay tuned as TheMasterCleanse.org grows up into MasterCleansing.com