Good Morning! Today is Day 1 of the Master Cleanse~Lemonade Diet!

What is the Master Cleanse? Well, just like in the title it is liquid cleanse originally created by Stanley Burroughs to support healthy internal detoxification and renew balance in the lives of everyone who tried it. The idea behind the cleanse is that we have a natural inclinations in our bodies to be healthy and balanced but because we live in a world filled with man made pollutants we often find ourselves, well, full of...you know what. So instead of giving in and just taking life from the grocery story isles filled with processed, man made food substitutes we get to make some changes in a healthy way. This is a jumpstart program to a healthier, more stunning and glowing you. So I thought, Hey, Don't just write about it, Be about it! So I am volunteering myself as a subject of experiment. I have never done the Master Cleanse~Lemonade Diet before so I had to learn exactly what it took to make it happen. And i had to make a few purchases and decisions of my own based on my lifestyle.

So there are several stages to the Master Cleanse and a couple of processes within the Master Cleanse that exceed the Lemondae Diet. The word diet is used because all calorie consumption is limited to the mixture we create called the "Lemonade Diet". Which consists of Lemons, Maple Syrup, Cayanne Pepper and Pure Water. So, seems simple enough!

How long does it take? Well the recommended duration is 10 days so that is what I am aiming to do. The entire process can take 16 days.

Ease-In- 3 days

Lemonade Diet- 10 days (with Salt Water Flush)

Ease- Out- 3 days

I have decided to skip the ease in and head straight for the cleanse.

So for the past week or so i have read tons of sites on the Master Cleanse and prepared myself for this process.

What is the Salt Water Flush or Salt Water Bathing

Basiclly to aid in digestion we are encouraged to drink a quart of salt water daily and that should help our bowels move along and get to shedding some most unwanted blocked up built up waste.

Yesterday, I bought a water filter, Organic Lemons and Grade B Maple Syrup from Whole Foods. We did not see Grade B so we pulled out the Android phone to see exactly what we could work with and we found that Grade B Maple Syrup is oftern called Cooking Maple Syrup or Extra Dark Maple Syrup for Cooking. So we bought the 365 Maple Syrup enough for the entire process.

Then I thought well what now. I don't have pure water and I don't want to have to go around lugging bottles of water around. So I bought a Pur Wate Filter so that I can have filtered water for the Cleanse.

So this morning. I woke and double checked the recommendations and mixed a quart of sea salt and water and guzzled it down. Stay-tuned for Day 1- Part 2 where i will report on how the day went and my experiences.

Have a great day!!!

Normally I don't really like the confusing and often contradictory advice that many fashion and women's magazines give on health, but I just came across a great post on Vouge.  I particularly likes that it gives little tidbits of advice from different experts, instead of a long listing of a bunch of steps you have to take and if you mess up you're screwed.  A lot of the tips are easy to incorporate.  

 I'm also thrilled that Latham Thomas, a fellow Institute for Integrative Nutrition graduate, is featured as one of the experts.  Her tip on alcohol consumption is excellent and easy to incorporate.  

 Check out the post here: http://bit.ly/gzROkJ.

Grape soda.  Orange soda.  Ginger ale.  Chocolate chip cookies.  Ice cream.  Jelly beans.  Snickers.  Reeces Pieces.  Hershey’s.  Red velvet cake.  Cream cheese frosting.  A cappuchino.  Hot chocolate.  Is your mouth watering yet?

Well, it you’re anything like me I’m sure your mouth is watering.  Hopefully I didn’t push anyone to stop reading and go get a candy bar (if I did I’m sorry).  I’m addicted to sugar... or I was...or I still am, but now I’m in control.  Addicted to sugar?  Yes, and most likely you are too, but don’t know it.

I recently read The Belly Fat Cure, by Jorge Cruise and was blown away by the information I read.  Sugar is everywhere.  Even in places you wouldn’t even think it would be.  Most drinks, even so-called health drinks have tons of sugar.

After I finished the book I decided I’d take on the diet, at least for a few weeks.   Mr. Cruise advocates for a diet where you’re eating very little sugar and a specific amount of carbohydrates daily.  I know most of you are rolling your eyes and thinking that a diet like this is impossible to stay on.  Actually, I thought the same thing.

I looked at the sugar content of the foods I was currently eating and thought, “how the heck am I going to change my diet and stick with this one?”  If I ate two apples, I would be over my sugar limit.  But I thought I should give it a try at least for one week if only so I could write about it.

I actually stayed on the diet for over a month.  I wasn’t super strict every single day, but most days I was.  The book claims that you’ll lose up to seven pounds the first week.  I lost three and I wasn’t as strict as  I was supposed to be.

The book was very supportive and helpful in that it lays out everything you need.  There are recipes with specific products, foods you can use to replace some of the things you love to eat, and a basic list of the sugar content of most foods.

Once I got the hang of how much and what foods to eat, it was pretty easy.   You’d actually be very surprised at how much food you can still eat while on this diet.  It opens your eyes to so many healthy alternatives to foods we’re used to eating.

My only issue with the diet is that it doesn’t take the time to differentiate bad sugar from good sugar.  Most people aren’t aware of the difference though, and it would probably complicate things for the diet.  But keeping it simple has its benefits, so my hats off to Mr. Cruise.

I currently don’t follow the diet to the letter, but I still practice many of the things that I learned from the book.  I’m very conscious of the amount of sugar I take in daily and try to regulate my carbohydrates as well.

If you are looking to reduce your sugar intake The Belly Fat Cure, by Jorge Cruise is an excellent place to start.  If you follow even halfway, you’ll definitely see a difference.  If you’re a sugar addict like I was or I am or...whatever...you should definitely give it a try.  Feel free to leave a comment for more information on my experience.

2011 is in full swing.  There's only a week left in the first month.  We've all either made New Year's resolutions or at least know someone who has.  This is right around the time were the resolutions start to slack.  

Most resolutions are around health, ranging anywhere from losing weight to quitting smoking.  We all want to become better versions of ourselves so wanting to do something for our health is only natural.  It should be easy.  We know exactly what we need to do.  So why is it that it takes almost no time for us to begin slacking off on our New Year's resolution?

Well, the modern world has attempted (and in many ways succeeded) in making our lives non-stop.  The only stopping point we recognize is the New Year when we reset and start fresh.  But think about this: If there were no calendar, what would you use to indicate a time to reset?

If you're in the northeast, like I am, it sure wouldn't be the dead of winter.  If you're in the southern hemisphere does it make sense to start over in the middle of the summer?  I'm guessing no.

It would probably make a lot more sense to start fresh with the seasons.  Think about it.  Before the modern information age or even before the industrial revolution, this is the time when we would be hibernating.  Yes, just like bears.  In the months leading up to the winter we would have prepared ourselves to chill out in the house.

So why is it that in the dead of winter we say that we're going to start a new diet?  Or start going to the gym? Or quit smoking?  I don't know about you, but in the dead of winter the only thing I'm thinking about is staying warm.  I don't want to go anywhere and sweat.  I'm always thinking about eating warm soup or macaroni and cheese or something that's going to stick to my ribs and keep me warm.

Every year when we make our New Year's resolutions we just don't know what happened to them by the time March rolls around.  But it's not your fault.  It's not my fault.  It's partially the calendar's fault.

In the winter time, we're meant to just chill (pun completely intended).  Use the winter, not as a time for action, but as a time to plan what you're going to do when nature tells you to start fresh: the spring time.  

Spring time is nature's new beginning and time to reset. Notice that spring is when plants start growing, animals and insects come back or come out and trees sprout new leaves.  As humans we need to fall in line.  This is the time to start a new diet or get a new pair of running shoes.  You also have the added bonus of having the summertime so much closer. We all are basically working on getting that beach body ready.

So take a load off in the winter.  Use it as a time to prepare and chill.  If you're working on your weight your goal should just be to not gain any weight during the winter.  For many people, that is a triumph in itself.  But that's a topic for another day.

Happy Chilling :)

There is a little known secret regarding fitness and health that’s circulated amongst the members of acting, scientific and wealth elite.

The secret that gave Arawak Indian women the ability to compete in swimming competitions along side their men. Arawaks themselves were known for their amazing health and physique. They were tall, muscular, and lived long and productive lives. Their secret?

Arawaks incorporated an avocado-like vegetable as part of their regular diet. This magic ingredient was named by Columbus as Orbitus Swahnkularis, or Orbital Swank for short.

Dr. Ignatius Popowski of London Scientific Assembly had recently managed to extract the ingredient from the plant that gave Arawaks almost super human abilities.

• This enzyme was proven in trial studies to help people drop weight in a quick yet healthy way.
• Those who were relatively fit to begin with saw an incredible increase in their overall musculature.

If that sounds good I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.

There is no such thing as Orbital Swank. Healthy mind and body don’t come from a pill, a can, an enzyme, the amazing new diet, or whatever other nonsense they are pushing this week.

Maybe next time your read something about the new magical pill, diet, a drink...whatever, you will remember Orbital Swank?

In a nutshell, eat less, exercise more, never stop learning and never stop asking questions.

Orbital Swank is a brilliant idea from the mind of Dino Dogan of diyblogger.com.

There's no need to rely only on radical cosmetictreatments to be granted with thick and long eyelashes. Home remedies as well as cosmetic methods would offer you endless options to look fabulous. Include these practices in your daily beauty care to immortalize the effect of your appearance.

As we all know pesticides are sprayed on our fruits and vegetables regularly, but how much of these pesticides are we consuming

Well, it varies based on the type of fruit or veggie you are eating.

Dirty Dozen

There are the dirtiest and the cleanest of non-organic fruits and veggies.

Twelve have been identified by the Environmental Working Group as the Dirty Dozen they are

The worst are on top

1. Celery

2. Peaches

3. Strawberries