Using a Cleanse to Get Rid of Bloat and Jump-Start Weight Loss

If your weight loss has stalled, or you are just getting started, you may want to do a cleanse. A cleanse is intended to do just that, clean the sludge and toxins from your digestive tract. If you notice that no matter how many sit-ups you do, your lower belly pooches out more than usual (this disclaimer for those of us who have had children but not a well-deserved tummy-tuck), you might be bloated from a full colon, and can benefit from a cleanse.


There is no end to the cleanse and detox products on the market, and no limit, it seems, on what some companies will charge for their product. You can start with something as simple as a senna tea (a natural laxative), or invest a little more in a complete program of herbs and vitamins purchased in a kit, like the one I used from GNC a few months ago. I like Yogi brand Yogi Tea Get Regular 16 Bags because in addition to senna, it also has lots of beneficial herbs like burdock and dandelion to facilitate the elimination of impurities, and Indian sarsaparilla and juniper berry to promote healthy kidney and liver function. A package of 16 bags costs less than $5 and I like that as well.

A relatively inexpensive cleanse is one you can make at home, "Master Cleanse." It has been also called the Lemonade Diet because you can lose quite a bit of weight, but it's first use is as a cleanse and detoxing agent. The basic ingredients are simple and easy to find: lemons (organic preferred), organic grade B real Maple Syrup, cayenne pepper powder, and purified water. I love the taste, but if you do not like real maple syrup, you may want to choose a cleansing kit that involves capsules or teas. For ten days, you drink 6-12 cleansing drinks over the course of the day. Each drink consists of 10 oz. purified water, the juice of half of a lemon, and a tenth of a tsp. cayenne. I add a dash of cinnamon to help slow the processing of the sugar in the maple syrup, but this is not a part of the original recipe. I also add fiber to scrape down the walls of my G.I. tract and help carry away toxins and fat. I just started my own cleanse and I am also using my treadmill for one hour a day (can be broken up into smaller chunks.) I will let you know how it all turns out.

I don't eat anything else over the course of the ten days, as advised in the original method created in 1941, The Master Cleanse, by Stanley Burroughs although the follow-up book by Peter Glickman, Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days, Second Edition, also has suggestions to use features of the cleanse in your daily diet to keep the weight off past the initial phase. Many people lose up to twenty pounds within the ten days (the more overweight you are, the more weight you will lose) - a side benefit!

The first few days of a cleanse you may feel sick and tired, as the toxins are released, but drink loads of water and this will pass. The next phase is incredible energy, gorgeous skin, and a sense of being "clean," truly! Stick it out. Any questions? Check with your doctor or nutritionist, I'm not one. Be well!