I have maintained my weight loss (with a few minor fluctuations during the return to food 7-day period for a 22-day fast) and seem to have created a new set point for weight.  More importantly, I have begun increased exercise and better eating habits and am now replacing fat with muscle mass.  Now, as the fat leaves the body, toxins are released into the system and then eliminated, as my elimination pathways seem to be cleaner.  Detoxing is continuing during the initial post-MC return to solid food.  So!  I've found a way that works.

Optimal Preparation:
I prepared by doing a mostly juice week (only 2 meals were solid food).  Since I was working and couldn't freshly juice vegetables and fruit, I had to use prepackaged juices most of the time.  This was not optimal, but it worked.  I lost a little weight during this week, but more importantly, I got my digestive system used to using juice to maintain itself.  In some ways, I maximized my nutrition, although freshly prepared juices would have been far better (filled with living enzymes and unoxidized nutritional elements, reducing the need for the digestive system to produce digestive enzymes).  In practical terms, I got used to living on juice and so didn't have to deal with the cravings for solid food once I switched to the lemonaid.

During the Fast:
I found the answers to some controversial points through experience.  This worked for me, but maybe not for other people:

1. Maple Syrup or Molasses?
2. Is laxative tea necessary?
3. Is the salt water flush necessary?
4. What detox methods worked well?

Maple Syrup or Molasses

I tried both.  The maple syrup tasted much better.  The molasses gave me diarrhea but seemed to remove more digestive debris.  The maple syrup did not provide enough nutritional support:  I got shakey hands and weakness.  The molasses provided more electrolytes and other nutritional support - the shakey hands and weakness, as well as some brain fog, seemed to lift when I was drinking this. 

Also, I tried both Grade B and Grade C maple syrup.  Grade B was lighter in colour and lighter in taste, but seemed to have less electrolytes and other nutritional support - I had more muscle spasms with it than with Grade C.  I like the taste of maple syrup, so the slightly stronger taste of Grade C did not bother me. 

My conclusion:  Use maple syrup on most days, but when the electrolytes seem low (shaking hands, brain fog, confusion, cramps) switch to molasses for a day or two.

Is Laxative Tea necessary?

No.  In my case, it would have been difficult to obtain the laxative tea (any form) as I live in Japan and can't communicate with the pharmacists well enough to be sure I get what I asked for.  One time, I asked for a herbal kidney cleanser, and was handed window cleaner!  I was unable to use the internet to purchase it at this time.  And I've read about cramping.  In place of laxative tea, I used a 2-day on, 1-day off set of magnesium oxide to promote bms (although I stopped this near the end, as I had switched to molasses at the end and was having lots of bms already, thank you! )   

As long as you have at least 5 bms a day, I don't think it is necessary.  If you are concerned about keeping your system as clean as possible, you could have a late-night salt water flush as well as the regular morning salt water flush.  But I would not recommend this, especially on a regular basis.  The salt water flush tends to drain electrolytes from the system, and you are toilet-bound for at least an hour after.   In my case, I was able to maintain at least 5 bms a day every day without laxative tea, and when I used molasses, I had as many as 20 bms in a day!  Laxative tea would have been too much for me.

For optimal results, many people would find the laxative tea is really good at improving elimination.  But I do not think it is absolutely necessary.

Another note:  People commonly report not restarting bms until day 4 after the MC.  In my case, I started on Day 2.  Thanks to using the salt water flush on Day 1 post MC, I had bms every day, even during the post-MC period, when you are restarting digestion.  I think persistant use of laxative tea might actually stop automatic peristalsis, which is why some people don't have bms for 4 days.  I'd rather continue bms, removing toxins daily in the easiest way!

Another note:  I've read a few reports of people removing mucoid plaque while using laxative tea.  Burroughs says to expect the removal of this noxious substance with the first solid meal following the MC.  In my case, I felt the mucoid plaque trying to be eliminated (unsuccessfully) on, I think, Days 3, 7 and 17.  It did come out with the first tiny bit of solid food - a little well-cooked vegetables in my soup broth on Day 2 post MC.  Also, more came out on Day 3 and Day 4 (my first genuine solid food day).  In fact, some bits and pieces came out for 7 days following the MC.  It came out in connected pieces, looking very masticated but smelling unlike all the other bms.  So if mucoid plaque removal is one of your goals, it will happen, regardless of using laxative tea. 

Is the Salt Water Flush necessary?

In my case, absolutely.  That was partly because I was not using laxative tea, and I hesitated to use enemas because they are not on the main MC protocol as described by Burroughs.  I followed his strict protocol most of the time.  It is my personal choice that I prefer the SWF to enemas because it cleans the entire digestive system, not just the last portion.  And they were almost always followed up within a 2-hour period (sometimes 1 hour) by the 5 bms I aimed for on a daily basis.  Done for the day!  (Unless I was using molasses...)

Also, I experimented with drinking 4 cups of plain water at once.  I sometimes do this in the morning, drinking 4 cups over a 30 minute period.  I usually drink a lot of water.  When I drink plain water, it flushes out the kidneys.  When I drink the SWF, it flushes out the colon.  The salt really does make a difference.

In my case, I usually didn't mind the SWF.  I like salt.  It really helped to warm the water, making it easier to drink quickly.  It also helped me think of it as Campbells Chicken Soup, which I remember fondly from when I was a child, sick, and my mother made it for me.  When doing the MC, sometimes you feel nautious and off, so the psychological association was certainly apt!  But that is a personal experience. 

What detox methods worked best?

I believe that any sort of major cleansing of the body should be assisted as much as possible by some kind of detoxing.  The cleansing frees up toxins from their hiding spots, primarily fat cells, and they are then free to wander about the body.  Toxins which are mobilized (wandering) and not eliminated (detoxed) are trouble, resulting in the Herxheimer Effect (cramps, weakness, brain fog, confusion, weakness, skin/breath/body odor problems...) and can lead to temporary damage in other tissues.  I believe it is immensely helpful to entice them to leave - show them the door!  So I experimented with a variety of methods to find out what worked and was convenient, and what didn't and wasn't.  My observations:

Salt water flush:  Absolutely necessary.

Detox foot pads:  Helpful.  Assisted in the removal of toxins via sweat through foot skin.  Helped loosen that gross white goop on the tongue so that it could be brushed away.  Need to be worn for at least 8 hours to be effective, but otherwise very convenient.

Magnesium Oxide:  Helpful.  Assisted in the removal of toxins via the colon.  I took this in 1,500 mg doses once a night. on 2 days out of 3.  The effect is a laxative.  On days when I experienced signs of electrolyte imbalance (shaking hands, muscle cramps) I took smaller doses - 500 mg in the morning or at night - and skipped the larger night dose.  At small doses, the magnesium is absorbed into the body rather than precipitating elimination through the colon.  Invaluable to one not wishing to use laxative tea.

Dry Skin Brushing:  Helpful.  Whether you do a quick 5-10 minute or leisurely 30 minute dry brush, you'll find that the lymph areas (behind the knees, inside the top thighs, armpits, neck and abdomen) seem to be itchier than usual.  I find that when I brush these areas until they felt soothed, I feel great after, and the good feeling persists to the next day.  There seems to be some connection between stagnant lymph and strained or tense emotions.  When I had the time, I brushed these areas until they stopped feeling itchy (mercifly, you don't notice the itchy feeling until you start brushing these areas) and felt - well, um, satisfied.  No other way to describe it.  I brushed all my skin, even with quick brushing, until I was red all over.  No doubt the increased blood flow to the skin was helpful, too.  If you want to feel good, dry brush your skin!

Detox baths:  Very helpful, especially if preceded by dry skin brushing and followed up with detox foot pads.  Assisted in the removal of toxins through sweat through the skin all over the body.  Toxin-laden sweat was removed at the end by a short, cool shower, the main purpose of the cool shower being to stop detoxing at the skin level and avoid pimples and rashes.  The detox foot pads simply continued detoxing through a small area of skin during the night.  Method:  1 cup of epsom salts combined with 1 cup of baking soda, placed in a metal bowl, the bowl floated in the hot water in the tub and boiling water poured into the bowl.  Instant chemical reaction!  Bubbling and frothing.  A superior way of making sure the two substances are well-mixed and properly dissolved.  Fill a tub with hot water (the hotter the better, to promote sweating), sit in the tub for 30 minutes or as long as you can (you can get out for a few minutes and then get back in if you feel dizzy, the detoxing seems to continue), then follow with a brief cool shower (not cold!  You don't want to precipitate a heart attack from shock!), spraying the extremities first and then the back, trunk and head.  Go to bed immediately after.  You will be warm for hours, and sleep like a baby.  What was really interesting about this method, besides the great detoxing it did (tongue easy to clean the next 2 days) was the sense of peace and good-will which I ALWAYS experienced the next day.  So I HIGHLY recommend this detox bath on the days when you find yourself out of sorts, confused, and snappy!

Water:  Absolutely necessary.  I really felt it on the days I didn't drink the minimum 8 glasses of water (for me:  I am small).  The next day, the toxin symptoms were always strong.  For those wishing to lose weight, you need a carrier to escort broken-down fat out of the body.  Think of gasoline.  It floats on water, just like fat.  If there is no water, the gasoline will soak into the nearest solid substance.  With water, it doesn't soak into a solid substance, and is easily moved (out of the body).  If you drink more water, the fat will have a better chance to exit the body rather than being re-absorbed.

Sleep:  No one really talks about this.  It is absolutely necessary during a fast.  Your body repairs itself during sleep even more than when awake.  Growth Hormones, which are released every night of our lives and are the chemicals which enable self-repair, are only released during sleep, and only in darkness.  If even your arm or leg are exposed to light as you sleep, melatonin (sp?) is released at a vastly reduced rate.  Part of the magic of the MC is in the body's heightened ability to redirect energy to restoring and repairing the body.  It makes sense to support this by sleeping more - at least 8 hours, and more is good - and sleeping in darkness.  Using your body's circadian (sp?) cycle is very helpful.  So getting to bed at 10 and getting up at 6 the next morning is helpful.

Because of problems at my work place (my work place has recently declared bankruptcy and I live in a foreign country, on the other side of the world from my family home!  Argh!) I was not always able to sleep well during the MC.  Since I was unable to drink coffee during this period, I REALLY suffered on the days following poor sleep.  So I learned the value of sleep during a fast.

Walking:  Helpful.  This low-impact activity helped to shake things up in the digestive system, which massaged the walls of the stomach and intestines and tended to clean them, also helping to move materials along inside the digestive tubing.  I also walked in an area next to a river, with lots of trees, and the fresh air may have helped detox through my lungs.  This is especially important for ex-smokers or anyone suffering from lung ailments.  If I walked, I felt that more junk was eliminated through the colon.  If I didn't walk, I had that familiar stuffed lower-abdomen feeling - so uncomfortable, unsightly, and unnecessary!  Also, I did this MC at the end of the summer's hot weather period, so I always sweated alot (and always followed up with a short shower).  The sweating helped remove toxins through the skin. 

Any kind of aerobic activity would be just as helpful:  Rebounding, dancing, aerobic classes, martial arts training.  I found that strength, especially in my legs, was at a low, so weight lifting and strength training (even walking up stairs and inclines) was incredibly taxing.  Some people can do it, but I couldn't.

Anything that makes you sweat:  Very helpful.  They were even more effective if I consumed water as I sweated.  I did some of these things (walking during hot weather, detox foot pads, detox baths) and found them great at moving toxins out.  Observing the white coating on your tongue afterwards can help you find the best methods:  If it becomes loose and easy to remove with a wet toothbrush, that detox method is good for you.  If the coating is still so sticky that you can't remove it, try another method.  After a good bout of sweating, the coating on my tongue was always easy to remove the next day.

Another method which would be helpful:  Saunas.   I might try them during the cooler months, when I do my next MC.

Laxative tea:  It's on Burroughs' protocol, although he says alternatives are an option, and I've heard it's helpful.  I haven't tried this yet, and felt it was unnecessary.  However, if you want to maximize toxin elimination through the colon, it would probably be helpful.  I also think it would be wise to use a kind of 2-on, 1-off system or any similar interval, so that your body doesn't get addicted to the tea.  Having no bms for 4 days following the MC can't be good for you, when an alternative is available.

Oil swishing/pulling:  Forbidden on the MC, because it would activate the digestive system.  The same for gum.

Massaging with organic coconut oil:  Not recommended when strictly following Burrough's protocol.  The oil will be absorbed by the skin and blood, passing through the liver, and possibly compromising cleansing in the liver.  One of the benefits of an oil-less diet is that excessive oils in the body will be used up.  Some of the oils will be old, stagnant oils, reused many times by the body.  So when coming off the MC, introduce healthy non-animal sources of oil (coconut, olive, avocado, etc) and the body will take it up quickly.  Just my thoughts.  This is especially important for anyone doing Liver Flushing on a regular basis.  Concerned Aunt said that her therapist told her that her body was saturated with olive oil, and recommended that she take a break from flushing so that the body could eliminate excess oil.

Other herb teas:

Mint Tea:  Burroughs recommends drinking mint tea (I used peppermint), and I found this to be helpful.  It tasted good, was a change from the lemonade, improved my breath (and, I suppose, body odor and sweat odor), and relieved nausea.  I recommend this strongly to everyone!

I drank 2 other teas occassionally, which are not on the protocol.  I did this cautiously, as one time I combined all 3 teas and found that it activated the digestive system for a few hours (I got hungry and greedy for food!).  I only used it when the symptoms relating to some major organs in the body got really bad, and to some extent their use might have compromised the results of my MC a little.  To me, the relief from pain was worth it.

Banaba tea:  Used to cleanse the kidneys.  I used Banaba tea because I've had excellent results from it in the past, and it is a single herb; I think herbal combinations are a big no-no during the MC, because they are complex enough to be a food.  I found I had bad back pain (check out Youtube, itstastybacon's videos, he had the same problem and didn't know what to do about it).  On these same days, my face became incredibly white and pasty-looking, and felt drained of what little energy I had.  The banaba tea helped immensely, and was worth departing from the strict MC protocol.  Back pain disappeared and urine output returned to normal.  It also helped to stabilize blood sugar levels, a point which might be helpful for diabetics attempting the MC.  I know this because I was never dizzy after drinking banaba tea, when I might have felt moments of dizziness before.  Colour returned to my face and my concentration and cognitive abilities returned to as normal as can be expected during the MC, because I wasn't distracted by back pain or dealing with uneliminated protein-based waste (which is normally excreted through the kidneys).  When you lose fat cells you also lose protein cells, which means uric acid builds in your blood system, putting a strain on the kidneys.  Help the kidneys, and your body will thank you!

Eupatorium Odoratum:  Used to cleanse the lungs.  I found that my lungs hurt during Stage 2 and Stage 3, which was a sign that lung tissue damage caused by years of smoking, was being corrected.  This herb helps not only to reduce the craving to smoke (face it, the MC can be stressful at times!) and to repair tissue damage.  It has been used in experiments to speed up the repair of burned tissues.  I believe that smoking causes some burning of tissues, due to the inhalation of smoke, so this tea was worth a small departure from the strict MC protocol to aid in tissue rebuilding.

All of these teas have 0 calories, or next to that, and are caffeine-free, as far as I know.  So I felt it was ok to use them, when symptoms called for support.  If you want to follow the Burroughs strict protocol, then these teas should not be used.  But they were very helpful for me.

Both teas are available on the internet.  You can get them cheaply through eBay from a suppliers in Thailand (Banaba tea) and China (Eupatorium odoratum) (just run a search in eBay  for each tea and you'll find them, or an alternative supplier).

Return to Digestion:  The first 7 Days.

Thanks to not using laxative tea, I had bms every day.  My body continued to detox during this time.  Some days my tongue was pink (a new thing for me), and some days it was covered by a thick, sticky toxin coating.  I read somewhere that the white coating is from tongue cells protecting themselves from abrasive food and chemicals.  While this might be partially true, even with the absence of food to collect these cells and carry them through the digestive system, I doubt that it is responsible for the thick, sticky coating which is experienced during the MC.  Sometimes, it was so thick and sticky, I couldn't remove it no matter how much I brushed with a wet toothbrush, or swished with water.  I believe most of the white sticky coating is toxin materials.  And the fact that you can have a clear tongue on some days, whether you are eating solids or not, supports this idea.

One of the real problems with fasting is regaining weight (mostly fat) after having lost 50% fat and 50% protein (muscle mass) during the fast.  This weight rebound is particularly worrying because it is all fat - and fat stores toxins.  I was lucky.  The most I regained after was 0.5 kg (1 pound), the day after my first day of solid foods.  That weight has since been lost. 

How did I do this?  I did not return to my former habits.  I continued to go for long walks (about 10,000 steps) and drink lots of water.  Most nights I slept well.  I was careful with food combination:  No meats and starches at the same meal.  I had thought about trying a raw foods diet, but chose against it after all.  I continued to drink the vegetable broth soup after for these 7 days, and that seemed to help.  Also, my food was digested very quickly, averaging 6 - 8 hours during this time.  I think that was partly the result of consuming mostly vegetable broth soup from Day 2 on  (adding more vegetables later in the week), and the result of all those salt water flushes:  The colon was relatively clean.  Nothing sticky to slow down digestion.  I also focused on replacing lost beneficial flora, taking probiotics every day, and aiding digestion with vegetable-based food enzymes during my initial 7-day return to solid food.

Near the end of this period, I tried drinking one glass of beer.  I had hoped that my liver would be activated enough to handle it.  I was wrong!  Normally, I can consume 6 glasses before getting drunk or having a hangover.  This time, I got drunk on one glass (slurred speech) and staggered as I walked home.  The next morning, I was hungover!  Hm.  It takes awhile to return the liver to normal after the MC.

Return to Digestion:  The next 7 Days.

I ate more raw foods during this time.  This was a big help.

McDonald's experiment:  On one day - my last day at work, the day before they closed all offices and declared bankruptcy - I felt a great deal of stress.  I had planned for it to be my last day at work for awhile, having asked for a month's holidays, and after waiting the required month's notice, I was to start my holidays on the day they actually chose to declare bankruptcy.  So I had to deal with an emergency.  On my last day at work, I felt a lot of stress and didn't bring my usual food to work, so tried another experiment.  I ate twice at McDonald's, violating the food-combining principal by eating a cheeseburger with fries at the same meals both times.  Zowie!  Talk about eating a brick!  Don't do it.  Please don't do it.  Not shortly after going off the MC.

This experiment slowed down my digestion (as expected) to about 12 hours after the first meal, and 18 hours after the second meal.  The next day, I had constipation for the first time in months.  Plus, the energy required to digest this dead food was incredible.  I felt weak again, for the first time since being on the MC.  Plus dizzy and out of sorts.  DON'T DO IT!

It was a valuable experiment, as the results supported everything I've learned about consuming fresh, living enzymes and food combining.  My digestion was operating at peak levels before this day.  It took several days to recover, by eating raw foods or watching my food combining if I wanted to eat cooked food.  The best thing to do to recover is drink raw freshly squeezed/pressed vegetable juice the next day, in large quantities.  My constipation wasn't relieved until I drank 2 glasses in quick succession, followed by another 2 glasses a few hours later.  I drank a salad in a cup:  spinach, carrot, lettuce, raw cabbage, garlic, green onion, and radish tops with small roots.  The carrot made it drinkable.  The results would have been far faster if I had drunk 3 glasses in quick succession, but my stomach had shrunk during the MC and I didn't want to overburden it, even with good food.

By the way, anyone who is dealing with an addiction to fast food (yes, it is addictive) should watch "Super Size Me," a documentary about one very healthy man's 1-month strict diet on McDonald's food.  You can watch it for free by going to the website 'tv links' and clicking on movies or documents (I forget which).  After watching it, you might want to buy your own DVD copy, it's really interesting.  It took him 9 months to recover, using a detoxing diet and following the guidance of a naturopath dietician.  Signs of addiction:  He felt depressed and irritable between meals, and happy when consuming and following a McDonald's meal.  I think the same results would be experienced with any fast-food chain, not just McDonald's, it was simply the most accessible and successful fast-food chain.  His results were well-documented and supported by weekly checkups at 2 medical doctors and the naturopath. 

My weight quit vacillating between 49.5 kg - 50.0 kg and stabilized at 49.5 kg, 24.5% body fat during this last 7 days.  In fact, my weight has started to go down again, following a slight increase in exercise.  I've managed to avoid the MCer's nightmare weight rebound.

My tongue is mostly pink now, sometimes having a light white coating which can be removed with a wet toothbrush.

I tried oil swishing, but this wasn't as successful at removing the white coating as it has been in the past, I don't know why.

I also massaged daily with organic cold-pressed extra-virgin coconut oil (I use it as an anti-perspirant, too) with excellent results.  My dry facial skin always responded during this time (my skin usually isn't dry, the dryness was almost certainly a result of inadequate water consumption and low levels of fat in the body), and it is helping to re-activate my liver.

My liver was slow to return to action.  This might be partly due to not having a gallbladder.  To help this, I consumed Tsetsi's mini liver flush (2 eggs yolks, lime, oil) every 2 days or so.  It has helped.  As soon as the liver has recovered, I will do a liver flush.  I think (on the 14th day following the MC) it is pretty much back to normal, although it still can't handle alcohol well.  I no longer experience meat sitting for ages as a lump in my stomach.  So I've started the 6-day prep for a liver flush.

That's it for now.  I hope some of these tips might help other MCers, and they will definitely help me with future MCs.

PC

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