Why I'll Never Do The Master Cleanse Again, But Recommend It To Everyone

After eight days of being one of those spicy-lemon filled cleansers, I've made a decision. I'll never do the master cleanse again. Yet, I have been recommending it to everyone. Here's why.

So when a teammate suggested our entire company try the cleanse, I decided to give it a go. Spoiler alert: My review was not so glowing.

The master cleanse seems to benefit people who are overweight or need to remove toxins from years of bad habits. If you've completed other cleanses and maintain a clean diet, it may be more annoying than helpful. My top complaints are:

I felt exhausted everyday I was on the master cleanse. My mind was not sharp. I couldn't exercise beyond a light yoga practice. I got winded walking San Francisco hills I typically sprint up. If you do this cleanse, prepare to be tired.

You know that feeling you get when you're sick and can't put on enough layers of warm clothes? That was my experience for eight days. I always felt cold. It affected my sleep and work. Feeling hungry wasn't nearly as bad as feeling cold.

If you don't have excess body fat, you'll likely lose muscle mass. This muscle mass can be regained after the cleanse. Yet, it added to my conclusion that the downsides of this cleanse outweigh the benefits for anyone already healthy.

The greatest benefit of the master cleanse has been the opportunity to calibrate my diet and start fresh. For example, I heard intermittent fasting (IF) eliminates cravings, but in the past I couldn't imagine not eating breakfast. Having gone eight days without any food made it easy to implement IF post-cleanse. The result has been that my cravings are gone. This may not have happened without the cleanse.

We spend a lot of time selecting and analyzing food. What should I eat today? Does it fit my diet? How much does it cost? When you only have one option of what to consume, you free up a lot of mental energy.

The master cleanse is a great experiment. As you observe your emotional and physical reactions to the drastic diet change, you'll learn about your will power, how you interact with others, what it's like for billions of people who are hungry everyday, and what "healthy" means to you. Bonus: You skin and hair may look better than ever before.