My Colon Cleansing Journey....

**Beautiful Disaster** · 12-06-2010 06:22 PM

I thought about starting a blog, but figured people could more easily keep up with things here. I've been researching for quite some time on a natural way to do a colon cleanse. I had no trouble finding LOTS of "magic pills" and concoctions...but was not interested in anything that was going to make me poop my brains out for 1 week and then not be able to have a normal BM on my own afterwards. My goals are:

To cleanse my colon of toxins that have built up over the years from processed foods etc.
To lose the pudge that seems to forever live under my belly button
To have clearer skin (though getting off hormonal birth control has helped that alot)
To maintain a healthy digestive system
To increase my energy levels
To boost my immune system

So I found a 3 month cleanse (Heaven Ministries website) which combines psyllium husks and black strap molasses.

"Psyllium husks provide fiber and lubrication for the bowels. When taken with liquid, they expand into a gelatinous mass, scrubbing the intestinal wall, by gathering up old fecal matter and caked on waste deposits. You can buy this at your local health food store; do not buy the tablet form or powdered form, they do not work. Get only the whole psyllium husks that you mix with water."

"Blackstrap molasses is a rich source of minerals and vitamins. It is a bowel regulator and helps prevent constipation and colitis. Blackstrap molasses doesn’t digest entirely in the stomach like most other sugars. It only partially digests in the stomach, than goes into the intestinal tract and is consumed in the intestines. Because of this, nutrients are available in the intestinal tract where they are needed to help assist in the cleansing process. Molasses helps to regulate the bowls, and is an essential part of the intestinal program."

I will begin my cleanse tomorrow and will post what I do each day and what effects I have in detail as often as possible. I will continue my regular exercise schedule which includes 3-5 days a week of either running or aerobics and will continue the pretty healthy eating I currently try to follow. I hope that many of you will read along, and feel free to post your thoughts as I go along in this 3 month process.

I'm EXCITED.

*I have warned my current SO....as we've only been dating a couple months and I wouldn't even THINK of farting in front of him, much less using the bathroom in his home.....lol. His response "if you fart in front of me, that's a ticket for me to fart almost anytime I want from here on out".

This could get interesting.

**kygirl** · 12-07-2010 12:02 PM

Ha ha... Good luck BD!

**KMonte85** · 12-07-2010 12:14 PM

I've been curious about this sort of "non-magic pill" type cleanse as well... seems a great way to get the villi back in working order! Keep us posted on your progress!Oh, and don't forget...

"Where 'er you be, let air go free"

Good luck!

**JustHormonious** · 12-07-2010 02:45 PM

Good luck.. water, water and more water.. If it gets bad the first few days try a little baking soda in a glass of water.

**Beautiful Disaster** · 12-07-2010 05:18 PM

Day 1 -

I started out my morning with 8 oz water + 1 tsp whole pysllium husks + 1 tsp black strap molasses. Well....that's how I was SUPPOSED to start out my morning. But I was sleepy and hungry and wanted to get it over with so I could eat, so I didn't measure my water. I probably ended up with about 16 oz of water with the other ingredients mixed in. 16 oz was quite a bit to try to chug down first thing this morning. Let's just say it wasn't pleasant. The mixture doesn't taste bad, but the texture is a bit unpleasant due to the psyllium husks. Unpleasant enough I will DEFINITELY be measuring out 8 oz of water from now on. Anywho....I survived. I kept waiting for WWIII to break out in my intestines while I was at work, but nothing really significant happened other than a few menstrual cramps.

At lunch, I prepared for my next "dose". This time, carefully measuring out my 8 oz of water and chugging it down like a champ. Not so bad this time. I felt accomplished, and contrary to this morning after gagging, thought, "I can do this!".

This time, almost instantly I started feeling some rumbling in the tummy. Then it started to "moan"....yes...moan...not growl. Then came the gas cramps. Totally tolerable, but still there nonetheless. And not the kind where you feel like "man if I was home, I'd let one rip"....but the kind where you probably couldn't toot even if you tried. The cramps continued until my walk/jog with the dog right after work. They seem to have subsided..........just in time for "dose" 3.

Dose 3 went down easy....I think I'm a pro. Yeah yeah...day 1 and I'm already a sludge drinking pro.

Then I ate my supper... and so far (its only been about 20 minutes) I haven't heard any rumbling in the tummy. I should add that I had a BM between lunch and supper (................gross.......I just realized that the way I typed that almost makes it sound like I feasted on a BM as a midafternoon snack............just to clarify, I didn't.

) so perhaps that cleared things up a bit in the tummy. It was a pretty normal one......nothing worth taking pictures of. LOL!

One thing I have noticed is the feeling of fullness I get after drinking each dose. This could also be help for those who tend to overeat or fill themselves up too much at each meal. I have one more dose left for the day, which I will drink in about 1 hr before my honey and flat bread snack. Just as JustHormonius said, water water water is super important. ANd I'll DEFINITELY be keeping the baking soda thing in mind.

Day 2 here I come!!!

**Beautiful Disaster** · 12-08-2010 08:19 PM

Well...........I haven't exploded yet. I'm about to take my last "dose" for the day....and so far nothing out of the ordinary is happening. I didn't feel the cramping and gas I had yesterday.

I am tolerating the drink much better today......chug it down quick, it's over....doesn't taste bad. Though I admit I do hold my breath while drinking it.

Had dinner at the fella's house tonight. I did not fart. That's call for celebration.

Tomorrow......I expect great things from my colon. Lol.

**Beautiful Disaster** · 12-09-2010 06:48 AM

Just a note:

You know you're talking about your colon cleanse too much when your fella of only like 2 or 3 months texts you a "Good morning babe. Did you fart yet?".

**Beautiful Disaster** · 12-10-2010 10:08 AM

I forgot to post on Day 3.......maybe because nothing happened.

I can say though, looking back on yesterday I did have more BM's than what is typical for me. So perhaps this is working very effectively, just not giving me any of the raging symptoms I was afraid of.

Day 4 is well on it's way. After day 7, I will increase my psyllium husks to 1 tablespoon per drink, instead of the current 1 tsp. This is what is recommended for this cleanse.

I'll keep you guys posted.

**Beautiful Disaster** · 12-13-2010 08:29 AM

Today is the beginning of day 7. Since it's monday (easier for me to keep up with the days if I start on beginning of week), I'm just going to go ahead and increase my psyllium husk dosage from 1 tsp to 1 tbsp as recommended after 1 week. So far I've been sticking with this with no problem. I don't mind the drink at all now. Saturday I felt like my body was cleaning itself out. 3 trips to the bathroom within an 8 hr period of time, which is frequent even for me.

I'm interested to see if the increase in husks makes a difference.

I'm one of those that instead of getting water bloating prior to my period, I get intestinal bloating. I'll be interested to see if next month when that time coes around, this helps keep me from feeling so bloated and backed up.

I am pleased with the results so far.......nothing major has happened, but I believe that's a good thing. If I had wanted sudden and drastic, I'd have gone with a laxative or some other over the counter cleanse. This seems to be very natural and not taking my body too far off its normal routine.