Going Strong

Wow. I am really craving a bagel sandwich right now at this very moment. So anyways, Day 9 of the Master Cleanse, and I have been true to it every step of the way. What a way to instill discipline into your life! I mean, for real. I am proud that I have made it so far. I am excited that I am challening my mind and body. And mostly, I am ready to reap the rewards that are supposed to come AFTER THE CLEANSE IS DONE.

So, in general, I feel good today. There are moments where I am bursting with energy and then there are times that I am definitely dragging. I am bored of liquids and am dying for something solid. It's strange; I'm not hungry...exactly, I just want to eat something, anything, for that matter.

Here are a few thoughts about my first-ever cleansing experience:

My sense of smell is astounding.

So far, on this liquid cleanse, I don't need food; just seeing it, talking about it, or smelling is good enough. It's hard to explain, but it helps me experience it without doing it.

Food is a social convenience.

People are wary of cleanses.

People don't understand the desire to detox; they want to pass it off as a fad or crash diet.

Cleansing is enlightening, and if you allow it, it can be spiritual.

Cleansing is an individual experience. I would suggest doing it alone. You need to be self-motivated and self-contained in a lot of ways.

You need to want it for the right reasons.

More to come later, one more day and then I enter "Easing" back in to eating solids!

Open wide and say, "Ahhh"

So Day 4 and my body seems to have become accustomed to my new liquid lemonade routine. Yesterday at around 4 PM, I developed a pretty bad headache. I ended up not having to work so I took a nap when I got home. That was definitely needed. My body felt super run-down. I got up at 9 PM and had an amazing amount of energy and clarity. I accomplished a bunch of things I've been meaning to do and didn't fall back asleep until 2 AM.

When I awoke at 730 this morning, I felt invigorated and energized. I have felt pretty good all day with all the aforementioned symptoms... nothing crazy to report. My tongue is coated in white (that's the toxin release), but it's only a thin film, nothing to write home about. I feel pretty snazzy and have no real hunger, although the cravings are pretty abundant. I wonder if these will subside.

Apparently, on the fourth day, your body goes into "hibernation" mode, a safety mode of sorts, it realizes its not getting fed and in response, shuts down to save itself. I think that hunger is supposed to subside as a result. This is pretty much on target. Anyways, just a short update.

3 Down, 7 to Go

So, day 3 of the master cleanse, and so far, so good. I hear the first three days are the hardest and I am only now beginning to see that. Today, I want food. It's funny, the first two days, I hardly desired solid food at all. But, today is a different story. I want it. It's not a burning desire, but it's there. The cleanse is suddenly real to me. The commitment is suddenly huge. I am really throwing myself into this and it's not a picnic! (and if it was, it would suck...I mean a picnic with no food!)

So, yeah, I am craving dried fruit for some reason. Literally, the thought of dried cherries, raisins, dates, and prunes has got me salivating! I don't even know why. And I am also craving chocolate, dark and rich...holy crap, a combination of the two!! Chocolate covered dried fruit...oh god, I've gotten myself worked up into quite the frenzy now.

I woke up at 6 AM this morning with a burst of energy, I wanted to go running. Instead of acting on this, I crawled back into bed and forced myself to sleep until 7:30 AM...I got nervous I would run out of steam and I'm working both jobs today so I won't be off until 11 or 12...so I forced myself back into the sack. The energy felt nice, though. It felt real. It wasn't fueled by anything but myself, my core, if that makes any sense...

Other reactions: my head feels funny today ( a combo of a headache, dizziness, and an inability to focus) and I have been in the bathroom on the regular. Literally, it's been exhausting.

I have read a lot about the clarity and insight one can gain from cleansing/fasting and I am very excited to explore and experience the spiritual part of the cleanse. I'll keep you updated, don't you worry, my lil blog-o.

Sun Chips

So, believe it or not, yesterday was a breeze. Making dinner last night didn't pose too many problems either. Maybe it was because I left after I was sure everything was already cooking in the oven...watching them eat would have been torture!

Whenever I cook, which is a great passion of mine, I taste everything. I caught myself many a times food to lip and had to say no, habitual taster, no! Naughty conditioned nibbler! And I did catch myself and I was a true-blue cleanser. So that was that. I weathered the storm!

Today has been my first real day of elimination, this is where it gets gorey, by the way...and well, it hasn't been too crazy. Just relieving, in a way. I feel pretty energized overall and not at all hungry, like not even the slightest, which is nuts. However, I do have cravings. For example, I just had a meeting with my boss and the whole time, he was ripping through a bag of cheesey sun-chips. I literally found myself hanging on his every word, or more accurately, his every chip. And the smell! Oh, yum! What aromatic yumminess it was. And every crunch...music to my ears.

Let's just say that my sense of smell and taste are incredibly intense due to this cleanse. I am just so aware of food...everywhere! It's so social too, people do it together...and now I am that girl in the corner with a jug of pee-looking liquid, smelling kinda weird (yes, you give off an odor when you are cleansing, and mine is kinda garlicy...which I oddly like). It's an experience, I'll tell you that much. So in summary, here are some of the effects I am feeling: I am a VIP member of the bathroom, I am giving off an oddly pleasant garlic aroma, and I have been gifted with a very keen sense of smell. All in all, not too bad. No hunger yet, but my stomach has been growling quite a bit.

Anyways tonight I have to work, which will, no doubt, be hard. I work at an Italian restaurant where I pretty much love to snack on homeade bread, roasted rosemary potatoes, and cherry coke to my heart's delight. Tonight will be purely lemonade magic. It will be hard, but I am excited to test my strength. I shall endure because I am strong! (I gotta keep telling myself this).

Prime Rib

So, first day of the cleanse! And so far, not so bad. Granted, it is only 3:35 PM on day 1, but hey, I'm still giving myself credit. The lemonade mix actually does a good job of supressing any hunger. Although, I do have cravings. Actually, I really need to stop cruising the Food Network website. I'm already thinking about how I am going to reward myself!

So this weekend was "Ease In" weekend. Saturday, it was all veggies and fruit, although I did have two tablespoons of organic peanut butter because I wanted the energy boost between jobs. Sunday, I started with juiced oranges mixed with distilled water...and then I stuck to juiced carrots, celery, and apples to prepare my body for a liquid diet. All was well until we started cozying up and watching movies...and then came the rain. So it was full-fledge movie time equipped with rain, a cozy couch, and some snuggle time...it was almost unbearable without snacks. So I made some killer cookies. Chocolate chip, butterscotch, macadamia nut, to be precise. Then I ate four! I also ate some vanilla ice cream swirled with lucious rasberry and pomegranate...and it was well worth it! It might have done a number on my tummy before the cleanse, but it totally completed the whole experience. I figured it was a last hoorah! So that was the night before my Master Cleanse...one last killer party before I purify myself.

So back to today, I woke up early and eerily cheerful about what's to come. I prepped my magic lemonade and then..the Salt Water Cleanse, which is a little intense (you essentially have to chug a quart of warm salt water), but I did it with no problem, gagging only once. The day has been far from a challenge, but mind you, it is only the first day. Tonight might be a challenge, I have plans to cook dinner for some friends. Prime rib! I'm excited to see what it's like. I enjoy the mental as well as physical challenge that this cleanse may pose. Or is this torture? We will find out...

Temptation Stares Me Down

OK, so today I wanted to start preparing my body for the cleanse (see last entry...written approximately 20 minutes ago). Well, I just had a piece of birthday cake! I am weak! I figured it was a last farewell of sorts...right?! Or I'm just weak! Either way, I must train my mind to be stronger before the cleanse. Fight cravings. The cake was eaten out of cravings, not real hunger. Must learn to distinguish between the two. This cleanse is going to be nuts...and I can hardly wait!

A Time to Cleanse

Shame on me! I haven't blogged in 2 whole months! Oh geez, from now on, I am going to make a concierted effort to write in you, blog...and I apologize for neglecting you. But, you know, I've been busy... experiencing the many things that summer has to offer..and a lot has happened since I last blogged, but that's no matter. This is a new beginning of sorts. So let's move forward! Hm, well there is one new thing in my life: I started doing yoga last week! I have been meaning to get into yoga for forever, but something always got in the way (so typical!). And I am thankful to myself and to yoga, itself, that I did so. My sister has been quite the inspiration in getting me to just start, for god's sake...and well, I finally did. I just bit the bullet and made room for it in my life. So...thanks, Kerrry Annie! Overall, it has been invigorating, awakening, and inspiring. For real. Let's just say, I am very glad I finally just took some initiative and invited it into my life. Super sweet. More to come. Also, another crazy update: I am trying out the Master Cleanse, commencing this Monday! I have been researching it for about a year now and I figure now is as good a time as any to just throw myself into it. I need to be cleansed, for real. My body has been craving a detox for quite some time now and well, I'm taking the extreme route: lemonade, here I come! I think it's important to track this incredible journey, so that I shall do. Right here in my little blog-o. So to start, I need to begin preparing my body for it. In order to do that, today, I have ommitted processed foods from my diet and seriously increased my water intake. Tomorrow, I will feast on just veggies and fruit and then Sunday I will experiment with the Salt Water Flush in the morning and stick to mostly juiced veggies and fruits for the rest of the day. Then, Monday, here we come! That's the tentative plan, let's see how it pans out. I am more nervous and excited than I have been in a long time. Stay tuned for the very personal, gory details...