Day 1: I started today! Yippee! I felt really excited and good until about 7 PM when I felt myself getting grumpy because I hadn't really eaten anything. I found the drink to be mildly unpleasant, but nobody else around me did really. I may have put too much cayenne pepper? Not sure. But at either rate, I could easily get it down. Later on I found that reducing the amount of maple syrup in half was a better solution for me because it was too sweet. I did find that whenever I was hungry and I drank some of the juice I actually was satisfied, weirdly! I don't think I ended up drinking the required minimum however, (6 glasses) as I went to a movie then hung out at a friend's house for a long time after with no access to my drink (note to self: Carry it with me.) and by that point it was like 3 AM when I got home so I just crashed. So I'll probably counter-act that by drinking more than 6 glasses tomorrow. But 1 day down! 9 more to go!
Day 2: ....the salt water flush. Is. not. pleasant. But so necessary! I actually don't feel like I'm starving or anything today upon waking. I was busy all day, walking around and went out and stayed out late with friends and I really never felt bad. The only time I got a little annoyed is when the friend I was with wanted to go eat Moes...and I sat and drank my water. I LOVE Moes so it was a little bit hard- but not nearly as hard as one might think it was. I had alot of energy all day too and really didn't feel any different than usual. I feel very "light"..which is a nice feeling actually. Like opposite of how you feel after eating Thanksgiving dinner haha!
Day 3: Again...salt water flush is probably the hardest part of this process. Only because it's SO hard to get down a liter of salt water. A LITER. But this is a very necessary step in the cleansing process so you can't just skip the things that are hard. I've found that if I drink a 1/4 liter every 5 minutes or so it helps me. I cannot just down the whole thing in one sitting. But other than that, I feel great! I've got energy and everything. This is becoming quite easy. And everytime I do feel hungry I just drink my drink and I'm satisfied. Really! I know it sounds impossible. But it's true.
Later on in the day, I started to really feel the hunger. And I started craving things alot. However the things I was craving were not necessarily ice-cream and chocolate- but I just really wanted a salad and some fruit. These specific oranges that are on our kitchen table. Stuff like that. I found myself fantasizing about the things I'm going to make once I am off this cleanse. It will be a great day! I also realize that there has been another side effect of all this- I am really, really cold. Like even more than I usually am. My hands and feet specifically just feel icy all the time. But a GOOD side effect has been my skin! It's so clear and nice! I like that. I also have this white coating on my tongue that I hear is the elimination of toxins- and you're technically not supposed to stop the cleanse until it turns pink. We'll see!
Day 4: Tried a new way to take the salt water flush by making the salt like a shot and then following it with the rest of the liter of water- didn't work. I immediately threw it up. I'm feeling especially queasy now so I just decided to skip the salt water flush altogether and drink some laxative tea instead. I feel a little hungry/weak but I think I just need to drink my juice! Gotta drink the tea first though...
Like I thought, as soon as I drank my juice I felt immediately better. The desire for food was not as bad today, although I find myself searching raw vegan recipes that I can't wait to make once I'm off the cleanse! I really just miss the texture and experience of eating more than anything. I don't feel like I'm being starved, I just really want to eat!
Day 5: I woke up feeling really really good!! I have alot of energy and taking down the salt water flush is alot easier. (I went back to the old way. NEVER AGAIN will I try the "shot" version!!) But yeah. Like I don't feel hungry at all. I feel energetic. It's great! However I just realized that I am PMSing so I won't truly be able to tell the weight I've lost because I bloat up like a balloon at this point- however I can still tell I've lost a little weight. Hopefully all this water I'm drinking will help with that anyways.
Day 6: I'M OVER HALFWAY THROUGH! WOOO!! Exciting! I'm so proud of myself for actually going through with this. Wee. So, I survived an alcohol/food free New Years celebration and you know what?! I had a great time. I had to endure going out to eat at one of my favorite restaurants as well as post-party Waffle House with some friends and I had my water and I was perfectly fine. Going through this experience is helping me SO MUCH with self-control and I think it's really going to help me with my problems of eating when I'm not hungry. I used to just eat no matter what, if we were going to Waffle House and even if I wasn't that hungry I would still order food anyways. It's like I felt obligated to eat. And that of course has definitely added to my weight gain recently. But through doing this cleanse I've had to do that literally every time food has been nearby- which is ALOT. For example, before I went out with friends my mom had made some of my favorite things- spinach dip, salsa, cheese dip, a Mexican chip casserole with black beans, veggies, chocolate cake, etc. and it was annoying to not be able to eat it just because I missed the flavors of everything. That's really what I miss the most...the FLAVORS of food. Not the food itself if that makes sense. I know that definitely once this cleanse is over I'm going to eat a lot slower and truly enjoy my food instead of just inhaling it like I used to do. But besides that, I feel pretty good today! I'm full of energy and I feel just great. Very clear-headed and light. I'm way past the point of "hunger" if that makes sense haha!
Day 7: And so it goes. Things are routine now. I actually just feel normal. Everything is pretty routine by now, and I'm getting sick of drinking the drink. You want to know what's really bizarre though? Like...even though I can't eat...I love watching cooking shows recently, more than I ever have! Haha. It doesn't even bother me! I think I just have been taking food for granted before this and I just am antsy to get in the kitchen and whip up something yummy! I also got a food processor today which is awesome. I'm really going to incorporate more raw vegan dishes into my repertoire so a processor will be very helpful. Homemade salsas, hummus, nut pates, and a myriad of sauces and chopped salads will all be mine soon! hehee...
Day 8: Ugh. Things I won't miss: The salt water flush. SO DISGUSTING. EVERY SINGLE TIME. It's so hard to get down! But you do it because it's so necessary to the cleanse. But I swear. It's difficult. =/ Not to discourage anyone wanting to possibly do the cleanse...but...I am just bemoaning it at this moment.
Later on in the day...I'm feeling good, just growing weary of the same old same old. Everything is soo routine and I just want something different to ingest besides disgusting salt water, or mediocre lemonade juice. On the bright side- I've lost around 7-8 lbs.! I didn't weigh myself right before I started, but I'm basing it off of the last time I weighed myself, which was before Christmas break. I know I definitely lost 5 lbs. since a few days ago when I weighed myself here. So that is pretty encouraging. Also my pants fit bitter, my face looks slimmer and I'm just really enjoying that! :) My nails and skin look great! I just have to stick this out 2 more days! TWO MORE DAYS! I know some people feel like they can continue on the cleanse for weeks after...but I think I'm definitely ready to get off of it. It's not that I feel awful or hungry or anything. Like I said- I just want a change. I can't wait to experience eating again for the sheer joy of it!
Day 9: Ho hum. It's the day before I'm done! YAY! I can't believe I've gotten this far. Wow. I went on a celebratory grocery shopping spree at Earthfare which is kind of like a Whole Foods store and reveled in all the wonderful things I'm going to make. I may or may not have splurged on a vegan brownie at the bakery and vegan asian dumplings from the deli counter as well :) hehe. As much as I am excited about eating super healthy again and am craving fresh fruits and salads and the like, my sweet tooth has definitely not disappeared- although I can't say 100% yet how it will taste. Things that I used to love may be a bit too rich for me now (which I'm hoping actually happens!) But we'll see. Also can I say I'm pretty sick of the lemonade? While I've warmed up to the taste significantly- it's still pretty tiresome. I'm just ready to eat solid food again. 2 days..2 days... (the first day off the cleanse I am supposed to only drink orange juice and then the next day I can only have soup and then I can finally have all my goodies! yay!) OH and I can fit comfortable into a pair of jeans I could barely button up before the cleanse! Score!
Day 10. I'm on the last day! The last day! I've got a pitcher of Simply Orange in the fridge and a box of clementines that are ready to be devoured! NOM! It's pretty exciting. This whole thing has gotten pretty monotonous. But I just weighed myself and I've lost a total of around 10 lbs. Crazy, right?! I also still haven't bitten my nails or cuticles so they actually are starting to look like normal people nails which is super cool :) So what did I learn by doing this?
- That not eating solid food for 10 days is surprisingly easier than I thought.
- That we take eating for granted and just shovel it in instead of utilizing all the senses. I tended to want to smell, touch, and just look at food since I couldn't eat it and it was (almost!) like eating it! Seriously! So from now on I'm really going to treasure each meal and eat slower, taking my time to relish in the flavors and textures.
- That you can really do anything you set your mind to- even if it is not partaking in any New Years Eve festivities.
- That people are surprisingly supportive of things that may seem weird. I didn't want to make a huge fuss about it because I'm sure people that have not really researched the Master Cleanse would be quick to make judgments, saying this is a "starvation diet" or something like that, but the few people that did know about it were very supportive and I've even influenced some to go on it themselves!
- That the human body is very able to sustain itself readily without food. We think sometimes that if we go 5 hours without food we're going to keel over and die!
- That food does not have control over me anymore. (best part!) That was the whole point of doing this for me, personally. Along with kick-starting my super-healthy eating and cutting out of other things. But I just always succumbed to food instead of using it to nourish me solely. I ate when I wasn't hungry and in social situations alot- and I learned that it is easy to just drink water at the table even if others are eating. It's not a big deal!
Day 12: Today I can incorporate soup along with my orange and clementines that I've been eating! (Although I must admit I've snuck a few bites of other things here and there...shhh!) But it's nice to be able to eat again. Now that I've been intaking more calories, I did a short workout as well and it feels so nice to get my body and muscles movin' again too! I've already planned out my workouts and I'm excited about getting in the best shape of my life this semester. :)
So overall, this cleanse has been a positive experience I would say. Would I recommend it for everyone? Probably not. It's something you really have to be in the right mindset for, and if you lead an unhealthy lifestyle it will be alot harder for you than it was for me, probably as you will be dealing with caffeine withdrawals on top of it and the like. Also, if you are somebody who likes to bend the rules, this is not for you as you really need to do it pretty much to the letter to do it safely and to get the maximum benefit of the cleanse. Also, it's not something you can just up and decide to do one day- I carefully researched and then set a date and focused on that starting date. However, I don't want to discourage anyone, and if you are relatively healthy and really want something to jump-start an even healthier lifestyle, I would definitely recommend it. However make sure you are not under requirement to do strenuous movement/exercise as you would probably be too weak. (However I did shake my booty on the town with no problems on several occasions! haha) But if you are considering it, just make sure you do some research and go for it! :) http://themastercleanse.org/ is a wonderful resource and helped me alot. Youtubing others' experiences on the cleanse was very inspirational for me as well! There is alot of information on it on the web, and I also read a book on it in Barnes & Noble (Look under the Alternative Medicine section to find it!)
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