Have you ever noticed how much time you spend thinking about what you're going to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner? I am not thinking about food nearly as much as I was when I was eating.
I drank a cup of the Poop Tea (i.e. Smooth Move), which had a pleasant citrus-ginger taste. At least it's drinkable. The main ingredient is Senna Leaf. My stomach was really rumbling after I drank it, but it didn't hurt and there were no cramps. I just felt things moving through my intestines. Yum!
I'm trying to keep my thoughts off of food and beer. And I'm hungry. Sigh.
I must admit though, it is relaxing to sit and watch a movie and not think about cooking dinner and working out (I've decided to let myself off the hook for work-outs, until I feel like I have to move around and get some exercise).
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Master Cleanse Day 1
Friday night/Saturday (January 5th/6th)
I went out and drank too much. Perhaps because I know I won't be drinking for awhile.
Anyway, I threw up before I went too bed and had a raging headache in the morning. That confirmed my resolution to do a detox!
So, after I managed to climb out of bed and into the shower, I ate two fiber pills, to kick off the detox. There's this herbal tea, a mild laxative called Smooth Move, that you are supposed to drink in the morning and evening for fiber, but I couldn't think about drinking tea because my stomach was still a little queasy. The pills were sugar-free and they appealed more to me at the moment than tea.
As I chewed the orange-flavored fiber pills, it occurred to me that this was the last solid thing I was to eat, until the following Saturday. Kind of depressing.
I mixed my first Master Cleanse and tasted it. Very spicy (the cayenne pepper) but not too hot. Not too sweet either. It was good and tasted like spicy lemonade. I felt clean drinking it. But I also really wanted a latte.
I worked all day at the mall. I have a weekend job showing movie previews to random shoppers. The hunger came in waves, every couple hours. But it wasn't too awful, because I drank the spicy lemonade whenever I felt like it, which does have some calories. I had a 32 ounce Nalgene filled with the mixture.
I became depressed again when I realized I couldn't go home and have a nice dinner with a couple beers. But I wasn't obsessing over it; I just accepted that I would go home and drink more of the mixture (I had another 32 ounce bottle in the fridge) and also, have a cup of the Poop Tea.
My nose was running a lot and I think that was because of the cayenne pepper. Oh, and I had a diet coke. No need to go cold turkey with the caffeine, especially not when you're giving movie surveys to people all day and need to at least appear cheerful.
I went out and drank too much. Perhaps because I know I won't be drinking for awhile.
Anyway, I threw up before I went too bed and had a raging headache in the morning. That confirmed my resolution to do a detox!
So, after I managed to climb out of bed and into the shower, I ate two fiber pills, to kick off the detox. There's this herbal tea, a mild laxative called Smooth Move, that you are supposed to drink in the morning and evening for fiber, but I couldn't think about drinking tea because my stomach was still a little queasy. The pills were sugar-free and they appealed more to me at the moment than tea.
As I chewed the orange-flavored fiber pills, it occurred to me that this was the last solid thing I was to eat, until the following Saturday. Kind of depressing.
I mixed my first Master Cleanse and tasted it. Very spicy (the cayenne pepper) but not too hot. Not too sweet either. It was good and tasted like spicy lemonade. I felt clean drinking it. But I also really wanted a latte.
I worked all day at the mall. I have a weekend job showing movie previews to random shoppers. The hunger came in waves, every couple hours. But it wasn't too awful, because I drank the spicy lemonade whenever I felt like it, which does have some calories. I had a 32 ounce Nalgene filled with the mixture.
I became depressed again when I realized I couldn't go home and have a nice dinner with a couple beers. But I wasn't obsessing over it; I just accepted that I would go home and drink more of the mixture (I had another 32 ounce bottle in the fridge) and also, have a cup of the Poop Tea.
My nose was running a lot and I think that was because of the cayenne pepper. Oh, and I had a diet coke. No need to go cold turkey with the caffeine, especially not when you're giving movie surveys to people all day and need to at least appear cheerful.
One of my coworkers, an 18-year-old high school student, had a hard time understanding the scope of the detox, because every hour he would suddenly ask another question about it:
"Wait, you're just going to drink that stuff and not eat anything at all?"
"So, you're not even going to drink, like, beer or any alcohol? That sucks. What's the point of that?"
"What about pot? Pot's natural, I bet you could smoke pot." (I'm not really in the habit of smoking pot, but it was nice of him to consider the options available to me).
Oh, I didn't weigh or measure myself today. One, because I don't have measuring tape. And two, because I was in slow-motion hangover mode this morning and just didn't care.
Friday, January 5, 2007
Some things I'm worried about (The Night Before the Master Cleanse Cont.)
So, I am going to keep a blog of what happens each day during this cleanse. It is usually 10 days; I am going to start with eight and see how that works.
The reason I'm blogging this is because:
Number 1. If I can't eat, I'm going to talk about how much I want to be eating and how bad the cravings/hunger really are.
Number 2. Writing a blog will hold me accountable for completing the cleanse.
Number 3. In case you're thinking of doing it, you'll know what to expect.
I might put up pictures, but I'd also like to save myself from complete embarrassment. So maybe weight and measurements will do.
Anyway, here are some odd things I've heard about this diet and some items I'm mildly worried about:
1. Diet Coke withdrawal (and caffeine withdrawal in general)
Yes, we've all experienced that aching headache that seems to hurt even more when we realize it's a result of no caffeine intake! Now, I am going to find out how bad my caffeine addiction really is!
2. No beer/wine/liquor
Phooey!
3. Hot bowel movements
According to the Raw Foods website: "your body wastes are acidic and when you eliminate the most toxic ones, they actually feel anywhere from warm to burning. This experience is very infrequent, but worth mentioning because hot bowel movements after a day of heavy detox symptoms will confirm that you just eliminated significant toxins." Um, YUCK!
4. Body emanates bad smells and nausea/vomiting occur as toxins leave
Yes, it's true that toxins often bring unpleasantness with them when they exit your body. However, I've done detoxes before (with juice only) and I've not experienced bad smells or anything. Maybe just nausea from being hungry.
I think this only happens to really unhealthy people who don't exercise.
5. To exercise . . . or not
I might have to consult other blogs for this one. I would like to keep running and doing plies, lunges, squats, sit-ups, push-ups and all that jazz, but is that a good idea when you're only drinking Master Cleanse Lemonade? Hmmmmm . . .
It is January, so maybe it will be so cold I won't be able to run regardless . . .
6. Saying 'no' . . .
to the massive amount of food surrounding me every day and channeling thoughts to my brain: eat now, Amber, eat now.
Those stupid free candy machines at the office are the worst! Why is it so hard to turn down free food?
The reason I'm blogging this is because:
Number 1. If I can't eat, I'm going to talk about how much I want to be eating and how bad the cravings/hunger really are.
Number 2. Writing a blog will hold me accountable for completing the cleanse.
Number 3. In case you're thinking of doing it, you'll know what to expect.
I might put up pictures, but I'd also like to save myself from complete embarrassment. So maybe weight and measurements will do.
Anyway, here are some odd things I've heard about this diet and some items I'm mildly worried about:
1. Diet Coke withdrawal (and caffeine withdrawal in general)
Yes, we've all experienced that aching headache that seems to hurt even more when we realize it's a result of no caffeine intake! Now, I am going to find out how bad my caffeine addiction really is!
2. No beer/wine/liquor
Phooey!
3. Hot bowel movements
According to the Raw Foods website: "your body wastes are acidic and when you eliminate the most toxic ones, they actually feel anywhere from warm to burning. This experience is very infrequent, but worth mentioning because hot bowel movements after a day of heavy detox symptoms will confirm that you just eliminated significant toxins." Um, YUCK!
4. Body emanates bad smells and nausea/vomiting occur as toxins leave
Yes, it's true that toxins often bring unpleasantness with them when they exit your body. However, I've done detoxes before (with juice only) and I've not experienced bad smells or anything. Maybe just nausea from being hungry.
I think this only happens to really unhealthy people who don't exercise.
5. To exercise . . . or not
I might have to consult other blogs for this one. I would like to keep running and doing plies, lunges, squats, sit-ups, push-ups and all that jazz, but is that a good idea when you're only drinking Master Cleanse Lemonade? Hmmmmm . . .
It is January, so maybe it will be so cold I won't be able to run regardless . . .
6. Saying 'no' . . .
to the massive amount of food surrounding me every day and channeling thoughts to my brain: eat now, Amber, eat now.
Those stupid free candy machines at the office are the worst! Why is it so hard to turn down free food?
The Night Before the Master Cleanse
Tomorrow is my first day of Master Cleanse. Master Cleanse is a detox liquid diet, in which you drink a special 'lemonade' composed of lemon juice, maple syrup, water and cayenne pepper, and drink laxative tea and salt water to, uh, stimulate your system. And, every morning, you are supposed to drink some salt water, to flush the digestive tract.
Why would someone do this? The purpose of this is to remove toxins, chemicals and other poisons from your body, that either make you feel icky, ill, tired, confused or depressed. It also helps you eliminate cravings for unhealthy processed food, stop food addictions and of course, lose weight.
There's no cheating in this diet-no little bites of food here and there. Apparently, eating and the chewing motions that accompany it stimulate saliva, which makes you hungry. I mean, hungrier than the hunger you'll naturally feel from only drinking liquid.
Here's some more information from the experts:
http://www.therawfoodsite.com/mastercleanse.htm
And here is the recipe:
Master Cleanse Recipe:
The below recipe makes 60 oz of 'lemonade', enough for six 10 ounce glasses. 60 ounces is sufficient for a reduction cleanse.
60 ounces water per day (or 10 ounce per glass) -and plain water in addition to the juice
12 tablespoons Organic Grade B Maple Syrup (or 2 tbsp. per glass)
12 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (or 2 tbsp. per glass)
A half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or 1/10 tsp. per glass) or to taste
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