New Diet

I've been off my Master Cleanse for a few weeks now.  I've gained back some of the weight I had lost (not all of it).  This was expected and anticipated. 

The cleanse got me thinking of the food I put in my mouth.  I try to make better choices and even though I may fail from time to time, I do try.

Tomorrow, I'm going to start eating mostly salads, lean protein, low fat dairy, fruits, and whole grains.  Basically food I should have been eating all along.  I will allow myself two cheat days a month.

My breakfasts will consist of either a shake of almond milk and frozen berries, fruit with Greek yogurt, or one egg on one slice of toast (weekends only).  Lunches will be salads and dinner will consist of either salad, soup, or a stir fry with a bit of rice.  I really hope this will boost my eating habits in the right direction.

Master Cleanse -- Final Results

It's been over a week since my Master Cleanse experiment.  I'll be honest, I did not last the full eight days.  I only did 6 days. Under the demands and pressures of work, I caved.  I lost a total of 11 pounds, which as of today I'm still keeping 8 pounds off. 

I am more aware of the food I put in my mouth.  Even though, I do give in to cravings at times, I have started to make better choices in my food.  Sure, I've eaten pizza, ice cream, and burgers since I ended my cleanse.  But I also pay attention to my body and see if I'm really hungry or just greedy.  I"m not perfect and I'll still sometimes feed myself due to greed, I'm at least aware of it. 

My bff is getting married in a few months.  Although, I am not a believer of crash diets for a special occasion, I am going to use her wedding as a deadline to get my ass in gear.  My plan is basically to eat healthy and occasionally allow myself to indulge.

Many many years ago, I lived by the principle that if I ate well from Sunday night to Friday afternoon, I can be less careful Friday evening thru Sunday afternoon.  It worked well for years.  I did not feel deprived because I allowed myself to indulge within reason, but did not splurge the moment the forbidden food entered my mind.  If I remember, by the time I was "allowed" eat it, I didn't even want it anymore.  I have to get myself in that mindset again.

Master Cleanse -- Day Six

For the past few years, I've had this pain in both feet (left foot is worse) that resembles plantar fasciitis pain.  I have never been diagnosed with it, but I'm convinced that is what I have.  I have incredibly high arches in my feet and the years of rocking high heels have caused some tenderness in my heels.  Anyway, every morning the first few steps I take are excruciating.  The pain decreases as my  feet warm up, but it is  still a pain.  The past couple of days, I haven't felt that pain!

I know plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of tissue in your feet.  Is it possible this cleanse started to heal any inflammation I may have had in my body? 

Today I had a meeting with a coworker.  Although the meeting went well, the news I was given in the meeting was not good.  I zapped just about every ounce of energy I had in that meeting.  Now I feel like I'm on E.  I still have one more day to go.  It'd be silly to quit now, right??

I think I may do this cleanse once or twice a year.  Seriously, after you get over the initial hump (mine was day 2 and 3) it is not too bad.  I mean, you still crave and you still want to chew, but it isn't AS difficult as it was in the beginning. 

Master Cleanse -- Day Five

Again, I woke up today with bright eyes and no need to sleep for a couple more minutes.  It's amazing how your body feels when it's not busy digesting food.  B wants me to stop because he says that a cleanse should not feel like torture.  It doesn't feel necessarily like that, but it is not a good feeling.  I do feel like I'm depriving myself (I am!) and it does seem a bit of a punishment. 

Yesterday was rough working all day with no food in my belly.  Although I am still having cravings, the thought of putting food in my mouth is pretty unappetizing right now.  Of course this could change by lunchtime!

Master Cleanse -- Day Four

This morning I woke up really weak.  It is a work day, but I truly am not sure if I can continue to work at the pace I am required to without any kind of sustenance.  My job is mentally draining and right now I am moving so slow.  My legs cramp up if I move too fast or walk to much.  It doesn't help that I am wearing heels now.

Today I weighed myself.  I have dropped 7 pounds.  Of course, this is water weight, but it was nice to see the change on my scale.

I had trouble falling asleep last night.  I was wide awake way past midnight.  I also was consistently waking up every few hours throughout the night.  Even with a restless sleep, I woke up bright eyed.

With the way I feel right now, I am not sure how long I can continue this cleanse.  My body is so still and quiet and I feel like I have absolutely no energy or brain power to get through the day.

The evening was much better.  I had this hollow empty feeling in my stomach, yet it felt like it was full of rocks.  I just had a peppermint tea and that is all. 

I don't think I'm drinking as much lemonade as I should.  You're supposed to drink somewhere between 8-12 cups a day.  The first day I think I drank 8, but I've only been drinking 3-5 cups the rest of the days.  I'm not much of a "drinker" and have to remind myself to take a sip of anything.  When I'm hungry, I'll just sit hungry.  Not good.

Master Cleanse -- Day Three

Day 3 started with a new resolution.  I felt good!!  I skipped the salt water flush.  It is just nasty.  I went grocery shopping for more lemons and the ingredients to break my fast whenever I choose to do so.  I tortured myself and browsed through the premade and frozen foods section of Trader Joes.  I read the packages of cookies.  I was okay. 

Today, my legs are wobbly and I don't feel like I have much energy.  I'm so glad I haven't suffered from any headaches while on the cleanse.  It would have been tough to handle at this time.

Again I made breakfast for B and baked a loaf of bread for him during the week.  I tried a new recipe and I was dying to taste it.  Who wouldn't love fresh warm bread????  I refrained and sliced it up and didn't even eat the chunk that fell off the loaf.  I threw that out. 

B had a veggie Subway sandwich and again the smells nearly did me in.  Throughout the weekend, there were many times I was on my way to the kitchen to help myself to a slice of cheese or a few grapes.  I always caught myself, but I realize how often I really do graze.  I don't consider myself a huge snacker, but I guess I still do snack nonetheless. 

Today my mood was a little short.  My patience was running a little thin and I felt it.  I was hungry, but I expected to be much hungrier than I was for someone who had not eating for three days. 

I realized how much energy I go through with food.  I do cook and plan all (most) of my meals.  I did not have to do that for this week.  I have so much more time!  Too bad, I don't have the energy or the drive to do anything else other than sit on the couch and try not to think about pasta.

Master Cleanse -- Day Two

I woke up on Day 2 surprisingly refreshed.  I wasn't hungry, but my belly was definitely empty.  I started the morning with a salt water flush, which was nasty.  About an hour or so after digesting it, it worked!  As the day wore on, I became increasingly forlorn and slightly depressed.  I made B breakfast and cleaned up the dishes.  He opted for just fruit for lunch, which helped but the smell of fresh oranges was unbelievable!  For dinner he had a veggie sandwich and I had another cup of lemonade.  The smell of the peppers in his sandwich almost drove me mad.  And I'm not a big fan of peppers!!

We wanted to go out, but ended up staying home.  Day 2 was definitely worse than Day 1.  B told me that if I break the fast after three days, I still will reap the benefits of the cleanse.  I told him I didn't want to be a failure and he insisted I wouldn't be.  I told him I'll see how I felt the following day.  Secretly, I was happy that I may only have one more day to go!  This is definitely tough!!

Master Cleanse -- Day One

Last night, I made a healthy dinner of salmon and grilled asparagus.  The portions were adequate and I was satiated.  Around 8:30, I started looking around the kitchen for a one last hurray snack.  I was at B's place and therefore my options were limited.  B suggested if I wanted to order a pizza.  I knew I shouldn't, but I couldn't resist.  So we ate pizza at 10:30 at night and it was wonderful!  I did not drink the laxative tea that night, but opted for two herbal laxative pills instead. 

This morning I woke up and after a few seconds I remembered that I am no officially off solid foods for at least 8 days.  I don't eat too much in the mornings anyway so I didn't wake up hungry.  Once I arrived at work, I made myself a laxative tea. It tastes good!  It takes like black tea.  I had to double check to make sure the tea didn't have caffeine.

Now it is almost 11:30 in the morning and I already had one cup of my lemonade.  I'm hungry.  I've brought about five servings of my lemonade with me along with peppermint tea.  I think I'll be fine.

I also opted to put only half of the maple syrup than the recipe calls for.  I'm allowed to put as little has half a tablespoon per serving.  I have started with one tablespoon, hopefully I'll decrease that as times go on.  I'm not a huge fan of pure maple syrup.

During busy days, I've gone a day without food.  That is totally different than refraining from eating!  I was fine while at work, but as soon as I got home I was insatiable!  I did not cheat, I was home alone on a Friday night and all I could think about was food.  Although I was hungry, I wasn't famished.  It was the cravings that tore me apart.  I ended Day One with another cup of lemonade (6 cups total) and a laxative tea.