Day 4 mid-day update

I'm kinda tired of drinking this drink... I want to EAT. SOMETHING. ANYTHING. But especially pasta. Pasta with home made meat sauce. That is drizzled with melted cheese. Yeah...

Oh that's what my son is supposed to be eating. It's what I made for him, and is sitting on the dining room table untouched because he refuses to eat it (those stubborn 2 year olds, I tell ya). And it's taunting me. It's teasing me. It looks so good. And it smells even better.

But I shall prevail... I shall sip on my lemonade... I will drink some water... I will ignore the blissful scent that is hanging in the air...

I laid down with Emery for his nap and I crashed HARD. I guess my body just needed the extra rest. The good news? We both slept for over 2 hours. The bad news? We missed a friend's daughter's birthday party! :o(

Well, we're gonna get dressed now to head out to the Big Carrot. We're running low on lemons and maple syrup... and Luke is going to join me starting tomorrow!!! WOW!

Day 4!

Because I did the SWF first thing in the morning yesterday, I figured I might as well continue to do it first thing in the morning. I was going to change it back to night time SWFs but this morning (like all night 2 nights ago) I could feel the gurgling and movement in my intestines and colon... it felt like my body was definitely ready to release, who am I to force it to hold on?

Drinking the 1L of Salt Water was the easiest yet this morning... I seasoned it with the juice of half a lemon, warmed it up, and chugged it through a straw. The last cup was still definitely the toughest, but I got it down.

I'm still waiting for it to make its grand exit. haha... but I only finished drinking it about 15 minutes ago. Before I even got all the Salt Water down, my body had an extreme urge to go... I thought "Wow, 5 minutes, this is a new record". But it wasn't the SWF at all... and you wouldn't believe what came out of me. How is this possible? I haven't eaten in over 3 days, I've done 2 SWFs... how is it possible that SOLID waste is still coming out of me? And so much volume!

It's amazing how the medical community tells you that food does not get stuck in your colon. That waste always makes its way out. But how is it possible that I had an evacuation like that today? I'm sure there are more to come...

So I'm thinking of cutting my cleanse short because my best friend's birthday falls on my first day out after the 10 days. At first I thought we weren't going to do anything for her birthday until the next week, but we haven't seen them since BEFORE we went to mexico and I miss her terribly. So I'm going to cut it short to 8 days, so I can have a proper 2.5 -3 day exit from the cleanse.

Yesterday was another fine day... I worked from 12-6, then we went to Luke's parents' place to pick up Emery. Luke's mom didn't know I was cleansing and made me her famous chicken salad sandwich. It was the only thing that I had looked at/smelled in three days that truly made me want to bite in!!! But I held off... sadly. It was the ONLY time I was sad I was on the cleanse.

I can't believe how easy it has been for me to say no to food!!! We had a little event at my store yesterday where we had a punch bowl out, chocolate covered peanuts, gumballs, and nachos... The girls perpetually smelled of nachos - lol. But I was easily able to resist! It's shocking to me that I've been able to resist...I LOVE food. I'm the first one to get over to the snack table to grab some munchies... but it's been really easy for me to say no.

I've had a friend report that Day 5 was really hard for her. Another friend said days 6 AND 7 were full of killer food cravings... So I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop!

On another note, I weighed myself, and I was UP to 112.2. Weird, eh? How can I have gained weight from the day before? haha...

So I drank my SWF about 30 minutes ago now... I'm going to go make my lemonade drink now. I think I want it extra spicy today! A little extra cayenne for me! Ay Carumba!

Today is Day 3 - UPDATES...

Yesterday was a breeze... I worked from 10-6, and maybe that kept my mind occupied. My goal was to drink one less cup of the lemonade mix. I made 8 cups to take with me to work, and I figured I'd make another 2 when I got home.

Well we ended up going to see Avatar in IMAX 3D...tickets had been IMPOSSIBLE to score and we finally managed. So I decided to have a very large mid-day mint tea which helped keep my tummy full. I only had the 8 cups of lemonade and I wanted to save about 1.5 or 2 cups of it to get me through the movie.

How wrong I was.

Maybe I had crappy 3D glasses... or maybe I'm just sensitive to the 3D, but I got a wicked headache behind my eyes and I felt super queasy (to the point of salivating, you know that thin saliva you get in your mouth right before you throw up?). I was so worried about throwing up on the people in the movie theatre that I stopped drinking my lemonade. Not that I felt hungry... I was just feeling soooo sick from the movie.

It was an awesome movie, btw, and I think I want to see it in regular movie format again - I don't think I'll ever go to a 3D movie again... not even to see you, my dear Johnny Depp, in Alice in Wonderland.

Anyway, we left the theatre and I couldn't even talk... we came straight home, where I passed out on the couch, fully dressed, with (gasp!) my make up still on.

So I decided to do my SWF this morning. I got up at 6:30 am, made my 1L of salt water, added some fresh lime juice to it, and guzzled it up. I still haven't evacuated the salt water...and it's been about 30 minutes! It came right out last time! WEIRD. Hopefully I got all the measurements right and it's on its way! lol

I weighed myself this morning and I've lost 2.5 pounds in 2 days... I started at 113.8 and this morning I was 111.3

I haven't really had any food cravings so far. I helped a couple of customers yesterday who had lunch or dinner with them, and it smelled heavenly... but I just gotta keep reminding myself that it's only 10 days and I'll be eating again very very soon.

So far so good... I'll keep updating! Happy Friday everyone!

AAAAND...I survived the Salt Water Flush

I dreaded the Salt Water Flush all day long.

I didn't really have any food cravings today and the lemonade really does taste great. I enjoy the heat from the cayenne pepper, the maple syrup had a rich deep flavour, so the lemons didn't taste so...lemony.

But all day long, the SWF was nagging in the back of my mind.

The last time I tried the SWF (last January) I quit the cleanse on my first day. It was unbearable.

Today was still very difficult. But I had a little bit of guidance that helped me through it. I heated up 1L of water on the stove then added ONE LEVEL TABLESPOON of natural, non-iodized, sea salt. I stirred until all traces of salt were dissolved. I added the juice of one freshly squeezed lime to it, and guzzled. It took 11 minutes. It was hard. I used a straw. At one point I thought I was going to throw up, so I went to the bathroom... the feeling subsided a little, so I thought "Ah, what the hell" and guzzled what was left of the salt water (less than a cup).

I laid on the cold bathroom floor on my right side (I read somewhere that laying on your right side, helps to release the fluids from your stomach faster) and within a minute or two I could hear my stomach making gurgling sounds.

Within about 10 minutes, my body started the elimination process which lasted about 45 minutes (off an on). The first few runs of evacuations had visible mucous in them. Amazing!

The SWF is so very tough... tomorrow I will double up on my senna tea and skip the SWF. I'll do it again on Day 3. Unless I have no eliminations, even with the help of the senna tea - then I'll do the SWF.

Today, I got to stay home with my little guy. Tomorrow is going to be a hectic day as I work from 10-6, but I have to drive my son (in rush hour traffic) to his grandmother's house, then come back into the city to go to work... it's going to be hectic tomorrow and I hope I can keep everything under control, and keep myself relaxed.

Anyway, we're just watching the Russia-Canada game and I drank 1 cup of herbal Tea (Celestial Seasonings' SleepyTime - I love this stuff! It's not organic, but I didn't want to dig through my unorganized tea stash!).

So far, so good... I can't believe I made it through Day 1 unscathed!

DAY ONE! Here we go!

Okay... so here I am... halfway through Day 1. I've already consumed over 7 cups of my lemonade. I switched things up a little bit this time by using a different Maple Syrup. My local health food store (The Big Carrot, to you locals) stocks a fresh, local Maple Syrup that needs to remain refridgerated at all times - so you won't find it in the aisle with cereals and the other maple syrups. This stuff is darker, less sweet, but the flavour is soooo much more intense. It makes the lemonade a beautiful experience! And licking the spoon is so much more fun! :o)

I haven't had any real food cravings yet today. Although at one point when my son was eating his cheddar cheese goldfish, the smell was intoxicating. LOL!

I know that night times are the hardest for me when it comes to snacking... even after I've maintained a healthy diet all day long, the urge to snack overtakes me in the evenings. Which is probably the reason you'll never see my abs again. LOL! They're hiding under a layer of snack-fat. ha. If only I could conquer the late evening snacking impulses.

So yeah, I feel as though tonight I will truly have to face my demons, being unable to snack. And the salt water flush. I'm a bit nervous about it, because it's what made me quit last time. My friend Helena said she did 1 tablespoon in 1L of water and it worked like a charm. I dont' remember exactly, but I feel like I used way more salt than that last time! Yikes.

Anyway, so things are going swimmingly today. Later tonight, it might be a different story! Send positive vibes my way, because I know I will need them!

Update #2 Pre-Cleanse

So on Sunday night I ended up at the movies with Luke. And after all that healthy eating (!!!) I had some popcorn and coke. Sigh... Yesterday I ate pretty healthy. I did have a coffee in the morning, lots of fruits and a salad. Dinner was a little bit unhealthy, mostly because I hadn't had time to buy this week's groceries! Yikes...

So today I ran out to pick up some groceries - mostly organic fruits and veggies, as well as some foodstuffs for Emery. He obviously won't be doing TMC with us as he's only 2! lol... The hardest part about this cleanse will probably be the food preparation that I'll have to do for him.

So today I picked up a whole lotta organic lemons and local maple syrup. This stuff is so fresh it has to stay refridgerated! Cool, huh? I've never bought maple syrup that needed to stay refridgerated - not even for our last go at the cleanse. The store was sold out of organic cayenne, but I'll have to double-check the pantry; I feel like there's some here!

The cleanse starts tomorrow... Luke will join me a couple of days in - he's sick right now and can't handle the additional stress of the cleanse. He hasn't been sick in AGES so it's a pretty big deal for him. Poor baby.

I will eat nothing but raw fruits and veggies for the rest of the day. I may close the day off with freshly squeezed juice from the organic juice joint down the street, but I haven't decided if I want to head out into the cold again...

I'm going to do my Salt Water Flush at the end of the day. I remember reading somewhere that it's okay to do the SWF at the end of the day if you don't have the time to do it in the morning...

Wish me luck, y'all!

Leading into The Master Cleanse. Attempt #2

Wow...has it been a year since my ill-fated attempt at The Master Cleanse? Well I'm going to do it again. This time I'm going to muscle my way through the Salt Water Flush (SWF) and do it for 10 days, as that is the minimum number of days the book recommends.

I am preparing my body and I am preparing mentally. Today is Day #1 of my pre-cleanse. I don't have an exact start date for the Master Cleanse, but I know it will take a few days of preparation before I cut out food entirely.

I ate like I normally would yesterday...though I did have more junk than usual last night. I had made up my mind to start the pre-cleanse today so I think I figured I might as well have one last hurrah! LOL.

I had 2 cups of coffee this morning, and Luke brought me a greasy-spoon breakfast. I only ate half of it (1 egg, 2 sausages, half a slice of bread). I've since had 1 glass of water, but I'm on my way out to stock up on a few essentials for the next few days.

I read about a detox program called The Apple Detox where you literally eat nothing but organic apples (everything but the stem) for 2 or 3 days. Chewing on the seeds feels gross so I'm swallowing those whole! I won't be eating just apples leading into the cleanse, but I'll eat lots of apples... probably at least 3 or 4 a day. So I'm on my first apple right now, as I type...

Before my shower this morning I also did my first ever Whole Body Dry Brushing, using a wooden brush with natural bristles. It took a while, about 10-15 minutes, then I washed with my organic liquid soap (I LOVE Dr. Bronner's line of organic, fair trade, liquid soaps). I turned my water from warm to cold three times to get my lymphatic fluid going, and moisturized head to toe with my natural body cream (Verbena Custom Blends on Etsy.com makes the BEST all-natural, from-scratch body creams) and added a tiny bit of Castor Oil to help my skin detox. I rubbed my thighs with my home-made cellulite oil (which I hope to soon be selling on etsy).

I haven't worn anti-perspirant in well over a year. I use one of those all-natural "crystals" which is made of Alum or something like that... I sweat, but I don't smell. I feel anti-perspirant is dangerous..but that's a whole 'nother blog! Anyway, it's one less chemical/toxin to remove via my internal/external cleanse.

I'm going to stock up on Epsom Salts, Baking Soda, and Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar today. I'll be using all three (at different times) in nightly baths to help my skin detox. This is going to be a part of my pre-cleanse, and a daily part of my Master Cleanse. If I'm cleaning my body from the inside-out, then I should be cleaning the outside too, right?

My friend Helena just successfully completed a 14-day Master Cleanse. Another friend Kristen is in the midst of one now (Day 6, I think?). You two are my inspiration. I know my body needs a good thorough cleansing. I am a little bit afraid of the salt water flush. It was sooo hard the first time for me, and it was very difficult for Luke too. Though I must admit, I think I waaaaayyyyy overdid it on the salt. Helena says 1 level teaspoon to 1L of water. I think I may have done 2 TABLESPOONS of salt to the litre of water. Yikes...that's like 4 times too much salt.

I am hoping that my pre-cleanse will encourage Lucas to do the Master Cleanse with me. I am in need of strength to make it through the pre-cleanse and to start and finish 10 days of the Master Cleanse. Please send me your strength vibes and positivity and support... I need everything that I can get to get me through this because I know it'll be a difficult task to accomplish.