Day 4: Day 1 of The Cleanse

Morning Weight: 146.5

So today starts the day.  I was unable to start my morning with the salt water flush since I had very little time to sleep and get ready for work.  I honestly did not sleep well.

In case you were wondering how well I judge my sleep, I have an Up band that tracks my sleep, and tells me how much sound (deep) sleep I get versus light sleep.  I also base this on how I feel after I wake up.  Last night I only managed 5 hours of sleep and 2 hours of deep sleep.  I also usually go to bed rather quickly but last night it took me 45 minutes to fall asleep, when it normally takes me 10.  The reason it was so hard for me to fall asleep is because my skin constantly feels tingly and a little jittery.

As for work, I had to be much more active at work today, and felt a good amount of energy.  I felt light headed a few times, but still haven't seen a sign of mood swings or stomach pains.  I also received a few compliments that my skin is looking good!  And it's safe to say my pants fit a little bit better now, only 4 days in!

But unfortunately I didn't feel myself all day, and after having to work a 10 hour shift and walking 8 miles for my job, I decided I need to call it quits.  My body felt numb all day, and it felt like a constant fever that wouldn't go away, though I didn't have a fever.  I was still able to do my daily routine, and I was even able to do archery for a few hours.  But something about the starving myself has been making me think I'm just abusing my body.

Day 3: Final Ease-In

Morning Weight: 148

Evening Weight: 146.5

Meals: Orange Juice

Last night I slept fairly well.  When I woke up around 11, I decided to start making my orange juice for the day, since I have work in the evening.  With an 8 hour turn around until my shift tomorrow, I also decided to make my lemon juice for the next day because I won't have time otherwise.

I am definitely feeling lightheaded, so I had a little bit of maple syrup for sugar.  Tonight was my first night of work, and it went pretty well. 

My job requires I walk around a lot and talk a lot, and my energy level did not waver.  I felt pretty good most of the day. The hunger lasted a bit more than a minute but usually would go away after 5 minutes.  

I was feeling a little bloated the first two day but luckily felt great today!  I still didn't drink as much water as I hoped but since my day starts so early and I work such a long shift, hopefully the same won't be said about tomorrow.

Day 2: Still Easing In

Morning Weight: 148.5

Lunch: Watermelon and Cantaloupe Juice
Dinner: No-Chicken Chicken Broth and Apple and Orange Juice

Today was all about liquids.  There were moments throughout the day I would feel a little lightheaded, but so far, no headaches or major stomach pains.  I would also feel waves of hunger but they only lasted a minute, often while I was actually drinking my juice.  I honestly did not drink as much water as I did the day before, so that's something I will definitely need to step up on.

I do think I'm starting to be more irritable.  And I am definitely more emotional.

I also feel like I am definitely smelling other foods better.  Not necessarily craving them, but my want for cheese hasn't gone away.

Day 1: The Ease-In

Morning Weight: 150.5
Evening Weight: 149.5

Meals - 
Lunch: Spinach, Yellow Bell Pepper, Tomatoes, Calamansi, Cranberry Juice (pictured above)
Snack: Watermelon and walnuts
Dinner: Spinach, Vegetable Broth, Ground Pepper, Half an avocado

In hopes of successfully doing this cleanse, my friends and I decided to opt in the 3 day ease-in and 3 day ease-out before the 10 days of the actual cleanse.

Day 1 is supposed to be easy, and in reality, it was.  Just fruits and vegetables (also known as the living diet).  I didn't get too hungry, and I was definitely able to stick to the vegetable and fruits diet, despite my parents wanting to go out and eat at some of my favorite fast food restaurants.  I think what made this day easy for me was the fact that I didn't have work.  I will probably be singing another tune on Friday when I go back to work.

As for my food and their taste...can't say much.  I do enjoy spinach and tomatoes and bell peppers, but usually I enjoy it drowning in ranch or thousand island dressing.  Since I couldn't do that, I decided to try spritzing the flavor with some calamansi, a tropical citrus fruit, somewhere between a tangerine and a lemon.  I didn't mind the taste too much, but citrus fruits do not grab on spinach the same way dressing does.  For dinner, I had an organic vegetable broth.  It tasted terrible!  The soup I was eating tasted like the water you use to clean your vegetables.  In hopes to give it some flavor, I threw in some spinach and pepper, but it didn't help much.

I don't really think the fact that there was a difference in my weight from the morning to the evening as something significant, especially since we do fluctuate our weight throughout the day.

The only thing I really struggled with was a light headache in the evening, and I had a horrible craving for munchies, mainly...I really wanted cheese (not sure why).  Whenever I got the munchies, I just drank water, which didn't really ease anything, but kept me busy.

So far so good, I think...

The Days Before

The Master Cleanse isn't something I think anyone should take lightly, and I definitely did a lot of research before starting.  My friends and I decided to do the cleanse about 2 weeks ago, knowing full well what we were getting into.  We also knew that after the cleanse, we would need to change up the lifestyle we have chosen so far.  The nice thing about going through a cleanse that is so drastic, and so easy to give up on, is that the three of us decided not do it alone.  Instead, we would be supportive of each other, and help each other get through those rough patches.

2 days before the cleanse, we went to Mother's Market to buy the food we would need for the first few days, and we wanted to make sure everything we were putting in our body is organic.  We also went to Target to pick up water purifiers, since a key feature of this cleanse is pure water (which doesn't necessarily mean bottled water).  $110 later, we had everything we needed.

The gist of what I bought:

• Baby Spinach $5
• Bell Peppers $6
• Oranges $10
• Maple Syrup $13
• Cayenne Pepper $5
• Lemons $4
• Watermelon $6
• Cantaloupe $5
• Laxative Tea $5
• Herbal Tea $5
• Vegetable Broth $4
• Chicken Broth $4
• Water Purifier $16
• Purifying Water Bottle $12

After shopping, I begged my friends to let me say goodbye to Taco Bell, knowing that I probably wouldn't eat there again.  So for my final Taco Bell meal, I shamefully ate 2 beef Chalupas, 2 meximelts, and a small diet soda.

The day right before the cleanse, probably wasn't my proudest moment, either since I had a few celebrations to attend, as well as an Angels game (pictured above).  So for my breakfast work celebration, I had 5 glasses of orange juice and a breakfast burrito.  For lunch, I had a flatbread pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, and pineapples (I promise it tasted amazing).  And then for dinner at the Angels game, I had a diet coke, a jumbo hot dog with all the fixings, and a margarita.

Thus the beginning of the end of my old lifestyle...