Ok, so, having babies, although very rewarding, has reeked havoc on my body!
The first thing that I wanted to address was to start exercising. I am proud to say that I now think of myself as a runner, and can run about 3.5-4 miles at a time (without stopping!) and have now added weight resistance to my routine. I am very happy with my work out routine....
However, I still just feel just kinda sluggish and yucky a lot of days. So, I have decided to do a cleanse, and through some research I have decided that the Master Cleanse is the way to go.
Basically you drink a salt water flush in the am and then you get to drink this lemon, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water mixture the rest of the day. I looked it up and the amount of maple syrup you are eating is enough calories to sustain you, so it's not like you are starving yourself. You can drink water and as much tea as you would like but that's it.
The point is to give you body the calories it needs without having to digest anything, therefore taking all the energy you normally put into digestion into cleansing.
You are supposed to do this for 10 days.
The first thing that I wanted to address was to start exercising. I am proud to say that I now think of myself as a runner, and can run about 3.5-4 miles at a time (without stopping!) and have now added weight resistance to my routine. I am very happy with my work out routine....
However, I still just feel just kinda sluggish and yucky a lot of days. So, I have decided to do a cleanse, and through some research I have decided that the Master Cleanse is the way to go.
Basically you drink a salt water flush in the am and then you get to drink this lemon, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water mixture the rest of the day. I looked it up and the amount of maple syrup you are eating is enough calories to sustain you, so it's not like you are starving yourself. You can drink water and as much tea as you would like but that's it.
The point is to give you body the calories it needs without having to digest anything, therefore taking all the energy you normally put into digestion into cleansing.
You are supposed to do this for 10 days.
Just for fun I am going to keep an update of my progress on the blog.
Day one:
So, the day started with the salt water flush, 32 oz of H2O with 2 tsp of salt...salt water flush is, as my one friend told me, "gnarly." But I get the point :)
The drink is fine, it just tastes like a spicy lemonade. I did not really feel hungry at all, as long as I had my drink! I went to a pizza party this night and didn't feel tempted at all!!
At night I drank my Smooth Move (senna) teas, we'll see how tomorrow goes :)
Day two:
I felt good waking up. The salt water flush was a lot less scary. Overall I felt pretty energetic today. We even had a BBQ with my family and I did fine. I helped prepare the food and everything! I was tempted for a moment with the Doritos, but it passed :)
I hear that day 3 is the worst, so we'll see how tomorrow goes!
Day 3:
My friend had told me that day three of the cleanse is the hardest, and I hope that's true. It was a harder day than the other two. I had not felt tired at all the first 2 days but I felt very tired today. My kidney's were also a bit achy (this is a common side effect).The third day is supposedly the day where you get a very high release of toxins in your body. So, day 3 was not that great but if it's the worst day then I can take it!
I am however starting to get bored with just the drink...I think I need to start brewing a tea into it to give myself some variety. I was day dreaming about vegetable broth!
Day 4:
Hmm the tea is definitely working! I drink it at about 9:30pm, just before bed and then I am up every morning at 2:30am...so far this is my least favorite part of the cleanse :)
I felt great for the first half of today, very alert and happy. I felt like I had all this extra energy to throw around. :) Lots of energy, so much so I was thinking of going running tonight...then 2pm rolled around! I developed a headache and was just tired, having lots of cravings (I was making dinner, so maybe that was it) I'm just kind of starting to feel fluish (totally normal symptom). Supposedly after tomorrow mornings salt flush I should feel great again! I am sticking this out until the end but it's definitely not easy :)
I started to feel really cold today, another side effect. Nothing bad, just cold.
When I feel good, I feel GREAT, but when I feel bad it pretty yucky. However, I was feeling pretty ick at least 1-2 days a week (and that's a huge improvement) before I started this cleanse, so it's not really anything I'm not used too!
As a side note: I feel like I should mention that I have been around food this entire time. I cook three meals a day for the family, and I make almost everything from scratch, so I really COOK. For some reason that doesn't really seem to be that big of a problem for me.
Day 5:
Day one:
So, the day started with the salt water flush, 32 oz of H2O with 2 tsp of salt...salt water flush is, as my one friend told me, "gnarly." But I get the point :)
The drink is fine, it just tastes like a spicy lemonade. I did not really feel hungry at all, as long as I had my drink! I went to a pizza party this night and didn't feel tempted at all!!
At night I drank my Smooth Move (senna) teas, we'll see how tomorrow goes :)
Day two:
I felt good waking up. The salt water flush was a lot less scary. Overall I felt pretty energetic today. We even had a BBQ with my family and I did fine. I helped prepare the food and everything! I was tempted for a moment with the Doritos, but it passed :)
I hear that day 3 is the worst, so we'll see how tomorrow goes!
Day 3:
My friend had told me that day three of the cleanse is the hardest, and I hope that's true. It was a harder day than the other two. I had not felt tired at all the first 2 days but I felt very tired today. My kidney's were also a bit achy (this is a common side effect).The third day is supposedly the day where you get a very high release of toxins in your body. So, day 3 was not that great but if it's the worst day then I can take it!
I am however starting to get bored with just the drink...I think I need to start brewing a tea into it to give myself some variety. I was day dreaming about vegetable broth!
Day 4:
Hmm the tea is definitely working! I drink it at about 9:30pm, just before bed and then I am up every morning at 2:30am...so far this is my least favorite part of the cleanse :)
I felt great for the first half of today, very alert and happy. I felt like I had all this extra energy to throw around. :) Lots of energy, so much so I was thinking of going running tonight...then 2pm rolled around! I developed a headache and was just tired, having lots of cravings (I was making dinner, so maybe that was it) I'm just kind of starting to feel fluish (totally normal symptom). Supposedly after tomorrow mornings salt flush I should feel great again! I am sticking this out until the end but it's definitely not easy :)
I started to feel really cold today, another side effect. Nothing bad, just cold.
When I feel good, I feel GREAT, but when I feel bad it pretty yucky. However, I was feeling pretty ick at least 1-2 days a week (and that's a huge improvement) before I started this cleanse, so it's not really anything I'm not used too!
As a side note: I feel like I should mention that I have been around food this entire time. I cook three meals a day for the family, and I make almost everything from scratch, so I really COOK. For some reason that doesn't really seem to be that big of a problem for me.
Day 5:
I woke up feeling like CRAP! I could barely get myself out bed...David had already gotten up and fed the kids by the time I got upstairs! After the flush I felt pretty yuck still. Then we went for a walk and that seemed to help. Before I started this cleanse I had hurt my back and so I wasn't able to work out for almost a week and then I started this right after that....so, on Friday it will be 2 weeks since I have ran or lifted or ANYTHING! I was working out 5-6 days a week before that, so this is a big dip. My point here is that I need to start adding in some physical activity! I have done yoga a few times, so maybe that and some slow running? On another note, I looked at my tongue today and was really surprised to see that it's coated in a white layer. Gross! Hopefully that goes away in a few days! My teeth feel furry no matter how much I brush too.Later....So, I felt so good after our morning walk that I did a lot more exercise today than I have been. The kids and I danced around the house, with me carrying them and throwing them around, for about 30 mins, and let me tell you, that is one of the best workouts ever! Those kids are heavy :) We then took another walk in the pm...and then when we came home I crashed :( So, I over did it today, oh well...I think that the most exciting thing to happen today was that my back barely hurt. I have been in pretty bad pain for the last 2 weeks, I couldn't bend over too far or lift my kids, it sucked. But today I was doing all kinds of crazy back moves with no pain. Yay! So, what does that have to do with the cleanse? Because your body is no longer having to use most of it's energy towards digestion, it now has all of this energy to go towards healing, rapid healing!
Day 6:
The Senna tea had me up from 2-3am, again. So, I felt pretty yuck today but I have no idea if it was from lack of sleep or from the cleanse! By day 6 you're supposed to start feeling better, so hopefully it's just lack of sleep :)
Today went fine, nothing new.
The only change I have made today is to use the salt water cleanse at night instead of the tea. It has the same result as the tea but happens hours before, ho that might mean a full nights sleep for me :)
Oh, my tongue is still very white so I'm hoping it starts to turn pink soon, because you're supposed to stay on the cleanse until it turns pink again...
Day 7:
Holy moly! I can not believe I've made it this far! I was only going to do 3 days at first!
I am ready to be done :( It's not bad at all, I think it's really just because I cook so much (and I'm a good cook!) that the food is just always in my face reminding me what I am missing. I definitely have a greater appreciation for food and my eating habits now. Even though I was a pretty healthy eater before, I know that after this I am going to be a lot more picky about what goes into my body!
We went on a 2.5 hour walk today and then I cleaned the house so it was a very active day. I felt hunger a few times, but nothing a sip of lemonade couldn't cure.
The only other new thing to report is that I went back to the Senna tea at night but am trying it at 4pm (so it's work around 9pm) and going to see how that works. I just read today that you need to drink the tea and the flushes, because the tea looses and then the salt flushes.
Day 8:
Today was a SUPER hard day! I was a bad girl and didn't make enough lemonade for the day. Then when we had to go out and I got so hungry and weak I felt like I was gonna loose it. Then once we got home I did loose it! The kids were soo hungry and tired that I had to help them before I could make my drink and by the time I got some sugar into my system I felt like a lunatic! So, the lesson learned here is...DO NOT SKIMP ON THE LEMONADE! Not a good idea.
I ended up having a cup of vegetable broth before bed. My cravings were crazy and I just didn't have the energy to make my drink...so I don' feel too bad. It was just broth. It did upset my stomach though.
Day 9:
I dra nk my salt water this am and...nothing. Maybe that broth last night messed this up more than I thought. Hope not! I am soo close to finishing this thing, I would hate it all to go to waste.
I felt good today, aside from worrying about not running to the bathroom every few minutes! We had a potluck, and although I would have LOVED to eat all of the amazing food everyone brought (and the cookies I made :) ) I did just fine.
I drank some Senna tea in the afternoon to kind of get things going, so we'll see.
Tomorrow is the last day!!
Day 10:
Today was great. I felt good. One of the most noticeable changes for me on this cleanse is that I have a lot more energy than I had before. I am no longer drinking any caffeine, at all. I also was up at 3am this morning so I should have felt blah, but I felt great. I went running tonight, and even though I could only do about 1.5 miles I felt good. My head started to hurt so i took that as a good time to start.
I decided that today will be the last day. I wanted to go longer but I think that 10 days is good enough for my first cleanse. Plus I have 2-3 more days of liquids before I can start to eat real food so it's really like a 2 week deal.
Anyway, so far so good. Feeling good. I made my OJ tonight for tomorrow :) Fun, fun, fun...
Day 11:
Today was just OJ day, and I had a really hard time with hunger today. The maple syrup must just have more in it than the OJ. I worked out pretty hard tonight too, so that made it even worse! Anyway, I ended up eating some potato leek soup for dinner (thanks David) I blended it into a liquid. I have been taking my probiotics like they are candy today :) I have heard many bad things about people coming off this cleanse the "wrong" way and being very miserable. So, I am trying to avoid that :) Actually, I'm pretty afraid of it!
Day 6:
The Senna tea had me up from 2-3am, again. So, I felt pretty yuck today but I have no idea if it was from lack of sleep or from the cleanse! By day 6 you're supposed to start feeling better, so hopefully it's just lack of sleep :)
Today went fine, nothing new.
The only change I have made today is to use the salt water cleanse at night instead of the tea. It has the same result as the tea but happens hours before, ho that might mean a full nights sleep for me :)
Oh, my tongue is still very white so I'm hoping it starts to turn pink soon, because you're supposed to stay on the cleanse until it turns pink again...
Day 7:
Holy moly! I can not believe I've made it this far! I was only going to do 3 days at first!
I am ready to be done :( It's not bad at all, I think it's really just because I cook so much (and I'm a good cook!) that the food is just always in my face reminding me what I am missing. I definitely have a greater appreciation for food and my eating habits now. Even though I was a pretty healthy eater before, I know that after this I am going to be a lot more picky about what goes into my body!
We went on a 2.5 hour walk today and then I cleaned the house so it was a very active day. I felt hunger a few times, but nothing a sip of lemonade couldn't cure.
The only other new thing to report is that I went back to the Senna tea at night but am trying it at 4pm (so it's work around 9pm) and going to see how that works. I just read today that you need to drink the tea and the flushes, because the tea looses and then the salt flushes.
Day 8:
Today was a SUPER hard day! I was a bad girl and didn't make enough lemonade for the day. Then when we had to go out and I got so hungry and weak I felt like I was gonna loose it. Then once we got home I did loose it! The kids were soo hungry and tired that I had to help them before I could make my drink and by the time I got some sugar into my system I felt like a lunatic! So, the lesson learned here is...DO NOT SKIMP ON THE LEMONADE! Not a good idea.
I ended up having a cup of vegetable broth before bed. My cravings were crazy and I just didn't have the energy to make my drink...so I don' feel too bad. It was just broth. It did upset my stomach though.
Day 9:
I dra nk my salt water this am and...nothing. Maybe that broth last night messed this up more than I thought. Hope not! I am soo close to finishing this thing, I would hate it all to go to waste.
I felt good today, aside from worrying about not running to the bathroom every few minutes! We had a potluck, and although I would have LOVED to eat all of the amazing food everyone brought (and the cookies I made :) ) I did just fine.
I drank some Senna tea in the afternoon to kind of get things going, so we'll see.
Tomorrow is the last day!!
Day 10:
Today was great. I felt good. One of the most noticeable changes for me on this cleanse is that I have a lot more energy than I had before. I am no longer drinking any caffeine, at all. I also was up at 3am this morning so I should have felt blah, but I felt great. I went running tonight, and even though I could only do about 1.5 miles I felt good. My head started to hurt so i took that as a good time to start.
I decided that today will be the last day. I wanted to go longer but I think that 10 days is good enough for my first cleanse. Plus I have 2-3 more days of liquids before I can start to eat real food so it's really like a 2 week deal.
Anyway, so far so good. Feeling good. I made my OJ tonight for tomorrow :) Fun, fun, fun...
Day 11:
Today was just OJ day, and I had a really hard time with hunger today. The maple syrup must just have more in it than the OJ. I worked out pretty hard tonight too, so that made it even worse! Anyway, I ended up eating some potato leek soup for dinner (thanks David) I blended it into a liquid. I have been taking my probiotics like they are candy today :) I have heard many bad things about people coming off this cleanse the "wrong" way and being very miserable. So, I am trying to avoid that :) Actually, I'm pretty afraid of it!
I am very happy and proud of myself for having done this. I also think that this is something that I might do biannually, it just makes sense to me to clean house every few months.
Day 12:
I am so excited today! I get to eat fruits and veggies, in SOLID form ;) I am having a grapefruit for breakfast and LOTS of water. Water is sooo important people. I think that that might be the biggest change for a lot of people is just taking in so much liquid. Your body needs it. Thankfully I am a very good drinker :) David always kids with me that I might drown someday from my water consumption.
I feel good. I am accelerating the post cleanse exit by a day, it's supposed to go: day 1-OJ, day 2-juice and broth, day 3-raw fruits and veggies, day 4- normal eating (well, whole grains and fresh foods, very close to raw foods). I am skipping day 2 and moving forward to day 3. I am not having any issues with my bowels (thankfully, that is the number one problem when people get off of the MC) and I am going to attribute that to the probiotics and not jumping right back in to eating Doritos! I also started my exercise routine back up on Monday (took the cleanse off) and am finding that I need more in me now.
I am very happy with this cleanse, and like I said before will most likely be doing it again. I want to do the next one for 2 weeks.
Oh and even though I did not do this to loose weight that is a side effect of the cleanse. So for those of you who are interested...
I lost about 8 pounds and went down 2 sizes.
