Day 6 & 7

Day 6 was yesterday July 5th, I just didn't post anything.
I actually ate breakfast (a juice shake) and lunch (cauliflower) because I was planning on preparing for my liver cleanse. You must eat breakfast and lunch so that your liver can produce bile to push out stones. At 6pm, I drank 3/4 epsom salt water. Repeat at 8pm. Then at 10pm drink 1/2 cup of fresh grapefruit juice + 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil juice. After that you have to immediately lay down and relax for the stones to start moving out of your liver. I, however, could not b/c I ended up going to the bathroom literally 10 times. No stones.

The next morning (today) I woke up feeling queesy. At 6am you have to drink another 3/4 epsom salt and water, repeat at 8am. It was not easy. The epsom salt water tastes like weak soju and after being queesy and not really eating for 7 days, it almost made me vomit.

I am re-thinking whether I should do the liver cleanse again tonight and tomorrow. I will keep you posted.

All in all, as soon as I did the liver cleanse, my skin felt amazing. Over the course of 7 days, I have lost 5 pounds and I have gained a new found respect for hunger. I can now deal with the pains of not eating chocolate, coffee, sugar, and instead eat fruits and veggies. I always managed to eat somewhat healthy, but now I can see the effects of what it can do for you if you go for it all the way. I hope everyone who reads this tries this detox. Remember, you don't have to go so hardcore like I did. There are other detox methods - the lemonade one just happens to be the fastest way to get results. I recommend this to anyone and everyone! Good luck!

Day 5 - SUCKS!

I never cared much for the 4th of July until I realized I couldn't eat anything. No BBQ's, no meat, no beer, no fun. I stayed inside all day today and was SO sick of that damn lemonade, I only had about 2 today. I also had 16 oz of mint tea.

By the end of the day, I was SO hungry I couldn't take it anymore. I did some research online for the liver cleanse b/c I want this to be over. Plus I have a last minute looming trip to DC for work (for a whole week!) which means I have to speed up the process so I'm not a big poopin' mess while I'm traveling. Plus it's so hard to eat healthy while on trips.

Anyway, for the liver cleanse you have to drink organic apple juice for 2 days before starting. So I went to the supermarket and bought a bunch of ingredients I needed for the liver cleanse. I also did some detox research while I was online and found out that fresh fruits blended into smoothies are also acceptable detox foods to eat! The lemonade cleanse is the #1 fastest way to detox, followed by consuming fresh fruits and veggies as another way to detox. I guess as long as you are having 2-3 bowel movements per day, you can move on to the liver cleanse. So therefore, I am compromising this detox. I cut up an apple with 4 strawberries and blended it into a delicious smoothie. Yes! I cheated! I decided to cut the detox to 7 days followed by a two day liver cleanse due to my DC trip coming up. As I write this I am drinking my smooth move tea which will be followed by the wonderful salt water drink in the morning.

Total number of lemonade consumed today: 2 8 oz glasses
Total number of bowel movements today: 4
Number of mint tea consumed today: 2 8 oz glasses
Fruit: 1 apple and 4 strawberries blended together
In between: drank 4 glasses of water (I'm sick of peeing all the time! I know I should drink more though!)

Day 4

I woke up today feeling less hungry. Meaning, the insane hunger pains have somewhat gone away. Or maybe I'm just used to them now. I have more energy today, and my tongue is pinker - not quite all the way pink yet. I could probably even start working out today if I wanted.

Bowel movements have definitely increased today. I probably went to the bathroom 4 times today. Stomach doesn't hurt like it did yesterday.

I am getting sick of the taste of the lemonade and maple syrup. I stopped putting cayenne pepper in it. At first, it was a surprise - like, "oh! it's spicy!" Now it's like, "yuck." Can't take it no mo. But what I've found is the mint tea certainly helps break the monotony of lemonade all day long. I also discovered that when both drinks are cold, it helps. I've just been drinking the lemonade luke warm and it's just not that good. Drinking the mint tea cold is also a nice since it's been so hot lately.

My friend was thinking of trying the cleanse too and when I said I felt great today, she assumed that it was only difficult the first day! I told her it's hard EVERY DAY. Especially when going out with people usually means a meal attached to it. I have resigned myself to the fact that I will have to be a hermit until July 9th. Wish me luck!

Total number of lemonade consumed so far today: 4 glasses (8 oz)
Bags of mint tea consumed so far today: 1

Day 3

Day 3 goes like this - uncontrollable bowel movements. Uncontrollable, so be near a bathroom. So far I've had two 8 oz lemonade drinks supplemented by mint tea which is supposed to be considered a "treat." I drank only 1/2 a quart of salt water this morning b/c my stomach was kind of hurting. I actually woke up at 3am b/c it was hurting.

I am finally less hungry, but if I don't have my lemonade, I feel nauseous - like the day after heavy drinking and when you're hungry. I had to skip dinner with Dan yesterday while he ate dinner with my bro somewhere fun and delicious.

But here's the good news! The skin rash I had on my back since last winter suddenly stopped itching and went away! Brown spots on my face have gotten lighter! I fit better into my clothes and don't have to worry about my jeans being so fricken tight!

I have decided to take the plunge!

I know many people are curious about how I am doing.. I have decided to detox my body and rid it of all the poisons that have developed in my organs. I am doing the Master Cleanse using the following ingredients: fresh lemons, cayenne pepper, dark maple syrup, and water. (Do a google search "lemonade cleanse.") They say you should stop when you have 2-3 bowel movements per day. After 10 days, I plan on doing a two day liver cleanse which consists of olive oil, epsom salt, and grape juice. 

Reasons why you should do it:

cleanse your colon and intestines, get rid of excess copper and other toxins in your body, if you are bloated all the time or retain water, clear acne prone skin and other skin problems, get better sleep at night, be more regular (if you are constipated or go too much)... the list goes on and on!

The day before I started, I took a laxative tea called "Smooth Move" from Trader Joe's. The next morning I drank 2 cups of sea salt water, although it says to drink a quart, I couldn't do it. 

Day 1

I'm not gonna lie to you, I felt very very hungry on my first day. I especially felt depressed at work b/c I couldn't munch on my usual snacks... which are actually pretty  healthy snacks, but of course I always stick in that small piece of chocolate or cookie. I pushed through and made it through the day. I drank my lemonade and by the end of the day, wasn't enjoying the cayenne pepper as much. I got home, drank some smooth move tea and went to bed early.  

Total number of drinks consumed (8 oz) - 8 (the more, the better)

Day 2 (Today - July 1, 2008)

My tongue is white and I feel like I have bad breath. (Gross!) It's just a sign that your body is detoxing. When your tongue is nice and pink it's an indication that your body is done detoxing. I'm less hungry but when others are eating around me I feel like I could break down at any second. It's definitely hard, but when you prepare yourself mentally and a little physically (I ate a lot less this past weekend) it's not so bad. 

Total number of drinks consumed so far today 4. My goal is 8.  (Just a side note - lemons are expensive!)